The single-best travel credit card - the one we recommend most, especially for beginners - somehow just got even better. Chase just unveiled some shockingly positive changes this week that merited a bonus podcast. We break down all the good news, a few bad bits, and ask the question: Why is Chase doing this?
The single-best travel credit card - the one we recommend most, especially for beginners - somehow just got even better. Chase just unveiled some shockingly positive changes this week that merited a bonus podcast. We break down all the good news, a few bad bits, and ask the question: Why is Chase doing this?
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00:00 - When we first opened our Chase Sapphire Preferred cards
01:34 - Danielle from Greensboro (GSO) introduces the show
03:00 - The new perks on the Chase Sapphire Preferred we love
12:00 - The changes to the card we hate (ahem, Hyatt …)
17:38 - Join the Thrifty Traveler Podcast Slack Community today!
18:30 - What on earth is Chase doing here?
23:35 - Where does this card rank among all travel rewards card?
24:40 - Will there be another big welcome offer?
25:10 - Kyle’s best Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption
Produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas
Video editing by Kyle Thomas
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot
Yo, welcome to the show. I'm Gunnar Olsen, that's Kyle Potter sliding into your feed with a special breaking news bonus episode because maybe the best travel rewards credit card on the market, the one we recommend the most, especially for beginners, is changing in some really interesting ways, and is most importantly maybe not changing in other really important ways too.
That was the most vague description. Sometimes things change, and other times things
don't. We will talk about it all. So Kyle, the card we're talking about today is the Chase Sapphire Preferred. When did you first pick up the card we call the CSP?
I first opened my Chase Sapphire Preferred in June of 2017, the day that my mortgage on my first house closed.
'Cause I was just waiting for that, and then I think I probably got the sign-up bonus on it, like, the, the following day from the slew of new home expenses. So yeah, I, I, I could probably pin it down to a day if I needed to, but it was for sure 2017 when we bought our first house.
Yeah, I... Th- this was my first, uh, flexible points currency, the Chase Ultimate Rewards, that can transfer to, you know, other airlines and hotels.
This was my first flexible card that I picked up, uh, because of the, the coverage that you guys were doing here at Thrifty Traveler, in the pre-Gunnar days, if you can even remember those days.
I, I can't
remember even current Gunnar da- most current Gunnar days. Uh, we have a lot to talk about with this card, so I wanna get into it.
Uh, today on the show, it's all about the Chase Sapphire Preferred. All that and more.
Hey, y'all, coming at you from Gunnar's namesake airport. This is Piedmont Triad International in Greensboro, North Carolina. Welcome back to the Thrifty Traveler podcast.
All right, welcoming us back this week was Danielle from Greensboro Airport, where it looked like she was about to do one of those Run on the Runway events. Uh, more power to you, Danielle. Uh, Greensboro code GSO, which is my initials, that's my initials airport. I may have to go check it out someday. Maybe I'll, uh, come out of running retirement for that little, uh, trot down the runway there.
No, it's not. The, nothing gives you better scale of what a runway is like than running down it. Okay, let's get into something hot and something cold, all CSP version. Uh, luckily when we're looking at the good and bad news out there for travelers, something hot section is a lot more full than the something cold section in these changes.
I am shocked- Yeah ... at how heavy the something hot list is here, and how short, but still important, the something cold subtractions are. This is, in, in the world of credit cards, big changes are often bad changes. And while there is some bad news here, it is hard not to feel like this is just an overwhelming win for both existing Chase Sapphire Preferred card holders, as well as people who haven't had it yet.
Okay, so let's get right into the, the probably the best of the best news. What's happening with the annual fee?
I, I cannot believe it. Nothing. Yeah. It is not changing. It is staying put at $95 a year, which is where it has stayed since this card c- hit the market more than a decade ago. It is incredible that they are not pushing this up.
I mean, we have seen basically every major airline in the country, just within the last one to two years, push up their entry level annual fee cards from, like, 95 to 150, I think, is where both, um, United and Delta pushed their U- United Explorer card and Delta SkyMiles Gold Card too. They had all the room and reason to push this annual fee up, and they're not doing it, and that is the biggest win of all, especially as we go down the list of the positive things that they're adding.
All right, so one of those positive things they're adding, the $50 annual hotel credit goes up to $100 without any strings attached, it appears, right?
I mean, so many credit cards that have these kinds of hotel credits say you need to book a two-night stay or you have to, um, you know, book a certain type of hotel or who knows what.
