3 National Parks Trips You Can Book With 100K Chase Sapphire Preferred Points

Over the years, I’ve had countless friends and family call to ask my opinion on the best keeper travel card. My answer has always remained the same: the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card.

Yes, it holds a special place in my heart (and wallet), given it was my first travel rewards card. But with its flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards points, valuable transfer partners, and a reasonable $95 annual fee, I’ve been able to redeem points for numerous trips, both domestic and international. 

It’s your last chance to score Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s highest-ever bonus offer, which is ending on Thursday, July 30, at 3 p.m. PST:

• Earn 75,000 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Offer ends 3 PM EST on 7/30/2026.

With several weeks of summer remaining and fall travel in the works, now’s the perfect time to spend time outside. Here’s how I’d use 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points to explore some of America’s top national parks.

Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred Is Still My Favorite

At the end of the day, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is just an extremely well-rounded travel card.

We currently value Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents each, which means this welcome offer alone is worth around $2,000 in travel — especially when you take advantage of transfer opportunities with popular programs such as United, Southwest, IHG, and others.

LAST CHANCE

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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 75,000 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Offer ends at 3 PM EST on 7/30/2026.

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

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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

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with up to $100 in annual hotel statement credits through Chase Travel, excellent travel and purchase protections, no foreign transaction fees, and the flexibility to transfer points to a long list of airline and hotel partners.

Plus, it got even better on June 15, 2026, thanks to a handful of new benefits. Among the most useful additions are 3x points on gas, EV charging, and vacation rentals, such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

Why You Should Visit U.S. National Parks

When people think about using points and miles, they often picture lie-flat seats or luxury resorts in the Maldives. But there are plenty of great point redemption opportunities much closer to home.

National parks are some of the best places to use transferable points because you have lots of flexibility. Instead of hoping a specific airline has award space, you can compare several Chase transfer partners and book with whichever one makes the most sense for you.

Expedia recently named Big Sky, Montana (about an hour from Yellowstone National Park), its top trending U.S. destination for 2026. As a mountain person, I’m probably biased, but the idea of people swapping crowded beach vacations for scenic drives and smaller mountain towns makes me happy.

While flights will likely account for a decent chunk of your points, a 100,000-point balance can also help cover several hotel nights, depending on where you stay. With transfer partners, it’s pretty realistic to build an incredible national park trip without paying cash for every major expense.

1. Yellowstone National Park and Big Sky

It’s no surprise that Big Sky was named one of the hottest travel spots of 2026. And if you’re going to a single national park trip for this summer, Yellowstone seems to have something for everyone, with its geothermal features, abundant wildlife, and surrounding mountain towns.

Flying into Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) would be my first choice because it’s easy to navigate and puts you close to both Big Sky and Yellowstone. That said, I wouldn’t get hung up on a single airport. Depending on award space, Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA), Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), or even Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) can all be worth considering if they save you a significant number of points.

Again, using Ultimate Rewards points here doesn’t limit you to a single airline. Depending on where you’re flying from, you can transfer points to United, Southwest, JetBlue, Air Canada, or Flying Blue and choose whichever has the best award availability. For example, you could fly nonstop on Southwest from San Diego International Airport (SAN) to Bozeman for just 8,000 Rapid Rewards points.

United has a solid presence at Bozeman (BZN), with one-way flights from airports such as Denver International Airport (DEN) and even as far as Miami International Airport (MIA), starting around 14,000 United miles (plus $5.60 in taxes and fees).

For hotels, I’d compare several before transferring any points. Hyatt used to be my automatic recommendation, but Chase’s recent transfer changes from a 1:1 transfer rate to a 4:3 rate make it worth checking Marriott Bonvoy and IHG One Rewards, or even Wyndham.

The Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Livingston Yellowstone, for example, starts around 39,000 points per night and is less than an hour from North Entrance Station in Gardiner, Montana.

It can sometimes be more difficult to pin down award space at major chain hotels super close to the parks, but they exist. It’s worth shopping around and being flexible with your dates to find the best rate.

Hot Tip:

While this falls under the earning category rather than burning, the recent refresh of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card now offers 3x points on Airbnb and Vrbo stays, expanding your options near the parks.

2. Rocky Mountain National Park

I have to admit I’m a little biased. My family has been spending part of every summer in Estes Park, Colorado, for more than 85 years, so the Rockies will always be my top recommendation.

Flying into Denver (DEN) gives you plenty of airline options through Chase’s transfer partners, and Estes Park is about a 90-minute drive away. Of course, there are several mountain towns worth visiting in the area, making this trip easy to customize.

