The Chase Sapphire Preferred remains as one of my most recommended cards for most people interested in travel, thanks to its ease of use and points. Chase Ultimate Reward points are awesome for a variety of redemptions and the Chase Sapphire Preferred feeds into that program very well. But, right now is not the time to apply for this card!
Big Chase Sapphire Preferred Offer Coming
The current offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is 60,000 Ultimate Reward points for $4,000 in spending and the annual fee of $95 is not waived. By itself, that is a nice offer since those points are worth a minimum of $725 when redeemed directly for travel and even more when transferred to travel partners. For example, one of their transfer partners is Hyatt and I just redeemed 6,500 points at a hotel I needed to stay at when the rates were $220 (for a value of 3.3 cents per point). It is not uncommon at all to get at least 2 cents per point when used via one of the transfer partner.
The Current Chase Sapphire Preferred Offer – DON’T Apply for this One!
But, according to Doctor of Credit, there is a new offer that Chase has informed their bankers about and it is coming out in-branch on March 19. This offer will be for 80,000 Ultimate Reward points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months and then an additional 10,000 points if you spend a total of $6,000 in the first 6 months. That means you could get up to 90,000 points with the new offer – a 50% increase over the current offer.
Sure, it is not as great as the public 100,000 point offer from a couple of years ago but it is the closest thing to it! But, do note that, at least at launch, it appears that this offer will only be for in-branch applications. This means you may not hear much about it on many blogs since blogs will not get affiliate commission from this offer, at least while it is in the branch only.
But, these offers eventually tend to spread channel wide so if you are adverse to applying in branch, you could wait to see if it comes up online. It could do that around March 26, would be my guess.
As a reminder, here is what the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers:
- 5x total points on all travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards (up from a general 2x point earning on travel)
- 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out (previously at 2x)
- 3x points on select streaming services
- 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Ultimate Rewards.
- 10% anniversary point bonus (each account anniversary, cardmembers will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year. For example, if you spend $25,000 in a year, you will earn an additional 2,500 points)
- $95 annual fee
- If you have received a sign-up bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve in the last 48 months, you will not be eligible for this offer.
So, don’t apply for this card right now! I will do a post when it is live in-branch and also let you know when it is available online (including in the referral and affiliate channels, which will pay me a commission should you apply and get approved through my link).
