You can get 80,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 in the first three months of your account.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is well known in the travel credit card space due to its plethora of premium travel perks. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the lower-annual-fee version and is a top pick.

Chase has a very broad definition of what constitutes travel even if you have a different card. Both cards give generous awards for travel booked through the UltimateRewards portal. In this guide, we will look at the purchases that count and the purchases that don't.

How many points do the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Preferred cards earn on travel?

10 points per dollar can be earned on hotels and car rentals booked through the Ultimate rewards portal and 5 points per dollar on flights booked through the Ultimate rewards portal, for example.

If you want to book directly with the airline, hotel or another company, you may be awarded for other travel purchases like taxi rides and parking fees. You will still get 3 points for every dollar you spend.

Your Uber rides count as travel with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve. OLLY CURTIS/FUTURE/GETTY IMAGES

All travel purchases booked through the UltimateRewards portal earn 5 points per dollar, while other travel purchases earn 2 points per dollar.

You'll get a boosted rate of 10 and 5 points per dollar spent on rides on the Reserve and Preferred.

'Travel,' according to Chase

You can book travel through the Ultimate rewards portal. Chase defined it as all other travel purchases.

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Merchants in the travel category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages.

The travel category from Chase is very generous.

While cards such as the American Express Gold Card and The Platinum Card from American Express offer bonus points for airfare purchases made directly with the airline, the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards let you earn a bonus on virtually every purchase.

There is a wide variety of purchases in the travel category, from hotels and airfare to cruises, tolls and even parking fees. Purchases made with the ride-sharing companies count as travel.

Most of the purchases don't apply to the 2 or 3 points per dollar bonus categories on these cards, so they shouldn't be a big deal.

Some merchants that provide transportation and travel-related services are not included in this category; for example, real estate agents, educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, excursions, tourist attractions, RV and boat rentals, merchants within hotels and airports, public campgrounds and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. Purchases from gift card merchants or merchants that sell points or miles will not qualify in the travel category.

Some of the travel-related charges that have not posted as travel for the purposes of bonus points have included an RV rental as well as some vacation rentals via Vrbo. If an individual or a conglomerate operates a vacation home rental, it's possible it will code as travel. The charge may be referred to as professional services.

If you ever wonder if a purchase counts as travel, you can make a small charge and check to see if it earns any bonus points on your online account.

You might think that a travel purchase should have earned bonus points. You can always try to get consideration for that charge to be awarded points as a travel charge if you call Chase. If you don't get the outcome you're looking for, you'll get some clarity on how certain charges arecoded and can plan future spending accordingly.

What does Chase typically count as travel purchases?

  • Airlines.
  • Buses.
  • Campgrounds.
  • Car rental agencies (excludes RV and boat rentals).
  • Cruise lines.
  • Discount travel sites.
  • Ferries.
  • Hotels.
  • Limousines.
  • Motels.
  • Parking lots and garages.
  • Passenger trains.
  • Taxis.
  • Timeshares.
  • Toll bridges and highways.
  • Travel agencies.
  • Vacation rentals (including some VRBO rentals operated by an individual).

What does Chase typically not count as travel purchases?

  • Educational merchants arranging travel.
  • Excursions.
  • Gift card merchants.
  • Inflight goods and services.
  • Merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling.
  • Merchants within hotels and airports.
  • Onboard cruise line goods and services.
  • Purchasing points or miles.
  • Public campgrounds.
  • Real estate agents.
  • RV and boat rentals.
  • Sightseeing activities.
  • Tourist attractions.
  • Vacation rentals (some VRBO rentals operated by a conglomerate rather than an individual).

Bottom line

3 or 2 points per dollar spent can be earned by cardholders of the Chase Reserve and Chase Preferred. You can put your points to use with Chase's airline and hotel partners if you get a return of up to 6 percent on these purchases.

The Chase cards have the most generous travel and purchase protection on the market, making them a valuable addition to your wallet.

If you spend $4,000 in the first three months of opening an account, you will get an 80,000 point sign-up bonus. If you spend $4,000 in the first three months of your account opening, you'll get a 60,000 point sign-up bonus.

The additional reporting was done by Emily Thompson and others.