Chase Sapphire Preferred Review 2026: A Solid 7/10 Card That Does Its Job

My honest take on the Chase Sapphire Preferred: 7 out of 10. Not my favorite card in my wallet, but a genuinely solid one that earns its keep without demanding much from you.

I picked it up last year mostly for a 100,000-point welcome bonus, which was the real draw. But I also needed it for Hyatt. Amex doesn’t transfer to Hyatt, and back then, before Bilt 2.0 launched, the original Bilt Mastercard didn’t give you a good reason to actually run spend on it. The Preferred solved both problems: a big bonus upfront and a direct path to World of Hyatt transfers.

That’s still the core case for this card. If you’re getting into travel rewards and don’t want to drop $795 on the Reserve, or you just need a reliable card with good earning categories and access to Chase’s transfer partners, the Preferred at $95 a year is a no-brainer.

TL;DR

• Annual fee: $95
• Earn 5x on Chase Travel, 3x on dining, 3x on online groceries, 3x on streaming, 2x on all other travel
• 10% anniversary point bonus on prior year spend
• $50 annual hotel credit through Chase Travel
• 1:1 transfers to Hyatt, United, Aeroplan, Southwest, Marriott, and more
• Best for: beginners, Hyatt loyalists, people who want solid earning without a high annual fee
• Score: 7/10

Why I Got It

My primary reason was the welcome bonus. At the time I applied, Chase was offering 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after meeting the spending threshold. At ~1.8 to 2 cents per point when transferred to the right partners, that is a $1,800 to $2,000 value from the signup alone. For a card that costs $95 a year, that math is hard to argue with.

The second reason was Hyatt. I love Marriott hotels, and I have the Marriott Brilliant for that. But Hyatt is the other hotel program I care about, and it is consistently rated as the best hotel loyalty program for value. Park Hyatts in Tokyo, the Maldives, Kyoto. Alila properties. Andaz hotels. If you want to redeem into Hyatt at good rates, you need a Chase card or the World of Hyatt card itself.

The Preferred gives me that access without committing to the Sapphire Reserve and its $795 fee.

What You Actually Earn

The earning structure is better than most people realize:

• 5x on Chase Travel (flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, activities booked through the portal)
• 3x on dining worldwide including delivery and takeout
• 3x on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
• 3x on select streaming services
• 2x on all other travel (anything that codes as travel but is not booked through Chase Travel)
• 1x on everything else

The 3x on dining is competitive. The Amex Gold earns 4x, which is why my dining still goes on Gold. But for someone who does not want to pay $325 a year, getting 3x at restaurants on a $95 card is legitimately solid.

The 3x on online groceries is an underrated category. If you shop at Fresh Market, FreshDirect, Thrive Market, or any grocery that is not one of the major excluded chains, you get 3x. That stacks up quickly.

The 5x through Chase Travel is strong, but comes with the usual portal caveat: you have to use their booking system rather than booking direct. For airline tickets without elite status considerations, that is usually fine. For hotel stays where you want points, status benefits, or morning check-ins, booking through a portal can cost you perks. Worth factoring in.

The Anniversary Bonus

Each card anniversary, you earn a 10% bonus on all points earned from purchases the prior year. If you spent $25,000 and earned 50,000 points, you get 5,000 extra points deposited automatically.

It is not transformative but it is a nice touch, and it is an ongoing benefit that costs you nothing. On a high-spend year it adds up.

The $50 Hotel Credit

Every card anniversary year you get up to $50 in statement credits for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel.

This is real value but it comes with the same portal caveat as the 5x earning. You have to use Chase Travel to get it. If you are booking hotels anyway through the portal, this is free money that more than offsets the gap between the $95 fee and paying nothing at all.

The Transfer Partners

This is the main reason to keep a Chase card in your wallet long term. Ultimate Rewards transfer 1:1 to a strong list:

Airlines: United MileagePlus, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Avios, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM), Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Virgin Atlantic, Southwest Rapid Rewards, JetBlue TrueBlue, Aer Lingus, Iberia

Hotels: World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards

World of Hyatt is the standout. Hyatt’s award chart is still one of the best in hospitality. Category 1 through 4 properties at 5,000 to 15,000 points per night. Park Hyatts that cost $800 to $1,500 a night bookable for 20,000 to 40,000 points. The ability to transfer Chase points directly to Hyatt at 1:1 is worth a lot to anyone who travels and stays in hotels.

Air Canada Aeroplan is also excellent. Star Alliance coverage, including United flights, with a better award chart than United’s own program for many routes. If you are booking transatlantic or transpacific business class, Aeroplan is one of the best tools available.

