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For a couple of years now, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been busily gathering a thick layer of dust in my nightstand. It’s gone from my favorite rewards credit card to one that I almost never think about.

Don’t get me wrong: I still think it’s the magical cupboard that, when opened, is the gateway to the enchanted world of (nearly) free travel. It’s the first travel credit card I recommend when my family and friends ask which credit card to get. But my current credit card strategy involves keeping it in the bottom drawer.

And yet, I’ll never cancel the card; I elect to keep paying its $95 annual fee, and I have no intention of stopping. Here’s why.

Vault’s Viewpoint on the Chase Sapphire Preferred

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred is widely considered one of the best travel rewards credit cards on the market.
• In exchange for a $95 annual fee, you’ll receive solid travel insurance, various statement credits and more.
• I never swipe my Chase Sapphire Preferred, but I keep the card year after year because of one simple perk.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Needs a Facelift

In a rare move, the Chase Sapphire Preferred recently increased its welcome bonus. You’ll now earn 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. That’s a wildly valuable credit card bonus—15,000 points higher than the card’s previous offer, in fact.

But other than the odd increased bonus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred hasn’t seen a proper update in a long while. Issuers unveil new travel credit cards and/or improve existing credit cards regularly, while the Sapphire Preferred hasn’t had a meaningful update in our view since mid-2021.

Here’s what it offers for a $95 annual fee:

• Strong earning rates on everyday purchases
• Up to $50 in annual statement credits for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel
• 10% annual bonus points each account anniversary based on the amount of money you’ve spent over the past year (for example, 1,000 bonus points for $10,000 in spending)
• Excellent travel insurance (primary rental car insurance, trip delay insurance, baggage delay insurance and more)
• A handful of limited-time perks with DoorDash, Lyft, Instacart and Peloton

Admittedly, these perks make the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth the annual fee for those who travel even a few times each year. But I don’t use those benefits myself—and I still refuse to cancel the card.

Why I Haven’t Used the Chase Sapphire Preferred in Years

Along with my Sapphire Preferred, I hold two other Ultimate Rewards-earning credit cards — the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. These no-annual-fee credit cards are my everyday workhorses; their earning rates rival (and in some cases best) the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Here’s a quick earning rates comparison between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Freedom cards. For reference, the Flex and Unlimited are considered cash back cards but rewards are technically earned in the form of points.

As you can see, there are only slight differences between each card. Unless you regularly order groceries online, you’ll probably earn more rewards each month by using a Chase Freedom card instead of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

I personally use the Chase Freedom Flex for its rotating bonus categories, which are often exceptionally broad (think Amazon, grocery stores, Walmart.com, etc.). I use the Chase Freedom Unlimited for everything else; its base 1.5 points per dollar is 50% higher than the Chase Sapphire Preferred, so I funnel through it any expenses that don’t fall into a common credit card bonus category.

The other significant benefit that comes with the Chase Sapphire Preferred is travel insurance—but I’ve got other credit cards that I prefer to use when I need to cover myself, so the card remains untouched.

The Annual Fee Is Worth It for One Single Perk

Though my Chase Sapphire Preferred hasn’t tasted a payment terminal in years, it still works hard for me behind the scenes. The reason I have no intention of canceling it in the foreseeable future is that it unlocks the full potential of my Chase points.

The points earned with my Chase Sapphire Preferred are worth more than the points earned with a Chase Freedom card. When you earn points with cards like the Chase Freedom Flex, your best redemption is for cash back at a rate of 1 cent each. But when you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the value per point can literally double or triple. You can redeem them through Chase’s travel portal at a rate of 1.25 cents each. Or, you can transfer them to Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners for massive discounts on airfare and hotel stays.

I earn an average of 55,000 Chase points per year from everyday spending. Without the Chase Sapphire Preferred, those points are worth $550. But with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, I can do things like:

• Get $687.50 in travel by redeeming for airfare, hotel stays and rental cars through Chase Travel
• Transfer 54,000 points to Hyatt for three nights at the Hyatt Place Park City, Utah, during ski season (a $1,400+ value)
• Transfer 40,000 points to Air France for a round-trip flight to Paris on Air France (an $800+ value)

Moving points from a Chase Freedom card to the Chase Sapphire Preferred is similar to transferring money from your savings account to your checking account. Within the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, you’ll find a “Combine your points” option. This lets you choose the cards between which you’d like to transfer Chase points. With a few clicks, you can move your rewards from a Freedom card to a Sapphire card and instantly skyrocket their potential value.

All this to say, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is worth $95 of my hard-earned dollars each year because it adds many hundreds of dollars in value to my travels annually—all from the comfort of my nightstand drawer.