July 01, 2026 • 8 min read Jump to section Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Copy URL Email The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. 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℠ .
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.
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.
A post shared by The Points Guy (@thepointsguy)
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.
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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 .
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 fin…