I mean, there are so many, or they split it up in two. No, this is just becoming a $100 a year that you get to use for every year that you have the card open, so long as you book that hotel through Chase Travel. This is, like, the perfect way of, you know, you need one hotel night for a wedding or you need one hotel night before or after a positioning flight or before or after a big international trip.
This is easy, easy money that just right there, you are automatically making money on this card. You pay $95 up front for your annual fee, you use this $100 credit for that hotel stay, and you are done. That is... That in itself is incredible.
Yeah, overnight airport hotel stays, this is what I use that $50 credit on every year, and it just got twice as valuable w- for no extra work from me.
Um, I've already used my $50 hotel credit for this year. Am I gonna get a re-rack here? Am I gonna get $100 now?
Um, our understanding is that you won't get another $100 to close out the year. You will get another $50 through the end of your card member year, and then w- whenever your card renews, you'll get that full 100 the next go around.
I'll take it. Um, the Global Entry and TSA PreCheck credit, what's going on there?
This is new. They are adding a full $120 credit to cover the cost of signing up for either Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, as well as NEXUS, which is kind of the Global Entry that only works between the United States and Canada.
This is awesome. Um, th- there are very few cards that are this cheap that offer this benefit. I mean, this is really a, a hallmark of the, you know, $395 Capital One Venture X or the almost $800, uh, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and now a $95-a-year card is getting it as well. There are a handful at that price point, but for the volume of people who have this card and only this card, this is a big win to be able to get either program for free.
You get this credit every four and a half years, and because all of these programs last five years, it's good to keep it active for life
All right, let's talk about these multipliers that you get on spend. Um, this first one I'm really excited about. I finally now have a 3X on gas and EVs card with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
This is huge, right?
This is a huge win because this is not a, you know, a spending multiplier that we typically see, and it's also huge now more than ever when gas costs more than it has in many, many years. So you're gonna be racking up more points by using your Chase Sapphire Preferred card at the pump, or if you're charging an EV, which, are you going back to Florida anytime soon?
No, no, and if I do, I'm getting a combustion engine car when I get there.
Grow up. No, this is, this is big. It is rare to see this. There are sh- I would say shockingly few credit cards that offer this, especially as popular as this card is. To see something like this is incredible. I mean, the only other, I would say, major travel rewards card that offers a big multiplier on gas is the Citi Strata Premier card, and that is nowhere near as popular as this one.
So this is a big win for people with this card in their wallet.
The other intriguing multiplier here has to do with booking vacation home rentals, including Airbnb and VRBOs. Uh, that is also gonna be 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards per dollar spent. Any thoughts on the vacation rentals bonus? I mean,
another big win, especially because neither of those big vacation home rental platforms have any kind of rewards program.
So this is, this is a big win, I would say. Um, you know, I expect this is gonna cover basically everything that is in the rental home sphere. So there's another platform called Vacasa that's slightly less popular. There are many more. We'll have to wait to see the, like, the final terms and conditions to see what might be excluded, but for your average, um, Airbnb and VRBO stays, earning three points per dollar is, is really nice.
Yeah, that's pretty amazing. Um, also improving on this card, the travel protections. Tell me what we need to know about that.
You know, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has, for, for the price point, which again, let's stress, still $95 a year- already has had some of the best travel insurance protections of, of any card that is that cheap.
So, you know, if your flight gets delayed or you get stuck somewhere overnight and you booked your flight with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, this travel protection kicks in. It's got second to none coverage for rental cars, and what Chase is doing now is they're adding some things that had typically been reserved for, like, the top tier Chase Sapphire Reserve or Amex Platinum cards, in that they're adding, um, emergency evacuation and emergency transportation coverage as well for when the absolute worst of the worst happens, um, y- the Chase Sapphire Preferred can help you out and cover the, what would be truly exorbitant costs of, like, an emergency evacuation, which I don't even wanna ballpark what that would be.
It's, it's probably seven plus digits.
Yeah. Emergency evacuations are, uh, very costly. This is very, very good coverage as well. Um, a year of Apple TV? A year of
Apple TV. Again, that's a $99 expense. Mm. This is only one time. You can only get one year, and really importantly, you will have to activate this, uh, before the end of 2026.
So you have to, you know, start charging your Apple, Apple TV or link your accounts, we're not quite sure how this is gonna work, um, before the end of the year, but that's another $99 back if it's, I mean, especially if you're already paying for it. You add that with, um, Global Entry and TSA PreCheck, doubling, um, the hotel credit, uh, this is a couple hundred dollars in additional value Still for a $95 annual fee.
