Does the Chase Sapphire Reserve Even Need Affiliate Links?

This morning, I wrote about the fantastic new card coming out (at least publicly) this coming Sunday. People have been very excited about it and there has been a lot written about and discussions made. It promises to be an incredible card and almost too good to be true in the benefits department. So, does this incredible card need affiliate links?

Does the Chase Sapphire Reserve Even Need Affiliate Links?

What Are Affiliate Links?

See this post for an in-depth look at affiliate links and what they are

For those who don’t know, blogs such as this one get paid when readers sign-up for various cards through their affiliate links. Running with Miles does not have direct links (you need to apply through the affiliate links found on this page ) but there are some bigger blogs that do have direct affiliate links to the cards. Of course, everyone that has these affiliate links would like for you to apply through our links and we are certainly grateful when you do! 🙂

Credit card affiliate links have made many who have been doing the points game for a while upset with how some of the affiliate links are handled. For example, there are some times that notice or disclosure is not given that the affiliate link used is actually not the best offer out there. Also, there are cards (like the Chase Hyatt card) that do not have affiliate links and that often means it does not get mentioned or linked to that often.

Better Exposure

Banks maintain affiliate relationships to get their cards out to the public. It helps the issuers since these cards are often written about and it is also explained all the value that you can get from the cards. Affiliate payouts can be anywhere from around $30 per successful card application to as high as over $300 for some of the premium cards.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Affiliate Channels

I would expect that, since the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a premium card, an affiliate payout on direct links for this card would be between $200 and $300 per successful application. For non-direct affiliates like myself, that number would probably be half of that. If the cost of the points to Chase (100,000 bonus points) is $500 (.5 cent per point), that means that the bonus alone is costing Chase $500 – on a card with a $450 annual fee. If the person redeems the points for a statement credit, that is actually $1,000 that Chase is paying for the customer that has only paid $450!

The Cost to Chase

That is ignoring the incredibly generous $300 travel credit that Chase will give each year. The first year, if the charges are made before December, would actually give the cardmember $600 in travel credit – on a card with a $450 annual fee.

If we assume that the direct link payout would be $250 for this card, the total cost to Chase in outright cash would be $1,850 with Chase only getting $450 in the annual fee. That is a big bet by Chase that this card will become a primary use card by many of the new applicants!

Summary

Many people thought at first that this card would be available only in Chase branches. With the mistaken exposure of the card page yesterday, we know now that it will be online. There is certainly enough excitement and discussion about this card that Chase probably doesn’t need to even have an affiliate channel for this card. On the Flyertalk thread about this card, it has been viewed over 125,000 times – in less than a month. It is also one of the most frequently commented on threads on the sub-reddit for churning.

If anything, Chase has played the leak game very well and, as a result, is about to roll out one of the most anticipated credit cards in a long time. If it does hit the affiliate channels, of course I will be happy if people apply through my link! 🙂 But, the card is so exciting and speaks for itself so loudly, it may not even need affiliate links. We shall see this Monday morning!