Thanks to a large amount of premium travel allowances, Chase SapphireReserve® (See rates and fees) is well known in travel credit card space. this Chase Sapphire Priority® Card (See rates and fees) are middle-level siblings in the sapphire reserve. The annual fees for these two cards are $795 and $95 respectively.
Whatever sapphire card you have, Chase clearly defines what travel is. However, Chase recently refreshed Sapphire Reserve, changing how it rewards travel spend. (Sapphire preference has not been changed.)
Therefore, we have updated this guide to clarify which purchases (and not count) earn bonus points on both cards.
How many points did Chase Sapphire reserves earn on their trip?
Existing cardholders
If you applied for your Sapphire Conservation Area Until June 23, you will earn until October 25 at the following rates:
- Hotel and car rental booked through Chase Travel for 10 p.m. per dollar
- Lyft rides (until September 30, 2027) and flights booked through Chase Travel
- All other travel purchases for 3 points per dollar
Starting from October 26, your income structure will become the following.
New cardholder
Those applying for cards from June 23 and existing cardholders from October 26 – enjoy the following earnings rates:
- Purchase through Chase Travel 8 points per dollar
- Lyft rides 5 cents per dollar (until September 30, 2027)
- Direct booking of flights and hotels 4 p.m. per dollar
- 1 cent per dollar purchased for all other travels
How many points does Chase Sapphire prefer to earn on his trip?
this Chase Sapphire’s preferred card Earn:
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- 5 cents per dollar for all trips booked through Chase Travel
- Spend 5 points per dollar on Lyft rides (as of September 30, 2027)
- 2 points per dollar purchased for all other travels
Chase said: “Travel.”
Chase Travel Portal allows you to book a variety of trips. Here is how Chase defines “all other travel purchases”:
“Businessmen in this category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise companies, travel agencies, discount travel locations, campgrounds, campgrounds and operators, buses, taxis, limousines, limousines, ferries, toll bridges, highways and highways as well as parking lots and clothing.”
Chase’s travel category is very generous compared to other credit card reward categories. (Remember, directly booked flights and hotels with sapphire reserves make money at a higher rate.)
And such as card American Express® Gold Card and American Express Platinum Card® Offering bonus points for ticket purchases made directly with airlines (the annual Amex Platinum is capped at $500,000, then 1 point per dollar), the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve Cards earn bonuses on almost every travel-related fee.
Travel categories include a wide variety of purchases, from cruise to tolls and taxi to parking fees. Airbnb and Uber purchases are also considered travel.
The following purchases do not apply to the general travel bonus category of Sapphire Preferred, but most people should not be surprised:
“Some merchants who provide transportation and travel services are not included in this category; for example, real estate agents, educators who arrange travel, onboard goods and services, goods and services of onboard cruise companies, travel activities, tours, travel, tours, tourist attractions, RVs and ship rentals, merchants who ride shops and businesses, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of these merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, goods of those merchants, or miles of those who sell points or miles will not qualify for the travel category.”
Based on recent past experiences from TPG employees, there are some travel-related allegations that have not been posted on the way to win Chase’s reward points. These include RV rentals and some vacation rentals through VRBO and similar services.
Whether a vacation home rent will be automatically coded as a travel depends on whether the individual or the group will operate it. In the latter case, the fee can be encoded as “professional service” rather than travel.
If you are not sure if a given purchase counts as a trip, it is worth a small fee and check if it gets any bonus points on your online chase account.
If you think you should have earned bonus points for buying a trip, but without bonuses, you won’t have no options. First check how transactions are classified in your Chase Online account; this can often clarify whether a businessman is correctly coded as a travel provider. If not, or you are still unsure, you can contact Chase via security message or phone call to request a manual review of the fees.
While Chase may not always tweak your points retroactively, reaching out can provide insight into how certain vendors code and help you make smarter decisions. It’s an easy step that can produce additional rewards – or at least peace of mind.
What does Chase usually consider as a travel purchase?
- Airlines (Sapphire preferred general travel; elevated category for sapphire reserves)
- bus
- Camping site
- Car rental agencies (excluding RVs and rental rentals)
- Cruise
- Discount travel website
- Ferry
- Hotels (General travel for sapphire is preferred; elevated category for sapphire reserves)
- Luxury limousine
- Motel (usually classified as a hotel)
- Parking lots and garages
- Passenger train
- taxi
- Timeshare vacation
- Toll bridges and highways
- Travel Agency
Chase is not usually considered a travel purchase?
- Educational businessman arranging a trip
- tour
- Gift card merchant
- Transport goods and services
- Merchant for sale point or miles
- Businessman renting a vehicle
- Businessmen at hotel and airport
- Products and services of car cruise companies
- Public campsites
- Real estate agent
- RVs and rentals
- Tourist activities
- Tourist attractions
Bottom line
this Sapphire prefers Provides strong value for general travel, and Sapphire Conservation Area More rewards are available in the elevated category.
According to TPG’s July 2025 valuation, this ratio is Sapphire’s preferred general travel earnings return of 4.1%. You can get 8.2% return by flying or hotel purchases directly at the Sapphire Reserve. You can then use your points with Chase’s airline and hotel partners.
Most importantly, these chase cards have some of the most generous travel insurance and purchase protection on the market. This makes your wallet a valuable addition.
Apply here: Chatong Sapphire Reserve
Apply here: Chase Sapphire’s preferred card
