These 5 Perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Are Better Than I Thought

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the first premium travel rewards credit card I've ever had -- and I'm not ashamed to say that it has completely changed my life for the better! It is so fun and fulfilling to earn these little extra "bonus points" from my everyday spending and monthly bills. And then I can use those points for my favorite thing: travel.

I'm not even going to talk about the welcome offer of 75,000 bonus points; this card is so great that I would've happily applied for it even without the welcome offer. And the 25% multiplier to get extra value when redeeming points for travel is another wonderful benefit of this card, but I'm not going to dwell on that either.

Instead, I want to share a few fun little perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card that are better than I expected. I keep discovering more things to love about this card -- here are my favorites.

1. The Chase mobile app is easy to use

One concern I had about opening a travel rewards credit card and getting more immersed in the world of rewards points, was "what if I make a mistake and don't pay my bill on time, or what if the payments take too long to clear, or something gets lost, and my credit score takes a hit?"

The good news is: this isn't the 1980s anymore. You don't have to mail a check to your credit card company and then hope that the payment arrives and gets applied to your account on time. Instead, the Chase Bank mobile app is exquisitely designed and even kinda fun to use. It's easy to set up automatic payments each month, schedule payments for future dates, and even make multiple payments in one day. I have no worries about being able to make payments on time; Chase makes it easy for me to manage my credit cards without damaging my credit.

2. You can transfer points to airlines and hotels

I've never signed up for any airline credit cards because I don't fly frequently enough on any one airline; I usually just try to find the cheapest flights and the best connections. It turns out, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is like having multiple credit cards in one -- you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to several airline and hotel partners.

For example, if you see a great deal on a United Airlines flight, you can immediately transfer some of your Chase points to your United MileagePlus® account, and pay for the flight with points. You can also transfer your Chase points to help buy flights or hotels with other partners like Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® and Marriott Bonvoy™.

Trying to decide whether to use cash or redeem points for travel can be a tricky decision, because different hotels and airlines will have different redemption values, and sometimes paying cash gives you a better deal. But the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card gives you good options to unlock as much value as possible from your points.

3. You get a free DashPass subscription

My family eats lots of takeout meals. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has made this everyday activity more convenient and rewarding with a free 12-month DashPass subscription, giving us free unlimited deliveries from DoorDash. This adds up to about an $8 value per month, or $96 for the year -- more than enough to make up for the credit card's $95 annual fee.

4. Earn 3X points on streaming subscriptions

Do you ever feel like streaming subscriptions have sneakily gotten too expensive? I'm paying about $140 per month for Hulu Live TV (and the Disney bundle), Netflix, and Spotify. But now I feel better about those prices, because I'm getting 3X points for paying for those monthly streaming bills with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

This means my $140 monthly streaming bills equal 420 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per month, or 5,040 per year. And if I redeem those points for travel, I get an extra 25% of travel-buying power -- 6,300 points or $63. It feels good to turn mundane monthly expenses into cheap travel. It makes me feel like I'm getting a little something extra for my money, instead of just paying boring ol' bills.

5. Activate fun surprise special offers

Speaking of something extra: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also has special "Chase Offers" from retailers that pop up within the Chase mobile app. I've recently seen offers such as:

• 10% cash back on Blue Apron
• 10% cash back on Lindt chocolates
• $10 cash back on TurboTax

Not every offer is relevant to my interests, but sometimes the offers are really tempting. And some offers help me save money on brands I love, and products that I already wanted to buy.

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has transformed the way I look at my monthly bills and my everyday spending. Now every restaurant meal or utility bill is a chance to accrue points, and I'm constantly doing mental math for how I can multiply and convert those points into lower-cost plane tickets and premium travel experiences.

I'm generating a steady stream of credit card processing fee revenue. I'm shopping at a world-class level. I'm finding my place in the global economy. Travel rewards credit cards are a new way of life for me, and I'm excited to learn more!