My ideal Rocky Mountain itinerary is pretty simple: Wake up early, grab coffee in Estes Park (preferably at Kind Coffee!), spend the morning hiking before it gets crowded, and then finish the day with a picnic or looking for elk in the park.

Of course, there are tons of trails to choose from, whether you’re looking for an easy walk around Bear Lake or something more challenging like Sky Pond or Flattop Mountain. And if hiking isn’t your vibe, simply driving Trail Ridge Road or Fall River Road is worth the trip alone.

For hotels, staying directly inside Estes Park is convenient, but the pickings are slim. If award rates are high, nearby towns such as Loveland, Longmont, or even Boulder can stretch your points further while still keeping the park within an easy drive. Nights at the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Loveland/Estes Park, for example, start around 15,000 Wyndham points, even during peak travel periods.

Even a long weekend at this hotel would cost you around 45,000 Ultimate Rewards points, leaving more than half of the points earned from the current welcome offer to help cover flights. This is one of those trips where flexibility often saves more points than loyalty.

Hot Tip:

Reserve your timed-entry permit as early as possible. Summer reservations disappear quickly.

3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park

If you’re traveling with family or just want a trip that’s fairly easy to plan, the Smokies are great. And another thing to love about the Smokies is that you don’t have to build your entire vacation around the national park itself. Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina, and even the Blue Ridge Parkway can all fit naturally into the same trip, depending on which airport has the best award pricing.

If your goal is to maximize time inside the park, I’d look at flying into Knoxville’s McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), which is about an hour from Gatlinburg and the Tennessee entrance. I’d also consider Nashville International Airport (BNA), since it has more flights.

On the North Carolina side, Asheville (AVL) is another great airport. Flying there puts you close to Cherokee, Bryson City, and the western entrance to the park, while also giving you an excuse to spend some time in yet another cute mountain town.

You could transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest, United, JetBlue, Aeroplan, or Flying Blue and simply book whichever has the best combination of price and award space. For example, you could fly direct from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Asheville for as few as 15,000 United miles one-way (plus $5.60 in taxes and fees), even during peak summer and fall dates.

Unlike Yellowstone and the Rockies, where chain hotels can be more limited, the Smokies have a solid mix of Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt properties spread throughout Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Knoxville in Tennessee, and Asheville. Some top properties and their starting rates include:

• The Wayback, Pigeon Forge, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel (Marriott): 34,000 points per night
• Aloft by Marriott Knoxville West (Marriott): 16,400 points per night
• Courtyard by Marriott Asheville (Marriott): 28,000 points per night
• Hotel Indigo Gatlinburg Downtown (IHG): 31,000 points per night
• Garner Hotel Pigeon Forge Downtown (IHG): 13,000 points per night
• Hyatt Place Knoxville / Downtown (Hyatt): 15,000 points per night

This often means you can find better award pricing simply by staying 15 or 20 minutes farther from the park entrance, which can be nice for families or those traveling with younger kids.

How To Stretch 100,000 Ultimate Rewards Points

Getting solid value from your Ultimate Rewards points (or any points for that matter) isn’t always about finding the most expensive redemptions. Any use of points that saves you money is a win.

Personally, I’d rather save $1,500 on 3 different vacations than blow my entire balance on a single luxury flight. And that’s exactly why I love using Ultimate Rewards points for domestic travel. When you’re planning your national park trips, I would:

• Compare multiple transfer partners before moving your points.
• Check Chase Travel pricing and compare with award availability.
• Stay a little farther from the park if it means saving thousands of points per night.
• Mix cash and points if a single night is significantly more expensive.
• Book flights and hotels as early as possible since hotels near the parks can go quickly, especially for summer travel.

Having a little flexibility in your travel plans can help stretch 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points much farther than you’d expect, even when booking for several people.

Utilize Chase’s Transfer Partners

Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of holding an Ultimate Rewards balance is the flexibility. These points don’t lock you into a single loyalty program. Search flights and hotels, compare award pricing across several partners, and then book. The “best” program changes from trip to trip, which is exactly why transferable points are so valuable.

Hot Tip:

Wait until you’ve confirmed award availability before transferring your Ultimate Rewards points. Transfers can’t be reversed, so it’s always worth making sure the flights or hotel nights you want are available first.

Final Thoughts

One of my favorite things about points and miles is that they don’t have to be reserved for once-in-a-lifetime trips. Some of my favorite redemptions have been on much simpler trips, like visits to national parks. And that’s why the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a forever home in my wallet.

It gives me the flexibility to book whatever trip I’m excited about, whether that’s a business class seat to Europe or a long weekend driving through the Rockies. Visiting national parks can be a perfect use of your Ultimate Rewards points, especially with the 100,000-point bonus offer ending on Thursday, July 30, at 3 p.m. PST.