Last week, Chase announced exciting changes to their Ultimate Rewards-earning Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. This popular card is getting several exciting enhancements that makes it better than ever. Plus right now, new applicants can earn an all-time high 100,000 bonus points after meeting the minimum spending requirements!
Chase Sapphire Preferred Enhancements
The $95 per year Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card was already my top pick for beginners and experts alike. Now it’s undoubtedly one of the best all-around cards on the market.
Starting August 16, 2021, the Chase Sapphire Preferred will offer three new bonus categories (and one earnings increase of an existing category):
- NEW! – 5 points per dollar spent on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
- NEW! – 3 points per dollar spent at select streaming services
- NEW! – 3 points per dollar spent on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3 points per dollar spent on dining (up from 2x)
Of all the above changes, the most impactful is the change to earnings on dining. The 3 points per dollar matches the much more expensive Chase Sapphire Reserve Card ($550 per year) as well as the no annual fee Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited cards. This also marks the first time the Chase Sapphire Preferred has had a permanent grocery bonus category. Sadly this does not extended to in store grocery purchases as well.
Streaming services is another welcome bonus category, although this probably doesn’t move the needle with most people. Finally the travel bonus category sounds great, but keep in mind that the portal is similar to booking through an online travel agency. You may find better prices booking direct and hotels will usually not honor elite benefits on travel booked through any third-party travel portal.
Incredibly, there’s still more positive news! The card will also offer a $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased via Chase and 10% of your points back each year.
$50 Hotel Credit
You can earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays purchased through the Chase Travel Portal. Note that the credit will not apply if booked directly with hotels.
Cardmember Anniversary Bonus
Chase will award cardholders an annual point bonus worth 10% of the total purchases for the year. For example, if you spend $25,000 on purchases with the card, you’ll get 2,500 bonus points after your account anniversary year.
Redeeming Points
So what do you do with all the points you’ll earn? The card is part of the Chase Ultimate Rewards® flexible points program. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through the Chase travel portal. For example, 50,000 points are worth $625 towards travel. There are no blackout dates, so if there’s an open seat on the flight you want or an available room at the hotel, you can pay for it with points.
Points never expire and there are no limits.
The travel portal isn’t your only option, however. You can often get even greater value by transferring points to any of Chase’s 13 travel partners and really maximize your points!
You can transfer points to participating frequent travel programs at full 1:1 value – that means 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points equals 1,000 partner miles/points.
For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Bottom Line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is now the new top dog in Chase’s credit card lineup. It has improved earnings rates on dining, new bonus categories, a $50 hotel credit and 10% anniversary bonus. Add in the increased 100,000 point sign-up bonus, and this becomes a must-have card for any points enthusiast.
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