Chase Sapphire Preferred, Reserve Cards are Getting New Rewards Categories

New and existing Chase Sapphire cardholders can now get more out of their Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. Chase recently announced that it would be adding more rewards categories and perks to both of cards as of August 16, 2021.

These two cards are among the most popular travel cards on the market, thanks to their robust rewards programs and generous welcome bonuses.

The Sapphire Preferred is currently offering its largest welcome bonus ever: 100,000 points if you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening, which is worth $1,250 if you spend it on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. With new perks like a cardmember anniversary bonus and higher rewards rates on groceries purchased on online as well as dining out, this travel card is more attractive than ever.

The Sapphire Reserve is a top-rated luxury travel rewards card, good for cardholders willing to spend $550 annually for higher rewards rates on dining, airline travel and hotel and car rental purchases booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal as well as perks like an up to $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔®, one year of DashPass (DoorDash’s subscription service) and a $120 Peloton credit.

Select explains the new changes coming to the Reserve and Preferred cards, as well as the rollout of Chase’s new airport lounges in New York, Boston and Hong Kong with the launch of Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club.

The Sapphire Preferred has a number of new rewards categories on select streaming services and groceries purchased online.

Here are all of the rewards categories:

• 5X total points on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards (new)
• 3X points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out (previously 2X)
• 3X points on select streaming services (new)
• 3X points on online grocery purchases (new and excludes Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• 2X points on travel
• 1X points on all other purchases

The new rewards on groceries only apply to groceries purchased online. If you’re looking for a card that will allow you to earn more from your grocery purchases in your first year of card membership, you could opt for the Chase Freedom Flex℠  or the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

Both Freedom cards have no annual fee cards and offer 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target or Walmart purchases) up to $12,000 a year. If you maximize the cash back the grocery benefit, you could earn up to $600 in the first year. Furthermore, both cards also have 3% cash back on dining like the Preferred. Read more about the best credit cards for grocery shopping.

The Sapphire Preferred also comes with some new perks:

There’s a new card membership anniversary bonus, where you’ll receive a bonus worth 10% of your annual spend each year. So if you spent $20,000 on your Sapphire Preferred since your last account anniversary year, you’ll receive a 2,000 point bonus worth $200 if you redeemed it at 1 cent per point. New cardmembers will start earning toward the anniversary bonus immediately, and existing cardmembers will start earning after their next account anniversary.

There’s also a new annual $50 hotel credit that applies to hotels booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal. The statement credit will be automatically applied toward your account each year and can be exclusively used on hotel accommodations.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has always been a luxury card but with the annual fee officially increasing from $450 to $550 as of August 1, consumers might want more rewards to justify the expense of this big annual fee.

The card has a hefty welcome bonus: New cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening, worth $900 when redeemed for travel in Ultimate Rewards.

It’s a generous offer, but not as large as the Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus. (Though Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth more when you have a Reserve card and use your points to book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal: Reserve points are worth 1.5 cents per point vs. 1.25 cents per point with the Preferred.)

The new rewards categories on this card only apply to dining and travel-related purchases through the Ultimate Rewards portal, so these changes might not be that useful if you don’t intend to use the portal for your travel booking needs.

Here are all of the rewards categories:

• 10X points on Chase Dining purchases through Ultimate Rewards (new)
• 10X points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Ultimate Rewards (new)
• 5X points on air travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards (new)
• 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2022
• 3X points on travel such as flights, cruises, trains, hotels and car rentals
• 3X points on dining
• 1X points on all other purchases

Reserve cardholders will also have access to “Reserved by Sapphire,” which gives them the opportunity to make reservations at popular restaurants. However, most of the restaurants are in urban areas and are considered higher-end, so this service might not be of much use to you if you don’t regularly eat out at these types of restaurants.

These lounges will be available to Sapphire Reserve cardmembers and members of Priority Pass. Sapphire Reserve cardmembers already have access to Priority Pass Select membership, which gives them access to over 1,000 airport lounges internationally.

The new Chase Sapphire changes give cardholders more rewards on both cards. However, with the increased rewards rate on dining, select streaming services and online grocery purchases as well as the card membership anniversary bonus, you’ll be getting a lot more with the new changes with the Sapphire Preferred. On the other hand, the new rewards categories on the Sapphire Reserve are exclusive to dining, travel and hotel stays booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal.