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Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Benefits for Active-duty U.S. Military Members

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Christine Krzyszton

Christine Krzyszton

Senior Finance Contributor

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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, deta...
Edited by: Kellie Jez

Kellie Jez

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Kellie’s professional experience has led her to a deep passion for compliance, data reporting, and process improvement. Kellie’s learned the ins and outs of the points and miles world and leads UP’s c...

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Serving in the military comes with the great responsibility of protecting us all and sacrifices such as time away from family. Military service can also come with financial challenges. This particular challenge was recognized years ago when 2 related acts were passed to help alleviate some of this burden for active-duty military members.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act of 2003 (SCRA) and the Military Lending Act (MLA) regulate lending practices for military members and apply to financial transactions such as vehicle leases, mortgages, and payday loans. These acts also have an impact on credit card debt secured by military members.

Credit card issuers, such as Chase, closely follow these laws but may exceed requirements to also waive annual fees on credit cards issued to military members and in some cases, to their spouses and dependents.

In our article today, we focus on the benefits of one of the most popular cards offered by Chase, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Known for its flexible rewards and a long list of travel-related benefits and protections, the card is a worthy choice for military members and is one of the better credit cards for military members.

Let’s look at the potential value the card could have for an active-duty military member.

How Do the SCRA and MLA Acts Work?

Just briefly, let’s look at the legislation that has led to the waiver of credit card fees, by some card issuers, for active-duty military members.

In an effort to support the financial challenges members of the military were facing, the SCRA was passed in 2003 to limit the interest rates charged on consumer loans made to military members. The law applies to debts secured prior to active-duty military service and limits interest rates to 6% APR. Additionally, the law provides consumer protections such as limiting the repossession of a vehicle during active duty and placing liens on service members’ property.

The MLA was subsequently passed in 2006, then updated in 2013, and applies to debt incurred during active-duty military service. The MLA provides a 36% cap on interest. This amount includes any finance charges, fees, credit insurance premiums, application fees, and more. The act also provides protections for consumers such as prohibiting prepayment fees and a lender requiring the waiver of certain legal rights.

Bottom Line: The MLA and SCRA are acts passed to protect military members from certain debts incurred prior to active-duty military service and during active-duty military service. 

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Overview

Before we go into the potential benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card for military members, let’s look at a snapshot of what the card has to offer overall.

Why We Like This Card for Active-Duty Military

We like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card as a first-time travel rewards credit card for active-duty military, as the card offers the opportunity to earn flexible Ultimate Rewards points, at least 25% more value when you redeem your rewards for travel, and a long list of useful travel benefits. For these reasons, the card also serves as the perfect card for learning how to manage credit card rewards.

At redemption time, cardholders have lots of choices, including statement credits, redeeming for travel via the Chase travel portal, and transferring points to hotel and airline partners.

Whether you’re traveling domestically or abroad, travel benefits and protections that come with the card can save you money and provide help if you need it before, during, and after your travels.

Now let’s look at the potential value of each of the card’s key benefits.

The Potential Value of Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Benefits [$2,500+ in Value]

Redeeming rewards for travel can offer the best potential value. Image Credit: stux via Pixabay

Welcome Bonus — Value of $600+

Even if you qualify for an annual fee waiver, you’ll still be eligible for a welcome bonus once you’re approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Simply meet the minimum spending requirement within the first 3 months after card approval and receive the card’s current welcome bonus.

However, you’ll receive much greater value when you use your points to book eligible travel via the Chase travel portal — 25% more! Additionally, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to hotel and airline partners and receive even more potential value.

Annual Fee Waiver — Value of $95

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card doesn’t come with a high annual fee compared to the benefits the card offers. And with its lower annual fee, it’s a card you could keep for a long period of time, even beyond your military service.

Additional Waived Fees — Value Varies

Chase waives all transaction fees for active-duty military members except insufficient funds fees and late fees.

Annual 10% Point Bonus — Value of $100

Each card anniversary year, you’ll receive a bonus in the form of Ultimate Rewards points. The amount of the bonus is based on the number of points you have earned during the card year. For example, if you earned 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points, you would receive a 10% bonus of 8,000 points.

If you redeemed those 8,000 points for travel via the Chase travel portal, you would receive $100 in value.

Earning and Redemption Potential — Value of $725+

The value of the benefits you receive for earning Ultimate Rewards points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card will vary depending on your spending mix and how you redeem your rewards.

