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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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Can former Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders qualify for the 100,000-point bonus? Here's what we're seeing
Summer Hull has been covering (and using) travel tips, rewards credit cards and loyalty programs for over a decade. She has flown close to a million miles, often on points and miles and with her family in tow.
July 21, 2026 • 7 min read
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Quick summary
Recent reports indicate some longtime former cardholders are being approved for a major travel card's elevated welcome offer, even after previously earning it over a decade ago.
Eligibility rules for this card's bonus have shifted, with approvals suggesting a more nuanced approach than the published terms imply.
Applicants with histories dating back to the card's early years (circa 2010-2012) and who no longer hold the card have seen success.
A pop-up during the application process typically informs ineligible applicants before a hard credit inquiry is performed.
What to consider
Current cardholders are not eligible for the welcome offer, and the unofficial 5/24 rule may impact approval.
Most successful approvals involve those who closed or downgraded the card many years ago; recent cardholders generally remain ineligible.
Eligibility remains at the issuer's discretion, and a pending application may require reallocating existing credit to proceed.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed step-by-step guidance on testing your eligibility and understanding nuanced approval patterns for this travel card's bonus.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Houston, we may have a potential development in who can qualify for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) welcome offer of 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
First, it replaced its long-standing 48-month restriction with much stricter language suggesting previous cardholders generally wouldn't qualify for the same Sapphire bonus again. Then, earlier this year, it relaxed those rules by allowing eligible cardholders to hold both Sapphire cards and earn the other card's welcome bonus if they hadn't previously earned it.
Limited-time offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Now, after seeing several approvals with remarkably similar histories, we think the answer may be more nuanced.
If you're wondering whether it's worth applying, here's what we've learned so far.
Before you apply, here's what to check
These approvals are encouraging, but they're far from a guarantee.
Before submitting an application, consider the following:
You don't currently have a Sapphire Preferred open. The card's terms clearly state that current cardholders can't open another Sapphire Preferred.
You're under Chase's unofficial 5/24 rule. While Chase doesn't publish this policy, applicants who have opened five or more personal credit cards across all issuers in the past 24 months are generally unlikely to be approved.
You first had the Sapphire Preferred many years ago. Every successful approval we've seen so far has involved longtime former cardholders who originally opened the card in its early years.
You're comfortable with the fact that eligibility is still determined by Chase. We don't know exactly where the bank draws the line, and these approvals don't guarantee anyone else will qualify.
If your history looks similar, it may be worth testing your eligibility.
Because of the excitement surrounding the limited-time 100,000-point bonus (and the refreshed benefits and elevated earning categories), a few of us who had the Sapphire Preferred many years ago decided to test our eligibility.
One helpful aspect of Chase's application process is that it generally lets applicants know whether they're eligible for the welcome bonus before completing a hard credit inquiry.
Chase currently displays a pop-up during the application process informing some applicants they're ineligible for the welcome bonus because they previously held the card or received its welcome offer.
Here’s what that pop-up looks like:
CHASE
If you receive that message and your primary goal is earning the welcome bonus, you can simply cancel the application before moving forward.
However, several of us who first opened the Sapphire Preferred around the time it launched didn't receive that warning when we applied again recently.
Instead, we were either approved immediately or told our applications required additional review.
Our Chase accounts are also displaying the welcome-bonus tracker showing our progress toward earning the 100,000-point offer.
CHASE
We are thrilled, to put it mildly. I mean, that's a lot of points, and there's certainly no shortage of ways to use 100,000 bonus points.
A pending application doesn't necessarily mean you've been denied.
That's exactly what happened to TPG editor-in-chief Nick Ewen.
Rather than approving or denying his application immediately, Chase placed it under review. The following day, Nick called Chase's lending department, where a representative explained that Chase had already extended about as much credit as it was willing to across his existing accounts.
GETTY IMAGES
Nick reallocated roughly $15,000 of available credit from his Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees) to the new Sapphire Preferred account, and his application was approved immediately afterward.
If your application is pending, it's worth calling Chase's reconsideration line at 1-888-270-2127 and asking whether reallocating available credit from another Chase card could help complete your application.
The pattern we're seeing
We've heard from several longtime points-and-miles enthusiasts with similar histories who reported the same outcome.
Based on the approvals we've seen so far, several similarities have emerged:
Successful applicants originally opened the Sapphire Preferred around 2010 to 2012, within a few years of the card's launch.
Many downgraded or closed the card circa 2016 or 2017, around when the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) launched. At the time, Chase did not allow cardholders to hold both Sapphire products, so many longtime points and miles enthusiasts followed a similar path.
Successful applicants no longer had a Sapphire Preferred open, as the terms are clear that you cannot have two of the same card.
None received Chase's bonus-ineligibility pop-up during the application process.
ISABELLE RAPHAEL/THE POINTS GUY
On the other hand, applicants who opened the Sapphire Preferred more recently continue reporting that Chase displays the ineligibility pop-up before completing the application.
Individually, none of these approvals proves much. Together, though, they're beginning to paint a picture that Chase's new eligibility system may be more nuanced than many of us initially assumed.
What does this mean for Sapphire Preferred eligibility?
Chase's current terms no longer specify a waiting period before a previous Sapphire Preferred cardholder may qualify again.
Instead, they simply state that the bonus "may not be available" if you've previously held the card or earned its welcome offer.
That wording is certainly accurate. Many previous cardholders remain ineligible. However, it now also appears clear that the bonus may be available to at least some people who earned it before.
We still don't know exactly where Chase draws the line, but these approvals suggest that having the Sapphire Preferred years ago doesn't automatically disqualify you forever.
That's still far from enough data to define Chase's eligibility rules, but it does suggest longtime former Sapphire Preferred cardholders may have a better chance of qualifying than we initially believed.
If you first had the card around 15 years ago and haven't held it in many years, it may be worth testing your eligibility. If Chase determines you're ineligible for the welcome bonus, it should tell you before completing the application and performing a hard credit inquiry.
In other words, checking your eligibility may carry relatively little downside and could potentially result in earning the card's highest-ever 100,000-point welcome offer.
Offer ending soon: Earn 100,000 bonus points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
