Wells Fargo Autograph Journey vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Which Card is Right for You?

Both the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card are among our top-rated travel credit cards. They offer competitive annual fees, valuable benefits, and flexible travel rewards that can be transferred to partner hotel and airline loyalty programs.

To help you choose between the two cards, CNBC Select provides all the necessary details.

Annual fee

The annual fee for both cards is $95, which is typical for mid-tier rewards credit cards.

Both the Sapphire Preferred and Autograph Journey cards have an annual $50 statement credit, with the Sapphire Preferred's credit being for hotels booked through Chase Travel℠ and the Autograph Journey's credit being for airline purchases. Additionally, both cards earn valuable points at a healthy pace for common purchases such as travel and dining.

Welcome bonus

The intro bonus offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is 60,000 bonus points, which can be redeemed for $600 in cash back or $750 in travel bookings through Chase Travel℠. Additionally, these points can be transferred to 14 different travel partners.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months. These points can be redeemed for $600 in gift cards or statement credits, or transferred to six airline and hotel partner programs.

Rewards

Both the Sapphire Preferred and Autograph Journey can help you earn transferable rewards in bulk.

One of the most common spending categories, dining, earns 3X points for both cards.

The Sapphire Preferred Card is not as beneficial as the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card for earning points on hotels, airlines, and travel because it only earns 5X on travel booked through Chase Travel℠ and 2X on other travel expenses.

The Sapphire Preferred offers more rewards for online grocery and streaming services, as well as a 10% anniversary bonus equal to 10% of all purchases made in a year. For example, if you spent $12,000 on purchases, your bonus would be 1,200 points.

Redemption options

Both the Sapphire Preferred and Wells Fargo Autograph Journey provide a range of similar redemption options, including statement credits, gift cards, and travel. Additionally, you can transfer points to travel partners.

You can redeem points from Chase Ultimate Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards for one cent each towards statement credits, which is equivalent to cash, allowing you to offset any purchase.

The Autograph Journey allows for the transfer of points to partner travel programs at a 1:1 ratio.

Aer Lingus AerClub
Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
Avianca LifeMiles
British Airways Executive Club
Iberia Plus

You can transfer points from the Choice Privileges hotel program to the Choice Privileges hotel program at a 1:2 ratio.

You can redeem 1.25 cents per point in value for travel through Chase Travel℠ with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and you'll also have access to a wider range of Chase Ultimate Rewards partner travel programs.

Aer Lingus AerClub
Air Canada Aeroplan
British Airways Executive Club
Flying Blue (KLM and Air France)
Iberia Plus
JetBlue TrueBlue
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
IHG One Rewards
World of Hyatt

Benefits

Both cards offer a comprehensive list of additional perks and insurance benefits.

Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
Travel accident insurance
Lost luggage reimbursement
Travel and emergency assistance services
Visa Signature perks

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers limited-time partner deals, ongoing perks, and extra insurance coverage.

Up to $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit
Activate your DoorDash DashPass membership by December 31st, 2024, and receive a complimentary membership for at least one year.
Baggage delay insurance

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey offers cell phone protection with a $25 deductible and a maximum of two paid claims per 12 months, as well as an annual $50 credit for airline purchases with a minimum $50 purchase.

Reasons to get both cards

Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Wells Fargo Autograph Journey are travel rewards credit cards that offer similar benefits, such as transferrable rewards and travel protections. As a result, most individuals are unlikely to require both cards.

The Sapphire Preferred offers more valuable rewards and useful purchase protections, but the Autograph Journey may be more rewarding for most travel purchases.

To maximize rewards and book premium airfare with points, some travel partners are shared among these rewards programs. Large point balances are required to book the best first- or business-class awards, and if you earn points with both cards, you can combine them into the same loyalty account with these airlines.

Aer Lingus AerClub
Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
British Airways Executive Club
Iberia Plus

You can accumulate points to book off-peak business-class awards with Iberia from many East Coast cities in the U.S. to Spain, which cost 68,000 points round-trip. Alternatively, you can book one-way business-class flights from the U.S. to Europe with Flying Blue for 50,000 miles or less if you take advantage of the monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards.

Why trust CNBC Select?

Our goal at CNBC Select is to deliver top-notch service journalism and in-depth consumer advice to our readers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions when it comes to their finances. Each credit card review we publish is the result of thorough reporting by our team of expert writers and editors, who possess extensive knowledge of credit card products. At CNBC Select, we take pride in our journalistic standards and ethics, and we earn a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links. However, our content is created independently, without any input from our commercial team or external third parties.