The Chase Sapphire Preferred just got its biggest update in five years. Starting June 15, 2026, the $95 annual fee stays exactly the same, but the card adds over $200 in new credits and benefits while also quietly cutting one of the most valuable transfer ratios in the entire points and miles ecosystem.
Two new earn categories, a doubled hotel credit, a brand-new TSA PreCheck and Global Entry credit, a free year of Apple TV, and a new emergency evacuation benefit make the math on the annual fee easier than ever for a beginner cardholder.
But Chase is also moving the World of Hyatt transfer ratio from 1:1 to 4:3, which means 33% more Ultimate Rewards points are required to book the same Hyatt night you booked last week.
Here's exactly what's changing, who gets hit and when, and whether the Chase Sapphire Preferred is still the best beginner travel card in 2026.
What's New on the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Every existing earn category stays. Chase is layering new categories on top, plus expanding credits and protections.
3x Points on Gas and EV Charging (NEW)
The Sapphire Preferred now earns 3x points on gas and EV charging. This is rare on a $95 fee card, and it solves a real gap in Chase's lineup. The card was previously a poor everyday spend pick for drivers because gas earned just 1x. With this update, the Preferred becomes a credible daily-spend card alongside the best gas-earning card strategy for the average household.
3x Points on Direct Vacation Rental Bookings (NEW)
Book direct on Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com, or Vacasa and you earn 3x points. If you book the same property through Chase Travel, you still get 5x. The 3x rate only kicks in when you book direct from the brand, which is how most travelers book vacation rentals anyway.
$100 Chase Travel Hotel Credit (Doubled from $50)
The single biggest upgrade for most cardholders. The Sapphire Preferred used to give a $50 statement credit for hotel bookings made through Chase Travel. That was easy to dismiss, since forcing a portal booking for a $50 discount rarely felt worth it. At $100, the math flips. That's a meaningful chunk off a single hotel night, no opt-in, no nightly minimum, no quarterly chunking.
Chase confirmed that existing cardholders get the additional $50 on June 15 regardless of whether they've already used their $50 this anniversary year. If you spent your $50 in April on a hotel booking, you'll receive another $50 in credit on June 15. If you haven't used it yet, your remaining balance bumps to $100. Either way, you end up with effectively $100 of hotel credit for the current anniversary year, so there's no need to burn or save the $50 strategically before June 15.
$120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS Credit (NEW)
One statement credit of up to $120 every four years toward the application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS. This was previously a perk reserved for premium cards. At $95, this brings the Sapphire Preferred into rare territory, since only the Capital One Venture matches this benefit at a similar fee.
One Year of Apple TV (NEW)
Cardholders get a complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year if activated by December 31, 2026. Activate through the Benefits and Rewards section on Chase.com or in the Chase mobile app. At roughly $120 in retail value over the year, it stacks cleanly on top of the existing DashPass benefit.
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation Coverage (NEW)
Travel protections were already strong on the Sapphire Preferred, with trip cancellation up to $10,000 per traveler, trip delay reimbursement, and primary auto rental coverage. The new emergency evacuation benefit covers up to $100,000 in medical evacuation and transportation services if a covered traveler is injured or becomes sick during a trip 100 miles or more from home. Chase is calling this the most comprehensive built-in travel protection package of any card at this price, and that claim is defensible.
Annual Fee: Still $95
The fee stays the same. Run the simple math: $100 Chase Travel hotel credit, $30 a year of the TSA / Global Entry / NEXUS credit (since it resets every four years), plus roughly $120 in Apple TV value year one. That's $250 in stated value against a $95 fee in year one. Even in years two through four when the Apple TV benefit isn't in play, the hotel credit and the prorated TSA credit alone cover the fee.
What's Changing: The Hyatt Devaluation
Here's the bad news. Chase Ultimate Rewards points are moving from a 1:1 transfer ratio with World of Hyatt to a 4:3 ratio. That's the bigger story, and it deserves more than a paragraph.
The Math (And Why It's Worse Than 25%)
The headline number is a 25% devaluation per point transferred. But the way it actually hits a maximizer is different.
Say you've been eyeing a 75,000-point Hyatt redemption, a four-night stay at a Category 5 hotel, or two nights at a top-tier property. Under the old 1:1 ratio, you transferred 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points and you were done.
Under the new 4:3 ratio, you need to transfer 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points to get those same 75,000 Hyatt points. That's 33% more points required for the same hotel night. The math is the same whether you're booking a Category 1 weekend or a Park Hyatt for a special trip.
Who Gets Hit by the Hyatt Devaluation and When
This is where the rules get interesting. The timeline depends on which card you hold and when you applied:
A few takeaways from the table:
If you already hold the Sapphire Preferred, you have roughly four months of 1:1 Hyatt transfers left. Use them if you have a specific redemption in mind, but don't transfer speculatively. Hyatt points don't move back to Ultimate Rewards once they're transferred.
A new Ink Business Preferred applicant on, say, July 1, 2026 still gets 1:1 transfers until October.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve for Business are the only Ultimate Rewards cards that keep 1:1 Hyatt transfers indefinitely.
The 10% Anniversary Bonus Is Also Going Away
This one is buried in the press release but worth flagging. The Sapphire Preferred used to give a 10% bonus on all your previous year's spend each anniversary. That's going away.
Existing cardholders earn the bonus on eligible purchases through October 1, 2026, with the points awarded by January 31, 2027. New cardholders who apply on or after June 15 never earn it.
For most cardholders, the 10% bonus was worth a few thousand points a year. Not the reason to hold the card. Worth noting, but not worth panicking about.
The Industry-Wide Devaluation Trend
The Hyatt change matters more than just one transfer ratio. Chase has historically been the simplest program to teach because everything transferred 1:1. Chase breaking away from that shows that every issuer is now actively looking for levers to pull to make their programs more profitable.
The pattern has been building for a year. American Express changed transfer ratios on Emirates Skywards and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Bilt added a 100,000 point cap on transfer bonus payouts.
The takeaway is simple. Expect more changes like this from every program over the next year or two.
Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Still Worth $95 in 2026?
For most people, yes. Especially beginners.
The card is still the easiest way into the Ultimate Rewards ecosystem, which remains the most beginner-friendly flexible points program because the redemption paths are obvious. Chase Travel works without award chart knowledge. Points Boost gives you a path to outsized hotel and flight value, and Chase Points Boost is the smarter play for some redemptions where the transfer math doesn't work. The transfer partners still include Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Singapore KrisFlyer, Virgin Atlantic, and United, all at 1:1.
The competitive set at $95 is still narrow. The Capital One Venture has the TSA credit but earns 2x flat with weaker bonus categories. The Citi Premier has decent 3x categories but no TSA credit and no Apple TV. Neither matches the Sapphire Preferred's new earn structure or the depth of travel protections.
The Case for the Sapphire Reserve
For maximizers who live on Hyatt redemptions, the Reserve is the smarter pick for Hyatt-heavy maximizers now. It keeps the 1:1 Hyatt transfer ratio indefinitely. It earns more on travel. It includes lounge access, a higher hotel credit, and dramatically better travel protections.
Bottom Line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred 2026 update keeps the $95 fee, doubles the hotel credit, adds a $120 TSA credit, a year of Apple TV, two new 3x categories, and emergency evacuation coverage. The catch is a 25% Hyatt transfer devaluation that hits new cardholders immediately and existing cardholders on October 1.
The benefits added are concrete and stack to over $200 in year-one value. The Hyatt cut is a real loss for maximizers.
The card is still the strongest beginner travel card in the U.S. and the most accessible entry point into Chase Ultimate Rewards.
