Chase has tweaked the Sapphire Preferred for 2026 with new bonus categories and an updated welcome offer.
The $95 annual fee remains, offset by a $50 annual Chase Travel credit that applies automatically to bookings through the Chase portal. If you use that credit, your effective fee drops to $45 — among the lowest in the travel card market for cards with transfer partners.
Earning rates: 5x on travel booked through Chase Travel, 3x on dining and select streaming, 2x on other travel purchases, and 1x on everything else. The 1:1 transfer partners are the real value — Hyatt, United, Southwest, and Air France/KLM give flexibility that cash-back cards cannot match.
Trip protections are best-in-class for the price tier: primary rental car coverage, trip delay reimbursement after six hours, and purchase protection on eligible items. These protections alone can save hundreds on a single disrupted trip.
The main limitation is no lounge access — pair this card with a Priority Pass card (Amex Platinum, Capital One Venture X) if lounges matter to you. For moderate travellers who want one flexible points card without a triple-digit annual fee, the CSP remains the default recommendation in 2026.
