Less Than a Month Left to Get the Chase Sapphire Reserve's 100k Bonus
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the most rewarding credit cards currently available, thanks to solid bonus-category earning rates and a great selection of premium perks. When it launched back in August 2016, it offered a 100,000-point bonus, but that's since dropped to 50,000 points when you apply online and meet the spending requirement of $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.
If you haven't yet applied for the Sapphire Reserve and are interested, there's still one way to nab the 100,000-point sign-up bonus — but you'll want to act sooner than later. If you apply in a Chase branch rather than online and are approved, you'll be eligible for the higher offer, but only through March 12.
We've covered the standout features of this card extensively, but let's quickly run through the highlights in case you're on the fence about signing up. While the Sapphire Reserve does have a $450 annual fee that puts it in line with other premium travel rewards cards, it also comes with a $300 annual travel fee credit that applies automatically to a very wide variety of purchases. This effectively brings the annual fee down to $150, and since everything from airfare and hotel stays to tolls and parking fees are eligible, it won't be hard to use it over the course of a year.
Of course, the 3x earning rate for all travel and dining purchases is another main draw of the Sapphire Reserve Card. Since TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2.1 cents apiece, you're looking at a 6.3% return on these purchases — and, again, Chase has a very generous definition of what counts as travel. And speaking of TPG's valuation of Ultimate Rewards points, the 100k sign-up bonus gets you an extra $1,050 in value over the 50,000-point bonus, so it's definitely worth getting the higher offer if applying in branch is at all doable for you.
With this card, you can redeem points through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal for 1.5 cents apiece, rather than for the 1.25 cents per point you'll get with other cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred. If you prefer, you can transfer them to 11 different travel partners such as British Airways and Hyatt instead.
Bottom Line
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of our favorite premium travel rewards cards, and while you can no longer get the 100,000-point bonus when you apply online, you still have time to nab it in-branch. If you can maximize benefits like the 3x bonus categories and the $300 annual travel credit, it could be worth going out of your way to head to a brick-and-mortar Chase location to apply by March 12.
Will you be applying for the Sapphire Reserve in-branch before March 12?