The Preferred gets you into all of these programs at the same 1:1 ratio as the Reserve. That is the hidden value of the card: you do not need to pay $795 to access Chase’s transfer partner network.

What I Do Not Love

The annual fee does not come with enough ongoing value to justify the card purely on credits.

The $50 hotel credit is the only real recurring benefit beyond point earning. Compare that to the Reserve’s $300 travel credit, $500 Edit hotel credit, $300 dining credit, and $300 StubHub credit. The Preferred is a points card, not a benefits card. That is fine, but be clear-eyed about it.

3x on dining versus 4x on Amex Gold.

If you hold both cards, dining obviously goes on the Gold. The Preferred’s dining earn rate is its headline category, but it is not the best in market. It is second tier.

No lounge access.

The Preferred does not include Priority Pass or any lounge access. If you travel frequently and want lounges, you need the Reserve or a dedicated lounge card. The Preferred is for people who do not need that.

Chase 5/24.

Worth saying directly: Chase has a strict rule that they will not approve you for most Chase cards if you have opened 5 or more credit card accounts in the past 24 months. If you are deep into the points hobby and have been opening cards aggressively, you may not be eligible. The Preferred is often best as one of the first travel cards you apply for, before you burn 5/24 slots on Amex cards.

Long-term carry value depends on your wallet.

Once the welcome bonus is spent and you have other cards covering dining, groceries, and catch-all spending at higher rates, the Preferred’s reason to stay in your wallet narrows to: maintaining Chase status, keeping Ultimate Rewards balance active, and having Hyatt access without paying Reserve fees. For me, that is still a justification at $95. But it is not my primary card.

The Random Offers Are Actually Worth Checking

One thing I have liked about Chase cards in general: the targeted Amex-offer-style deals that show up in the app. Recently there was a $100 Whoop credit promotion for Preferred cardholders. These come and go, they are not permanent card features, and you cannot plan around them, but they are occasionally worth real money and they show up for Preferred holders the same way they do for Reserve holders.

CardStack tracks card offers automatically so you never have to remember to check. It is one of the more annoying things to manage across a multi-card wallet.

Comparing It to the Reserve

If you are deciding between the Preferred and the Reserve, here is the honest comparison:

The Reserve costs $700 more per year. In exchange you get: 8x on Chase Travel (vs 5x), 4x on direct flights and hotels (vs 2x), lounge access, $300 travel credit, $500 Edit hotel credit, $300 dining credit, $300 StubHub credit, Apple TV and Apple Music, Reserve Travel Designers, IHG Platinum Elite status, and a stronger travel protection suite.

If you travel 4 or more times per year, use airport lounges, and will actually use the credits, the Reserve math can work. I covered that in the Reserve review.

If you travel occasionally, do not care about lounges, and want to access Chase’s transfer partners without paying $795, the Preferred is the right answer. The point transfer access is identical. The earning on bonus categories is close enough. The annual fee is a rounding error.

Who Should Get This Card

The Preferred is the right card if you:

• Are newer to travel rewards and want a solid first card without a high fee
• Want access to World of Hyatt transfers specifically
• Travel a few times per year but do not want or need lounge access
• Hold Amex cards for MR earning and want a second transfer ecosystem at low cost
• Got a strong welcome bonus offer (75,000 to 100,000 points) and the math on signup value is compelling

Who Should Skip It

Consider something else if you:

• Already hold the Reserve (you cannot have both personal Sapphire cards open simultaneously, though rules have changed on this)
• Want the best dining earn rate (get the Amex Gold for 4x)
• Need lounge access when you travel
• Have burned your 5/24 slots and are not eligible
• Already have a strong Hyatt strategy through Bilt or another Chase product

Final Verdict

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a 7 out of 10 card. That is not a slight. Most cards are below that.

It does exactly what it promises: competitive earning in relevant categories, access to one of the strongest transfer partner networks in the industry, and a fee that is easy to justify at $95. The welcome bonus, when it is elevated, is one of the better deals in the hobby.

It is not the most exciting card. It does not have lounge access or a stack of statement credits that require a spreadsheet to track. It will not replace the Amex Platinum for benefits or the Amex Gold for dining earn.

What it does well is be a reliable card that opens doors, specifically the Hyatt door, that you cannot open with Amex.

For someone starting out, I would tell them to get this card first. The fee is low, the earning is real, and the transfer partner access alone, especially Hyatt and Aeroplan, is worth the annual fee several times over if you use it well.

For someone with a full wallet already, it deserves a spot as long as the math on Hyatt access and keeping Chase points alive justifies $95 a year.

For most people: yes, get it.