Before you dismiss the idea of any credit card's annual fee, consider this question: What if it was the one thing you already had planned on doing this year that would pay your annual fee? This is basically the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. With a recently increased hotel credit, one booking will cover the $95 annual fee and the remainder of what the card has to offer is free.

This card really deserves to be looked at closer if you travel even occasionally and are hoping to book a hotel room at some point in the next 12 months.

The Hotel Credit Got a Major Upgrade

A little while ago, Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders were eligible for a $50 annual statement credit for their hotel use, which was a good bonus, but not enough to cover the annual fee alone. However, things have recently changed with Chase who doubled the credit up to $100, and left the annual fee unchanged. It's a significant change, as now the odds are in the cardholder's favor.

The credit only applies to hotel stays booked via the Chase Travel website, and not by a third party like Expedia. It does not reset on the calendar year, but instead on your card anniversary date; therefore, the 12-month clock begins anew on the anniversary date of your account.

There's no enrollment step and no minimum spending requirement to qualify the statement credit appears automatically once your hotel purchase is done. You are not required to use all of it at once if a booking only uses up $60 of the credit, the remaining $40 will be rolled over for future bookings during the same year of the cardmember.

That flexibility matters. It doesn't mean that you have to frantically look for one “perfect” booking to get the maximum credit; it can work out of the spotlight, over a series of smaller bookings.

Doing the Math! One Stay, Fee Covered

These numbers here are quite straightforward. The annual fee for the card is $95 and the hotel credit card can be worth up to $100. The one benefit the card offers is that if you book a Chase Travel stay of $100 or more, you will offset the fee and have $5 in your pocket before putting another foot on the ground.

Now imagine you've already booked a weekend getaway, and estimated you'd spend about $250 on a hotel room. First, book that room via the Chase Travel website, then claim the $100 credit as a statement credit and voila! the annual fee you paid at the beginning of the year is covered without needing to take any additional trips.

Just one minor note of caution: Make sure before you sign up for Chase Travel that you check the price of the trip before you're paying a premium for access to the credit.

Where This Credit Fits Naturally Into Real Travel

The advantage of this benefit is that it is a benefit you are probably already enjoying without any special arrangements or "manufactured spending" requirements. Here are some common examples of its use:

• Weekend stay with the $100 credit
• Road trip with an overnight stay
• Hotel stay before an early flight
• One-night staycation for a quick escape

None of these will change your travel habits they are the type of bookings that most people make during the year.

Stacking the Credit With Hotel Loyalty Perks

Now where it gets even better for the frequent hotel guests is that if you have elite status with a participating hotel loyalty program you can potentially double dip. On the same booking, book an eligible stay with Chase Travel and add your Chase Ultimate Rewards and hotel loyalty program numbers, and you could leave with a $100 statement credit, and both the Chase Ultimate Rewards program points and hotel program points on the eligible amount, plus elite benefits such as room upgrades or late check-out.

For instance, if you book a $300 night at an IHG hotel on Chase Travel, you add your IHG One Rewards number.If you book a $300 stay at an IHG hotel through Chase Travel and add your IHG One Rewards number, for example. You would get the hotel credit, point accumulations for the remaining credit after that, and even be able to enjoy extra benefits in the elite program while staying at the hotel. This stacking feature is not always the case, as only specific hotel brands are included and that list is not comprehensive, so the list of accepted hotel chains will be available as soon as you book the hotel and check out; Virgin Hotels, Omni, IHG are currently part of the list, so make sure to check whether your brand is there before you book.

Everything Else Is Just Extra

After paying off the $95 annual fee with the hotel credit, all of the other benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred are good benefits and aren't something that needs to be relied upon to make up for the fee. Plus, there are plenty of rewards to enjoy: 5x points on travel purchases made through Chase Travel, 3x points on dining, select streaming, every day purchase categories like groceries and gas, and 2x points on travel purchased outside of Chase Travel. They can be used to earn cash back, and even doubled by up to 75% through Chase's Points Boost program, or applied to one of Chase's numerous airline and hotel partners.

The card also offers solid travel benefits trip cancellation and interruption coverage, primary rental car collision coverage, baggage delay reimbursement, and purchase protection as well as a statement credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, NEXUS, a complimentary Apple TV subscription and no foreign transaction fees.

Bottom Line

For most people who book even one hotel stay a year, the Chase Sapphire Preferred effectively pays for itself before you even consider the rest of what it offers. That $100 hotel credit turns an annual fee that might otherwise feel like a cost you need to rationalize into something already covered by travel you were planning to do regardless.

Everything beyond that the bonus categories, the transfer partners, the protections is simply extra value layered on top of a card that's already earned its keep.