New Chase Sapphire Preferred With EMV Chip Arrived In The Mail Yesterday
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Being the international travelers we are, when Chase started letting Sapphire Preferred cardholders request EMV SmartChip versions of the card, all of Team TPG called in to request their new cards with chips and yesterday evening, TPG Managing Editor Eric Rosen got his via UPS, so I asked him to share a picture of his snazzy new card.
I called Chase to request a new chipped Sapphire Preferred on Thursday (October 31), and when I got home from a meeting yesterday afternoon (November 1), I found a UPS envelope lying at my door with my new card in it.
I ripped it open and pulled out the new version, but before I activated it, I wanted to check on a few things. I have some travel coming up for which I used the card to pay and the airlines - Thai, Bangkok Airways and Emirates specifically - stated on the check-out page when I was purchasing tickets that I would need to present the card at check-in in order to get my ticket and fly.
Although this card was just a replacement for my current one, I needed to make sure that the card number itself, the security code and the expiration date were the same since I figured Chase might push at least the expiration another year or two in the future, but it all exactly matched my current card.
I called the activation line where they verified my information, and they said that my old card would no longer work and that I could start using my new card immediately. I had also gotten an envelope within the UPS package to return my current card to Chase so it could destroy it since the card has metal in it and I can't do it myself, so I dropped the card in there, sealed it up and popped it in the mail.
One thing I know a few people are concerned about - call it vanity - but chip cards are plastic for the most part while the Sapphire Preferred is metal. I was happy to see that my new card was also metal, though, and I'm sure a few of you will be relieved, if only for the cool factor.
So there you have it - the new card is exactly the same as my old card, only it's got a chip over my name. For now, the Smart Chips are only available in the Sapphire Preferred, not the Sapphire, Ink Bold, Ink Plus or Freedom (No longer open to new applicants). Though Chase does offer other cards with Smart Chips including the British Airways Visa Signature Card and the Hyatt Credit Card. I really appreciate having the chip in my Sapphire Preferred because I invariably carry it abroad with me since it does not charge foreign transaction fees, and having a chip makes it easier to use at certain vendors like Tube ticket machines in London.
That's why, if you have a Sapphire Preferred, I'd recommend ordering a new one with a chip since it does make life a bit easier when using it abroad, and Chase was able to send it to me so quickly and for free. To request a new card, you can call customer service.
For more information on Smart Chips and the credit cards that have them, check out this post: