The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been a staple in my wallet for years, and honestly, it is the card I recommend more than any other to families who are just getting started with points and miles. It is one of the four cards I will always carry, no matter what else comes and goes, and it consistently ranks as one of the most popular travel credit cards in the country for a reason.

But "is it worth it" is the easy part. The real value of this card lives in knowing how to use it, and that is exactly what most reviews skip right past. So this is the full picture: what makes the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth carrying in 2026, every bonus category and credit you get, the travel protections nobody talks about, the transfer partners that turn ordinary points into real trips, and the smartest ways to put it all to work for your family.

Quick take: For a reasonable $95 annual fee, this is the best beginner travel card on the market. Fantastic earning multipliers, genuinely useful credits, the best travel protections in its class, and access to Chase Ultimate Rewards®, some of the most valuable points you can earn. If you are newer to points and miles, this is where you start. Full stop.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred at a Glance

Before we go deep, here are the fast facts on this Chase credit card:

• Annual fee: $95 (and $0 for authorized users)
• Welcome bonus: A large sign-up bonus of bonus points after you meet a minimum spend in the first three months from account opening. 🔥 See the current offer and our other favorite cards here!
• Earning: Up to 5x points on some travel and 3x on a generous list of everyday bonus categories
• Annual hotel credit: Up to $100 in statement credit each account anniversary year for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel℠
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Transfer partners: 14 airline and hotel partners

What Makes the Chase Sapphire Preferred Worth It?

Here is the heart of it. For a $95 annual fee, you get a travel card that earns generous rewards on the things you already buy, comes loaded with travel protections that pricier cards charge a fortune for, and unlocks one of the best transfer partner lineups in the entire points and miles world.

Start with the simplest math. The card gives you a $100 annual hotel credit. Use it on a single hotel stay booked through Chase Travel℠, and it covers your entire annual fee with five dollars to spare. Everything else the card does from that point forward is pure upside.

That is why the Chase Sapphire Preferred has been the most recommended beginner travel card for years. The annual fee is low enough that you never have to agonize over whether you are getting your money's worth, the card is genuinely easy to use, the earning multipliers are fantastic, and the built-in protections quietly save you money trip after trip. It is one of the four cards that permanently lives in my wallet, and once you understand how to work it, I think it will earn a spot in yours too. It is the rare travel card that works just as well for the family taking one big trip a year as it does for frequent travelers chasing maximum value.

What to Know Before You Apply

A few things are worth understanding before you fill out an application, because the smartest move in points and miles is always knowing the rules first.

The basics. The annual fee is $95 and has not changed in over a decade. Authorized users are free. You will generally want good to excellent credit, usually a score around 700 or higher, to be approved.

Chase's 5/24 rule. This is the big one beginners miss. Chase will most likely deny your application if you have opened five or more credit cards from any issuer in the past 24 months. If you are planning to build a points and miles strategy, you want to apply for your most important Chase cards early, before you are anywhere near that limit. This rule is exactly the kind of thing I walk people through inside Points & Miles, Simplified, which is my full blueprint for earning hundreds of thousands of points and every rule you need to know to do it without tripping over yourself.

The welcome bonus: who is eligible? Any new card members will earn a large welcome bonus of bonus points after meeting a minimum spend in the first three months from account opening. If you have earned this welcome bonus in the past, you are not eligible to get it again.

What changed in 2026. Chase refreshed the card in June 2026 and added real value: a doubled $100 hotel credit, a new Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit, new bonus categories for gas and vacation homes, a complimentary Apple TV subscription, and added emergency evacuation coverage. The one downgrade worth knowing is that points now transfer to World of Hyatt® at a 4:3 ratio instead of 1:1, and the old 10 percent anniversary bonus is going away. I will show you how to work around the Hyatt change below. None of it dents the case for this card as a starting point.

Preferred or Reserve? If you are newer to this, want simplicity, and like a low annual fee, start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® costs $795 a year and is a wonderful card if you are a frequent traveler who loves luxury, since it keeps the 1:1 Hyatt transfer, adds airport lounge access, and stacks higher redemption value. But it only pays off if you actually use its many use-it-or-lose-it credits, and that is a lot to manage for someone just starting out. My honest advice: begin with the Preferred, get your feet wet, and graduate to the Reserve later if your travel grows into it. If you already know points and miles well and luxury is your thing, the Reserve may be your card from day one.

See our Application Tips here!

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Elevated offers don't come around often, so if this card has been on your radar or you want to get started with points and miles, NOW is the time!
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→ Check it out & other high offers here!

The Credits That Pay for the Card

The fastest way to get your annual fee back, and then some, is to actually use the statement credits built into the card. Here is how I use each one.

The up to $100 Chase Travel hotel credit resets every account anniversary year. It is not chopped into fiddly monthly pieces, so you can put the whole thing toward one prepaid hotel room booked through Chase Travel. I treat it as a near-automatic refund of my annual fee.

The up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit is available once every four years. You simply pay the application fee with your card and the statement credit shows up. If you travel internationally at all, skipping the security and customs lines is worth its weight in gold.

