Chase recently refreshed the Sapphire Preferred card to increase the hotel credit from $50 to $100 (with some other changes and the annual fee remaining at $95). Previously people have made hotel reservations, received the credit and then cancelled their reservations and been able to keep the credit.
Unfortunately it seems that’s no longer the case with bookings from 6/15 (when the credit was increased) onwards now having the credit clawed back on cancellation reservations (more discussion on reddit here). Not a huge surprise that they are trying to close loopholes like this after making the benefit significantly more generous. This workaround has also been getting more and more attention recently and that often signals the end.
Other changes to the card on 6/15 are as follows:
- $95 annual fee remains the same.
- The $50 Hotel credit via Chase Travel is increasing to $100.
- Card will earn 3x on Gas/EV and on Airbnb, VRBO, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com, and Vacasa. (This is in addition to the 5x on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal, 3x on Dining/Streaming Services/online grocery, 2x on travel.)
- New $120 credit once every four years for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS.
- One time offer (not ongoing): Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year when activated by December 31, 2026.
- Enhanced protection: Travel protections are expanded to now include Emergency Evacuation and Transportation coverage.
- Two negative changes also occured:
- Hyatt is no longer a 1:1 transfer, we discussed this in a dedicated post.
- The 10% Anniversary Bonus is ending, we discussed this in a dedicated post.
The sign up bonus on this card is currently 100,000 points and is also available via referral.