Here is how you’ll earn rewards on the card:

  • 5x earnings on travel purchased via the Chase travel portal
  • 5x earnings on Lyft rides (through March 2025)
  • 5x earnings on select Peloton purchases over $250 (through March 2025)
  • 3x earnings on dining, select streaming services, and at online grocery stores
  • 2x earnings on all other travel
  • 1x earnings on all other purchases

To illustrate the value of Ultimate Rewards, let’s say you spend an average of $2,000 per month on the card in various categories and earn a total of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem those points as a statement credit worth $600, for travel via the Chase travel portal for $725 in value, or as mentioned earlier, transfer to hotel or airline partners for even greater potential value.

Hot Tip: Watch for transfer bonus promotions in your email box or in Upgraded Points’ regularly updated post to learn when Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to hotel or airline loyalty programs with up to a 50% bonus. 

Pay Yourself Back — Value Varies

Ultimate Rewards points can be worth 25% more in value when you redeem them for expenses made in specific Pay Yourself Back (PYB) categories that change on a rotating basis. For example, if you donated $75 to one of the eligible charities in the current PYB category, you could use 6,000 Ultimate Rewards points for a $75 statement credit to offset that expense.

Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection (LHRC) Benefits — Value of $100

Book an eligible hotel stay on the LHRC website and receive an upgraded room (when available), daily breakfast for 2, early check-in/late checkout (when available), and free Wi-Fi. You’ll also receive an onsite amenity worth $100 that could include lunch, dinner, golf fees, a spa credit, or another amenity unique to the property.

You’ll be able to view the benefits and amenities available at each property prior to making your reservation. We’ve put together this step-by-step article with lots of additional information.

Annual Hotel Credit — Value of $50

Enjoy a $50 hotel credit immediately after card approval and at each subsequent card anniversary when you book a hotel stay via the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

DoorDash DashPass — Value of $120

Activate your DoorDash DashPass membership by December 31, 2024, and receive 1 year of complimentary DoorDash DashPass with free delivery, as well as benefits at Caviar. A minimum purchase, typically $12, as stated when using each app, applies. The DoorDash DashPass has a value of $9.99 a month or $96 annually.

Monthly Gopuff Credit — Value of $120

If Gopuff has a fulfillment center in your area, you could receive up to $10 in value each month, up to $120 maximum. Gopuff provides groceries and household essentials and operates in over 1,000 geographic markets countrywide. The promotion is valid until December 31, 2023, and is limited to 12 monthly credits per card.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with several travel benefits and protections. Image Credit: tekhnika via Pixabay

Rental Car Collision Damage Waiver — Value of $200

Reserve and pay for your rental car with your card, decline the agency’s collision damage waiver/liability damage waiver coverage, and receive primary protection for damage or theft of your rental car. Primary means that you do not have to first file a claim with any other applicable insurance before your card coverage applies.

If you rented a vehicle for 10 days and didn’t need to purchase CDW/LDW coverage costing $20 per day, you could save an estimated $200.

Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, and Trip Delay Coverage — Value Varies

When the unexpected happens, it’s nice to have travel insurance coverage. While not meant to replace a comprehensive travel insurance policy, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card does offer protection should your trip be canceled for a covered reason.

You could be reimbursed up to $10,000 per trip, $20,000 total per occurrence, with a maximum benefit of $40,000 within a 12-month period for either trip cancellation or trip interruption. Trip delay reimbursement provides up to $500 per purchased ticket, per trip, for lodging and covered essentials.

Roadside Assistance — Value of $50

Chances are you won’t need to use this roadside dispatch benefit often, but if you do, you will be happy to know that you’ll pay just 1 flat pre-negotiated fee for a service call. The service call can include limited towing, jumpstart service, tire changing an existing spare, standard winching, limited fuel delivery, and lock-out services. Currently, the fee is $59.95 and subject to change.

According to Homeguide.com, the average cost of a tow nationally is about $95 but can be as high as $300. Obviously, service call prices can vary, so we’ll estimate a savings of $50 should you need to use this service.

Baggage Insurance — Value of $200

If the airline doesn’t pay the appropriate delayed or lost luggage benefit, or doesn’t pay you the full amount, no worries as you’ll have coverage with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

If your luggage is delayed 6 hours or more, you could receive up to $500 ($100 per day) for incidentals and up to $3,000 if your luggage is lost or stolen.

Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty — Value Varies

When you purchase an eligible item with your card, you’ll receive coverage for damage, theft, or involuntary parting with purchase protection. You could receive up to $500 per claim, up to $50,000 per account. If an eligible product has a manufacturer’s warranty of 3 years or less, the extended warranty benefit adds 1 additional year to that protection.

Chase Offers and Shop through Chase — Value of $100

Chase Offers are like free money. Just log in to your online Chase Sapphire Preferred card account and browse the Chase Offers available. Add the offers you’ll use to your card account, make the qualifying purchase and receive a statement credit.

