Credit Cards

Chase Introduces Record High Welcome Offer for Sapphire Preferred Card

As America continues to inch its way toward normalcy, recent months have brought a slew of interesting credit card welcome bonuses — especially among cards that have a travel focus. In many cases, these fresh promotions have been the most generous the issuer had ever offered. That’s exactly the case with Chase’s latest as the bank has just unveiled its best-ever offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Right now, new Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders can earn a whopping 100,000 points when they spend $4,000 in purchases on the card within their first three months. What’s more, since Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders enjoy an extra 25% in value on their points when redeeming them via the Chase Ultimate Reward portal, this 100,000 point bonus could amount to $1,250 in flights, hotel stays, or other travels bookings. Be aware that the card does carry a $95 annual fee, which is not waived for the first year.

Given how lucrative this offer is, it’s important to note some of the stipulations regarding who is eligible to take advantage. For one, as you may or may not know, Chase only allows customers to have one Sapphire card at a time. This means that you cannot hold both the Preferred and the popular Sapphire Reserve. Furthermore, you must not have received a welcome bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months in order to be eligible.

As for the points you’ll earn outside of this bonus, the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining. For the latter, this includes delivery services and takeout as well. Meanwhile, the card also earns 1x points on all other purchases. However, since points are worth 1.25¢ when redeemed for travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards, the card effectively earns 2.5% back on travel and dining plus 1.25% back on everything else if you’re utilizing your points for Chase Ultimate Rewards redemptions. Alternatively, cardholders can use their points to receive cashback. While opting for cashback would typically mean receiving 1¢ per point, Chase’s Pay Yourself Back program now allows cardholders to earn a 25% bonus on their points when redeeming them for statement credits to cover purchases in select, rotating categories. Finally, Chase also has a number of travel partners that cardholders can transfer their points to at varying rates.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is just the latest credit card to introduce an enhanced bonus offer as travel makes a comeback. Recently, the Capital One Venture card brought back its 100,000-point welcome offer, unlocked by spending $20,000 on the card in your first year. Elsewhere, co-branded cards such as the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard from Barclays, Marriott Bonvoy cards from Chase, and Delta cards from American Express have all been pushing generous bonuses for new cardholders.

Ultimately, a bonus worth as much as $1,250 in value (or perhaps even more once transfer partners are considered) for $4,000 in spend and a $95 annual fee amounts to a pretty astounding value. That said, the catch with the Chase Sapphire Preferred is that it forces credit card fans to choose between it and the beloved Chase Sapphire Reserve. As a result, this latest offer could lead to some soul searching to determine what the best route forward is. Meanwhile, those who don’t have either card and are looking for a great deal may want to jump on this Sapphire Preferred deal.

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