New 50,000-Point Bonus After $4k Spend on the Chase Sapphire Preferred!
Quick summary
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Taking advantage of limited-time offers on top travel rewards credit cards is a great way to boost your account balances and unlock valuable redemptions. However, it's even better when a card permanently increases its standard offer, and today, we're excited to announce that one popular credit card has done just that. You can now earn a bonus of 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening when you apply and are approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
If you meet the spending requirements for both the sign-up bonus and earn the additional points for adding an authorized user, you're looking at a one-time haul of 55,000 Ultimate Rewards points, worth an incredible $1,155 based on TPG's most recent valuations. There are a myriad of ways to redeem these points for maximum value, especially when you transfer them to partners like Hyatt (for free stays at properties like the Park Hyatt Tokyo) or Singapore (for award flights like Suites Class on the A380).
The card's wealth of benefits makes it a keeper beyond just the first year (and makes it an ideal starter card if you're new to the hobby). I regularly use the card abroad due to the lack of foreign transaction fees, and it's also my go-to card for car rentals due to its primary insurance coverage. While double points on dining and travel purchases may not seem that lucrative on the surface, Chase defines both categories quite broadly. The travel category on the card includes things like Uber and parking garages, and I've had success earning 2x points at bars with no food service. This wide definition is a key reason why the Sapphire Preferred is the card TPG uses for most of his purchases.
Remember too that the card is a potent companion to the Chase Freedom (No longer open to new applicants), since it allows you to "convert" the cash back you earn on the Freedom to much more valuable (and transferable) Ultimate Rewards points. For more information on this strategy, be sure to check out Jason Steele's post on maximizing Ultimate Rewards with Chase Freedom, Sapphire and Ink Plus.
What if you recently applied?
If you applied for the card within the last few months, it's definitely worth sending Chase a message to see if it'll honor the increased bonus. You can do this from your account overview page after logging in to Chase.com:
- Click on Secure Message Center (at the top right).
- Select Send New Message.
- Choose the topic from the drop-down menu next to My Personal Accounts (Rewards Inquiry is likely the best bet) and click GO.
- Select your credit card and topic, type of a brief request asking Chase to honor the new 50,000-point bonus and click Send.
I've read many reports of folks getting bumped to a higher bonus if they applied within 90 days of the new offer. It can't hurt to ask; the worst thing that can happen is that Chase will say no!
Bottom Line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a fantastic product and offers you a ton of flexibility with your earning and redemption strategies. 50,000 points actually used to be the standard sign-up bonus on the card (and was even more lucrative with the since-discontinued 7% annual points dividend), so it's nice to see Chase bumping this back up permanently. Remember that Chase has recently started restricting approvals for this card if you have many card applications in the last 24 months, so now's a great time to apply. Everyone should have at least one card that earns transferable points, and this new offer just solidifies the Sapphire Preferred at the top of TPG's list of credit card recommendations.
For more information, check out the following posts:
- 5 Things To Do When You Get Chase Sapphire Preferred
- 5 Chase Sapphire Benefits You Might Not Know About
- Redeeming One Year of Points from Chase Sapphire Preferred
Are any of you going to get in on this new sign-up bonus?