You can also earn extra rewards by using the Shop through Chase shopping portal. Log in to your online Ultimate Rewards account, select Earn Bonus Points, and select a retailer or service provider from the Shop through Chase menu. Once you’ve made a qualifying purchase, you’ll receive the associated bonus earnings in your Ultimate Rewards account.

No Foreign Transaction Fees — Value of $60

It’s difficult to estimate how much you’ll spend on foreign transactions in any given year, but let’s say you spend $2,000. Foreign transaction fees are generally around 3% of the transaction, which would result in a $60 savings.

Qualification and Requesting Benefits

Requesting SCRA/MLA benefits from Chase is a simple process. Image Credit: Foundry via Pixabay

Who Qualifies for Chase SCRA/MLA Benefits?

Chase briefly defines eligibility as any “active-duty servicemember, or member of the National Guard or Reserve and called to active duty.” Once your credit card application has been received, your eligibility will be verified via the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center (DDMA).

Spouses of active-duty military members are also covered under the SCRA and MLA acts and Chase will waive their credit card fees.

The process for eligibility verification of either party is the same. Once eligibility is confirmed, the applicant will receive a confirmation letter that the benefits have been applied to their card.

You will also receive a letter if, for any reason, Chase is not able to confirm your eligibility. The letter will explain the reason, if additional documentation is needed, and the next steps to take.

How To Request Benefits

Contact Chase via secure message to request benefits and upload documents. Image Credit: Chase

Log in to your Chase card account, select Secure Messages, New Message, and select Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) as the topic. You will be able to send a message and attach any supporting documents to the message.

You can also mail the required documents to Chase, Attention SCRA Request, P.O. Box 183240, Columbus, Ohio, 43218-3240.

Hot Tip: When completing a new Chase credit card application, you could be asked to provide your source of income. Selecting “military” as the source may trigger a manual review of your application and after verification of your qualifications, you may not be charged the annual fee (thanks to the Military Money Manual for this tip). If more information is needed, you may be charged the annual fee and then be reimbursed once your eligibility is confirmed. 

Everything Else You Need To Know

Chase offers a military hotline for service members to call to discuss benefits. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT. Call 877-469-0110 within the U.S. or 318-340-3308 if calling from outside the U.S.

Chase offers an extensive list of benefits for active-duty military members’ additional financial accounts, including checking, savings, mortgages, auto financing, and more.

Chase waives fees on personal credit cards, but not on business credit cards. However, there are some Chase business credit cards that do not have annual fees.

Although Chase does not limit the number of cards you can have, the issuer does have a 5/24 rule that limits the number of cards you can be approved for based on the number of cards you’ve acquired from all issuers in the past 24 months.

While Chase offers several rewards earning credit cards, the cards with the highest annual fees may offer the most value to military members as these cards have the most overall benefits.

Here are some of the cards offering the best value for active-duty military:

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Why We Like the Card for Active-duty Military

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers premium travel benefits that can save you money and make your travel more comfortable. But that’s not all the card has to offer.

Having the high annual fee waived on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card coupled with the card’s broad collection of benefits makes the card a fine choice for the active-duty military member.

United Club℠ Infinite Card

Why We Like the Card for Active-duty Military

If you fly with United Airlines even a few times each year, having the United Club Infinite card is sure to enhance your experience. Here’s why we like the card for those military members who fly United:

  • United flight benefits, including priority boarding, free checked bags, and inflight purchase discounts
  • United Club lounge access when flying United
  • Bonus miles earned on United purchases and on travel/dining
  • Premier upgrades, when available, on United award flights
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee reimbursement
  • Discounted CLEAR membership
  • Travel and shopping benefits/protections

Check out our related article on the best credit cards for United Airlines flyers.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

Why We Like the Card for Active-duty Military

If Marriott Bonvoy is your hotel program of choice, you’ll find a lot of reasons to have the Marriott Boundless card. Here are some of the key benefits of the card.

Bottom Line: We’ve highlighted some of the key benefits of each card, but these lists are not all-encompassing. You’ll want to read more about the best Chase cards for active-duty military prior to deciding on which cards are best suited for your situation.

Final Thoughts

If you’re just getting started and looking for a well-rounded travel rewards credit card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is an excellent choice. The card offers the opportunity to learn the benefits of earning and redeeming flexible-style rewards and the experience of finding potentially elevated value when using travel transfer partners.

In addition to being a good foundation for earning and using rewards, the card could save you money and provide peace of mind with its extensive travel benefits and protections.

For more information on some of the best credit cards for active-duty military, we’ve put together a notable list.

The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Christine Krzyszton

Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, detailed content for UP.

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