What purchases count as travel, dining, streaming, and grocery delivery with the Chase Sapphire bonus categories?

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• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® earn bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards® points in a bunch of great categories for everyday spending.
• In some of these categories (like streaming), you'll only earn bonus points at select merchants.
• Other bonus categories are broader but still have exclusions to keep in mind.
• Read Insider's guide to the best rewards credit cards.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are two of the best credit cards to supercharge your points earnings when you use them to pay for purchases in certain bonus categories.

These categories include 3x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on select streaming services and grocery delivery services with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and 10x points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Ultimate Rewards with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. 

It's important to know which purchases qualify in each of the bonus categories so that you can make an informed decision about which card to use for your expenses. For example, the list of eligible streaming services that will earn bonus points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card isn't as broad as what some other issuers classify as streaming.

Here's a look at the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve bonus categories and what purchases will (and won't) trigger bonus points.

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.

Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus categories

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card currently has a limited-time increased welcome bonus offer of Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Intro Bonus (worth around Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Featured Reward Value in travel, according to Insider's points and miles valuations). It earns points at the following rates:

• 5x points on all travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal
• 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out
• 3x points on select streaming services
• 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
• 2x points on all other travel purchases
• 1x points on everything else

Some of these categories are easy to navigate, but others have very specific restrictions.

5x points on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards

The Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal functions much like an online travel agency (OTA) and you can use it to book flights, hotels, rental cars, vacation rentals, activities, and cruises. You have the option to redeem Ultimate Rewards points, pay with your Chase card, or a combination of the two when you make your booking.

When you use your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to pay for your booking — either online through UltimateRewards.com or by calling the Chase Travel phone number on the back of your card — you'll earn 5 points per dollar. Prepaid airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, and cruises qualify.

You won't earn anything for the portion of your travel you pay for with points.

3x points on dining

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 3x points for dining purchases. Chase classifies dining as purchases at merchants whose primary business is sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast-food restaurants and fine dining establishments. 

In practice, this also includes some places that don't serve food as their primary business — think bars, breweries, and coffee shops. Food delivery services qualify if they're classified as a restaurant merchant — so most popular delivery services, like GrubHub and DoorDash, should count. 

However, if the location is inside a larger establishment — such as a vendor at a sports stadium or hotel restaurant — it won't qualify as a dining purchase unless the merchant has set up such purchases to be classified in a restaurant category. Bakeries, caterers, and gift card merchants are also excluded.

3x points on select streaming services

Earning bonus points on streaming services is timely since many of us are still spending a lot of time at home. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 3x points on select streaming services, but the important word here is select — only purchases from eligible services will qualify.

• Apple Music
• Apple TV
• Disney+
• ESPN+
• Fubo TV
• HBO Max
• Hulu
• Netflix
• Pandora
• Paramount+
• Peacock
• Showtime
• SiriusXM
• Sling
• Spotify
• YouTube Premium
• YouTube TV
• Vudu

If you subscribe to other popular services that aren't on the list, like Amazon Music, you'll want to use a card with a wider definition of streaming, like the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, which earns 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services. Here's our American Express Blue Cash Preferred review for more details.

3x points on online grocery purchases

You'll earn 3x points when you use your card to pay for grocery pickup and delivery orders that are placed online with grocery stores, specialty food stores, or delivery service merchants that classify as grocery store merchants (excluding membership and subscription fees). 

Meal kit delivery services are included as well, but purchases from Walmart, Target, wholesale clubs, liquor stores, and merchants that specialize in only a few grocery items do not qualify. Pharmacy purchases (even from those located in supermarkets), gift cards, gift boxes, and gift baskets aren't eligible, either.

2x points on all other travel

The good news is Chase defines travel very broadly, and (outside of Chase Travel Portal purchases, which earn 5x) you'll earn 2x points for these travel purchases:

• Airlines (including airfare, baggage fees, taxes and fees on award tickets, and most other incidental fees)
• Hotels (including room rate, resort fees, and taxes and fees on award stays — and in practice, some vacation rentals, like Airbnb, will trigger the credit too)
• Motels
• Timeshares
• Car rental agencies (including third-party sites such as Autoslash)
• Cruise lines
• Travel agencies (including online travel agencies like Orbitz and Expedia)
• Discount travel sites (like Hotwire)
• Campgrounds
• Passenger trains (including subways)
• Buses (including local transit)
• Taxis (including ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft)
• Limousines
• Ferries
• Toll bridges and highways (including prepaid tolls like E-Zpass and SunPass)
• Parking lots and garages

Keep in mind there are some expenses you might assume would count as travel that actually don't. These purchases won't earn travel bonus points:

• Merchants that sell points, miles, or travel gift cards
• Inflight goods and services (like Wi-Fi) 
• Onboard cruise line goods and services 
• Restaurants or other merchants inside a hotel (these can qualify if you bill them to your room and pay at checkout, though)
• Tourist attractions and excursions (unless you purchase the tickets through an online travel agency, then they may count)
• Merchants in airports
• RV and boat rentals
• Real estate agents and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling (like U-Haul)

Chase Sapphire Reserve bonus categories

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® currently offers a welcome bonus of Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Intro Bonus. Insider pegs Chase Ultimate Rewards points value at 1.8 cents apiece, on average, making this bonus worth about Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Featured Reward Value in travel.

You'll earn points as follows with your Chase Sapphire Reserve®:

• 10x points on Chase Dining purchases through Ultimate Rewards
• 10x points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Ultimate Rewards
• 5x points on air travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards
• 3x points on all other travel and dining purchases
• 1x points on everything else

Some of these categories also have restrictions (and others are identical to parallel categories on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card).

10x points on Chase Dining purchases

Chase Dining is a platform, in partnership with Tock, which allows Sapphire cardholders to make reservations at participating fine-dining establishments, order takeout or produce, take part in private dining events, and more.

When you use your Chase Sapphire Reserve® for prepaid Chase Dining purchases through Ultimate Rewards, you'll earn 10 points per dollar. This includes delivery, pickup, prepaid reservations, or reservation deposits if you pay for the purchase on UltimateRewards.com.

However, any reservation-related purchases made directly at the restaurant will not qualify, nor will any portion of your purchase paid for with points.

10x points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Ultimate Rewards

If you use your Chase Sapphire Reserve® for prepaid car rentals or hotel stays through Chase Ultimate Rewards (either online or by calling the number on the back of your card), you'll earn 10 points per dollar. Like other Chase Travel Portal purchases, you won't earn anything for the portion of your transaction you've paid for with points.

Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection purchases are not eligible, and you won't earn bonus points on hotel or car rental-related purchases that aren't made through Ultimate Rewards (such as hotel restaurants or car rental agency add-ons at the counter).

5x points on air travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards

Similarly, you'll earn 5x points on airfare as long as you've made the purchase with your Chase Sapphire Reserve® through the Chase online portal or by calling the number on the back of your card. 

Any air travel-related purchases made outside of the Ultimate Rewards portal — such as inflight purchases, airline miles purchases, or purchases made at the airport — won't qualify to earn 5x points. And any portion of your purchase paid for with points won't earn anything.

3x points on all other travel and dining purchases

All other travel and dining purchases not included in the categories above will earn 3x points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® — and the purchases that qualify are identical to those on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card as listed above.

Chase Sapphire card comparison

If you're considering either of the Sapphire cards, be sure to read our comparison of the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve for a detailed rundown of their differences.

Here's a quick side-by-side look at both cards, including benefits and bonus categories, to help you decide which is best for you.