Chase Sapphire Preferred expands everyday earn power

After a recent refresh, the Chase Sapphire Preferred added more bonus categories—pushing higher rewards into everyday spending like gas, EV charging, dining, online groceries, streaming, and vacation rentals.

Heard the new math yet? The Chase Sapphire Preferred has just been refreshed, and the biggest change is how deeply it reaches into the everyday purchases most travelers make without thinking—gas fill-ups, rides, dining, streaming, and even the increasingly common decision to book a vacation rental.

The card’s pitch is still recognizable: for a $95 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred delivers Chase Ultimate Rewards points and benefits that have long appealed to travelers who want outsized value without paying for the top-tier option.

With the refresh, the Sapphire Preferred now adds more bonus categories, and the result is a card that covers nearly every aspect of typical everyday spending. It’s positioned as a strong fit for award travelers across the spectrum—points-and-miles beginners, families, and road warriors.

For the offer, the headline remains bold: you can earn 100,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card when you apply.

The card’s updated earning structure is where the day-to-day impact shows up.

Chase Travel℠ purchases earn 5 points per dollar spent, as do Lyft rides through Sept. 30, 2027, and eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through Dec. 31, 2027. That translates to what TPG values as a 10.3% return on spending.

Gas and electric vehicle charging are new additions. Spend earns 3 points per dollar spent on gas and on electric vehicle charging—moving to a 6.2% return based on TPG’s June 2026 valuations.

Dining worldwide also earns 3 points per dollar, including takeout and eligible delivery services, with no limits mentioned in the source material.

Online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs) earn 3 points per dollar as well.

The refresh keeps a strong travel-and-life coverage theme: vacation homes at eligible brands earn 3 points per dollar. The eligible brands listed include Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.

Other travel benefits are folded in too. The card earns 2 points per dollar spent on all other travel worldwide, which TPG values at a 4.1% return.

Everything else earns 1 point per dollar, which TPG values at a 2.1% return.

The definition of what counts as Chase Travel℠ purchases includes flights, hotels, rental cars, vacation homes, cruises, activities and tours.

There’s also a direct comparison point that matters for travelers who are choosing between tiers. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® notably lost the 3 points per dollar bonus category on general travel in last year’s refresh. With that change, the mid-tier Sapphire Preferred now earns more on eligible vacation rentals than its premium counterpart.

For travelers trying to simplify their reward setup. this is one of the clearest signals in the refresh: the Sapphire Preferred’s broader bonus categories turn it into what the source describes as a genuinely competitive everyday spending card—and an “excellent candidate” for a one-card setup if simplicity is the priority.

The practical value is tied to TPG’s valuations. With the card’s bonus categories, the source lays out three sample scenarios—one for beginners, one for families, and one for frequent travelers.

A beginner-focused example assumes a single person who spends $200 monthly in one bonus category. $450 in another. $75 in another. and $150 in another category. with an additional smaller category of $50 monthly. Using the card’s 3-point-per-dollar structure in those categories. the source calculates 1. 455 points for the year. or 17. 460 Ultimate Rewards points annually with these bonus categories alone. TPG’s valuations place that at about $358 per year—more than three times the card’s $95 annual fee.

The source also gives a concrete example of what that roughly 17. 000-point total could do: a one-way domestic United Airlines economy flight. using transferred points to MileagePlus. An economy seat from Chicago to San Francisco costs 15,000 points (plus $5.60 in taxes and fees) when transferred to MileagePlus.

For families, a hypothetical spending pattern is larger and shifts more dollars into the higher-earning categories. The source’s family example calculates 3. 600 points for the year segment shown. resulting in 43. 200 points annually from these bonus categories alone. TPG values that at about $886 in annual value—described as more than nine times the Sapphire Preferred’s $95 annual fee. based on the categories used.

The source then connects those points to a potential hotel stay. Transferred to World of Hyatt at a new 4:3 ratio. the source says that would be enough for four nights at a Category 3 property such as the Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Airport. where award rates start at 8. 000 points per night. The implication is practical: for families. those points could help cover multiple rooms or add a few nights before or after a cruise.

A frequent traveler scenario is built around higher monthly spend and an assumption that dining out and booking vacation rentals happen regularly. In that example. the source calculates 3. 570 points for the year segment shown. which leads to 42. 840 points from these bonus categories in a year. With TPG valuations placing it at around $878, the source frames it as more than nine times the annual fee.

The numbers get even more ambitious when the source adds an additional pool of points: if you “top off” the roughly 43. 000 points earned from bonus categories with 17. 000 more points (plus taxes and fees). the source says you could unlock a business-class seat to Europe on Air France-KLM Flying Blue.

The card is not presented as perfect for everyone, though. The source says the Sapphire Preferred may not be ideal for people who prefer straightforward cash-back rewards or for those who don’t travel enough to maximize Chase’s transfer partners. It also points readers to comparing the Sapphire Preferred with other mid-tier cards with solid everyday earning rates. specifically the Citi Strata Premier® Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card.

Those two cards earn Citi ThankYou points and Wells Fargo Rewards points, respectively, with different sets of transfer partners. The source notes that TPG’s June 2026 valuations peg Ultimate Rewards points higher than both Citi ThankYou and Wells Fargo Rewards points. but also emphasizes there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer for all spenders—because the best choice still depends on how a person redeems.

In the end, the refresh centers on a simple shift: for everyday buyers, the Sapphire Preferred now pushes a wider set of purchases into 3-point-per-dollar territory—including the newly added categories for gas and EV charging and vacation homes—while keeping dining and online grocery rewards strong.

For beginners, families, and frequent travelers especially, the source argues the math can justify the card’s $95 fee. But for travelers who don’t travel enough to use transfer partners—or who want uncomplicated cash-back—another option may fit better.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Chase Ultimate Rewards gas rewards EV charging vacation rentals Airbnb Vrbo Plum Guide HomeAway Homestay.com Vacasa dining rewards online grocery streaming services Lyft rides Peloton purchases United MileagePlus World of Hyatt Air France KLM Flying Blue