New Limited-Time Welcome Offer
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The 100,000 bonus points welcome offer is back on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders are uniquely positioned to take advantage of it now more than ever.
If you’re already holding the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you know what a powerhouse it is. But here’s a question worth asking right now: should you also pick up the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Well…can you I even hold both cards at the same time?
Thanks to a rule change Chase made earlier this year, and a rare 100,000-point welcome offer that just dropped, the answer for a lot of Reserve cardholders is a genuine yes. Let me walk you through exactly why, and what to watch out for.
The 100,000-Point Welcome Offer Is Back (and It’s a Big Deal)
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That matches the richest welcome bonus this card has ever offered.
To put the value in perspective: most points enthusiasts value Chase Ultimate Rewards points at around 2 cents each, putting this bonus at roughly $2,000 in travel value when maximized through transfer partners. That’s a significant chunk of points for a card with just a $95 annual fee.
This offer is for a limited time, and considering that the Chase Sapphire Preferred is my #1 recommended “Travel Starter Card”, there’s never been a better time to look into this card.
Wait… Can Reserve Cardholders Actually Earn This Bonus?
Yes, and this is the part that changes everything.
Chase overhauled its Sapphire eligibility rules relatively recently. The old “one Sapphire card at a time” restriction is gone. Now, each Sapphire card, the Preferred and the Reserve, carries its own welcome bonus eligibility, evaluated separately.
That means: if you already hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve can also hold a Chase Sapphire Preferred and earn the 100,000 bonus points. You can hold both cards simultaneously.
Here’s the Hyatt Angle Every Reserve Cardholder Needs to Understand
This is where things get really interesting, and it’s probably the most important part of this article.
Chase just introduced a major change to the Preferred: new applicants who open the card on or after June 15, 2026 will transfer Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt at a 4:3 ratio, meaning 4 Chase points only become 3 Hyatt points. That’s a 25% hit compared to the historic 1:1 ratio.
But here’s the workaround: Chase allows you to pool and move points between your own Ultimate Rewards accounts.
That means you can earn the 100,000 bonus points with the Sapphire Preferred, transfer those points into your Sapphire Reserve account, and then transfer them to Hyatt at the Reserve’s full 1:1 ratio.
In plain terms: you can earn the 100,000 bonus points with the Preferred and convert them into 100,000 Hyatt points, as long as you move them through your Reserve account first. The 4:3 devaluation on the Preferred becomes completely irrelevant if you have a Reserve.
The Earning Categories Where the Preferred Beats the Reserve
Here’s something the Preferred vs. Reserve comparison often misses: the Preferred is actually better for several spending categories that the Reserve ignores entirely, and actually supplements the Reserve quite well for the Reserve’s own bonus categories.
The Reserve earns high multiples on flights and hotels, but its travel category has been narrowed, and it earns just 1x on a surprising number of everyday purchases. The Preferred, on the other hand, now covers a much broader everyday spending landscape. Here’s where the Preferred earns more than the Reserve:
Gas and EV Charging — 3x on the Preferred, 1x on the Reserve
This is one of the most significant new additions in the June 2026 refresh. The Preferred now earns 3 points per dollar at gas stations and EV charging stations. The Reserve earns 1x on gas. For anyone who drives regularly, this is a meaningful category, and now one of the best places to put everyday spending on a Chase card.
Vacation Rentals — 3x on the Preferred, 1x on the Reserve
If you book Airbnb, Vrbo, or similar platforms, the Preferred now earns 3x on vacation home rentals. The Reserve earns 1x. This is huge for road-trippers, families, and anyone who prefers an apartment or house over a hotel. Vacation rental spending often runs high, putting it on the Preferred and pooling those points to your Reserve for Hyatt transfers is a genuine optimization.
Online Grocery Purchases — 3x on the Preferred, 1x on the Reserve
The Preferred earns 3x on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs). The Reserve earns 1x here. For regular grocery delivery users, this can add up fast over the course of a year.
Select Streaming Services — 3x on the Preferred, 1x on the Reserve
The Preferred earns 3x on select streaming services. Not a huge category for most people, but 3x on Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, and similar services beats 1x on the Reserve every time.
General Travel Purchases — 2x on the Preferred, 1x on the Reserve (for non-flight, non-hotel travel)
Here’s one that surprises people: the Reserve’s travel category has been narrowed to focus on direct flights and hotel purchases. For things like rental cars, trains, buses, ferries, and other general travel that doesn’t fall into airfare or hotels, the Preferred earns 2x. The Reserve earns 1x. If you take road trips, Amtrak rides, or non-hotel accommodation bookings, the Preferred wins by a wide margin on that spending.
What the Reserve Does Better (And Why You Keep It)
To be fair: the Reserve is still the powerhouse premium card. It earns more on direct airfare and hotel bookings, comes with plenty of travel perks and credits, lounge access, and now maintains the 1:1 Hyatt transfer ratio that the Preferred has lost.
The Reserve is your primary card for flights, hotels, airport lounges, and high-value travel spend. The Preferred becomes a category-coverage layer, filling the earning gaps the Reserve leaves on the table. Think of them as a team, not competitors.
The Math on Carrying Both Cards
Annual fee on the Preferred: $95.
Here’s a quick look at what easily offsets that $95:
- The Preferred now includes a $100 Chase Travel℠ hotel credit every cardmember year (up from $50), that alone covers the annual fee
- A $120 Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / NEXUS credit every four years
- A complimentary one-year Apple TV+ subscription (activate by December 31, 2026)
If you use the hotel credit once per year, the Preferred pays for itself before you earn a single bonus point. The 100,000-point welcome offer is pure upside on top of that.
Pat’s Final Take
The 100,000-point welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the most valuable offers in the points and miles ecosystem. The fact that Reserve cardholders can now earn it, and route those points through the Reserve for 1:1 Hyatt transfers, makes this a compelling opportunity for a specific type of traveler.
If you’ve been maximizing your Reserve for years and never held the Preferred, this may be the moment to finally pick it up. The cards complement each other well, the annual fee is easy to offset, and a possible 100,000 Hyatt points is a hard thing to walk away from.
Just act before the offer disappears. This one won’t last forever. If you do decide to learn how to apply, using my affiliate link helps support my free content like this.
Editorial Disclosure: The opinions are Pat’s alone. This content is not reviewed or endorsed by any entities.
