How to use the annual Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit to save money on your stay

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• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Product Name Only offers up to $50 in annual credit toward hotels booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal.
• This benefit resets every year on your card anniversary date.
• If you use the credit in full, the card's net annual fee drops to just $45.
• Read Insider's guide to the best travel rewards credit cards.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best credit cards for both beginner and expert travelers, and for good reason. Right now, it's offering a huge welcome bonus of Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Intro Bonus (worth around Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Featured Reward Value in travel, according to Insider's valuation of Chase points). 

Plus, cardholders earn 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel booked through Chase, 3x points on dining (including eligible takeout and delivery services), 3x points on select streaming services, 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), 2x points on all other travel, and 1x on all other purchases.

While there's a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Annual Fee annual fee, the card comes with plenty of benefits that make it worthwhile. One of these is up to $50 in annual credit toward hotels booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. If you use the full credit each year, you'll effectively reduce your out-of-pocket cost to just $45.

Here's how the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit works.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

How to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit

To take advantage of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card $50 hotel credit, you'll need to book a hotel stay through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

Begin by logging in at ultimaterewards.com, then, select your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Editorial Name Only from the login screen, if applicable, then click the "Travel" menu. Select the "Hotels" tab, and from there, you can book a stay at any hotel that's available. 

There's usually a selection of chain, independent, and boutique hotels to choose from, and as long as you pay with your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Editorial Name Only, you'll receive a statement credit for up to $50 toward your booking within a couple of days of the transaction.

If your booking costs less than $50, you'll receive a credit in the amount of the purchase and have credit left over for your next hotel stay. For example, if your hotel costs $40, you'd receive a $40 statement credit and have $10 in credit left over to apply to your next Chase Travel hotel purchase.

The annual hotel credit resets each year on your cardmember anniversary. If you can use the $50 annual hotel credit, the net annual fee drops to just $45 (Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card annual fee - $50 hotel credit). Considering the Chase Sapphire Preferred's other benefits, including excellent travel insurance and perks with DoorDash, Gopuff, and Instacart, it's one of the best Chase cards. 

Keep in mind, the annual hotel credit is "use it or lose it." It doesn't roll over, so you can't save it for a long or more expensive hotel stay.  

How to maximize the Chase Sapphire Preferred $50 hotel credit

You can use the Chase Sapphire Preferred's annual hotel credit as soon as you open your account. Once you use the full credit, it won't be available again until your card anniversary.

The best way to use the hotel credit would be for an inexpensive stay that's as close to $50 as possible. That could be handy for one-night stays such as an airport hotel before an early flight, or to take a break during a long road trip. 

Keep in mind, when you book through a third-party booking website like the Chase travel portal, you usually won't have your elite status recognized or earn bonus points and tier credit toward the hotel's loyalty program. If that's important to you, you could book one night through Chase and book the others directly through the hotel's website. Or you could use the credit at an independent hotel that doesn't have a rewards program. 

Also note that while you'll receive 5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on all travel booked through the Chase, you won't earn any points for the $50 portion that's credited back to your account. 

What to know about the Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit

Using your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card hotel credit each year is a good way to effectively offset the annual fee. 

If you take advantage of the full $50 each anniversary year, it brings the net annual fee down to just $45. And with a wide selection of hotels available through the Chase travel portal, that should be easy for many cardholders.

Just be mindful of the fact that hotels booked through Chase are considered third-party bookings, so you won't usually earn hotel points or elite night credits for your stay.