Chase's best transfer partner just took a major hit

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The Chase Sapphire Preferred has been one of the most popular travel cards for well over a decade. It comes with generous travel credits; strong earning rates on dining, online groceries, travel, and more; and some of the best complimentary travel insurance you can get from a credit card.

For years, points and miles enthusiasts have worried that a Sapphire Preferred card refresh might come with an increase to the popular $95 annual fee. Well, an update is here — and we’re happy to report that the card is better in most respects, with no change to the sub-$100 annual cost.

But there’s one huge change which could cancel out many of those improvements for World of Hyatt fans.

For the first time ever, Chase is devaluing a point transfer. World of Hyatt transfer rates are decreasing from 1:1 to 4:3. In everyday numbers, this means that 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points will only be worth 750 points when transferred to World of Hyatt.

The transfer rate decrease is effective immediately for new Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders who are approved on or after June 15th, 2026. If you’re an existing cardholder, the devaluation goes into effect on October 1st, 2026.

This devaluation doesn’t just impact the Chase Sapphire Preferred: World of Hyatt transfer rates will also decrease from 1:1 to 4:3 for Chase Ink Business Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, and Chase Corporate Flex cardholders on October 1st, 2026.

World of Hyatt transfer rates will remain the same at 1:1 for all Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders, and people with multiple Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards can still transfer points from lower-earning cards to the Sapphire Reserve for maximum value.

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Moving on to the rest of the news, which is largely positive. All Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders will get these new or updated benefits starting June 15th:

Cardholders will now earn 3x points on two common travel expense categories: gas and EV charging — a nice win for EV drivers and non-EV drivers alike, given gas prices these days — as well as on vacation home rentals including Airbnb and Vrbo.

This gas benefit makes the Sapphire Preferred even more of a no-brainer for households that want a single credit card for all expenses. It’s worth noting that even the premium version of this card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, doesn’t earn 3 points per dollar on gas and EV charging. And among Sapphire Preferred competitors in the same annual fee price point, the Citi Strata Premier card is one of the few other options to earn elevated rewards in this category.

Beginning June 15th, Sapphire Preferred cardholders will get an annual hotel credit of $100, double the previous amount of $50 each year. This means cardholders who can fully utilize this benefit each year will effectively get paid $5 by Chase to hold this $95-annual-fee travel card.

The $100 Chase Travel hotel credit can be used on any prepaid hotel stay booked through Chase Travel, with no additional restrictions such as a required minimum number of nights.

Sapphire Preferred cardholders also get a new credit toward expedited airport security screening enrollment: up to $120 for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS enrollment once every four years, issued as a statement credit after eligible transactions.

Finally, cardholders will get a complimentary one-year subscription to Apple TV when they activate the benefit by December 31st, 2026.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred already offers some of the most comprehensive travel protection benefits you can get from a credit card, especially one with an annual fee of just $95.

But it’s getting even better: Cardholders now get emergency evacuation and transportation coverage benefits, which covers medical services and transport costs of up to $100,000 when a covered traveler is injured or gets sick while at a distance of at least 100 miles from home.

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Finally, the current 10% anniversary points bonus is being discontinued — effective immediately for all cardholders who apply on or after June 15th, 2026, and after October 1st, 2026 for current cardholders. The final round of bonus points will be issued on January 31st, 2027.

In this day and age of constantly increasing credit card annual fees, it’s a serious win to see Chase keep the Sapphire Preferred’s sub-$100 annual fee. The $100 hotel credit alone can more than offset the card’s cost each year, making this a no-brainer even for households that rarely travel anywhere.

That said, we’re extremely sad to see the World of Hyatt devaluation. Hyatt has long been one of the most underrated transfer partners in the Chase ecosystem, and the Hyatt award chart just got a devaluation in May, so this adds insult to injury.

Existing cardholders still have a few months to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. Make sure you move points over before October 1st if you have any World of Hyatt stays on your radar.

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