The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card currently has an elevated intro offer of 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on the card in the first three months from account opening. This card has a $95 annual fee, but, you can earn back over half of that cost every year by taking advantage of a single easy-to-overlook perk — the annual hotel credit.
Sapphire Preferred card members can receive a $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel credit every account anniversary year for hotels booked through the Chase TravelSMportal. Here's what you need to know about how to use this credit and when it makes sense.
How to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit
- Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus and perks
- What is the Chase Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit?
- How to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred's $50 hotel credit?
- When does it make sense to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred's $50 hotel credit?
- Alternative cards with hotel credits
- Bottom line
Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus and perks
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase's secure site
Rewards
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, and $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
Welcome bonus
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Annual fee
$95
Intro APR
None
Regular APR
21.49% - 28.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee
None
Credit needed
Excellent/Good
Terms apply.
Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review.
The Sapphire Preferred's intro bonus offer is currently 15,000 points higher than the standard offer. This makes it a great time to apply because you're getting the same ongoing card benefits along with the additional upfront value.
This card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, which are some of the best travel rewards thanks to their versatility. You can redeem Chase points for cash back or similar redemptions for one cent each. And if you use your Chase points to book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get a 25% boost in value as a Sapphire Preferred cardholder (1.25 cents per point).
You can really ratchet up your points' value by taking advantage of Chase's transfer partners. Chase points transfer to 14 airline and hotel loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio. Through these programs, you can book business-class award flights or luxury hotels and dramatically increase the value of your rewards. This includes plenty of one-way Star Alliance business-class flights from North America to Europe for only 60,000 to 70,000 Aeroplan miles, flights that normally costs thousands of dollars.
The Sapphire Preferred also comes with a long list of travel and purchase insurance benefits. You'll get trip delay reimbursem*nt, primary rental car collision coverage, purchase protection, extended warranty coverage and more.
What is the Chase Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred annual hotel credit can earn you an automatic statement credit of up to $50 every card anniversary year. To qualify for the credit, you need to book a hotel through Chase TravelSM and pay for the booking with your Sapphire Preferred card.
The $50 in hotel purchases that earn you the credit will not earn Chase points. Once a qualifying transaction is posted to your account, the statement credit should get credited within one or two billing cycles.
How to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred's $50 hotel credit?
To use the Sapphire Preferred annual hotel credit, you book a hotel stay through Chase TravelSM. This platform works like booking through another online travel agency like Expedia, Priceline or Kayak. Simply search for the dates and the location where you need a hotel and book from the available options.
To use the hotel credit, first log in to your Chase credit card account and navigate to the Ultimate Rewards page. Next, select the "Travel" drop-down menu and click "Book travel."
Chase
Choose "Hotels" and enter the information for your trip. Once you start a search, you can filter the results by star rating, brand, cost and more.
After you've selected the hotel and specific room type, you'll be able to see the final cost in dollars and points.
To earn the full $50, you need to charge at least $50 on your card. If you want to pay with points, just be sure to redeem points for all but $50 of the cost. You can easily adjust how many points you're using for the booking in the "Points redeemed" box, just be sure to click the update button when you change the number of points you want to use.
From here follow the steps to enter the traveler information and payment card info before you finalize the reservation. Be sure to pay with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card. If you don't book with your Sapphire Preferred, you won't earn the credit.
When does it make sense to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred's $50 hotel credit?
The Sapphire Preferred hotel credit is straightforward — just book a hotel through Chase TravelSM to qualify for the offer. However, you should compare prices for the same dates, hotel and room type to ensure you're getting the best price when booking with Chase. As long as you aren't paying more for the booking, taking advantage of this credit makes sense.
If elite status perks are worth more to you for a particular stay, you may want to consider trying to maximize this credit on a different booking. That's because when you book hotels through a third-party site such as Chase TravelSM you typically won't earn elite status credit. You also won't normally receive elite status benefits, such as free breakfast or room upgrades.
Alternative cards with hotel credits
If you're looking for hotel credits and benefits, a co-branded hotel credit card will typically offer the most value, but the perks will be tied to a specific brand. For statement credit perks that are more universal, you'll likely need to consider a general travel credit card.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) offers an annual travel credit of up to $300 for bookings made through Capital One Travel. This credit applies to hotels, but also flights, rental cars and more. When you combine this travel credit with the card's annual 10,000-mile bonus, it's not hard to justify keeping this premium credit card.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Learn More
Rewards
10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars, 5 Miles per dollar on flights when booked via Capital One Travel; unlimited 2X miles on all other eligible purchases
Welcome bonus
Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
Annual fee
$395
Intro APR
None
Regular APR
19.99% - 29.99% variable APR
Balance transfer fee
$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
Foreign transaction fees
None
Credit needed
Excellent
Terms apply.
Read our Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card review.
The U.S. BankAltitude®Reserve VisaInfinite®Card has an incredibly easy-to-use travel and dining credit worth up to $325 every year. To qualify for the credit you don't need to book through a specific site. Instead, you just pay for travel or dining with the card and you'll earn the credit on the first $325 in eligible spending.
U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card
Information about the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
Rewards
5X points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked through the Altitude Rewards Center; 3X points on every $1 on eligible travel and mobile wallet spending
Welcome bonus
Earn 50,000 bonus points (worth about $750 in travel) after spending $4,500 within the first 90 days of account opening
Annual fee
$400
Intro APR
N/A
Regular APR
22.24%to29.24% (Variable)
Balance transfer fee
3% of the amount of each transfer, with a $5 minimum
Foreign transaction fee
None
Credit needed
Excellent/Good
Seerates and fees, terms apply.
Bottom line
For a limited time, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has an excellent increase welcome offer. However, it also has an extensive array of ongoing benefits for cardholders. These benefits include an annual $50 hotel credit that applies to hotel bookings you make through Chase TravelSM.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
