Best Card to Start Traveling on Points & June 2026 Refresh Explained

The MOST recommended card for people who want to travel on points and miles is the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card.

With an annual fee of just $95 this card offers great earning potential, easy redemption options and some of the best travel protections out there.

The welcome bonus is 75,000 points after spending $5,000 on the card in the first 3 months. These points can be worth over $1,500 when transferred to travel partners.

Points earned from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card are FLEXIBLE which means you have lots of options when it comes to redeeming them.

Chase points can currently be transferred to 14 different travel partners including 10 airlines and 4 hotel chains. Some of the most beginner friendly transfer partners include Southwest, United and Hyatt which are not readily available with other credit card programs. Hyatt in particular is a sweet spot where you can often get 2-4x more value from your points if you transfer points to stay at Hyatt properties.

Here’s a post that walks you through the process of using Chase points to book a FREE Hyatt stay.

It’s not uncommon to redeem Chase points for Hyatt stays that are worth 2x, 3x even 4x in value!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns points as follows:

5x points on TRAVEL purchased through Chase Travel℠
3x points on DINING
3x points on ONLINE GROCERIES (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
3x points on STREAMING SERVICES
3x points on GAS & EV CHARGING – as of June 15, 2026
3x points on VACATION HOMES booked direct (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc…) – as of June 15, 2026
2x points on all other TRAVEL
1x point on everything else

Perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card include:

NO foreign exchange fees
$100 annual Chase Travel℠ hotel credit – increased from $50 on June 15, 2026
$120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit every four years – NEW as of June 15, 2026
$10 per month DoorDash credit through December 2027 – details in this post
10% anniversary points boost – ending June 15, 2026. If you had the card before June 15, 2026 you will still get your 10% anniversary bonus on eligible purchases made through October 1, 2026, those will post in January 2027
Complimentary Apple TV – NEW as of June 15, 2026
5x on Lyft rides through 9/30/2027
Primary car rental insurance
Travel and purchase protection benefits

There are a lot of great cards out there, but starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred will give you a great introduction into the points and miles world with a low annual fee of $95. The perks far outweigh the annual fee year after year.

Changes as of June 15, 2026

The Good News First!

The annual fee of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card remains at $95 and the following benefits have been added:

New earnings rates have been added including:

3x points on gas & EV charging
3x points on vacation homes booked direct (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc…)

Additional perks have been added:

The annual hotel credit is increasing to $100 per year on a $100+ stay on a hotel booked through Chase Travel. This doubles what cardholders have received in past years and makes this credit much more usable. There continues to be no minimum night restrictions. This is based on your cardmember year not the calendar year.

$120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit every four years which can be used for anyone.

Complimentary Apple TV when you activate before December 31, 2026 ($156 annual value). If you pay for a bundle subscription you will get a discount. This is valid for one year.

Added emergency evacuation and transportation coverage

Overall, the June 2026 refresh is very positive!

And the No-so-good News

The ratio of transferring Chase points to Hyatt is decreasing for Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Business Preferred cardholders from 1:1 to 4:3.

At the new 4:3 transfer rate, transferring 10,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt will equal 7,500 Hyatt points.

The timeline of this change is dependent on when you applied for your affected card:

If you had the Chase Sapphire Preferred (or the Chase Ink Business Preferred) cards before June 15, 2026 you have until October 1, 2026 to transfer Chase points to Hyatt at the current 1:1 ratio.

If you apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card after June 15, 2026 you will immediately fall under the lower 4:3 transfer ratio.

If you apply for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card from now until October 1, 2026 you have until October 1, 2026 to transfer Chase points to Hyatt at the current 1:1 ratio. Send me a DM if you’d like more information on this business card.

Hyatt is only one of the many transfer partners available through Chase so you have lots of options on how to use your points and there is still loads of value to be had in booking Hyatt stays with Chase points even at the 4:3 ratio.

Key Takeaways:

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is still the easiest card for beginners and aside from the Hyatt transfer ratio changes, the new benefits are fantastic especially for a card with a low annual fee of $95. The perks far outweigh the annual fee year after year.

