This week, Chase announced some changes that are coming to the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards this coming Monday. These changes had been rumored last month and some, myself included, thought that an annual fee hike may be coming along with them. Good news on that front and more! Plus, if you don’t have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, now could be the best time ever to get it!
New Chase Sapphire Preferred Changes
Link: Chase Sapphire Preferred 60,000 Point Offer (this is a personal referral link that lets me earn points also)
Read: Can You Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card?
The card already was a solid mid-tier card but these new changes definitely up the value of the card – without increasing the annual fee of $95. Here is what is coming this Monday, August 16. I thought the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer was too good before, but check out this now!
- 5x total points on all travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards (up from a general 2x point earning on travel)
- 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out (previously at 2x)
- 3x points on select streaming services
- 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Ultimate Rewards.
- New cardmembers will start earning towards the credit immediately and existing cardmembers will start earning after their next account anniversary
- 10% anniversary point bonus (each account anniversary, cardmembers will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year. For example, if you spend $25,000 in a year, you will earn an additional 2,500 points)
- New card design coming August 16 – new cardmembers will receive the new one and existing cardmembers can request it
If you are good purchasing travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, this is definitely a nice upgrade on the earning for travel and more, especially from a $95 annual fee card.
5X Earning on Travel – Nice, But…
My issue with the 5X earning on travel through the Ultimate Reward portal is that I really do not like purchasing travel this way because there are times that the cost of some airfare is higher than buying direct and if you have to cancel or make changes, you are dealing with an online travel agency instead of directly with the airline.
As for hotels, you do not get elite credit or elite benefits (guaranteed, anyway) if you book through a third-party. So, keep that in mind when you think of the 5x points. If you choose to book direct, you will continue to earn 2x points on travel.
3X Earning Categories
For the “3X” point categories, that is just upside. I mean, the 3X earning on dining is exactly what the $550 annual fee Chase Sapphire Reserve offers – and will continue to offer! There is ZERO reason to use the Reserve over the Preferred for this kind of spending.
I have never been an online grocery shopper but getting 3X points could change that! The 3X on streaming is a nice addition, too, if you use those services.
As for the $50 hotel credit, this will come after your cardmember anniversary and is only for the hotels you book through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Bottom Line
Now you have the new increased earning potential as well as the new anniversary bonus of 10% on spending. Throw in things like the $60 in subscription credit and you are easily getting more value from the card than the $95 it will cost you to keep it each year.
In fact, Chase is making it clear that the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the preferred card over the Reserve – which costs $550 per year! More on those changes in another post.
The anniversary bonus is a joke. Get back $12.50 (portal redemption) for every $10,000 spent, j 0.125% return. Also, please explain the $60 subscription credit you mentioned toward the end.
I find these changes to be pretty tepid. Aside from the 5x issues you mention there’s just no categories where the card leads the competition, except the rebate which only rebates spend at mediocre bonus levels. For example, the card is still fine overall but why buy groceries at 3x (plus rebate) if you can get 4x Amex points for the same spend? Honestly I’d kind of expected Chase to come up with at least one category that would truly incentivize using the card. Maybe next time. Regardless, I’m keeping my card because I like the rental car coverage and the award ticket trip delay and mishandled luggage benefits.
So, it sounds like there’s now no benefit to having the Reserve over the Preferred, is that correct? If that’s the case, then I should downgrade my Reserve to the Preferred and save on the annual fee.
[…] it gets even better: The Chase Sapphire Preferred is About to Get Even Better – Plus, the 100,000 Point Bonus! Earn 3 points per dollar on dining, yes! If you have a decent/safe job, you have an emergency cash […]