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Normally the referral is 15k — add links if you’d like
The 20k referral bonus refers new cardmembers to a 75k bonus after $20k spend split into two $10k tiers of spend. First rewarding 50k bonus points, then another 25k. The annual fee is still $450 a year, a bevy of benefits listed below, and yes…the card is metal 😉 One thing to remember if you’re in the situation to hit the $20k spend is that the airline fee credit is calendar year, so picking up the card now is a perfect way to double dip. $200 by year’s end, and another $200 come January. Feel free to leave your referrals in the comments section, and if you haven’t gotten the card, and want one, you can click the pic below.
A list of some of the benefits
- $200 annual airline fee reimbursement
- The airline reimbursement is per calendar year vs the cardmember year of which the annual fee is based.
- If you buy AA gift cards you actually get reimbursed as of when this article is published
- Global Entry fee reimbursement – worth $100
- Simply charge and get a statement credit.
- Priority Pass Select membership – worth ~ $400
- Delta Sky Club lounge access – when flying on Delta
- Centurion Lounge access – network expanding and very worthwhile
- Access to Fine Hotels and Resorts
- Amazing benefits such as free breakfast, resort credits, room upgrades, early check in, late check out, etc
- Over 20 transfer partners: like Singapore Air, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways
- I love the transfers to Sing and Air Canada
- SPG gold status —-> Marriott Gold
- Hilton Honors gold status
- Boingo free wi-fi at more than 1,000,000 hotspots around the globe
- The Hotel selection
- slightly different that Fine Hotels and Resorts, but provides great benefits, credits, and upgrades
- Return protection on goods a store won’t take back, you get reimbursement up to $1000/year $300/item
- 10 Free GOGO in flight WIFI passes. Per Year
- Valued at just $10/piece this is another $200
- 35% rebate on all point redemptions made with Amex Travel
- 5x points on Hotel and Flight bookings made through Amex Travel
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account openingÂ
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- 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
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:Â
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.Â
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.Â
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