As a Digital Nomad, I Think the Chase Sapphire Preferred Just Got Even Better

I’ve used travel rewards cards for years, and as someone who works remotely while bouncing between cities and countries, the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card has played a big role in my credit card strategy.

When Chase announced changes to the card’s earning categories this year, vacation rental rewards caught my eye.

Here’s why this update has me more excited than ever about the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Earning 3x on Vacation Rentals

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card update added 3x points on vacation homes at top brands, including Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com, and Vacasa.

BEST FIRST TRAVEL CARD

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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.

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

75,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,500

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.49 - 27.74% 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 bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), gas, EV charging, vacation home rentals with top brands, and streaming services.

It offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and strong travel insurance coverage, including primary car rental insurance. If you travel a few times a year and spend on dining, the card is likely to be a good choice, but it’s hard to justify if you don’t dine out or travel often.

Pros & Cons

Pros

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

Cons

• $95 annual fee
• Subject to Chase’s 5/24 application restrictions

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Card Highlights

• Earn 75,000 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 at top brands, 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 Coverage, Emergency Evacuation and Transportation, and more.
• Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $180.
• Complimentary DashPass membership, a $120 value for 12 months. Enjoy $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on eligible DoorDash orders, plus exclusive Chase savings on grocery, everyday essentials, and more. Activate by 12/31/29.
• 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: 19.49 - 27.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

The card was already a solid earner across the board: 5x on Chase Travel purchases, 3x on dining worldwide, 3x on streaming services, 3x on online groceries, 2x on all other travel, and 1x on everything else. None of that changes. But the vacation rental category is very rewarding without changing any of my spending or travel habits.

Why This Matters for Digital Nomads

Here’s my reality as a digital nomad: I don’t spend the majority of my time at hotels. More than half of my nights each month are spent in vacation rentals, such as Airbnbs and Vrbo properties. This isn’t a lifestyle quirk but a practical decision that makes long-term travel sustainable.

Vacation rentals are almost always cheaper than hotels when you’re staying somewhere for a week or more. A hotel room in Lisbon or Mexico City might run $150 to $200 a night. An entire apartment in a great neighborhood probably costs half that. The savings add up quickly.

Then there’s the space factor. Hotels are fine for a few nights, but when you’re working full-time remotely, you need more than a desk shoved in the corner of a room, accompanied by a painfully uncomfortable chair. A vacation rental gives me a proper workspace, a living area to decompress after work, and a kitchen, which matters more than people might expect.

Dining out for every single meal is one of the fastest ways to blow a travel budget. A week of restaurant meals costs far more than a week’s worth of groceries. I also find cooking relaxing (but not the dishes, obviously). For me, a kitchen isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.

The Math Adds Up Quickly

All of that is why vacation rentals make up a large chunk of my monthly spending — close to $2,000. Every dollar of that was earning just 2x points under the “other travel” category on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. That’s good, but it’s not great.

The updated 3x category changed that math in a concrete way. Earning 1 extra point per $1 spent sounds modest until you do the math. At $2,000 per month in vacation rental bookings, that’s an extra 2,000 Ultimate Rewards points without changing how I travel or what I spend. Over a year, that works out to 24,000 additional points, just by booking the same properties. Based on our latest valuations, those extra points are worth $480.

I can book a round-trip economy flight with 24,000 Ultimate Rewards points. I can use those points for multiple free hotel nights. This is real value, and it’s coming entirely from spending I was already doing.

What makes this even better is how strong Ultimate Rewards points are in the first place. They transfer to a long list of airline and hotel partners, including United MileagePlus, Air Canada Aeroplan, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Marriott Bonvoy, and World of Hyatt. You can also redeem through Chase Travel, where Points Boost can stretch your value further on select hotels and flights. These aren’t points I earn just to cash out for a gift card. They’re a currency I regularly use for meaningful travel.

Final Thoughts

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has always delivered a lot for its $95 annual fee. The June 2026 update made it even more compelling for anyone who spends a significant amount of time in vacation rentals. For digital nomads, that’s essentially a points raise on money you were already spending.

If the card was already in your wallet, there’s even more reason to feel good about it. If it wasn’t, this might be the update that earns this card a spot.