Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Details on 2x Points Per Dollar on Travel
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I've had the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for several months now and the portion of my total spend on the card keeps increasing. I've extolled the benefits of this card many times and I firmly believe this is the best overall travel card on the market right now - at least for the savvy points collector - especially with the current 50,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $4,000 in 3 months (with an additional 5,000 points after you add an additional user and make a purchase in the first 3 months).
I also love the fact that you earn two points per dollar on travel and dining, since as I've said before - that's basically all I do. However, it hit me the other day that I didn't know exactly what was included in "Travel" since it's a pretty broad category. Honestly, I thought it would just include airfare, hotel and rental car - but it actually includes much more. I asked my contact at Chase to clarify and she confirmed the 2x points on travel actually includes:
Airlines
Auto/truck/RV rental
Limos and taxis - including Uber
Lodging
Travel agencies
Railways
Tolls and bridges
Parking (lots, meters, garages)
Bus
Time shares
So honestly, this is much more than what we traditionally think of as travel. If you live in a city where you take taxis, the 2x points could add up quickly. The only things I don't put on my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is airfare, because I get 4 points per dollar when booking through using my Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express and gas and groceries, which my Premier Rewards card gives 2x. Everything else will go on Sapphire, because I value Ultimate Rewards points and the instant 1:1 transfers to Continental, United, British Airways, Korean Air, Hyatt, Marriott, and Priority Club. Amex points are still valuable since they often run lucrative transfer bonuses, but if Chase ever matched them in that department, I'd shift even more spend away from Amex.
So yea, anytime you think something might qualify for travel, you might as well use your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card. And if a charge doesn't post as you expect, I know many people have had success calling Chase (live phone reps always answer) and making a case for the bonus points. Heck, I just purchased my Oneworld Mega Do tickets with my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - can't hurt to try and get 2x points on that!
