If you’ve been eyeing the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s welcome bonus, but have had the card before, you might be wondering if you qualify for the bonus. Reading Chase’s bonus terms might only add to the confusion:
“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.”
Chase Sapphire Preferred Offer Details
How to tell if you are eligible
Here’s a quick overview of the rules you can use to tell if you are eligible for a new Chase Sapphire welcome bonus. Read on for more detail on what you should do in each case.
| Eligible? | Recommended action | |
|---|---|---|
| You earned a welcome bonus on a Sapphire-branded card within the last 48 months. | No | Earn a welcome bonus with another (non-Sapphire branded) card from our list of best Ultimate Rewards welcome bonuses. |
| You currently hold a Sapphire-branded card. | No | Request a product change of your Chase Sapphire card to a Chase Freedom Unlimited® or Chase Freedom Flex℠. Once your product change goes through, apply for a Chase Sapphire-branded card. |
| Neither of the above apply. | Yes | Apply for either the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and earn a welcome bonus. |
A bit more on eligibility and recommended actions
Here’s a bit more detail on what we present in the table above.
First question: Have you earned a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve welcome bonus in the last 48 months?
If you have received a bonus for a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve card within the past 48 months, you cannot earn a new cardmember welcome bonus on a new Sapphire card. Period.
And it’s important to know that the 48 month clock starts from the date that you earned the welcome bonus, not the date you opened your card. So, if you opened a Sapphire Preferred card in January of 2020 and met the spending requirements for the bonus in March of 2020, you wouldn’t be eligible to earn another welcome bonus until March of 2024.
However, there are plenty of ways to earn Ultimate Rewards®. The Chase Freedom Flex, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, and Ink Business Preferred® all earn Ultimate Rewards. These cards offer welcome bonuses to new customers and are featured on our list of best Ultimate Rewards welcome bonuses. And the Ultimate Rewards® points you earn can all be transferred to your Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve card.
The good news is that, if you haven’t earned a bonus on a Sapphire credit card within the last 48 months, there is a path to getting a bonus on a new Sapphire Preferred card. Read on for your options.
Second question: Do you have any Chase Sapphire card?
If you currently have any Chase Sapphire branded credit cards, you wont be able to get an additional Chase Sapphire card. Chase only allows one Sapphire card per cardholder. Here are the cards that Chase considers Chase Sapphire cards:
- Chase Sapphire (only available as a card downgrade)
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
If you have a Sapphire card, you can product change
If it has been more than a year since you have opened your Sapphire card, you’re in luck. Chase will likely let you change your Sapphire card to a Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited®. You’ll retain your account number, credit line, and account history. You’ll have a useful card with no annual fee. And your credit line and longer account age will contribute to a higher credit score.
Once your card is changed to a card that isn’t in the Chase Sapphire family of cards, you’ll once again be eligible for a new Sapphire card. It may take some time before your account converts completely. Wait until after you receive your new card and next statement before you apply for a new Chase Sapphire card.
To initiate a product change, just call Chase at the number on the back of your card. Customer service can tell you about product change options.
You can also close your card and apply for a new one
Another way to is simply to close your current Chase Sapphire card and apply for a new Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® once your account is closed. You won’t retain your account number, credit line, and account age. But if you find yourself feeling like you are collecting too many Chase cards, this can be a reasonable solution.
Alternative: Apply for a different card that earns Ultimate Rewards®
Whether or not you are eligible to earn a new Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® welcome bonus, if your objective is earning more Ultimate Rewards® points, you can simply apply for a different card. Ultimate Rewards® points can be combined across accounts, meaning any Ultimate Rewards® earning card can contribute to your Chase Sapphire point balance. You’ll find many great options on our list of the best Ultimate Rewards welcome bonuses.
A few notes on applying for Chase cards
- Chase generally won’t approve you if your credit report is showing 5 or more new credit card accounts opened in the last 24 months. This rule is knows as the 5/24 rule. If you’re unsure if you are “under 5/24” you should check your 5/24 status before applying for a Chase card. Note that recently this rule seems to have softened. See our coverage about Chase 5/24 for more.
- How often you can earn a welcome bonus on a Chase card varies by card family.
- Most cards allow you to earn a welcome bonus if it has been at least 24 months since your last received a welcome bonus on the same card.
- Chase Sapphire-branded cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can only earn a welcome bonus once every 48 months.
- You can only hold one Chase Sapphire-branded card at a time.
- If you apply for a Chase card and the bank offers a higher bonus within 90 days, you can send Chase a secure message or call them to have your welcome offer matched.
- Chase business cards do not report to personal credit reports as long as they are current.