I am gobsmacked by how much money Chase is throwing at people in order to get or keep their Chase Sapphire Preferred cards.
Yeah, this is really amazing, getting a f- free year of Apple TV+. Uh, Ted Lasso about to come back. Widow's Bay on Apple TV+. I loved that show. Check that one out, too.
Uh, Matthew Rhys is demented.
I... There's on- I can watch, like, one episode of his show every month before I need to move on.
He's excellent. Um, when do all of these new benefits kick in if you're already a Chase Sapphire Preferred card holder?
If you already have it, they're gonna kick in effective June 15th, so in just a couple of days you'll be able to activate Apple TV or start using it if you already have it.
You'll be able to sign up for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry if you don't already have that program, or really importantly, if you do, just use that credit to pay for somebody else. Um, a nice way to make sure you're not leaving your loved ones in Gen Pop while you go through TSA PreCheck- ... or Global Entry.
Yeah, so June 15th is when everything kicks in here, and for people who are just applying, uh, effective June 15th, everything is active then as well.
Sweet. Excellent. Okay, let's move on to the something cold section here. And I'll admit, when I first looked at all of these changes, my super jaded ass only saw this Hyatt news and thought, "Man, this, uh, this new Chase Sapphire Preferred really stinks," um, before you guys kinda, you know, pulled me out of my curmudgeonly hole and made me realize that actually there's a lot that's going on that's really good here.
But tell me what is happening with Hyatt transfers.
So on the heels of what Hyatt did earlier this spring, it is getting worse, because Chase points are really the best way to, to earn World of Hyatt points at scale, and what they're doing is they're creating, like, a two-tier system for transferring points to Hyatt.
If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which now costs almost $800 a year, you will still be able to transfer your Chase points to Hyatt on a one-to-one basis, so 50,000 Chase points become 50,000 World of Hyatt points. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, effective October 1st of this year, for existing cardholders, that's going to change to a four-to-three transfer ratio, which I don't wanna do the math on what f- the 50,000 Chase points becomes.
Point is, you're gonna need to transfer more Chase points in order to book the same World of Hyatt properties, which now cost even more, in most cases, than they did a couple of weeks ago. So this is really a one-two punch, and really the biggest something cold of the bunch. This is, this is a bummer, um, that Chase is going this route.
I think- Almost less so because of Hyatt alone, but more so because of what this suggests that Chase might do down the road with other transfer partners. Are we gonna see them do this for, um, Virgin Atlantic? Are they gonna do it for United? Are they gonna do it for Southwest and all of the other transfer partners that you can send your Chase points to?
That is, um, that's a little troubling.
Yeah, and it'll leave Bilt as the only one-to-one transfer partner with Hyatt anymore. Um, we will have that October 1st date for existing cardholders circled. We'll be reminding you about it in the Extra Mile and, and hopefully on this show as well. Um, if f- uh, y- I don't know if you mentioned it, new applicants will get that four to three transfer ratio right away.
Right away, effective- Yeah ... June 15th. If
you apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred beforehand, uh, before that June 15th changeover, you'll have until August or October 1st. Mm-hmm. But yeah, um, it's, it's kind of a, a one-two tiered setup here.
Yeah. Um, yeah, like you said, this is just annoying. I hate these non one-to-one transfer bo- uh, transfer, uh, partnerships if for no other reason than I hate doing the math, but also it just makes it really confusing to know what I have and, and how to make it work.
Um, is this, uh, I mean, is this a sign of what's to come? You mentioned it. Do you foresee this happening with other partners? I think it sets a
dangerous precedent that Chase above all other banks had previously been unwilling to go to. You know, for years there have been many Amex transfer partners that were less than one to one.
Same goes for Capital One. Chase has not done this. In fact, you know, while Emirates moved for all of its other transfer partners with Amex, with Capital One, with Citi, moved away from a one to one to a subpar transfer ratio, Chase, it seems, decided, "You know what? We're just gonna cut Emirates altogether."
That's what they did last year, and now we're seeing them do this with Hyatt, which to me suggests either- Hyatt made them do this, and Chase knew that they were too valuable to lose, or Chase has reconsidered and this is what's going to happen, you know, with, with others. But, you know, if, if you're, you know, uh, somebody at United and you believe you can get more money out of Chase and, you know, Chase cardholders down the road by changing these transfer ratios, this...
the door is now officially open.