You also get a complimentary Apple TV subscription for a year when you activate by the end of 2026, plus a DashPass membership with reduced service fees on eligible orders and a monthly promo. Neither is a reason to get the card on its own, but it is easy value you are leaving on the table if you do not switch them on.

How to Earn the Points

In addition to the incredible welcome bonus, the category multipliers are where the Sapphire Preferred quietly outperforms flashier cards, because the bonus categories actually match real life for real families:

• 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel
• 3x points on dining, including takeout and delivery
• 3x points on gas and EV charging (um hello!)
• 3x points on select streaming services
• 3x points on online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs)
• 3x points on vacation homes at brands like Airbnb and Vrbo
• 2x points on all other travel
• 1x points on everything else

That 3x on gas is the addition I waited years for. We are a family of six, and between baseball and tennis practices, swim lessons, carpool pickup, and just all the regular driving a family does, we are spending way too much on gas, so triple points on every fill-up adds up faster than you would expect. So while I hate how much I pay in gas, I don't hate that I am earning all sorts of points on it!

Hot Tip: Pair the Chase Sapphire Preferred with a no-annual-fee card like the Chase Freedom Flex℠, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card to build what people call the Chase trifecta. Together they let you earn a bonus rate on nearly every dollar you spend, and all those Chase points pool together for travel AND you only have to pay one annual fee!

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Elevated offers don't come around often, so if this card has been on your radar or you want to get started with points and miles, NOW is the time!
HIGHEST EVER OFFER: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, get $3,000 in annual value!
→ Check it out & other high offers here!

How to Use the Points

This is my favorite part, and it is the real reason this travel card is so powerful. Your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are not locked into one program, although you can use them in Chase Travel (Chase's Travel Portal). The Preferred transfers to 14 airline and hotel partners.

Chase's travel partners include:

Airlines: Aer Lingus AerClub, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®, United MileagePlus®, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotels: IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy®, World of Hyatt®, and Wyndham Rewards

The points earned from the Preferred transfer are applied to all airlines and hotels at a 1:1 ratio, except Hyatt, so let's start there first.

Some of our family's favorite ways to use these points

World of Hyatt: You know we LOVE booking Hyatt hotels using our points, and it remains one of the best moves out there even with the 4:3 transfer ratio from the Preferred. Always do the quick math before transferring to Hyatt from your Preferred and check the same property in the Travel Portal. Here is a quick list of some of our absolute favorite Hyatt hotels to book with Chase Ultimate Rewards that are still really easy to book even with the 4:3 ratio: the Hyatt Regency Maui, Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile, Caption by Hyatt Namba Osaka, Park Hyatt Siem Reap, and the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa.

Hot tip: if you also carry a card that still transfers to Hyatt at 1:1 like the Sapphire Reserve or Reserve for Business, combine your points there first and transfer at the better rate. If you don't have the Sapphire Reserve, just double-check the same property in Chase Travel to make sure you're getting the best rate.

United MileagePlus® and Southwest Rapid Rewards® for Caribbean and domestic flights. These are my workhorses for getting our crew around the country. Southwest is especially friendly for families thanks to its flexibility and companion pass options. We were just able to book flights to the Bahamas from SLC on Southwest for 15,000 points per person and only $6.60! With just one welcome offer, you can easily fly a family of 5 to the Bahamas one way with points to spare.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Air France-KLM Flying Blue for Europe and Africa. When we cross the Atlantic, these are the programs I reach for, and the Flying Blue monthly promo awards can be a real steal. I LOVE that these points from the Preferred transfer to both of these programs! You can regularly get flights to Europe for 18,000 to 25,000 points per person if you are flexible with your dates! We were able to get our business class flights from JFK to Tanzania for less than 100,000 points per person (these flights cost over $6,000 and all we had to pay was taxes and fees).

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer for Asia. When we head to that side of the world, this is my go-to for flights that would otherwise cost a small fortune in cash. Like with Virgin Atlantic and Flying Blue, I can transfer the points earned from the Preferred straight into KrisFlyer, then top them off with points from my other cards, like the American Express® Gold Card or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Each card program transfers into KrisFlyer separately, and once they land, they all pool together in my KrisFlyer account so I can book one big award.

Using Points Boost: And do not overlook the Chase Travel portal itself, now powered by Points Boost. Your points are worth one cent each as a baseline, but on thousands of top-booked hotels and select airline flights you can get up to 1.5 cents per point, and up to 1.75 cents on premium cabin tickets with select airlines PLUS you can also use the hotel credits as well. We are eyeing a Points Boost boutique hotel for our trip to the gumdrop mountains in China next spring, and the boosted value has made a property we love a very reachable splurge.

The Travel Protections Nobody Talks About

If you take nothing else from this post, hear me on this section, because this is where a $95 card punches WAY above its price. The travel insurance and protections on the Chase Sapphire Preferred are the most comprehensive in its class, and they have saved real families real money.

