Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card vs Target™ Mastercard®: Which Card Wins for Your Spending?

Which earns more for you?

Monthly spending. We rank on rewards minus the full annual fee, so statement credits and perks are listed separately and never counted for you.

Choosing between the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card ($95/yr) and the Target™ Mastercard® (no annual fee) comes down to where you spend most. Both cards can deliver real value. Let’s break it down, then run your numbers to find the winner.

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Meet the Contenders

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Strongest in dining at 3%. 5x points on travel through Chase Travel, 3x on dining and online groceries, 2x on other travel.

Annual fee: $95 Sign-up bonus: 100,000 points after $5,000 spend in 3 months Foreign fees: 0%

Perfect if: You want a strong rewards rate with no spending caps to worry about.

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Target Mastercard

Strongest in dining at 2%. 5% off every Target purchase instantly at checkout, plus 2% on dining and gas and 1% elsewhere.

Annual fee: None Foreign fees: 3%

Perfect if: You want solid rewards without paying an annual fee.

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Head-to-Head Comparison

Feature Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Target Mastercard
Annual Fee $95 $0
Sign-Up Bonus 100,000 points after $5,000 spend in 3 months None
Foreign Transaction Fee 0% 3%
Base Reward Rate 1.0% 1.0%
Travel Rewards 2% 1%
Dining Rewards 3% 2%
Groceries Rewards 3% 1%
Gas Rewards 1% 2%
Rates with conditions
not counted in the rows above
5% through Chase Travel
Earns 5% only on travel booked through Chase Travel, Chase's own booking site. Booking direct with an airline or hotel earns 2%.
None
Key Benefits 5x points on travel through Chase Travel, 3x on dining and online groceries, 2x on other travel. 5% off every Target purchase instantly at checkout, plus 2% on dining and gas and 1% elsewhere.

The Verdict

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card pulls ahead for travel, dining, groceries spending.

Target Mastercard wins on gas.

The $95/year fee difference means Chase Sapphire Preferred Card needs to earn about that much more in rewards to justify its cost.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card carries $100/year in credits (mostly tied to specific merchants or bookings). Those only count if you’d actually use them. Worth checking against your own habits before treating them as a discount on the fee.

Not sure which fits your life? Enter your spending below and we’ll do the math. The calculator ranks purely on rewards minus the full annual fee, so credits and perks are yours to judge.