The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the card I recommend to almost everyone who is just getting started with points and miles. It has a low annual fee, strong earning rates, and access to some of the best transfer partners available. And as of June 15, 2026, it just got a significant upgrade with new benefits and no change to the $95 annual fee.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Details

<All information about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits

As of June 15, 2026, the Sapphire Preferred includes the following benefits:

• 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel
• 3x points on dining, gas stations, EV charging, and vacation rentals like Airbnb and VRBO
• 2x points on all other travel
• 1x points on everything else
• $100 annual hotel credit when booked through Chase Travel (doubled from $50)
• $120 credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS every four years (new!)
• One year of Apple TV+ when activated by December 31, 2026 (new!)
• Emergency evacuation and transportation coverage up to $100,000 (new!)
• Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance
• No foreign transaction fees

There are two negative changes as of the June 15th refresh. First, the 10% anniversary points bonus is being discontinued for anyone who applies on or after June 15, 2026. Second, the Hyatt transfer ratio is changing from 1:1 to 4:3 for new cardholders, which is a big bummer. More on that in a minute.

If you were a cardholder before June 15th, these changes go into effect on October 1, 2026.

Eligibility

Previously, you could earn the bonus on this card every 48 months. Now, you can only earn the bonus for this card one time.

There was some confusion about whether you could earn the bonus on this card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Chase has clarified their eligibility rules, and you can earn the bonus on both cards and have both cards open at the same time.

Furthermore, you can also earn the bonus on the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ and can have it open at the same time as either personal card.

Additionally, you must be under 5/24 to be eligible for this card.

<All information about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

A Note on the Hyatt Transfer Ratio

Before we talk about how to use your points, it is important to know this. For new cardholders who open the Sapphire Preferred on or after June 15, 2026, points transfer to Hyatt at a 4:3 ratio instead of 1:1. That means for every 10,000 Chase points you transfer, you get 7,500 Hyatt points. If you were a cardholder before June 15, you keep the 1:1 ratio until October 1, 2026.

This is a definite blow to this card, since Hyatt has historically been our favorite Chase transfer partner. That said, the new benefits more than offset the cost of the card for most families, especially the TSA PreCheck credit and the doubled hotel credit. And there are still plenty of other great transfer partners.

If protecting the 1:1 Hyatt ratio long term is important to you, the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve for Business both still transfer to Hyatt at 1:1.

Using Your Points

You have three options for using your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points – transferring them to travel partners, using them with Chase Travel℠, or cashing them out.

Here’s an explanation of all three.

Transfer partners

Chase has 11 airline partners and 3 hotel partners. All points transfer at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000, with the exception of Hyatt.

Here are the partners:

• Aer Lingus
• Air Canada
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• British Airways
• Emirates
• Iberia
• JetBlue
• Singapore
• Southwest
• United
• Virgin Atlantic
• Hyatt (4:3 transfer ratio)
• IHG
• Marriott

Chase is the only bank that has so many domestic partners- many other banks only have international partners. This means it can be a bit harder to find the best redemptions (although not at all impossible, so definitely don’t count them out!). But you won’t have this problem with Chase!

We’ve used them for things like Flying Blue (Air France) flights to Paris, Southwest flights to Hawaii, Virgin Atlantic flights to Cabo and London, and, of course, Hyatt stays. They really are the very best points.

Related: How to tell if you’re getting a good deal for your points

How to transfer your points

Here are the steps for transferring your points from Chase to one of its transfer partners.

First, log on to your Chase account, choose your Sapphire Preferred card, then click on your Ultimate Rewards® and hit “redeem”.

Next, hover over “travel” at the top of the page and select “transfer points to partners”.

All of Chase’s travel partners will pop up, with any current transfer bonuses listed at the top. Choose the one you’d like to transfer to. In this case, we’ll choose United.

After that, you’ll go through three steps. First, you’ll confirm your name and loyalty account information. If you haven’t set up a free loyalty account with the hotel or airline, make sure you do that first!