Yeah. Hope not. Um, last thing in something cold, uh, this 10% anniversary bonus is ending. Can you explain to us what this was and why it's going away?
Uh, this is maybe the most misunderstood and probably not frequently used benefit that Chase added a couple of years ago. Um, so w- what, how it worked was just a flat 10% of whatever you spent each year on the card, each calendar year, Chase would give you, uh, 10% in points back.
So if you spent $10,000 on your card, you got 1,000 points. Not a ton. Chase is just doing away with that altogether. Um, for existing cardholders, people who have had this card for a long time, all of your spend through October 1st of this year will still count, and then Chase will deposit your final anniversary bonus at the end of the year.
Everybody else, it disappears immediately I'll be honest, I don't care I think that earning, now earning 3X points on gas and EVs and 3X points on Airbnb and VRBO will drastically outweigh this benefit. So to me, this is barely something cold. I think it's just notable, if only because this is truly the only benefit that Chase is taking away.
The transfer ratio to, to Hyatt is a little bit of a different ballgame. This is the only benefit that is truly disappearing.
Yeah, this is the benefit that I forgot about every year. It was always just nice to, at the end of the year being like, "Oh, yeah, here's a, a couple hundred points
to waste." I was gonna say, "Thanks, thanks for my 342 points, Chase."
Yeah. Uh, okay, we are gonna... Let's talk about, um, what we think Chase is up to here, but first we're gonna take a quick break. We are really excited to announce we're launching a brand-new Thrifty Traveler podcast Slack community. It's gonna be a place for our particular clan of sickos to come together and talk travel, react to the latest episodes, swap some secrets, and, uh, share their freshest and latest travel mistakes.
So we have another place for you to put all your mistakes. It doesn't have to just be our inbox every week. Are you excited about this?
I'm ready for the scathing criticism that I know we're gonna get from people in this Slack community. No, this should be a lot of fun. It's gonna be fun to yuck it up with people and not just, uh, wait for those emails every, every couple of weeks.
Yeah, it'll be really cool. I can't wait to, uh, chop it up with you all and, and hear more of all of your unhinged travel stories too. Um, you can find the invitation link to this free community in the show notes of this episode, so go ahead and get into the show notes. We'll put it in there, uh, so you can sign up for the Slack community, and we'll, uh, chat with you in there very, very soon.
Okay, let's move on to the Extra Mile, and the Extra Mile today comes down to one big question. Kyle, what is Chase up to here?
Uh, either they've lost their marbles that's not out of the question, or they are truly playing the long game here. This card is easily, based on every metric that we have, the most popular travel rewards credit card on the market.
It's not even close, at least in terms of, you know, the big banks and their transferable points currency cards, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Venture Miles, those ki- kinds of cards So you look at how incredibly valuable this card became while not charging another dime in annual fees nor taking benefits away and to me, this card is clearly now more than ever becoming Chase's version of the buck 50 hot dog and soda at Costco.
This is a loss leader. This is a way to get people in the door and into their ecosystem. And I'll be honest, I think that this is going to get a ton of eyeballs and applications for those people who don't already have this card, and that is the entire point
Yeah, I think it, it, the Costco hot dog strategy is, uh, very well...
A very fun way to put this. And I, it is, you know, it's a big zag compared to the other banks where, you know, the, the lowest level, you know, real points earning cards at all the other banks are, are gonna be way more expensive than this, have fewer perks, and this one, I think Chase is just saying, like, "Let's just pile everyone into the system," right?
Is that, is that really what they're doing here?
Uh, y- I think so, because it's... I th- the long game here, the Costco strategy, is not just about getting people a Chase Sapphire Preferred. It's everything that happens next. So keep in mind that Chase and Chase Ultimate Rewards is ultimately a tiny, tiny slice of JPMorgan Chase Bank, which is mortgages, which is inve- investor relationships, which is, um, auto loans.
I mean, it's everything, and this becomes the way that... It's like, it's Chase's way to get people into their funnel, and then it's, "Do you want a Chase Sapphire Reserve card in a few years?" "Oh, yeah. Well, I like my relationship with Chase over the last two years since I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred." "Do you want a mortgage?
H- Help think about us for your auto loan. Hey, want a business checking account? And we'll give you a big bonus for that, too." It's all of these things. I think it's... They're, they are playing the long game, and this is a really, really interesting zag, as you put it, to just pile as many people into that funnel as humanly possible and then upsell them down the road.
