Getting Approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Last month I wrote about the 50,000 point sign-up bonus Chase Sapphire Preferred card being a pretty good deal. This came on the heels of the British Airways 100,000 mile bonus, so I know a lot of you wanted to hold off on more Chase applications because you didn't want to get denied for this card. Now that the card has been out for a month, a lot of people have reported their experience applying for the card on Flyertalk, so I thought I'd sum up the responses.

I do not have an expiration date for this offer, which means it can be around for a while or it can be pulled at any time. When American Express pulled the 50,000 point sign-up bonus for the Platinum Card I had no advance notice at all and I know many of you were upset not to get in (until we realized we could ask for 100,000 points pretty successfully :-) ).

Key details of the card (TPG application link):
-50,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first three months. Those points can be transferred instantly to Continental/United, British Airways, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club and Amtrak. Names do not have to match accounts, so this gives great flexibility in topping off other family/friend's accounts.
- Points can also be redeemed for airfare at 1.25 cents per point, so the 50k bonus will get you $625 towards flights and you will earn elite status and miles on those flights
- $95 annual fee waived for the first year
- No foreign transaction fees
- 7% yearly bonus on all points earned. So after you spend the $3k spend requirement and get your 53,000 points, you'd also earn 3,710 extra points at the end of the year
- 24/7 customer service answered by real people

It seems that Chase has a 30 day policy in between applying for cards, so since the BA 100k deal ended May 6, everyone should be in the clear (unless you've applied for another Chase card May 15 or later).

There is a lengthy Flyertalk thread here, which you can read. For your convenience I've highlighted the most recent experiences people have had applying for the card. As with anything related to credit, the ultimate decision rests in Chase's hands and will depend on your overall credit picture, but it seems that Chase has been very lenient.

Examples:
mnscout: "I applied for the card on the 1st. Got a pending application and went on my trip. Returned yesterday and found a denial letter with "too many requests for credit or opened accounts with us." I recently received Continental and Priority (Priority just a month ago) so was not very surprised to receive that answer. I called the number in this thread and mentally prepared myself to answer the questions that other FT members have reported. However, to my pleasant surprise, the guy just put me on hold and then advised that he approved the application, and that I would receive the card within 7-10 business days. Just $8,000 credit line, but who cares!"

mareh: "I applied two weeks ago. After 10 days, I received a letter saying I either had too much credit right now, or too much credit with Chase. I only have one card with Chase, but closed another recently. Both cards had high limits, and the one remaining still does.

I emailed to ask if they could split the credit line between the card I have and the Sapphire card. The first rep just re-sent an email copy of the same letter I had already received. The second person understood what I wanted, and said they'd forward my request to the appropriate department.

Today, I had an email approving me for the Sapphire card."

booyaa: "After the previous two call-ins, I tried once again a day later. Still no dice with same reasons. Waited 2 days and tried again today, a lovely lady, N***y told me yes it was declined and gave me same reason (too many inquiries and accounts open in last 12 months). She then asked me why I have being applying for so many. I told her I have been looking for the "best" travel rewards card, and said though CO card was great, Sapphire gave me more flexibility and benefits (and naming them). She then offered to close my Freedom card, which I politely explained the only reason I don't want to close that is because it is my longest history card and asked to close CO instead. She agreed but said I need another 1k CL for the 5k minimum on signature cards, so I asked to pull 1k from BA. And voila! It is now going to the "last step" for approval!

Lesson from me and others who offered (thanks guys): KEEP CALLING!"

philemer: "I applied for the Sapphire Preferred card about 7 days ago and got a rejection letter today. It said, "Too many requests for credit or opened accounts with us." I've had 5 hard pulls since Jan. 1st & only have one Chase card currently. So I called the Chase reconsideration line a few minutes ago. The rep asked me the amount of my mortgage payment, put me on hold for 2 minutes, and approved me. My FICO is about 750 & I've had a long history with Chase so I expected them to approve me.

"

flyinhy: "I have six Chase cards all in the last year, as long as you have one card you use regularly, they will approve you for another, although they may transfer (lower) you credit limit from one card to another.
After I cancelled my 30,000 mile Continental card they immediately offered me the Presidential Plus card for free and then targeted me for the Continental 50,000 mile card"

gohogs34: "I applied about a week and a half ago and got denied. I have three Chase cards now. I called them and was informed that I had too many cards opened and I would have to close one. I have a Disney, Marriott and BA. He said I would have to close the Disney. Not a big deal anyway, the wife has one also and we have been to Disney some 14 times with a lot of savings from the cards. I told him that I would think about it. Several days go by and I get an email saying my card is on the way also saying they could not reach me to inform me that they dropped the Disney down to a credit limit of $7000. Got the card yesterday and will begin.

He also asked why was I wanting the card?"

and possibly the best advice in the thread...

lwildernova: "Chase reps frequently ask that question. Good research is your friend here. Before you call for reconsideration or, if already approved, for activation, look over the card's benefits. There'll generally be one benefit, in addition to the miles, that you'd actually like. Tell them that's why you were interested in the card.

I applied for the Chase BA and then 30 days later, for the Chase CO. I noticed that the CO card actually has a very good rental car insurance policy that's included when you pay for your rental with their card. Unlike my Amex Plat insurance benefit for which there is a fee, CO's coverage is free. When I activated the CO card, I mentioned that benefit.

This is little stuff, I know. But I know enough about these customer call centers to know that the reps are generally being asked to take notes during their telephone calls. Those notes may (depending on how sophisticated a company's IT system is) be available for review by other departments, including credit card approval and reconsideration. If your standard answer is "uh, the miles" and you do the FT standard: meet the spending requirement, put the credit card in the drawer, and cancel before the annual fee comes due, I guarantee you some of these companies are likely to reject your applications more frequently."

Feel free to share your Sapphire Preferred application experience below. I will be applying for this card in my next round of applications - it's not very often that you can get 50,000 Hyatt/BA/Continental points essentially for free.

As always, if you don't mind using my application link, I'd greatly appreciate it. It's the same exact offer you'd find elsewhere and the referrals are what keep this site running (especially now that this is my full-time job!)