Chase Sapphire cards offer sign-up bonuses up to 60,000 points

If you are planning your next vacation and hoping to fund it with a large sign-up bonus, applying for a Chase Sapphire card could help you on your journey.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card and Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offer relatively valuable sign-up bonuses among travel credit cards, thanks to the value and flexibility of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The Sapphire Reserve card offers 50,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first three months, while the Sapphire Preferred card offers 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two cards is that the Sapphire Reserve is a premium travel rewards card that charges $550 annually, while the Preferred Card charges $95 per year.

Which Chase Sapphire card is better in the first year?

At first glance, the Chase Sapphire Preferred may seem like the better value. Along with offering a slightly larger sign-up bonus, the Preferred card’s annual fee is only $95. The card also offers bonus points in more categories than its pricier companion.

The Reserve, by contrast, comes with a $550 annual fee. In fact, along with charging $550 per year, the card has a fee of $75 for each authorized user.

So why would anyone choose the Reserve card over the Preferred card? Read on to see why we think the Reserve card could be worth paying a much higher annual fee.

Comparing Chase Sapphire cards

	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Chase Sapphire Reserve
Rewards rate	5 points per dollar on Chase Ultimate Rewards travel (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit) 3 points per dollar on restaurants, select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs) 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases 1 point per dollar on general purchases	10 points per dollar on hotels and rental cards purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards 5Xpoints per dollar on Chase Ultimate Rewards air travel 3 points per dollar on general travel and restaurants All travel rewards rates apply only after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases 1 points per dollar on general purchases
Sign-up bonus	60,000 points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months	50,000 points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Annual fee	$95	$550 $75 for each authorized user
More things to know	Transfer points 1:1 to 13 travel partners Travel insurance Primary car rental insurance No foreign transaction fees $0 authorized user fee 25% bonus on points redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards portal Free year of DashPass membership (activate by Mar. 31, 2022) $50 annual credit for hotels booked through Ultimate Rewards	$300 annual travel credit Up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit Priority Pass lounge access Complimentary Lyft Pink membership (through March 2022) Free year of DashPass membership (activate by Mar. 31, 2022) Car rental perks Transfer points 1:1 to 13 travel partners Travel insurance Primary car rental insurance No foreign transaction fee 50% bonus on points redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards portal

Despite its high annual fee, the Reserve card’s value becomes apparent when you redeem your points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a 50% bonus on Ultimate Rewards travel, compared to a 25% bonus for the Sapphire Preferred.

Additionally, the Reserve card offers $300 in annual travel credits, which can be applied to airfare and other travel costs, and a up to $100 statement credit every four years for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck applications. Plus, Chase has added one year of complimentary DashPass membership (usually $9.99 a month) when you activate by March 31, 2022. These travel and dining bonuses, which can average close to $445 in statement credits per year and help cancel out the majority of the Reserve card’s annual fee.

While the Sapphire Preferred recently added a $50 credit for hotels booked through Ultimate Rewards that can also help offset its annual fee, we think frequent travelers can probably eke more value out of the Reserve card’s benefits. In addition to the money you can save with annual travel credits, you can travel in style thanks to Priority Pass lounge access.

Recent changes to the Chase Sapphire cards

The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Preferred sign-up bonuses do not change frequently. The Sapphire Reserve card – which premiered with a 100,000-point sign-up bonus in August 2016 – has changed this bonus a few times since the card’s debut, and as of October 2021 set it at 50,000 points.

In the summer of 2021, the Sapphire Preferred card increased its sign-up bonus to 100,000 points – the highest bonus in the card’s history. However, the most recent change put it back at 60,000 points.

Who is eligible for the sign-up bonus?

The Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonuses are available only to new cardholders who have not received a new cardmember bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months. Also, Chase only allows you to own one Sapphire card at a time, so you are not eligible for the bonus if you are already a Sapphire cardholder. Of course, you have to qualify for the cards first, which means you need a credit score in the excellent range (at least 750).

Chase doesn’t appear to have a hard limit on how many cards you own, though it may deny your application if you have too large of a credit limit across your other Chase cards. Also, while there is no strict rule on how many Chase cards you can apply for within a certain time frame, many applicants report a limit of one to two new cards per month.

Chase has come down hard recently on applicants who open many accounts at once. Though it’s not an official policy, Chase appears to be enforcing a “5/24” rule on new credit card applications. If you have opened at least five credit card accounts in the past 24 months with any issuer (not just Chase), your application will likely be denied. The rule seems to apply to any credit card account that shows up on your credit report, including co-branded store cards and authorized user accounts. (On the plus side, business credit cards that don’t report to your personal credit report do not affect your chances of being approved.)

Best way to use the Chase Sapphire cards’ sign-up bonus

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve are flexible point cards that offer a wide array of options for redeeming or transferring your points. You can redeem points as statement credits, direct deposits into a bank account, gift cards or travel, or purchase merchandise through Amazon.com or the Chase Pay app.

As you can see from the table below, travel redemptions are by far the best option with the Chase Sapphire cards. When you redeem your points for travel through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you get a 25% to 50% bonus (depending on which card you own), drastically boosting the value of your points.

Redemption options for Chase Sapphire cards

Moreover, you can transfer your points at a 1:1 value to one of Chase’s many travel partners to get even higher values on your points. For instance, we value Southwest Airlines points at 1.6 cents on average (though, the value can vary widely depending on the ticket that you purchase), which means a 60,000-point bonus can net you $960 of value on average when used for Southwest airfare:

Transfer options for Chase Sapphire cards

An extra 100,000 bonus points per year

In addition to a sign-up bonus, Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a referral bonus worth up to 100,000 points each year. Chase’s “Refer-a-Friend” promotion gives Sapphire Preferred cardholders 20,000 points for each person they refer who is approved for the card – up to five people per year.

To take part in the promotion, enter your last name, ZIP code and last four digits of your credit card on Chase Sapphire Preferred’s refer-a-friend page. On the following page, you will enter the first name and email address of each person you wish to invite. You also have the option to post an invitation link to Facebook or Twitter or refer friends through the Chase app.

Should you apply for a Chase Sapphire card now?

Now can be a good time to sign up for a Sapphire card – even though the welcome bonuses have decreased some. The welcome bonuses, referral bonus opportunities, annual credits and the ability to boost the value of your points through Ultimate Rewards portal make these ideal travel credit cards.  Also, because the 5/24 rule limits the number of Chase cards you can sign up for in a 24-month period, we recommend applying sooner rather than later to get the clock started.