My biggest assumption about the Chase Sapphire Preferred was wrong
I made a really bad assumption about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) — and I'm willing to bet a lot of others did, too.
I assumed the more expensive Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) would always offer equal or better pricing than the Sapphire Preferred when booking hotels through Chase Travel℠.
It turns out I was wrong.
Sapphire Preferred: For a limited time, earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
While comparing hotel prices through Chase's Points Boost feature, which lets eligible cardholders redeem Ultimate Rewards points for more than the standard 1 cent apiece on select Chase Travel bookings, I discovered that the same hotel, on the same dates, sometimes costs fewer points and even carries a lower cash rate when booked through the Sapphire Preferred than through the Sapphire Reserve.
That surprised me enough that I started digging to see whether I'd stumbled across a one-off pricing quirk, or if this is something Sapphire cardholders should actually know about.
The redemption that made me do a double-take
It all started with this TPG Instagram post, highlighting that with the limited-time 100,000 bonus points from the Sapphire Preferred, you'd have more than enough for two nights at one of my favorite resorts: the Ritz-Carlton Turtle Bay on the North Shore of Oahu.
View this post on Instagram
Specifically, the example used Aug. 21-23, when the property could be booked through Chase Travel for 86,388 points plus $123 due at the hotel using the Sapphire Preferred's Points Boost benefit. The same stay carried a cash price of $1,695.
Booking that resort for around 43,000 points per night is an excellent deal.
In fact, it looked so good that I logged into my own Chase account to double-check the math. I assumed my Sapphire Reserve would show the same pricing or perhaps something even better.
There was no typo — it really was that good with the Sapphire Preferred.
However, for the same dates, the least expensive room available to book via my Sapphire Reserve in Chase Travel was $2,139 or 129,647 points.
That's a return of 1.65 cents per point. So, not only were the cash rates a fair amount lower via the Sapphire Preferred, but the return per Chase point in this case was also better with the Sapphire Preferred than the Sapphire Reserve.
| Sapphire Preferred | Sapphire Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
Cash price | $1,635 | $2,139 |
Points required | 86,388 (+$123 on property) | 129,647 |
Value per point | 1.75 cents | 1.65 cents |
Was this a one-off?
Determined to see if we had accidentally stumbled on a one-off fluke, the TPG team set out to find another example. We found one at the St. Regis Bermuda.
On the same Aug. 21-23 stay:
| Sapphire Preferred | Sapphire Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
Cash price | $2,463 | $2,553 |
Points required | 189,434 points | 246,264 points (+$90 due on property) |
Value per point | 1.30 cents | 1 cent |
Two examples certainly don't prove this happens everywhere, but they were enough to convince us that something interesting was going on.
Here's why the prices can differ
Naturally, we asked Chase about the discrepancy.
A Chase spokesperson told TPG that the differences generally come down to the types of rates each card offers, such as refundable versus nonrefundable bookings.
"For the majority of hotels on Chase Travel, cardmembers won't see a difference in pricing across cards. When a price does differ, it's driven by differences in available rate types (for example, fully refundable rates versus other rate options). As a result, it's possible to see different cash prices and points requirements for the same property and dates across cards. Of course, Points Boost offers are updated regularly. We encourage cardmembers to check back often for new offers from a variety of airline and hotel partners."
One important caveat
To be fair, both of these hotels participate in Chase's The Edit program.
That means Sapphire Reserve cardholders booking through the Edit would include a $100 property credit, daily breakfast for two, and other on-property benefits. You'd also be eligible to use one of the two Sapphire Reserve's up to $250 statement credits for prepaid The Edit bookings of two nights or more.
However, even with all those caveats, I was still really surprised that base rates vary depending on which card you use and that your points can sometimes go further in Chase Travel bookings with the Sapphire Preferred than with the Sapphire Reserve.
Bottom line
This is a really good reminder that if you have both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, don't assume the Reserve will always offer the better Chase Travel redemption.
While in my experience it often works out that way, I've now learned it doesn't always. And in fact, this may be yet another reason some folks will actually benefit from having both the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve.
Pricing can vary depending on the available rate types, and in some cases, the Sapphire Preferred may require significantly fewer Ultimate Rewards points for the exact same hotel stay.
With the Sapphire Preferred currently offering a 100,000-point welcome bonus after spending $5,000 on purchases in three months from account opening, it's another reminder that the card delivers exceptional value well beyond what its modest $95 annual fee might suggest.
To learn more, read our full review of the Sapphire Preferred and our full review of the Sapphire Reserve.
Related reading:
- Great news: New price-matching feature now available in some Chase Travel accounts
- Am I eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred's 100,000-point bonus?
- Chase Sapphire Preferred 100,000-point bonus — all your questions answered
- Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which is better for you?