If you had the Chase Sapphire Preferred card prior to June 15, 2026, you have approximately four months of 1:1 Hyatt transfers left. I do not recommend transferring points to travel partners unless you have a specific redemption in mind. Once they are transferred they can not be moved back to Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Both the Chase Sapphire Reserve personal and business cards will keep the 1:1 Hyatt transfer option. You can read more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve personal card in THIS POST

If you’ve already earned a welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or you’d prefer a card with more travel perks including lounge access you can apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Holding a Chase Sapphire Reserve card will also allow you to continue to transfer Chase points to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio indefinitely.

HERE is a post all about the Chase Sapphire Reserve and how to use and maximize the MANY credits and card perks it includes.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns points as follows:

8x points on TRAVEL purchased through Chase Travel℠
5x points on LYFT rides
4x points on all FLIGHTS booked direct
4x points on all HOTELS booked direct
3x points on DINING
1x point on everything else

Perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card include:

NO foreign exchange fees
$300 annual travel credit
$500 annual The Edit hotel credit in Chase Travel℠
$250 credit for select hotels in Chase Travel℠ (2026 perk only)
$300 Stubhub credit
$300 dining credit at participating restaurants
$250 Apple TV+ and Music credit
$25 per month DoorDash credits through December 2027 – details in this post
Airport lounge access with guest access – details in this post
$120 Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit every 4 years
$120 Lyft credits
IHG Platinum Status
Primary car rental insurance
Travel and purchase protection benefits
AND MORE!

The annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve is high ($795) but if you use the credits and perks you can get lots of value out of the card in addition to the welcome bonus (I value the bonus alone at $2,500+).

Many of these credits are based on a calendar year so you will be able to use these credits in both 2026 and 2027 under just one annual fee – this is referred to as a “double-dip”.

For example, if you apply for the Reserve card now you’ll get $450 of Stubhub credits in the first year of having the card instead of just $300.

$150 Now – December 2026
$150 January 2027 – June 2027
$150 July 2027 – until you decide to either keep, close or downgrade the card.

Keep in mind you don’t have to keep a card forever, if after the first year you don’t see value in keeping it another year you can close or downgrade it.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has the best travel protections offered on any travel card and earns 4x points on flights and hotels and 3x on dining (and 8x points on travel booked in the Chase Travel portal).

If you’d like me to send you the spreadsheet I created that allows you to figure out the value of each credit included on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card based on whether you’ll use them send me your email and I’ll get that sent to you. If you use the credits you can more than make up for the high annual fee.

Couple things to NOTE:

➜ Your chances of being approved for a Chase card are higher if you are under 5/24. Chase will likely not approve you for a new card if you’ve opened 5+ personal cards in the past 24 months. This includes retail cards like Target or Home Depot so choose your new cards wisely! More about 5/24 status.

➜ I don’t recommend adding your spouse or partner as an authorized user because they are better off earning a welcome bonus of their own. As of October 2025, you can no longer earn a Chase referral bonus if you refer someone to a Chase business card who has already had a Chase business card. Instead, please consider applying with an affiliate link of a points and miles educator.

➜ Chase points can easily be combined and moved between cards and household members. This makes it easy to maximize your redemption options!

➜ As of January 2026, you are able to earn a welcome bonus on both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card once per lifetime and you can hold both cards at the same time. So if you’ve earned a bonus on one of these cards in the past, you can still earn a bonus on the other card. Chase has also implemented a pop-up tool for card applications that will tell you if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus before you proceed, with no impact on your credit score. This will be the best way to know if you are eligible for a welcome bonus. If you are not able to apply for a Sapphire card, I’d be happy to help you figure out the next best card for you based on your travel goals and credit card history. There are a lot of great card options!

Holly @onpointwithholly is part of an affiliate network and may receive commission when you support her efforts to continue to provide FREE content, resources and guidance. Send me a DM if I can help you along your credit card journey!

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE