Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred Is Still My Top Travel Card in 2026

After reviewing and comparing travel cards year after year, this is the one I keep coming back to as the cleanest, most reliable recommendation for most travelers in 2026.

If you want one travel card that rewards normal spending and doesn't demand constant optimization, this is still the bar.

Strong rewards without lifestyle pressure

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) stays disciplined. It focuses on earning strong rewards where people already spend their money, offers flexible redemptions, and keeps the annual fee low enough that the math works almost automatically.

You earn:

• 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries
• 2X points on all other travel purchases
• 1X points on all other purchases

Dining does most of the heavy lifting. You don't need to be flying every month to rack up meaningful points. A few trips a year plus normal food spending is enough to make this card work.

Not to mention you earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's a welcome bonus worth at least $750 in Chase Travel℠ value.

Points that stay flexible over time

You can book travel directly through Chase Travel and get solid value with minimal effort. That alone makes the card approachable.

As your comfort level grows, you can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to airline and hotel partners. You are not locked into one redemption style, and you are not forced to learn everything on day one.

The quietly powerful $50 hotel credit

This is one of the simplest credits in the entire travel card market.

Each account anniversary year, you can earn up to $50 back on hotel stays booked through Chase Travel. There is no activation, no tracking, and no category juggling. You book a hotel and the credit posts.

That single perk does a lot of work lowering the effective annual fee and keeping the value equation clean.

Where the card is not trying to compete

This is not a luxury travel card.

There is no airport lounge access and no high-end status perks. If that's what you want, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® exists for a reason.

There is also no 0% introductory APR, so it is not designed for carrying balances or financing large purchases.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card assumes you pay your balance in full and want rewards that compound quietly in the background.

Is the $95 annual fee still easy to justify?

The $50 hotel credit alone effectively cuts the cost almost in half. From there, you only need a modest amount of spending to come out ahead. A few thousand dollars a year on dining and travel usually does it.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card keeps the value proposition simple. It rewards normal behavior. And it avoids the trap of overcomplicating travel rewards just to justify a higher fee.

That restraint is exactly why, in 2026, it's still the travel card I point to first. Read our full review right here and apply in minutes.