Chase is making meaningful changes to the Chase Sapphire Preferred effective June 15, 2026. On the surface, this looks like a strong refresh: the annual fee stays at $95, the hotel credit doubles, gas and vacation rentals become 3x categories, and a Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit is finally coming to the card.

But there is a much bigger change underneath all of that: Hyatt transfers from Sapphire Preferred and several non-Reserve Ultimate Rewards cards are being devalued. That single move changes the economics of the Chase ecosystem more than any new credit does.

What Gets Better

The Annual Fee Stays at $95

This matters more than it sounds like. A lot of people expected Chase to push the Sapphire Preferred up to $149 or even $199 during this refresh. It did not. Keeping the card at $95 per year preserves the main reason the Preferred works so well: it is still the easy entry point into Chase transfer partners without committing to a premium-card fee structure.

New 3x Categories: Gas, EV Charging, and Vacation Rentals

The Sapphire Preferred is adding a few genuinely useful earning improvements:

  • 3x on gas and EV charging
  • 3x on vacation rentals booked directly through merchants such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com, and Vacasa

That is on top of the existing bonus structure Chase cardholders already know:

  • 5x on Chase Travel
  • 3x on dining
  • 3x on streaming
  • 3x on online groceries
  • 2x on general travel

The gas addition is the standout. Chase has historically been weak on everyday driving spend, and this closes a real gap for people who wanted to keep more spend inside Ultimate Rewards.

The Chase Travel Hotel Credit Doubles

The Sapphire Preferred's annual Chase Travel hotel credit is increasing from $50 to $100 per cardmember year.

That does not fully erase the friction of booking through the portal, but it improves the net annual-fee math a lot. For anyone already willing to use Chase Travel once per year for a hotel booking, the effective cost of keeping the card drops quickly.

Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / NEXUS Credit Arrives

Cardholders will now receive a $120 application fee credit every 4 years for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS.

This was a missing benefit on the Sapphire Preferred for a long time. It does not change the card's identity, but it removes one more reason people felt pressured to move up to a premium product.

Travel Protections Improve at the Margin

Chase is adding Emergency Evacuation and Transportation coverage for covered trips paid with the card, up to $100,000 when a traveler is injured or becomes sick more than 100 miles from home and emergency transport is required.

That is not the benefit that will drive applications, but it is a real improvement. Importantly, the rest of the Sapphire Preferred's core travel protection package appears to remain intact.

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What Gets Worse

The 10% Anniversary Bonus Is Going Away

Chase is discontinuing the Sapphire Preferred's 10% anniversary points bonus.

For existing cardholders who applied before June 15, 2026, eligible purchases through October 1, 2026 still count toward the bonus, with final awards expected by January 31, 2027. New applicants on or after June 15 do not get this benefit at all.

This is a real cut, even if it is not the biggest one in the refresh. The anniversary bonus was easy, automatic value. Losing it makes the card slightly less rewarding for people who simply held it long term and put steady spend on it.

The Real Story: Hyatt Transfers Are Being Devalued

This is the part that matters.

Chase points have long been most valuable because of 1:1 transfers to World of Hyatt. That pairing has been the cleanest answer to the question, "Why should I earn Ultimate Rewards instead of cash back?"

Under the new structure, Hyatt transfers from the Chase Sapphire Preferred will move to 1,000 Chase points = 750 Hyatt points for new applicants starting June 15, 2026.

For existing Sapphire Preferred cardholders who applied before June 15, the devaluation begins on October 1, 2026, so transfers remain at parity through September 30, 2026.

The same October 1 date reportedly applies to:

That is a structural downgrade to the entire non-Reserve side of the Chase ecosystem.

Which Cards Still Preserve 1:1 Hyatt Transfers?

Based on the reported changes, the only Chase cards that will still allow direct 1:1 Hyatt transfers after October 1, 2026 are:

That means Chase is effectively turning Hyatt parity into a premium-card perk.

The Workaround Still Matters

There is still an important workaround if you hold multiple Chase cards.

You can continue to move points from cards like:

into a Reserve account first, then transfer to Hyatt from there at parity.

So the devaluation does not completely kill Hyatt as a Chase redemption path. It does, however, make the Reserve materially more important if Hyatt is one of your main uses for Ultimate Rewards.

What This Means for Chase Strategy

For people who never transferred to Hyatt, this refresh is mostly good news. More credits, more everyday bonus categories, the same low annual fee, and better checkpoint-program coverage is a strong package for a mid-tier travel card.

For people who built their Chase strategy around Hyatt, this is a much more serious change. Chase is clearly trying to separate the value proposition:

  • Preferred and Ink Preferred become stronger earning cards
  • Reserve becomes the card you need for premium redemptions

That is a coherent strategy from Chase's perspective. It is also a worse outcome for users who liked the old setup precisely because the Sapphire Preferred gave cheap access to Chase's best transfer value.

Who Should Act Before June 15 or October 1?

A few groups have obvious deadlines now:

  • If you want a new Sapphire Preferred and care about the current structure, June 15, 2026 is the key date.
  • If you already hold a Sapphire Preferred and use Hyatt heavily, you may want to complete planned Hyatt transfers before September 30, 2026.
  • If you are deciding whether to keep a Preferred-only setup or add a Reserve, Hyatt users now have a much stronger reason to hold the Reserve.

Bottom Line

The Sapphire Preferred refresh is a good product update attached to a bad ecosystem change.

On its own merits, the card is better than it was a week ago: the $95 annual fee stays put, the hotel credit is stronger, gas and vacation rentals join the bonus lineup, and the new Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit makes the card easier to justify. But the Hyatt transfer cut is the part that will matter most to serious Chase users.

If Hyatt is not central to how you redeem Chase points, this refresh is probably a win. If Hyatt is the main reason you collect Ultimate Rewards, Chase just made the Chase Sapphire Reserve much harder to avoid.

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