Confessions of a Points Amateur (And Why the Chase Sapphire Card Finally Made It Click)

Hey, I don’t mean to be all “advertis-y”, but I was brainstorming useful info I could share with you all on my blog, and remembered this, which has been a game-changer for me this past year…I finally found a credit card with travel perks that doesn’t make me want to throw my laptop across the room, and I think it might actually help you get to Europe without crying over your points chart.

I have a confession: I’ve been trying to master the mysterious world of airline and hotel points for years… and failing ridiculously.

It’s not for lack of effort! I stop mid-walk to listen when a travel points podcast comes on. I’ve signed up for multiple rewards programs. I’ve even watched YouTubers with whiteboards and acronyms explain the magic formula of maximizing miles, and still, it all felt like decoding ancient runes.

Meanwhile, people around me are flying business class to Bali and I’m just over here Googling “how to use miles for ANYTHING please help.”

But then, a well-traveled friend casually dropped a golden nugget: “Honestly, the Chase Sapphire card is the best travel credit card.”

Cue the heavenly choir.

Why I Finally Signed Up for the Chase Sapphire Card

This friend is no points amateur. He’s the kind of traveler who knows which airport lounge has the best snacks. He told me that not only does the Chase Sapphire Preferred (or Reserve, if you’re fancy) come with a hefty signup bonus, tens of thousands of points just for meeting the minimum spend, but the real magic is this: The points you earn are transferable to a bunch of airlines and hotel partners.

This was news to me. Until then, I’d only ever had a United Airlines card, which made sense because I live near a United hub in San Francisco. But that meant I was locked into their flight network. With Chase Sapphire, I’d have lots of options – here’s their current list of airline and hotel chain partners:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards®
• Flying Blue Air France KLM
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
• United MileagePlus®
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• IHG One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy®
• World of Hyatt

They have deals at different times too. Like, right now, you can get 20% more points by using your points on Air Canada, and 65% more with Marriott! (So if you transferred your 60,000 points to Marriot now you would get 99,000 Marriott points!)

Top Travel Perks I Actually Use

Beyond the points, one thing I really like about the card is the built-in travel protection.

Look, I travel solo. A lot. So knowing that if my flight gets delayed, my bag gets lost, or I need emergency help while in France, I’ve got backup? Reassuring.

Plus, the concierge services are actually helpful. Think of it as having a personal assistant who doesn’t roll their eyes when you ask them to help plan your Roman holiday. Just knowing this assistance is there makes me feel slightly more put-together than I am. (And, maybe they are rolling their eyes, I just can’t see them.)

The Moment It Clicked

Once I got the card, I started noticing something, all the savvy travel bloggers and YouTubers (Nomadic Matt, The Points Guy, even that one guy who makes TikToks in an airport lounge) all recommend this card, especially for point novices.

I had somehow missed this tip for years, even though it’s been right there, quietly recommended by the points people in the know. So I’m passing it along to you in case you’ve also been squinting at your rewards dashboard wondering, “Am I doing this right?”

Because honestly? I wasn’t. But now I feel like I am.

My Final Thoughts (and Your Link!)

No credit card is perfect for everyone, but if you’re like me, traveling a bit more, trying to stretch your dollars, and eager to feel like you’re part of the points-and-perks club, the Chase Sapphire card is absolutely worth considering. This is what worked for me, but everyone’s travel style is different, always check the fine print.

Ready to try it?

Use my link and you’ll get 60,000 points to start your next trip, maybe to Italy or your dream spot! If you’re curious and want to check it out, here’s my link:

Chase Sapphire Sign Up
(Yes, I may earn some points if you sign up, which means more blog posts for you! But more importantly, you’ll earn points too. Win-win!)

As of now (June 2025) the current sign-up deal gives you 75,000 points after you spend $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. This is generally easy to do by switching your bills to be paid on this card (utilities, phone/internet, car insurance, subscriptions, etc), and putting any other regular purchases on it (groceries, gas, eating out, etc) until you reach the $5000.

For 75,000 points you could fly round trip on United Airlines from San Francisco to London!

Let me know if you end up getting it, and more importantly, where your points take you. Europe? Bali? A fancy hotel in Nashville?

Wherever it is, may your travel be smooth, your bags arrive on time, and your points game finally make sense.

Chase Sapphire Pros and Cons

Let me think…

Pros

• Provides referrals and assistance in the event of a medical or legal emergency. This really offered me peace of mind when travelling Italy recently. Not knowing the language, it was great to know I had a resource I could contact who could put me in touch with English-speaking help.
• Earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases each account anniversary.
• $50 credit each anniversary to use when booking a hotel stay through Chase Travel.
• Car Rental insurance coverage. I loved being able to decline the extra insurance coverage when I rented a car in Germany.
• International Roadside assistance
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
• Trip Delay: If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 6 hours or requires an overnight stay, you are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per covered traveler.
• Baggage Delay: Reimburses you up to $100 a day for up to 5 days for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing when baggage is delayed over 6 hours. This came in really handy when my luggage was lost between my ill fated day at the Florence Airport and England. I was able to go on a little “shopping spree” in England to tide me over till my luggage arrived a couple of days later!
• Lost Baggage Coverage: Provides reimbursement up to $3,000 per covered traveler for the cost to repair or replace checked or carry-on baggage that is lost, damaged or stolen during a covered trip.

Cons

• $95 Annual Fee (this was the only “con” I could think of, but really, I haven’t been able to find a travel credit card with a lower annual fee!)

In Summary

What’s not to like?