How to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit to save $50 per year on stays (2024)

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of our best travel credit cards, and the Chase Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit is one of the reasons why. With the credit, bonus points on travel spending and other travel perks, the $95-annual-fee card is a strong choice for consumers who’d use its versatile rewards program.

Here’s how it works: If you make a hotel booking through Chase Travel℠, you’ll get up to $50 reimbursed automatically within one or two billing cycles.

How does the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit work?

Each year (measured from their card opening anniversary), Sapphire Preferred card holders can get up to $50 back on hotel reservation(s).

You won’t get this credit on any hotel booking, though. You’ll need to make your reservation through Chase Travel to qualify. This kind of reservation will be prepaid, though it may be refundable.

To actually use your credit, you’ll want to sign into your Chase account. Then, on the side of the screen, select “Travel.”

You’ll then be taken to the main booking page, where you’ll select the “Hotels” button and type in the name of a hotel or the location you’re visiting.

You’ll then select your hotel and go through the checkout process. You won’t have to do anything special after this point. If you still have any portion of the $50 hotel credit remaining, it will be applied to your reservation.

It won’t take long to get the statement credit. Chase says you’ll see the credit appear on your monthly statement within one to two billing cycles. When I used the credit last year for a hotel stay in Frankfurt, I saw the credit post just two weeks after my trip.

Note that charges covered by the $50 credit won’t earn points. Additionally, when you book through Chase, you probably won’t be able to earn points or use perks in hotel loyalty programs (such as Marriott Bonvoy).

When should you use the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit?

Your Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit is worth $50 no matter how you use it. You may want to use it on a shorter, lower-cost hotel stay to help minimize out-of-pocket costs during a trip. You also may be less likely to miss hotel loyalty program perks and points on a shorter, cheaper stay.

You might use your $50 credit when you:

• Treat yourself or a loved one to a one-night hotel stay
• Book an overnight trip for a sports game, concert or graduation
• Book a hotel when you have to stay overnight unexpectedly due to a trip delay (though note that the Sapphire Preferred’s trip delay insurance can reimburse you for eligible expenses if a trip delay leads to an overnight stay)
• Book an affordable hotel internationally
• Book an airport hotel (I ended up staying at the Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport last fall when I needed a cheap hotel close to the airport to ensure I’d make my early morning flight)

Your credit can also take you far at certain hotels abroad. In Dubai, for instance, rates at IHG’s voco Monaco Dubai and Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre — both five-star hotels — can be found for under $100 per night.

When should you not use the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit?

The most notable downside to booking through Chase Travel is that, as with other online travel agencies (OTAs), you probably won’t earn hotel points or night credits for your reservation. Additionally, your elite status (if you have it) most likely will not be recognized by the hotel at check-in.

While you won’t earn hotel points directly, you will earn Chase points on anything greater than $50. These points can then be converted to hotel points with Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners such as Marriott Bonvoy and IHG One Rewards.

Additionally, if you booked with a third party such as Chase Travel, you generally must go through that channel if you need to change or cancel your reservation.

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit worth it?

The Sapphire Preferred hotel credit is absolutely worth it, even though it is only $50. You can use that credit to wipe out a charge entirely or chip away at a more expensive reservation.

The credit may be harder to use if you’re loyal to a specific hotel chain or trying to qualify for elite status, as you won’t get the same benefits when booking through a third party such as Chase Travel.

The credit doesn’t roll over to the next year, so you won’t be able to accumulate funds to use for a bigger hotel expense.

If you’re considering the higher-end Chase Sapphire Reserve®, note that it comes with a $300 annual travel credit that’s a lot more flexible.