THIS IS WHY I LOVE THE CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED

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I've carried a lot of cards over the years, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is still the one I recommend first to anyone getting serious about points and travel. Here's why it earns a permanent spot in my wallet.

The fee is low, the bonus is solid. The Preferred carries a $95 annual fee, genuinely one of the smallest asks in the premium travel card world, and right now new cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. That's down from the card's limited-time 100,000-point record offer earlier this year, but it's still worth several hundred dollars in travel when redeemed right.

Everyday spending actually earns real rewards. You get 3x points on dining, online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), select streaming services, and now gas, EV charging, and vacation home rentals (think Airbnb and Vrbo) too. Plus 5x on travel booked through Chase Travel℠. This isn't a card you have to plan around; it just rewards the spending you're already doing.

The perks quietly pay for themselves. Every account anniversary you get a $100 Chase Travel℠ Hotel Credit (recently doubled from $50), plus up to $120 in credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS every four years. Chase also threw in a complimentary one-year Apple TV+ subscription if you activate by the end of 2026. Stack those up and the $95 fee practically disappears.

Points that transfer to real travel. Ultimate Rewards points transfer to airline and hotel partners like United, Southwest, Hyatt, and more, or you can redeem directly through Chase Travel℠, where Points Boost offers can bump select hotel and flight redemptions up to 1.5x their normal value. That flexibility is the whole reason serious points people start here.

One thing worth flagging: Chase recently dropped the 10% anniversary points bonus for new cardholders and adjusted the Hyatt transfer ratio, so it's not a completely uncomplicated story, but for a $95 card, the Preferred is still, in my opinion, the best entry point into the points and travel world.

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