This Popular Travel Rewards Card Just Got a Lot Better for Daily Purchases

It’s not often that you see issuers make positive changes to cards without increasing the annual fee.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card has been in my wallet for more than a decade, but until recently, it wasn’t the card I used most often. Chase’s latest refresh has changed that.

The updates may not seem groundbreaking at first glance, but they address one of my biggest complaints about the card and make it far more rewarding for the way I actually spend money. For the first time, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has become the most well-rounded card I have — here’s why.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Overview

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card currently offers an impressive collection of bonus categories and travel benefits for a modest $95 annual fee.

The card’s improved earning rates and new benefits aren’t the only reason it’s getting attention right now. Chase is also offering its all-time best welcome bonus offer (as of publication) of 100,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months, making this an especially attractive time to apply:

• Earn 75,000 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

LIMITED-TIME OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Apply Now(at Chase's secure site)

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

75,000 100,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$2,000

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.24% - 27.49% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, gas, EV charging, vacation homes, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.

Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance and emergency evacuation. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
• 3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), gas, EV charging, vacation homes (such as Airbnb and Vrbo), and select streaming services
• 2x points on all other travel worldwide

Cons

• $95 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, 3x on vacation homes, 3x on gas & EV charging, 3x on top streaming services and online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
• Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $156.
• Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
• Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck^® or NEXUS application.
• Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.24% - 27.49% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Beyond earning points, the card also includes valuable travel protections, access to Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners, and a newly updated up to $100 annual hotel credit through Chase Travel.

Earning 3x on Gas Solves One of My Biggest Complaints

Living in South Florida, a car is pretty much a necessity to get around. Whether I’m taking my 3 daughters to school or activities, heading to the airport, running errands, or meeting friends for dinner, I’m almost always driving.

Gas is one of my most consistent monthly expenses and one of the categories where I spend the most money throughout the year. That’s why the addition of a new 3x bonus category on gas station purchases and EV charging on my Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a big deal to me.

For years, I’ve considered the Chase Sapphire Preferred card one of the top credit cards available, but it wasn’t usually the one I used at the pump since it previously only earned 1x point. When it came to gas purchases, there were often better options in my wallet, but that’s changed.

The new 3x earning rate doesn’t necessarily make it the highest-earning gas card available, but it does make it one of the most rewarding Chase cards for everyday gas purchases. A notable exception is when the Chase Freedom Flex^® features gas stations as one of its rotating 5% quarterly bonus categories. Outside of those limited promotional periods, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is now likely the Chase card I’ll reach for most often when filling up my tank.

Not everyone lives in a car-dependent area, but for families, commuters, and anyone who spends a lot of time behind the wheel, this is a genuinely useful addition.

Airbnb and Vacation Rentals Earn More Points

The other new earning category I’m excited about is the addition of 3x points on vacation rentals.

My family and I book a handful of Airbnb stays each year when we need more space than a standard hotel room can provide. Vacation rentals have become a regular part of how we travel, so I always found it a little odd that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card didn’t do more to reward those purchases.

To be fair, Airbnb bookings generally qualified for the card’s 2x travel category, so I wasn’t earning just 1 point per $1. But vacation rentals have become increasingly popular over the last decade, and earning the same rate as virtually any other travel purchase never felt particularly exciting.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card now earns 3x points on vacation home bookings through Airbnb, Vrbo, Vacasa, Plum Guide, and Homestay.com.

In the past, I might have booked a vacation rental with my Capital One Venture X Business Card, which earns 2x on all purchases, or used whichever travel card made the most sense at the time. Now, when I’m booking an Airbnb, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card will likely be my default choice.

My 3 Biggest Monthly Expenses Now Earn 3x Points

After the refresh, I looked at the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s earning categories and realized something interesting: my biggest everyday spending categories are dining, groceries, and gas, and all of those now earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points.

Dining has long been a bonus category on the card, and online grocery purchases have earned 3x points for some time. Now, Chase has added gas purchases to that list. For my lifestyle, that’s a powerful combination.

The online grocery category is valuable in my household. We regularly use Instacart, and a typical weekly grocery order for our family of 2 adults and 3 children is around $500. Over the course of a year, that’s roughly $26,000 in spending, earning approximately 78,000 Ultimate Rewards points at 3 points per $1.

Then there’s dining and gas. Between dining out several times each week and filling up my tank regularly, I have little doubt I’ll earn more than 100,000 points annually from these 3 bonus categories alone.

I love redeeming Ultimate Rewards points for flights and hotel stays, and earning more points on spending I’d do anyway is an easy win.

Final Thoughts

I’ve carried the Chase Sapphire Preferred card for more than a decade, though I previously used other cards for many everyday purchases. Now, Chase improved some areas where it was falling behind.

Online groceries, dining, and gas are among my family’s biggest expenses each month, and all 3 categories now earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points. That’s enough to make me reach for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card much more often, which is probably the strongest endorsement I can give after carrying it for all these years.