How to Get Four Free Hotel Nights in Florida with the Chase Sapphire Preferred

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If you have not entered the world of credit card points yet, you are missing out! I have saved at least $50,000 on hotels and airfare since I started in 2017 and you can too! To get started, I will show you how to earn enough points for a free hotel stay.

This blog goes step-by-step through the process of picking a credit card, earning points, and using them for a four-night hotel stay. This is ideally done using the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card, however, if you already have that card, I will explain other credit cards you can get as well. With a bit of strategic planning, you can earn enough points to cover your accommodation in Florida in no time!

Step 1: Sign Up for a Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

First things first, you will need to sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. This card requires a modest credit score and a $95 annual fee. The bonus is CURRENTLY 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account.

The key here is to time your application so you can comfortably meet the spending requirement through your regular purchases. You do not want to go into debt over this. I recommend paying off your balance in full every month.

And for those wondering, this is still an excellent credit card to have even after you get the bonus. It earns 3 times the points on eating out, takeout, online grocery services, and streaming services, as well as 1 time the points on everything else. It also has no foreign transaction fees and travel insurance, so you can use it for future adventures!

Step 1b: Other Credit Cards to Earn Enough Points

If you already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card and used all your bonus points, do not despair! You can still earn points by getting another credit card.

First, if you have a significant other you plan to travel with and they do not have the Chase Sapphire credit card, have them sign up. Even if they are an authorized user on yours, they can still get the bonus!

Alternatively, you could get the World of Hyatt Credit Card. This card currently has a bonus offer of 60,000 points! However, you have to spend $3,000 in the first 3 months and $15,000 total in the first 6 months to get this bonus, so it’s a bigger spending commitment. Full disclosure: I also have this card and love it, especially since you get a free night every year!

Lastly, if you have a business, you can get the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card and earn a 100,000 points bonus after spending $8,000 in three months. This is an amazing offer and can even work for small businesses like dog walking or selling items on Facebook Marketplace. If you do have a business and can meet the spend, I would actually recommend this card over the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Step 2: Earn the Points Bonus

Once you have been approved for the credit card, the clock is ticking to earn the bonus. You need to spend the $4,000 in three months in order to get enough points for the hotel. You can use it on purchases for groceries, eating out, auto insurance, shopping, and even medical expenses.

If you don’t usually spend $4,000 in purchases that can be made on a credit card in three months, I would wait until the holidays or a month out before a vacation so you can be sure to meet the spend. You will see a tracker in the app that shows your progress towards meeting the spending requirement.

Once you do meet it, the 60,000 point bonus will be in your account at the next statement! At this point, you should have at least 64,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points, because you get at least 1 point per dollar for your spending to earn the bonus.

Step 3: Create a World of Hyatt Account

There are many ways to use Chase Ultimate Reward Points, but the best way is usually by traveling to transfer partners. Many have their own points program that gives an advantage to loyal customers. My absolute favorite of these is Hyatt, where you can get hotels for as little as 3,500 points per night!

If you don’t already have a World of Hyatt account, you will need to sign up for one. It is free and easy. You can sign up through this link here and once you have an account number, you can transfer points!

Step 4: Pick a Hyatt Hotel in Florida

Now comes the fun part- picking where you want to go! This post has my top recommendations for Florida Hyatt hotels, but I have also listed some of my favorites to choose from below! Take a look through the different areas to decide if you want a beach, city, or theme park vacation.

• Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay: Category 3
• Hyatt House Across from Universal Orlando Resort: Category 3
• Hyatt House Tampa Downtown: Category 3
• Hyatt Place St. Augustine/Vilano Beach: Category 3
• Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale: Category 4
• Hyatt Place St. Petersburg: Category 4
• Hyatt Place Boca Raton: Category 4
• Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort: Category 4
• Hyatt Regency Sarasota: Category 4
• Hyatt Regency Coral Gables: Category 4

But first, I need to explain categories! Each Hyatt hotel has a category that basically correlates to how expensive it is. The categories range from 1 to 8 and hotels can cost between 3,500 to 45,000 points per night.

In order to get at least four free nights, I recommend sticking to the category 3 and 4 hotels. You can find some decent Category 2 hotels in Florida but they tend to be pretty basic and more road trip spots than vacation spots.

Category 3 hotels range from 9,000 points per night to 15,000 points per night and category 4 hotels range from 12,000 to 18,000 points per night. They will cost fewer points on weekdays and off-season dates (usually July through September) and more points on weekends and peak times (usually December through March). However, this can vary and typically you can find rooms at 12,000 points for a Category 3 or 15,000 points for a Category 4.

Since you have at least 64,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, you can get between 5 to 7 nights at a Category 3 or 4 to 5 nights at a Category 4. Whether you want to do a long weekend trip or spend a whole week away, it can help you decide which hotel to pick and when to go!

Step 5: Transfer your Chase Ultimate Reward Points to your World of Hyatt Account

Once you have chosen where you want to stay, make sure there is availability for your selected dates. Simply search for the hotel and selected nights on the Hyatt website and check the box use points. If there are no points available during that time, you will get the following message.

The further out you book, the more availability there will be. So try other dates if you don’t see anything the first time! You will know there is point availability if you can select which type of room you want, like in the screenshot below.

You can click select & book and it will show you how many points you need to book this hotel. This is the number you will want to transfer from Chase.

Now all you need to do is login into your Chase account, go to your Ultimate Reward points portal, and click the travel tab. There will be a drop-down menu and you can click transfer points to partners. From here, you click on Hyatt and simply type in the amount of points you want to transfer in increments of 1,000.

Your points will be in your Hyatt account within a few days but they typically pop up automatically. Remember, you can’t transfer points back to Chase once they are with Hyatt, so make sure you plan to use them there before you hit transfer.

Step 6: Book your Stay with Points!

Finally, you can book your free Florida hotel! Once your points are in your Hyatt account, simply go back to the website, select your hotel and dates, and go through the booking process. When booking with points, resort fees are waived so you do not have to worry about those! The only fee you need to look out for is a parking fee.

Now you are all set for your free Florida stay! You never have to use your Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card again if you rather not and can downgrade it to a no-fee card once you have made the points transfer. However, this is the first travel credit card I got, and ever since I have caught the credit card points bug! I recommend keeping it and using it for travel and dining purchases if you want to continue earning points.

Know Before You Go

I hope this guide opened your eyes to the world of credit card points and how much travel you can do with them! It has truly been life-changing for me and I easily save $10,000 per year on hotels and airfares thanks to my points. I just want to reiterate a few takeaways to know when using credit cards to earn travel points.

• You can earn the sign-on bonus by signing up through this link and clicking on the Chase Sapphire Preferred
• I recommend paying off your credit card in full every month and never carrying a balance to prevent racking up debt and getting the most value out of the rewards.
• You will not be approved by Chase for a credit card if you have more than two credit applications within 30 days.
• You also will not be approved if you have opened five or more personal credit cards in the last 24 months.
• If you had the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve in the past, you can qualify for a new bonus every 48 months, but you must cancel the previous card.
• If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you are not eligible for this offer.
• Before signing up, carefully review the credit card’s reward program terms and conditions, and plan travel redemptions accordingly
• I earn affiliate income through credit card sign-ups, but all opinions are my own and I fully endorse this credit card.
• Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, vendors, or companies, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Let me know where you end up going if you get this deal! My top recommendation is the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, but you really can’t go wrong with any!