How this perk works: The Chase Sapphire Preferred 10% anniversary points bonus

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

In August 2021, Chase revealed a slew of exciting changes to its Sapphire cards, particularly raising the value of the ever-so-popular Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Among these improvements were new and elevated spending category bonuses and even a new annual $50 Ultimate Rewards hotel statement credit.

Another change that's worth mentioning is a 10% anniversary points bonus. Cardholders will receive 10% bonus based on their total spend during the account anniversary year at a rate of 1 point for each $1 spent. For example, if you spent $100,000 on your Sapphire Preferred during your cardmember year, you'll receive 10,000 bonus points at the end of the year.

Since TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents each, earning 10,000 bonus points would be like getting $200 in value. The more you spend, the more you'll earn, and this one new perk alone could help make up for some (or all) of the card's $95 annual fee.

Let's dive into the specifics of this new benefit and how you can track your progress on the Chase Sapphire Preferred's 10% anniversary bonus.

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About the 10% anniversary bonus

Without reading the fine print, this new perk can sound slightly misleading at first. Here are the details:

10% anniversary points bonus: Each account anniversary year, you'll earn bonus points that equal 10% of your total spend in points from purchases made with your credit card during the previous account anniversary year at a rate of 1 point for each $1 spent. "Account anniversary year" means the year beginning with your account open date through the anniversary of your account open date, and each 12 months after that.

You shouldn't mistake this as earning 10% back of the points you earned in a given year. Instead, you're earning 10% more points based solely on the dollars you spend during your given account anniversary.

You can think of this as simply adding 0.1% to the existing bonus categories on the Chase Sapphire Preferred. As a reminder, here's the earning rate on the card:

• 5x (or 5%) on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• 5x (or 5%) on Lyft purchases (until March 2022).
• 3x (or 3%) on dining.
• 3x (or 3%) on online grocery store purchases, excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs.
• 3x (or 3%) on select streaming services.
• 2x (or 2%) on all other travel purchases.
• 1x (or 1%) on all other eligible purchases.

So in your mind, you could add 0.1% to all of the multipliers above. In other words, you're earning 5.1% on Lyft purchases through March 2022, 3.1% on dining, 2.1% on other travel purchases — the list goes on.

While not a huge difference, it can certainly add up to a significant number of bonus points at the end of your cardmember year.

How to track your progress for the 10% anniversary bonus

If you don't know your account anniversary date already, visit the Ultimate Rewards portal to find this date as well as your progress toward your 10% bonus.

Click on "Rewards Activity" and you'll find a summary of your spending, points earned, and your progress under "10% Anniversary points boost."

As my account anniversary just reset, I have not yet earned a ton of them based on the new 10% bonus, but I expect that number to go up as I spend more over the coming year.

Another important thing to note here is that you won't receive your bonus points until 60 to 90 days after your anniversary period is over. This is likely because Chase wants you to pay your annual fee for the next year before awarding you these bonus points.

Regardless, there's no extra work involved for you to activate this benefit. The points will automatically accrue and deposit to your account once your anniversary resets. If you want to track your progress, you can do so under the "rewards activity" of the Ultimate Rewards portal.

Otherwise, let the points fly in.

Bottom line

If you're a low spender in the first place, this 10% anniversary points bonus isn't necessarily monumental as it's just earning 0.1% back. Still, it's another benefit that continues to make the Chase Sapphire Preferred more valuable than ever.

Official application link: Chase Sapphire Preferred with a 60,000-point sign-up bonus after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.