Gold Card vs Sapphire Preferred: Which Is Actually Worth It?
Gold wins on dining math if you can use the $120 dining credit; Sapphire Preferred wins on simplicity and Chase's ecosystem.
Gold Card
Built for the household that cooks, orders in, and sometimes goes out - which is most households.
Sapphire Preferred
The honest middle of the travel category - and the only middle that earns a recommendation.
Side-by-side specs
| Gold Card | Sapphire Preferred | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $325 | $95 |
| Signup bonus | 60,000 Membership Rewards after $6,000 in 6 months | 60,000 points after $4,000 in 3 months |
| APR range | 21.49–29.49% Variable (pay-over-time on eligible charges) | 21.49–28.49% Variable |
| Foreign tx fee | None | None |
| Credit target | good to excellent | good to excellent |
Gold Card earn rates
Sapphire Preferred earn rates
The verdict
You spend $500+/month on dining and U.S. supermarkets - the 4x earn rate outpaces everything else at that spend level.
Apply at American Express →You want one card for travel and dining without Amex's $120 dining credit system, and prefer Chase's broader transfer partner list.
Apply at Chase →Track what both cards actually earn you, WalletHub Premium syncs all your cards and monitors your credit daily.
Gold Card annual fee $325, APR 21.49–29.49% Variable (pay-over-time on eligible charges), signup offer 60,000 Membership Rewards after $6,000 in 6 months, terms as of 2026-05-03. Sapphire Preferred annual fee $95, APR 21.49–28.49% Variable, signup offer 60,000 points after $4,000 in 3 months, terms as of 2026-05-03. Verify current terms on the issuer's site before applying. We earn a referral fee on approved applications referred via Apply links, at no cost to you.