Next, enter how many points you’d like to transfer in increments of 1,000.

Finally, confirm the details and hit submit.

Generally, transfers are instant, although there can be unexpected delays. You may need to log out and log back into your hotel or airline account to see the points available.

One important note: do not transfer points until you have found the available flights or hotel nights! Once you’ve transferred your points, they’re stuck in that program. You wouldn’t want your points to be stuck with no way to use them as you intended.

Use them with Chase Travel℠

Another option is booking travel directly through Chase Travel, which works like any other travel portal. You can search flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and activities.

Points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed through Chase Travel, but can potentially be worth more through the Points Boost program, which offers elevated rates on select hotels and flights.

Chase Travel℠ is a great option for rental cars, cruises, and other activities where you can’t transfer points to book directly with those companies. It’s also a good option when booking boutique hotels that may not be part of a larger hotel program, such as Hyatt or Marriott.

Cash them out

Your final option is to cash out your points as a statement credit. If you do this, you’re getting a one cent per point value, meaning every 10,000 points is worth $100. While this is the lowest value, it’s still a viable option if you’d rather save yourself the extra steps of the travel portal or transferring to partners. However, I promise you that it’s easier than you think!

Earning more points and combining

There are many cards that earn Ultimate Rewards®, but not all of them give you access to Chase’s transfer partners.

You will need a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Reserve for Business, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card to transfer your points. But remember, only the two Reserve cards allow you to transfer to Hyatt 1:1.

Here are the other cards that earn Ultimate Rewards:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Chase Freedom Flex® (advertised as cash back, but it actually earns Ultimate Rewards®)
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® (advertised as cash back, but it actually earns Ultimate Rewards®)
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (advertised as cash back, but it actually earns Ultimate Rewards®)
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (advertised as cash back, but it actually earns Ultimate Rewards®)
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

<All information about the Chase Freedom Flex and Unlimited, and Chase Ink Business Cash, Unlimited, and Preferred has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

Points earned from any of these cards can be combined onto your Sapphire Preferred or Reserve and then transferred to travel partners. To combine your points, log in to your Chase account and go to your Ultimate Rewards®. Click “Manage rewards”, then click “Combine points”.

Choose which cards you want to move points from and to, enter how many points you want to move, and hit confirm. Easy peasy!

Card Recap: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Preferred? The annual fee is $95 and did not change with the June 2026 refresh.

What changed with the Chase Sapphire Preferred in 2026? Starting June 15, 2026 the card added 3x on gas, EV charging, and vacation rentals, doubled the hotel credit to $100, added a $120 TSA PreCheck and Global Entry credit every four years, added a free year of Apple TV+, and added emergency evacuation coverage. The 10% anniversary bonus is going away for new applicants.

What is happening to the Hyatt transfer ratio? For new cardholders who apply on or after June 15, 2026, points transfer to Hyatt at 4:3 instead of 1:1. Existing cardholders keep the 1:1 ratio until October 1, 2026.

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred still worth it after the Hyatt change? Yes for most people. The new benefits add real value and the card is still one of the best beginner travel cards available. If Hyatt is your primary redemption and you want to protect the 1:1 ratio long term, consider the Sapphire Reserve instead.

Can I get the Sapphire Preferred if I already have the Sapphire Reserve? Yes. Chase updated its eligibility rules and you can now earn a welcome offer on each Sapphire card separately.

Do Chase Sapphire Preferred points expire? No. As long as you have at least one Chase card open that earns Ultimate Rewards, your points stay active indefinitely.

Can I earn the bonus again on the Sapphire Preferred? No. Previously, you could earn the bonus every 48 months. Now it can only be earned once.

Wrapping It Up

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the very best cards, especially for families who are just learning about points and miles. It’s a staple in our wallet for so many reasons and should absolutely be a staple in yours! If you don’t have one, what are you waiting for??