Rental car insurance. The card includes primary auto rental coverage, which means when you rent a car and pay with the Sapphire Preferred, you can confidently decline the rental counter's overpriced collision insurance. For families renting cars on vacation, this one benefit can save you well over $100 per trip. I decline it every single time. Just know that in some places (looking at you, Costa Rica), you'll need a quick letter from Chase stating that you already have insurance.

Trip cancellation and interruption insurance. If your trip is canceled or cut short by a covered reason like sickness or severe weather, you can be reimbursed for prepaid, nonrefundable travel purchases. When you travel as often as we do with four kids, something eventually goes sideways, and this is the coverage you are grateful came built into the card.

Trip delay reimbursement kicks in when your flight is delayed, covering essential purchases like meals and a hotel for an unexpected overnight stay.

Baggage delay insurance reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing when your bag is delayed.

You also get purchase protection on new purchases against damage or theft, an extended warranty that adds an additional year to eligible manufacturer warranties, emergency evacuation coverage, and zero foreign transaction fees on everything you buy abroad. That last one alone makes this the card I pack for every international trip.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve

These two cards have changed quite a bit in the last year, so let me break down the options and make it simple.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® carries a $795 annual fee. It is a wonderful card if you are a frequent traveler who loves luxury, because it keeps the 1:1 World of Hyatt transfer, adds airport lounge access through Priority Pass, stacks higher redemption value with Points Boost up to 2.0 vpp, and comes with its own strong rental car insurance and travel protections.

But here is the catch. The Reserve only pays off if you actually use its many use-it-or-lose-it credits, and managing all of them is practically a part-time job. For someone newer to this, that is a lot of pressure to justify $795. The Sapphire Preferred transfers to the exact same partners, carries nearly the same travel protections, and costs $700 less.

My honest advice: start with the Preferred, get your feet wet, and graduate to the Reserve later if and when your travel grows into it. If you already know points and miles well and luxury perks are your thing, the Reserve might be your card from day one. There are other solid starter cards out there too, like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or various American Express options, but for the combination of low cost, easy rewards, and best-in-class protections, the Sapphire Preferred is still the one I hand to beginners.

Check out these two cards and our other favorites below!
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Who Should Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

Here is what I love most about this card, and it is the thing nobody tells beginners. You do not need to chase every welcome offer and open a trillion cards to make points and miles work for you. An average family with average spending could reasonably earn at least one free trip every two years just by using this single card well. That is it. One card, used right.

But if you want to go all in, this is STILL the card to start with, because it pairs so beautifully with the other Chase cards and transfer partners that families using it strategically can pull off two to three free trips a year. The pace is entirely up to you. Want to dip a toe in? The Preferred rewards you. Want to dive into the deep end? It is the perfect anchor card for that too.

🔥 Highest ever elevated offer alert on the Chase Sapphire Preferred®🔥
Elevated offers don't come around often, so if this card has been on your radar or you want to get started with points and miles, NOW is the time!
HIGHEST EVER OFFER: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, get $3,000 in annual value!
→ Check it out & other high offers here!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth the $95 annual fee? For most people, yes. The $100 annual hotel credit alone more than covers the fee, before you even count the rewards, transfer partners, and travel protections.

What credit score do I need for the Chase Sapphire Preferred? You will generally want good to excellent credit, typically around 700 or higher. Remember Chase's 5/24 rule too: five or more new cards from any issuer in 24 months will likely mean a denial.

How many bonus points does the welcome bonus include? The current welcome offer rewards you with bonus points after you meet a minimum spend in your first three months from account opening, and it is one of the highest in the card's history. Always confirm the live offer before applying.

Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred charge foreign transaction fees? No. You pay zero foreign transaction fees, which makes it a perfect card to pack for international travel.

Can I still transfer points to World of Hyatt? Yes, at a 4:3 ratio as of 2026, meaning 1,000 points become 750 Hyatt points. Hyatt redemptions are still excellent, and you can pool points onto a 1:1 card before transferring if you have one.

Should I get the Preferred or the Reserve? If you are newer or want simplicity and a low annual fee, start with the Preferred. If you are a frequent traveler chasing lounge access and luxury perks, look at the Reserve.

Can I get the welcome offer if I've already gotten it before? Unfortunately, the 48 month rule has been retired and you can not get the welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you have already gotten it before.

How do you earn 100,000 points on the Sapphire Preferred? Grab it during an elevated offer period, and that earning goal becomes easy. If you get it during any normal time, you'll walk away with 75,000 just from the welcome offer and then if you are strategic with your spend and the multipliers, you'll easily earn 100,000.

What airlines are best to transfer from the Chase Sapphire Preferred? We personally love Air Canada, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, and Flying Blue! Another sweet spot is JetBlue, but our hub is SLC, and we don't have a ton of options for JetBlue, but if you live near a JetBlue hub, then absolutely transfer and use those JetBlue flights!

The Bottom Line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred in 2026 is still one of the best beginner travel cards on the market. Low annual fee, credits that pay for themselves, the best protections in its class, and a transfer partner lineup that can take your family almost anywhere in the world. Use the credits, earn on the categories that fit your life, and learn how to turn those points into trips, and this card will earn its keep many times over. It has a permanent spot in my wallet, and I think it belongs in yours.