There’s a lot to love about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review). One of the awesome perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit, so in this post, I wanted to take a closer look at how that works. This might be especially interesting to people in light of the current increased bonus on the card.
In this post:
What is the Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit. The concept is that those with the card receive a $50 credit toward a hotel stay annually that’s booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
While this is quite straightforward, naturally there are some terms to be aware of:
- A statement credit will automatically be applied to your account when your card is used for hotel accommodation purchases made through the Ultimate Rewards website
- The statement credit will be issued up to an annual maximum of $50, with no minimum spending required
- There’s no registration required, but rather statement credits will post to your account within two days after your purchase posts to your account
- New cardmembers get this benefit their first cardmember year, and in each subsequent year; those who had the Sapphire Preferred before the August 2021 refresh will get their first credit after their next annual fee is due
- For the purposes of this credit, “annual” is defined as the year beginning with your account open date through the first statement date after your account anniversary, and the 12 monthly billing cycles after that each year
How do you redeem the Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit?
To redeem your Chase Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit, just go to the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal. Once you’re logged in, go to the “Travel” section.
Then you’ll see the travel search tool, which is powered by Expedia. Select the “Hotels” tab.
Select where and when you’d like to stay, and then click “Search.” On the results page you can filter by price, location, hotel name, star rating, etc.
Once you select a hotel, just go through the booking process. Make sure you choose to pay with cash rather than points, or else you won’t receive the statement credit.
There’s nothing further required to unlock the statement credit — just make sure you charge the purchase to your Chase Sapphire Preferred, and you’ll automatically receive a credit, up to the $50 limit.
Is it worth using the Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit?
The upside of using the Chase Sapphire Preferred annual hotel credit is obvious — you can save up to $50 on a hotel stay. So why wouldn’t you want to book through the Chase Travel portal? There are a couple of main downsides:
- Since the Chase Travel portal is an online travel agency, this is considered a third party booking, so you generally won’t earn points or receive elite benefits if you’re staying at a major chain hotel
- While the Chase Travel portal has competitive pricing, in some cases you’ll get better rates when booking directly with a hotel; some hotels have discounts for loyalty program members, AAA members, seniors, etc.
Personally, my strategy for using the Sapphire Preferred hotel credit would be as follows:
- Try to use it for a stay at an independent hotel, where you’re not forgoing points or elite benefits
- Try to use it for a stay that costs as close to $50 as possible, so the opportunity cost is the lowest compared to the rates you may find elsewhere
- In some cases it could still be worth using the credit at a chain hotel; for example, if you have a one night stay at a Hyatt Place that costs $80, it could be worth forgoing elite perks in order to knock $50 off the price
I absolutely think there’s value in this credit, though I also think it’s important to be strategic about how you use it.
Bottom line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred has lots of amazing benefits, and the $50 annual credit is one of them. The card offers a $50 annual hotel statement credit that can be used through the Ultimate Rewards portal. This is a fairly new benefit, so I know there has been some confusion about how it works. Hopefully the above clarifies any questions there may have been.
I’d recommend using the hotel credit strategically, and if used correctly, this should recoup more than half of the annual fee on the card.
What do you make of the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit, and if you’re a cardmember, how do you plan on using it?
I used points to pay for a small fraction of the cost of the hotel booked on the Ultimate Rewards site and did not get the $50 credit. Still paid $141 for the stay. I am guessing that using any points at all makes you ineligible for the credit on the reservation?
Fairly simple math if you use Ben's valuation (1.7 cents). To justify the ~$190 net fee, you need to earn 11-12k marginal points per year over what you'd earn on other cards for the nonairfare travel and with Lyft. Pretty close to breakeven for me so tough call. I want to downgrade and reapply for new bonus but won't be under 5/24 for another 18 months...
Chase Ultimate Rewards uses Expedia. So, is it possible that the Expedia used by Chase Ultimate Rewards is different than the Expedia used directly by those not going to ultimately Rewards?
