KEY LINK: card_name – bonus_miles_full annual_fees (I’ve been told that the 80K welcome offer is ending May 25th at 9 a.m. EDT)
I generally believe there are three reasons to apply for and keep a credit card.
- First is any welcome offer on the card.
- The second reason is if the card has attractive spending categories.
- The final reason is any ongoing benefits you receive for having the card.
Most credit cards check at least one of these boxes, but it’s rare that a card will check all three. The card_name, with its current welcome offer allowing you to bonus_miles, checks maybe 2 and a half. It has a great welcome offer and excellent ongoing benefits. The rewards you get from ongoing spending are okay but not extraordinary, though Chase has made some nice updates like adding 5x on travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal and a $50 annual hotel credit. Still, the welcome offer alone makes it worth considering.
Outstanding Welcome Offer
The biggest reason to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred card right now is that its welcome offer is at an increased level. The Chase Sapphire Preferred was one of the first credit cards I ever got, and the signup bonus was 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points. That was 6 or 7 years ago, and over time, the welcome offer on the Sapphire Preferred has gradually continued to go up and up. First we saw 50,000 points, then 60,000 and then 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points. We have seen it go as high as 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points but I don’t know if or when that offer will ever come back.
Now you can bonus_miles_full And if you have a spouse with a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, it could be worth even more. And even better, you can often get even more value by transferring to Chase’s travel partners. Like the time I turned 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points into a $6,500 train trip.
Earning Ultimate Rewards points
Here is the earning potential while using the card_name
- 5x total points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit.
- 2x on other travel purchases
- 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out.
- 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
- 3x points on select streaming services.
- 1x points on all other purchases
Combining Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Another great reason to consider signing up for the card_name is the ability to combine Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can combine your Ultimate Rewards points that you’ve earned on different cards, and you can also combine points with authorized users on your account. That makes it fairly straightforward to combine points between spouses / partners as well.
The reason this is so important and valuable is that the value of your Ultimate Rewards points depends on the card that you earn them on. If you only have a no-fee Chase card like the card_name or card_name, then your points are only worth 1 cent each. But if you have a premium card like the card_name or card_name, then your points become worth 1.25 cents per point. So if you already have a lot of Ultimate Rewards that you’ve earned with a Freedom Flex or other no-fee Chase card, then applying for the Sapphire Preferred not only lets you bonus_miles, but it makes all of your EXISTING points worth 25% more. Having a premium Chase card like the Sapphire Preferred also unlocks the ability to transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to Chase’s hotel and airline transfer partners.
Points for those who have the card_name are worth 1.5 cents per point. Unfortunately, you can’t hold both the Sapphire Reserve and the Sapphire Preferred at the same time. But if you have a spouse or partner who does have the Sapphire Reserve, then you should be able to combine points with them. That might make the welcome bonus worth $1,000 or more.
Primary Car Rental Insurance
Another great reason to have the card_name is for the car rental insurance. Like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Sapphire Preferred has outstanding car rental insurance. Paying for a rental car with the Sapphire Reserve saved my parents nearly $1000 when they ran into problems with their rental car. The best part about the rental insurance with the Sapphire Preferred is that it’s primary, unlike the insurance with many other credit cards. That means that it comes into play before you would be required to make a claim with your own auto insurer.
Other card_name Benefits
Besides primary car rental insurance, some of the other benefits that come with the card are:
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Unlock 1:1 point transfers to Chase’s hotel and airline travel partners
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
- Baggage Delay Insurance
- Earn 5x points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025
- Complimentary access to DashPass
- $10 monthly statement credit from Gopuff.
- 6 months of complimentary Instacart+ if you activate by July 31, 2024. Plus, Instacart+ members earn up to $15 in statement credits each quarter through July 2024
- No foreign transaction fees
- annual_fees
If you use the $50 hotel credit, that more than cuts the annual fee in half
The Bottom Line
If you’re eligible to get the welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you should highly consider it. This is one of the best offers that we’ve ever seen, on any card. In order to be eligible for the bonus you must:
- Be under Chase 5/24
- Not be a current cardholder of any Chase Sapphire card – aka the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Not have received a new member bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months
KEY LINK: card_name – bonus_miles_full annual_fees
If you have any questions about this offer or want to talk over how it might work for you, please email me at dan at pointswithacrew dot com. I am more than happy to talk to anyone about this or any other offer and how it might work for you.
Are you planning on applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred with its outstanding welcome offer? Leave a note in the comments.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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