That is not something that, you know, like American Express, for example... American Express, while they have some other kind of bolt-on aspects of their business, they don't have that kind of scale that JPMorgan does to get people into their system and then continually upsell them for other stuff.
Yeah, and I think, you know, the, the most interesting way, besides, besides, um, you know, signing up for the card to begin with and getting whatever amount of points that you get when you sign up for a Chase Sapphire Preferred, um, these now, uh, multipliers for spending are really what gets your, gets their claws in me.
Like, when I think about this card now, I'm thinking about it as this is gonna be my gas card for sure going forward. It's gonna be my wife's gas card, too, and it's also my dining card still. I don't have an Amex Gold card, so this is still my dining card. And gas and dining, that's a lot of spend for an American, uh, every single week.
So this is a, a pretty enticing way to get people to, one, start swiping their card- All the time, their Chase Sapphire Preferred card all the time. And also, like you said, getting into the ecosystem. I, at one point, had the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Ink card, I had a Chase home mortgage, and a Chase auto loan all going at one time.
I am the poster child for how this works. Uh, and actually, my Chase Sapphire Preferred did come first before all those other things, so... So just,
uh, and let's keep in mind, Chase isn't just, like, looking at the annual fee versus all of the benefits, which are now bigger than ever. They're also making money on swipe fees every time you use that card.
If you carry a balance, which you shouldn't, they're obviously making a ton of money there, but there is no question, especially if there's a big bonus on this card, Chase is going to lose a ton of money with these changes, and they have decided that that is worthwhile so that they can, A, get people into their system and turn into a world of gunners, and B, condition people to use this card day in and day out, and then use the next Chase card that they get, and the next one, and the next one.
Okay, big picture, point blank, how good is this card now?
It has been the single most frequent recommendation that we make, that I make in my personal life to friends and family who hear about what I do and wonder and ask me this question, and this cements it, that Chase threw down the gauntlet here. They threw out the kitchen sink with benefits that are not annoying, that are more beneficial and bigger, that are still easy to use.
I am amazed at this. I have never seen something... Again, I don't wanna discount how annoying and troubling the changes that Chase has made with transferring points to Hyatt is, 'cause that is n- that is not insignificant. But on the whole, this has become, I would say, the single best credit card for travel, period, and it's not really even close.
I think this is a real challenge to the rest of the credit card landscape of what are you guys gonna do now?
Yeah, I totally agree. Um, do we expect to see a significant sign-up bonus with this too?
We do. A- And it would be unusual if Chase didn't, and in fact, Chase has indicated that there will be something different about a bonus offer.
Now, whether it's gonna be, you know, an eye-popping 100,000-point bonus or more, we don't know, but I would be shocked if we don't see something that kinda makes this even more valuable than this card just on its face with these new benefits and a zero change to its annual fee
already is. Okay, I think we've said all we need to say about the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and its new changes.
I got one thing left, and I'm putting you on the spot to close the show. You ready? Mm. Go easy. Uh, really simple. Best Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption of your life.
Oh. You know- It, well, my wife and I tried and had to cancel and then put off going to England for a long time, and that was a really special trip.
And we finally did that last summer, and we did that in part because there w- there was a day, um, in late 2024 when Virgin Atlantic made some changes to its award program and m- somehow wound up making upper class business class tickets, uh, significantly cheaper. And at the same time, Chase was offering a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic.
So we transferred n- not very many points to book two business class seats from New York City to London, and finally made that trip happen, and it was awesome. So it's gotta be that one.
Yeah, something like 20... You transferred, like, 21,000 points per person or something for a business class flight. I, I think that's,
I think that's what it was.
And now, you know, Virgin Atlantic, A, doesn't make that many seats available at that low rate, and B, most importantly, now charges, like, $600 in taxes and fees instead of what, at the time, was $250 per person. So that one is, is extra special to me.
That's a good use of your Chase points. If, uh, you've earned some Chase points recently on that bonus, good for you.
All right. Thank you so much for listening to the Thrifty Traveler podcast. Rate us five stars on your podcast platform of choice. Like and subscribe to Thrifty Traveler on YouTube, and send this episode to someone you know who needs a vacation. If you have feedback for us, send me a note at podcast@thriftytraveler.com.
We'd love to hear from you there. Kyle,
tell us about the team. This episode was produced by your favorite host, who you can find swiping his Chase Sapphire Preferred card at the nearest gas station, Gunnar Olsen. It was produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas and edited by Kyle Thomas. Our theme music is by Benjamin Tissot.
See you next time.
See ya.