Can Lucky or someone else help me understand why it is better to use this for a cheap hotel stay (close to $50)? I mean $50 off is $50 off, right? Isn’t the important thing just to use this for a stay where you aren’t finding significantly better deals outside the Chase travel portal?
Unfortunately, the Chase travel portal is a bit of a scam, especially in regard to flights. While using reward points gives you 25% boost, I have found that their prices are consistently about that much higher than what can be found using other travel sites (Expedia, travelocity, etc).
Good luck finding a hotel close to $50 a night.
Unfortunately the Chase site has pretty horrible rates. So often I find better rates elsewhere even with the $50 credit and have been having a hard time to use this benefit. Always check the price of the same hotel at another site before booking through Chase.
I picked up the Chase Sapphire Reserve last year before they changed the policy as to when the $50 credit would begin--since I enrolled in mid-2021, I do not get the $50 credit until my anniversary has occurred. I did not know that. I called 11 days after being charged for a Ultimate Rewards hotel reservation, getting no $50 credit (supposedly to be received within 2 days of the charge). I was told by numerous...
I picked up the Chase Sapphire Reserve last year before they changed the policy as to when the $50 credit would begin--since I enrolled in mid-2021, I do not get the $50 credit until my anniversary has occurred. I did not know that. I called 11 days after being charged for a Ultimate Rewards hotel reservation, getting no $50 credit (supposedly to be received within 2 days of the charge). I was told by numerous reps that I would get it, until I was transferred to someone who actually knew what they were talking about. Now, I am trying to cancel the reservation for which I have already been charged....after talking with 5 representatives, I am finally told the system is down to cancel the reservation. It will be a long time before I try Ultimate Reward travel center again.
Why does OMAAT keep referring to the Chase travel portal as being run by Expedia? Last year Chase bought the Global Loyalty Division of cxLoyalty. This new Chase division now runs the travel portal since November. It took a few weeks for the full transition, but the two Chase cards I hold both work with the cxLoyalty run portal.
My annual renewal date is in June. I don't have any trips until August. If I book now, would I get the $50 credit for this year?
Yes just book a prepaid rate
Dont listen to Luis. He is wrong. You are not eligible to receive the 50 credit until after the anniversary date statement closing. Even if the annual fee posted. Here is a data point- my annual fee posted 11/1/21. I paid it and assumed i was good to go. Booked a one night prepaid hotel through the portal 11/15/21. Never got the credit, called Chase and was told i wasnt eligible to receive the credit...
Dont listen to Luis. He is wrong. You are not eligible to receive the 50 credit until after the anniversary date statement closing. Even if the annual fee posted. Here is a data point- my annual fee posted 11/1/21. I paid it and assumed i was good to go. Booked a one night prepaid hotel through the portal 11/15/21. Never got the credit, called Chase and was told i wasnt eligible to receive the credit for a booking made before my statement closing date of 11/20/21. Annoying.
Sorry I totally misunderstood his question. I thought he was asking if he can use the $50 credit for THIS YEAR since he hasn't used it yet before the new anniversary/credit kicks in. If you don't have the $50 credit now, you won't get it obviously until after your anniversary.
I wish Chase would clarify if one has this credit available. I've had the card for less than a year. I'm assuming I have the credit as I've paid the AF but idk.
If you go to the card benefits for your card (in the drop-down list) you should see it there. Mine is listed right at the top under "Featured Benefits" and shows $50 of $50 used.
Thank you.
“Make sure you choose to pay with cash rather than points, or else you won’t receive the statement credit.” Is it possible to pay with $50 & the rest points to still get the credit? The rooms are usually a little overpriced on the portal & partial points would help with the sting.
@ James - Thank you so much for mentioning this as it didn’t show in my husband’s acct, so I called Chase. His 1st anniversary date is late July, so he won’t get this benefit until his second year. Chase says any 1st yr anniversaries before they started the benefit (sometime 8.21) do not yet qualify. I guess Chase wants their AF first? Anyways sure glad we hadn’t gone out of our way to use not knowing the T&Cs & then no credit