The record-high Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus is back: Earn 100,000 bonus points amid major card changes

The Sapphire Preferred’s current bonus offer is one of the most valuable intro bonuses available for a credit card with an annual fee of less than $100.

At the very least, you could cash out all the points for $1,000 in statement credits. So even if you don’t want to travel, you could bank $905 after earning the bonus and paying the card’s $95 annual fee. There aren’t a lot of consumer credit cards that offer that kind of value in year one.

You can also use Chase points to pay for travel you book through the Chase Travel℠ site. With the Sapphire Preferred, points are worth 1 cent each for this redemption, which is, again, $1,000 in value from the intro bonus. If you can find a Chase Travel booking that qualifies for a Points Boost, your points could be worth up to 1.5 cents each.

Chase also has a solid list of travel partners, and some of the best deals available through these transfers can dramatically increase the value you receive. For example, an off-peak round-trip Iberia business-class award from the East Coast to Spain costs under 100,000 points when booked through Iberia Club. The same flight could cost $3,000+ if you paid with cash.

You’ll typically need a good-to-excellent credit score to have the best chance of getting approved for a new Sapphire Preferred card, or a FICO Score of at least 670.

You can’t have more than one Sapphire Preferred card, and if you’ve ever had the card before, you’re unlikely to qualify for the card’s welcome offer. This is effectively a once-per-lifetime restriction on earning a Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus.

Chase also considers the number of cards you’ve opened and closed. There is an unofficial 5/24 rule that dramatically reduces your approval odds if you’ve opened five or more cards from any bank in the previous 24 months.

The updates to the Sapphire Preferred are an overall positive shift for most people. The annual fee is still $95, but the annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit has increased to $100. That makes it possible to offset the cost of this card with a single hotel booking.

It’s also now far more rewarding for common purchases with the addition of 3X points on gas, EV charging and vacation rentals. That’s in addition to 3X points on streaming services, online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs) and dining and 2X points on general travel. With one card, you can maximize rewards in popular everyday spending categories.

Many of the card’s best features are sticking around, specifically its travel insurance and shopping protections. In fact, they’re better after the card’s refresh with the addition of emergency evacuation and transportation coverage.

If you’ve ever thought the Chase Sapphire Preferred was a great card for you, it’s likely to make even more sense now. However, the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt is dropping from 1:1 to 4:3 for new Sapphire Preferred cardholders (existing cardholders have until Oct. 1, 2026, to access 1:1 Hyatt transfers). This changes the math on this card in a significant way for anyone who maximized that partnership.

World of Hyatt has long been one of the most valuable hotel loyalty programs and one of Chase’s top transfer partners. Now, the transfer ratio is dropping by 25% for Sapphire Preferred cardholders — just after Hyatt changed its award chart to feature five price tiers instead of three. If you’re a Hyatt loyalist and planned to take advantage of this partnership, this change is something to keep in mind.

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