The Best Starter Travel Card
- gabtravelsthere
- Apr 20
- 3 min read
Which card am I talking about? None other than my trusty:
Chase Sapphire Preferred!
Right now, as of April 2025 this card is offering its highest sign-up bonus ever of 100,000 points after spending 5K in 3 months! Thats enough points to get you from the US to Europe on luxury business class!
With access to over 10 travel partner airlines and 3 top hotel chains you can’t go wrong with having this card in your wallet today. So why all the hype? Is it worth it for you?
Let’s review the perks:
Annual Fee: $99
This fee is offset because of the ability to transfer points to partners, especially since Chase Ultimate Rewards are only 1 of 2 credit card point systems that can transfer to the amazing World of Hyatt program.
If you factor in the $50 hotel credit that can be used when booking via the Chase Portal, it basically makes the annual fee just $49.
Now, I don’t recommend booking via the portal for flights because of the poor redemption rate but to utilize this $50 credit you have to make a booking on the portal. I suggest booking with cash on the portal to trigger the statement credit and keep an eye on the cancellation policy.
Point Earnings:
3 x on dining at restaurants, take out and eligible delivery services
5 x on Chase Travel (booking via the portal)
2 x on travel purchases (flights, hotels)
3 x on online grocery purchases (excludes Target, Walmart and Warehouse stores)
3 x on select streaming services
1 x on every other purchase
This card also comes with a DoorDash monthly credit and a reduced service fee for delivery when you link your Sapphire card to your account.
DoorDash Dash Pass $10 Monthly Credit
Now let’s look at where these points can transfer to:
Airlines:
Aer Lingus
Air Canada
British Airways
Emirates
United
Air France KLM
Iberia
JetBlue
Singapore Airlines
Southwest
Virgin Atlantic
Hotels:
Hyatt
Marriott
IHG
This is where you find the deals! Check these airline sites for award bookings and when you find what you are looking for transfer your points over and complete the booking!
Some programs handle instant points transfers while others take a few days to process. Just keep that in mind when you are selecting your flight. Some airlines allow you to place certain flights on hold while you transfer the points over for peace of mind.
You may be thinking wait I don’t really fly on any of those airlines, but I’m here to say you have probably seen these airlines on sites you have booked with, and you didn’t even realize it.
One example is United via Air Canada Aeroplan
They are in the same “alliance” therefore in many cases you are able to find the exact flight on both sites for varying number of points! It's kind of like window shopping for flights until you find the deal that uses the least amount of points all the while being the same flight you've been thinking about booking in cash all along.
Whew! Too much, too little? Well, this is really just scratching the surface. I hope you at least found this segment helpful, stay tuned for more articles about how to book flights on points!
If you feel like this card maybe the one for you use this button below to apply! It's my "refer a friend" link. Thank you and Travel On!
Comments