The offer mentioned below for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® is no longer available.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) welcome bonus offers new cardmembers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That's worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.
Unfortunately, not everyone qualifies to earn the bonus. Here's the TLDR: If you're already the primary account holder on any version of a Sapphire card, including the Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees), you are not eligible for any Sapphire card.
If you don't currently have a Sapphire card, make sure you know when you last received a Sapphire welcome bonus. You are ineligible for any Sapphire card welcome bonus if you've received a new card member bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months, or four years. (Chase refers to the date you received the bonus, not when you opened your account.)
Both Sapphire cards also reportedly fall under Chase's 5/24 rule, which means that you can't be approved for if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (from any card issuer) within the past 24 months. For instance, if you've opened two Citi cards and three Amex cards within the past 24 months, then you will likely be denied for a new Chase card until your 5/24 score decreases. There really aren't any workarounds to the 5/24 rule, beyond waiting for a new account to be over 24 months old.
Here is a snapshot of whether or not you qualify for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card welcome bonus:
You are eligible for the welcome bonus if:
- You don't have any version of the Sapphire card
- You previously had a Sapphire card and received the bonus more than 48 months ago
- You previously had a Sapphire card and never received the bonus
- You haven't opened five or more personal credit cards (from any card issuer) within the past 24 months
You are not eligible for the welcome bonus if:
- You currently have a Sapphire card, regardless of whether you previously received the bonus
- You previously had a Sapphire card and received the bonus within the past 48 months
- You're an existing Chase Sapphire customer and want to request a product change
- You have opened five or more personal credit cards (from any card issuer) within the past 24 months
These eligibility rules are listed in the terms for the Sapphire cards.
Chase disclaims the following eligibility requirements on its website:
The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months. If you are an existing Sapphire customer and would like this product, please call the number on the back of your card to see if you are eligible for a product change. You will not receive the new cardmember bonus if you change products.
Not eligible for the Sapphire Preferred bonus?
Luckily for you, there are tons of other generous credit card welcome bonuses out there. While the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a great choice for those looking to travel, not everyone wants a travel-specific credit card.
Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.
We reviewed over 100 credit card offers and rounded up the best deals. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best cards.) Here are CNBC Select's picks of the best credit card sign-up bonuses outside of the Sapphire Preferred:
- Winner: Chase Freedom Flex®
- Best for cash back: Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Best for no annual fee: Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Best for no spending required: Prime Visa (see rates and fees)
With the Chase Freedom Flex, our top pick, new cardholders can earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. The Freedom Flex also comes with no annual fee and the opportunity to earn up to 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate (then 1%).
The Chase Freedom Flex® is an excellent cash-back card for maximizing your spending in a variety of categories.
- Long intro APR for purchases and balance transfers
- Rewarding quarterly bonus categories
- No annual fee
- Bonus categories are capped each quarter
- Has a foreign transaction fee
Rewards
- 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate (then 1%)
- 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
- 3% on drugstore purchases and on dining (including takeout and eligible delivery services)
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Balance transfer fee
Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
3%
Read more
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Our methodology
To determine which cards offer the best value, CNBC Select analyzed 105 of the most popular credit cards available in the U.S. that are open to anyone and offer welcome bonuses. We compared each card on a range of features, including cash-back rewards, annual fee, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available.
CNBC Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.
Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.
CNBC Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.
It's important to note the value of a point or mile varies from card to card and based on how you redeem them. When we calculated the estimated returns, we assumed that cardholders are redeeming cash back for a typical maximum value of 1 cent per point or mile. (Extreme optimizers might be able to achieve more value.)
Our final picks are weighted heavily toward the highest five-year returns, since it's generally wise to hold onto a credit card for years. This method also avoids giving an unfair advantage to cards with large welcome bonuses.
While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.
We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through Amazon links.
