The best card for... everyone

☀️ Good morning, my friends. Welcome back to Daily Drop. Are you exhausted by 2026 already?

Well, don’t worry. Today is going to be simple… but effective. I want to tell you about one travel credit card that works for anybody. So let’s dive in!

💳 The best card for… everyone

It’s the new year. That means it’s time to start planning your 2026 travels and racking up the points you need to do it.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of movement in the credit card world lately… so instead, I thought I’d address a common question about credit cards:

OR

OR

I’ve been trained by the blogosphere to respond with things like, “Well, it all depends on your travel habits and spending patterns, and different cards work well for different people.”

But that’s (sort of) bullshit. 🐂💩

The fact is, I can answer ALL of those questions with the same card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, actually.

Here’s why:

1. It earns the most valuable points currency

The Sapphire Preferred earns what we call Ultimate Rewards Points, one of the most valuable and flexible point currencies out there.

Not only can you use points to book travel in the bank’s dedicated travel portal, but you can also transfer them to a ton of different airline and hotel programs, sometimes even with a bonus.

For example, here are some ways you can use transfer partners to book domestic flights:

• Transfer to Flying Blue and book Delta flights for 5,000 points each

• Transfer to Avios and book American Airlines flights for 9,500 points each

• Transfer to Aeroplan and book United flights for cheaper than what United itself charges

• Transfer to JetBlue and book… JetBlue flights

Or if you’re looking to explore your hotel options, you could transfer points to World of Hyatt to book free nights for as little as 3,500 points per night - even at luxurious brands like Alila:

Even if you want to book obscure airlines or independent hotels, you can redeem your points for up to 1.75 cents each right in the bank’s travel portal.

For example, you could book this IHG hotel in London for 24,000 points per night, saving you $423.

The welcome offer from the card alone could book you three nights there, saving you $1,269… 💸

Because this hotel is also eligible for IHG One Rewards, you’ll EARN points through IHG, get elite nights, and any other normal IHG benefits.

This is a great example of how even in parts of the world where there are no chain hotels or major airlines, you can STILL use your points to book travel.

But that’s just the beginning…

2. You can earn LOTS of points VERY quickly

Despite having a low annual fee, the Sapphire Preferred actually has really solid earning rates for most everyday purchases like dining, online groceries, streaming, and travel.

In fact, if you book travel through the bank’s portal and pay for it with your card, you’ll earn 5X points… 🤯

For example, if you book this hotel in downtown San Diego, you’d earn almost 1,000 UR Points per night ($190 × 5X points per dollar).

And in addition to the normal everyday spending, you’ll also earn a FAT welcome offer when you first sign up for the card – 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points, to be specific.

3. Low annual fee and decent perks

Considering the valuable points, great welcome offer, and excellent earning rates, you’d think this card should have a hefty annual fee.

Well, you’re wrong. It doesn’t.

In fact, the annual fee is less than $100, which is why we recommend this all-star to points veterans and newbies alike.

But it gets even better…

You see, the card also comes with an annual hotel credit that effectively cuts that annual fee in half.

You could book a night at this hotel in Tokyo and pretty much get it for free because of the credit…

So in summary, here’s what this card has going for it:

• ✅ A high welcome offer

• ✅ Low annual fee

• ✅ Extremely valuable points

• ✅ Solid transfer partners

• ✅ Annual hotel credit

Almost every single member of the Daily Drop team holds (or has held) this card – which should tell you a lot.

So whether you’re new to the game or you’ve been around for a while, everyone should have the Sapphire Preferred in their wallet. 👇

That’s it, my friends! Short, sweet, and simple. I really think this card has something that any traveler can take advantage of.

That being said, you can always check out our Top Cards Page to see what else is going on in the credit card world.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you bright and early on Monday.

Ciao ciao,

6.9175° S, 107.6191° E

With contributions by McKay Moffitt