Follow up recently refreshed the Sapphire Preferred card to increase the hotel credit from $50 to $100 (with a few other changes and annual fee remaining at $95). Previously people made hotel reservations, received the credit, and then canceled their reservations and were able to keep the credit.
Unfortunately it seems it is no longer the case with bookings from 6/15 (when the credit was increased) onwards, now that the credit is back on cancellation bookings (more discussion on reddit here). It’s not a huge surprise that they are trying to close loopholes like this as they make the benefit significantly more generous. This solution has also received more and more attention recently and this often signals the end.
Other card changes on 6/15 are as follows:
- The $95 annual fee remains the same.
- The $50 hotel credit through Chase Travel is increasing to $100.
- The card will earn 3x on Gas/EV and on Airbnb, VRBO, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa. (This is in addition to 5 times on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal, 3 times on Online Dining/Streaming/Grocery Services, 2 times on travel.)
- New $120 credit once every four years for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS.
- One-time offer (not ongoing): Free Apple TV subscription for one year when activated until December 31, 2026.
- Enhanced Protection: Travel protections have been expanded to now include Emergency Evacuation and Transportation coverage.
- Two negative changes also occurred:
The sign-up bonus on this card is currently 100,000 points and is also available through referral.
