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It appears the competition between Chase and Amex is heading into the lounge space. In an effort to challenge the Amex Centurion lounge network offered to Amex Platinum and Centurion cardholders, Chase is partnering with Airport Dimensions ( they run The Club and Club Aspire brands ) to offer Chase Sapphire branded lounges to its premium cardholders.
According to OMAAT, the first Sapphire branded lounge will be at Boston Logan, open in 2022 and stretch 12,000 sq ft. It’s still unclear as to who will have access to the lounges, but here’s how I would do it:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve as unlimited entries for primary and additional cardholders with guest priveleges
- Chase Sapphire Preferred gets a limited number regulated by quantity which could be allocated to the primary and guests, or just primary, or dollar value which would attach an entry fee determined by The Club. Something similar in idea to what Amex Green offers with its LoungeBuddy access
I’ve been to several The Club or Club Aspire lounges. While I wouldn’t put them in the same league as Centurion lounges, they are nice, and we will have to wait to see if the specific Sapphire branded “The Club” lounges are a step up, or if they just have the Sapphire label on them.
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 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x points on gas and EV charging
- 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
Benefits and Credits
- 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, Emergency Evacuation and Transportation 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 12 months when you activate by12/31/27. 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
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:
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.
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 it has great bonus categories and useful statement credits that not only enhance your travel, but help offset the annual fee.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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