Should I Make My Fiance An Additional Cardholder on my Chase Sapphire Preferred?
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
TPG reader Suzanne emailed me a question this week about the Chase Sapphire Preferred she's planning on applying for:
"I have the Chase Freedom, but the TPG Maximizer recommended I get Chase Sapphire Preferred for better benefits. In this case, I was wondering if its more beneficial for me to add my fiance to my card, or if he should get his own? He uses a company card for a lot of his charges. The only difference I see is the initial 40,000 points."
(The Chase Freedom is no longer open to new applicants)
I would say that your fiance should absolutely get his own Sapphire Preferred rather than just becoming an additional cardholder on your account. Granted, that depends on whether he's interested in getting a new travel credit card (I assume he is since you're asking), and that he's creditworthy. But assuming those two things are true, why wouldn't he get his own card and score the 40,000 bonus points it would net him? Because you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for pay with points toward travel at a rate of 1.25 cents per point, you're sure of getting at least $500 in value from those points - and potentially much more if you maximize Ultimate Rewards' travel transfer partners. That far outweighs the 5,000 extra points you'll get for simply adding him as an authorized user. Especially because neither of your new cards will carry the $95 annual fee for the first year.
The main concern you might have is meeting the minimum spending requirement of $3,000 in 3 months on each of the Sapphire Preferred's you're thinking about applying for, but if you're already engaged, chances are you have some wedding expenses to meet and the total of $6,000 will probably go by in a snap. If that's not the case, then you can always check out my post from earlier this week about the Top 10 Ways to Meet Minimum Spending Requirements and learn about strategies for putting expenses like your rent/mortgage, car payments and more on your points-earning credit card without incurring huge processing fees.
Based on your email, I'd also say that if your fiance has a lot of work charges and his company's credit card policy allows it, then he should think about applying for the Ink Bold or Ink Plus as well. You can get both the Sapphire Preferred and an Ink card by applying in the same day, and he could score another 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points by spending $5,000 in 3 months on that card, which it sounds like isn't a problem since you say he has a lot of company charges to make so that spending shouldn't be an issue. There's at least another $625 toward travel right there.
No matter what you decide to do, remember that being a couple means being eligible for twice the bonuses and twice the spending power of a single credit card, so if the spending requirements are not an issue, you should both get your own cards (and why not add each other as authorized users for the 5,000-point bonus) and each earn the full bonus.
For more on the Sapphire Preferred, check out these posts:
Details on the Sapphire Preferred 2X on Travel
The Sapphire Preferred 7% Annual Dividend
Ranking the Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners
Top 10 Ways To Maximize Each Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partner
Why I Love Chase Ultimate Rewards
Ranking the Top Chase Travel Credit Card Offers
Let me know if you have any other questions by messaging me on Facebook, tweeting me or emailing me at info@thepointsguy.com.