Editor’s note: This article has been updated with the most recent card details and information. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the most popular travel rewards cards out there and comes with a number of well-known benefits, as well as a 60,000-point bonus when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months and a $95 annual fee.

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Well-Known Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits:

• Earns Ultimate Rewards points (one of the most valuable points currencies available)
• Earns 5x on Lyft (through March 2022) and 2x points on dining and travel, including expenses such as food and grocery delivery services, tolls, Uber and more
• Charges No foreign transaction fees
• Has Chip and Signature Technology, which provides better security and wider acceptance when traveling overseas
• Comes with Primary rental car insurance, which can keep you from having to file a claim with your personal insurance for damages to a rental car

These benefits are among the reasons the Chase Sapphire Preferred consistently makes TPG’s list of best travel credit card offers and why it was named Best Travel Rewards Credit Card at the 2020 TPG Awards. But let’s look at five lesser-known benefits.

Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred Review

Sapphire Preferred Benefits you may not know about:

• Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance
• Baggage delay insurance
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty protection

1. Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance (up to $10,000 per person/$20,000 per trip)

If your trip is cut short or interrupted by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations (deemed so by the benefit administrator), you can be reimbursed for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses (such as plane tickets, hotels and tours) on up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip. This coverage is available to you and your immediate family members traveling with you when you pay for the trip expenses with your Chase Sapphire Preferred.

I invoked this benefit for the first time when I was in Kuala Lumpur on business, staying at the Le Méridien. I had brought my wife and nine-month-old son along to see the city and enjoy the hotel while I was at work each day. From Malaysia, we had non-refundable AirAsiaX tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Busan, Korea. The day before our flight, my son awoke with a terrible cough. We decided a trip to Korea may not serve his best interests and it was time to send my wife and son back home to Japan and our doctor.

I called Chase at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time to inquire about having the AirAsia tickets to Busan covered by the benefit. Within 10 minutes I had an email requesting the canceled plane ticket itinerary, a doctor’s note and the credit card statement showing where the tickets were purchased. Soon after, I confirmed the benefit administrator had received my documentation and I was told a $625 credit would be issued back to my Sapphire Preferred card. That was pretty fantastic!

Related: Your guide to Chase’s trip insurance coverage

2. Baggage Delay Insurance (up to $500 per trip)

If your checked bag is delayed by more than six hours, you can be reimbursed up to $100 per day for up to five days for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing. My mother’s checked suitcase did not arrive on Air Canada’s flight from Toronto to Tokyo. I immediately called Chase from Narita International Airport (NRT) to inquire about this benefit.

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I was told to get a baggage delayed report from the baggage service counter and then to keep receipts for any essentials she purchased, up to $100 a day for five days or until the suitcase arrived. The suitcase was finally delivered to my Japanese address four days later. In the meantime, we took full advantage of the benefit, with my mom buying $400 worth of clothes, shoes and toiletries to get around Japan during her stay.

I sent the benefit administrator a baggage delayed report, a courier note when the bag was finally dropped off, receipts for my mom’s purchases and the credit card statement showing I had paid for her ticket. Since she had flown on an award ticket, I had only paid for the fees with my Sapphire Preferred card (and not the whole fare). I was nervous this would make us ineligible for the perk, but a short time later we received a $400 check to cover the expenses.

Along these same lines, you may be eligible for up to $3,000 in lost luggage coverage. However, this benefit requires you to produce almost all of your original receipts for items costing more than $25, making it much harder to get full value.

3. Trip Delay Reimbursement (up to $500 per ticket)

Have you ever been on the last flight of the day to your destination only to have it canceled? If it’s due to weather or any other cause that allows the carrier to deflect blame, you might get a preferred rate from the local airport hotel or be out of luck altogether. Either way you’ll likely be forced to pay out of pocket.

If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, Chase Sapphire Preferred covers you and your family for up to $500 per ticket of non-reimbursed expenses such as meals and lodging. Thankfully, I’ve never had to put this benefit to use, but knowing I could stay in a nice place for free would make the situation a bit more tolerable.

Related: Chase paid for my $1,100-per-night hotel room thanks to built-in trip delay coverage

4. Purchase Protection (up to $500 per claim)

This benefit covers eligible personal property (purchased using your Sapphire Preferred card) in the event of theft, damage or involuntary and accidental parting with property. If something happens to an item within 120 days of purchase, it will be repaired or replaced for a value of up to $500.

There’s a lengthy list of excluded items, including animals, antiques, anything with an engine, perishable items and used/pre-owned items. Still, when I bought my latest iPad, I felt a bit more at ease knowing I had 120 days of coverage in case I spilled coffee on it or left it behind while traveling.

Plenty of other cards offer similar benefits (such as Amex purchase protection), but it’s good to know Chase is keeping up with the competition.

Related: The best credit cards for price protection in 2020

5. Extended Warranty Protection (up to $10,000 per claim)

This benefit can really save your bacon. Receive an additional year of coverage on eligible purchases with a manufacturer’s warranty of three years of less. Boats, automobiles, aircraft, medical equipment, leased or pre-owned items and items for commercial use are ineligible.

In 2010, I purchased what was then a top-of-the-line flat-screen TV for $1,200, with a manufacturer’s warranty of two years. One day in April of 2013, my wife and I were watching a football game when a loud pop occurred and a puff of smoke appeared from the back of the TV.

I called Chase, and a representative asked for a copy of the original purchase receipt and a letter from the TV manufacturer stating it was out of manufacturer’s warranty. I was then instructed to get an estimate from a TV repairman (yes, they still exist) of what it would cost to fix the TV. I flipped through the yellow pages and a few days later had an estimate saying the TV was broken beyond repair. After I submitted the estimate, I got a credit back for my original purchase price of the TV from 2010, as well as a credit for the TV repairman’s fee.

I then bought a TV for $800 that was better than what I had paid $1,200 for three years earlier. Chase promises reimbursement within five business days of receipt and validation of all required documents. Needless to say, I was pretty excited this benefit was on the card.

Related: Best credit cards for extended warranties

Bottom Line

Several of these benefits have provided excellent value for me and made life easier when I could have otherwise been out of luck. As always, make sure you read the fine print for benefit terms and conditions. Clearly defined and labeled documentation submitted in a logical order has made the claim processes rather painless for me.

Also note that the above five benefits are by no means the only perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Travel accident insurance, zero liability protection and travel and emergency assistant services could all make a sour situation a little bit sweeter.

Apply here for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card with a 60,000-point bonus after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.

Additional reporting by Madison Blancaflor

Featured photo by John Gribben for The Points Guy.

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