The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has been a big hit for Chase since it came out, and they recently announced (press release) several positive changes that will come into effect on June 15th, 2026 for both new and existing applicants and some negative changes (notable Hyatt points transfers) that will be grandfathered for existing cardholders until October 1st, 2026.
Additions / Positive Changes
- $100 Chase Travel Hotel Credit each account anniversary (increased from $50).
- 3X points on gas and EV charging.
- 3X points on vacation rentals (Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa).
- $120 credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS every four years.
- “Emergency Evacuation and Transportation coverage” added to their existing list of travel protections.
- One-time 12-month Apple TV subscription for free when activated by December 31, 2026.
Removals / Negative Changes
- Hyatt points transfers devalued by 25%. Before, Ultimate Rewards points transferred to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio for Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred cards. Now, it is a 4:3 ratio, which is the same as a 1:0.75 ratio. (Chase Sapphire *Reserve* cardholders will keep the 1:1 ratio.) So every 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points only becomes 750 Hyatt points now, instead of the previous 1,000.
“Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred cardmembers’ Ultimate Rewards points will transfer to World of Hyatt at a rate of 4:3. For Sapphire Preferred cardmembers, this is effective immediately for new cardmembers who apply on or after June 15, 2026, and effective October 1, 2026, for cardmembers who applied prior to June 15, 2026. For Ink Business Preferred cardmembers, this is effective October 1, 2026, for existing cardmembers and for new cardmembers who apply on or after October 1, 2026.”
- 10% anniversary points bonus removed. “The 10% Anniversary Bonus Benefit is being discontinued, effective immediately for cardmembers who apply on or after June 15, 2026. For cardmembers who applied prior to June 15, 2026, eligible purchases made through October 1, 2026, will continue to earn the 10% bonus, which will be awarded by January 31, 2027.”
No change
- $95 annual fee.
- 5X points on Chase Travel portal purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals, etc).
- 2X points on all other travel worldwide.
- 3X points on dining worldwide, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3X points on select streaming services (Apple Music, Apple TV, Disney+, ESPN+, Fubo TV, Max, Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, Paramount+, Peacock, Showtime, SiriusXM, Sling, Spotify, YouTube Premium, YouTube TV and Vudu)
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excludes Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs).
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 30, 2027
- 5X total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027
- 1X points on all other purchases
The Hyatt points transfer change is a double-whammy. Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt transfers used to be a relatively hassle-free way to easily get over 2 cents per point value. But not only has Hyatt devalued their own points a lot recently (most of their hotels now cost more points to book), but now the transfer rate from Ultimate Rewards also dropped by 25% for this card. That nudges the value of an Ultimate Rewards points much closer to the basic sad value of 1 cent per point. Now it will take more work to find other transfer partners like a United Airlines redemption to get good value.
Even though these are “improvements” to the Sapphire Preferred, this actually shifts my personal preference a bit more to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which has its own set of complications, but at least I can still get full 1:1 value to Hyatt points with my large bank of points. You can also transfer your other points over to the Reserve from your other cards and household family members. Right now, I am still in the middle of my first year with the Chase Sapphire Reserve and trying to figure out what I’m really able to get out of all those annual credits. The sign-up bonus is also increased to 150,000 Ultimate Rewards points until 6/15.
Our household strategy in the past has been for at least one person to have the Chase Sapphire Preferred to keep our Ultimate Rewards balance going, sometimes transferring back and forth as needed, and then the other person might have the Reserve for a while.
