Answer: YES. Absolutely. As a fellow disgruntled forced loyal MTA rider (like most of NYC), I always use my Chase Sapphire Preferred card when I load up my MetroCard. I also use it on all my other travel and restaurant spend, except when I’m trying to meet minimum spends on other cards.
You’ll also get double points for these other travel expenses:
- Rental cars
- Anything remotely related to air travel (tickets, drinks on the plane, baggage fees, change fees, booking fees [OK – any fees], gift cards, and some points purchases)
- TAXIS (important to also know in NYC!)
- Any type of car service (for the Brooklyn people)
- Public transportation anywhere (Tube in London, BART in SF, CTA in Chicago, etc.)
- Hotels, even including Airbnb – I confirmed this with a phone rep
Restaurants is another huge category:
- Fast food
- Bars
- Lounges
- Catering
- And pretty much anywhere that’s coded as an “eating place” – meaning they serve food (or drinks!). I use my Sapphire in bars all the time.
“Eating Place” (also, I love Mexican food)
Interesting to note something that’s not included in the “travel” category, though: GAS. If you fill up your rental car with gas before returning it, you’ll only earn one point per dollar. Better to use the Chase Ink Plus/Bold or the American Express Premier Gold Rewards card for those transactions since they do earn two points per dollar at gas stations.
Since travel and restaurants are my two biggest spend categories, I love love love the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Worth every penny of the $95 annual fee.