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Hi,
I’ve come to the conclusion that all these marketing games by the credit card companies just isn’t worth the time and effort. A simple straightforward 2% unlimited cashback that doesn’t expire with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee is the best way to go. Both Visa and MasterCard cards are available, however, their exchange rate doesn’t always match the Discover card exchange rate. The difference is very small. Recently, I cancelled my American Express Gold card as they were playing games with the exchange rates, sometimes exceeding 0.5%! So much for no foreign transaction fees! The cashback is a meager 0.6%. As for the Amex $325 annual fee, they would refund me $200-$300 based on volume, but I still would have come out ahead with a straightforward 2% cashback. I have found that I can get better prices for both travel and car/hotel rentals by NOT going through their travel sites. Not to mention the number of times they didn’t have a direct flight and wanted to book for me a flight with a stop at double the price and triple the travel time. It just doesn’t pay to be limited by the credit card companies. Be free and fly when and where you want with whomever gives you the best deal! If it’s Hyatt, great, if not there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Sorry to hear that you fell for the “loyalty” scam.
I am rather disappointed that things are getting more complicated instead of simpler. I don’t like tracking credits or having unreliable transfer ratios and values. I’ll still go for the big sign-up bonuses in whatever currency is offered, but for ongoing spending I also lean more towards flat cashback.
@Saul Sterman makes many good points a couple that bear emphasizing:
-A simple straightforward 2% unlimited cashback that doesn’t expire…is the best way to go: for the many who prefer to keep it simple instead of managing so many cards, indeed.
-I have found that I can get better prices for both travel and car/hotel rentals by NOT going through their travel sites: prices on bank travel portals are almost always inflated compared to online travel agents or sometimes even booking directly with the hotel; someone’s taking a cut from the portals.
And some of the other benefits just aren’t premium, e.g. 3X points on gas and EV charging or 3X points on vacation rentals. If instead of the simple 2% universal cash back approach one chooses to play the game, then with simple internet research one can find many cards that offer 3% on all *any* travel spending, or 3% (and in some cases even higher) on all dining spending, etc. in other popular categories – all for no annual fee!
for me the points boost on the csr annual fee and grocery shopping was the best deal.
the chase ink business preferred still transfers 1:1 to hyatt also… only $95 annual fee, and can points transfer from personal cards.
Ink Business Preferred to Hyatt will also change soon, see the linked press release: “Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred cardmembers’ Ultimate Rewards points will transfer to World of Hyatt at a rate of 4:3. For Sapphire Preferred cardmembers, this is effective immediately for new cardmembers who apply on or after June 15, 2026, and effective October 1, 2026, for cardmembers who applied prior to June 15, 2026. For Ink Business Preferred cardmembers, this is effective October 1, 2026, for existing cardmembers and for new cardmembers who apply on or after October 1, 2026.”
Seems like it was only a matter of time until the Chase / Hyatt combo was devalued to the point of making it unremarkable. We got a lot of hotel stays out of those UR transfers but I think this will finally be the nudge that gets us back to a simpler strategy – a basic 2% card along with the Amex BCP for groceries. I do like having the CSP for primary rental car coverage but I’m not going to bother trying to accrue UR points anymore (via CFU/CF/CIP/etc).
Chase also removed redeeming cash rewards to an external bank account. That, the elimination of Sapphire Preferred’s 1.5x redemption multiplier for travel portal bookings, and annual fee (which I’m never fond of) finally made me cancel the card and look elsewhere. I settled on the Citi Strata Premier, but then they pulled the rug out on the redemption process and only allow you to cash back 75% of the 3%, effectively making it a 2.25% cash back card on certain categories, with an annual fee.
I, like Saul and Cody, wanted something basic I could use for everything so I put down a wish list:
1. No annual fee
2. No foreign transaction fees
3. Straight cash back to any bank account
4. A Visa branded card
5. 2% or higher cash back
6. Transaction downloads in .qfx or .ofx format
I ran it through ChatGPT and found the PNC Cash Unlimited gives me everything except #3. PNC does allow me to redeem cash back as a statement credit, so I can live with that.
The only card that fits all of my criteria is the SDFCU Premium Cash Back + card, but that requires joining the credit union which has qualification criteria that seems a bit opaque to me. The best path seems to be through the American Consumer Council, but I haven’t dug any farther than that.
Outside of the 2% everyday, I’m still hunting for a 3% travel, dining, gas, groceries card. I’m thinking those will require more of a juggle, which I dislike doing, but it is what it is.