Chase Sapphire Preferred 100,000-point bonus — all your questions answered

Chase is currently offering its highest-ever welcome bonus on the popular Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees).

For the first time in four years, new applicants can earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Ending soon: Add 100k Ultimate Rewards points to your balance with this limited-time offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

This is one of the best travel credit card deals ever, and there is no way of knowing when, if ever, Chase will raise the welcome bonus on this card to 100,000 points again — or if it will be retired to the “Chase vault” permanently.

While the offer terms are straightforward, there are some conditions and application restrictions to note.

Because of that, a lot of folks have been writing to us with questions. After all, you wouldn’t want to make a mistake that could cost you those 100,000 bonus points.

So, we gathered the most frequently asked questions about Chase Sapphire Preferred’s 100,000-point welcome offer in one place and answered them all for you.

Read on to find out what you need to know in order to get in on the highest-ever Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus while it lasts.

How do I apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

This might seem obvious, but … just follow our link to the Chase Sapphire Preferred application.

Then, you’ll just need to fill out the pertinent information, including your name and address, and answer some questions about your employment, income and financial situation. Be honest about those numbers.

If you tend to keep your credit report frozen, make sure it is unlocked before you apply. Otherwise, you might get automatically denied, or you may be asked to contact Chase with more information.

Related: Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth the annual fee? I say yes

When is the Chase Sapphire Preferred 100,000-point offer ending?

Soon! 

We still don’t have an exact date to share, but you can bet that an offer this high will not last long. In fact, Chase has already officially told us that it is ending soon, so if you have been waiting to apply, now is the time. 

The worst thing would be to miss out on this incredible bonus if it disappears one morning and you haven’t submitted your application yet.

Related: The rise of the Chase Sapphire Preferred: Has it become Chase’s premier card option?

Am I eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred 100,000-point offer?

First things first: Before applying for the 100,000-point Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus, you need to make sure you are eligible for it.

Per the offer terms and conditions, the Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome offer is not available to current cardholders of any Chase Sapphire credit card. This includes the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees), and the no-annual-fee Sapphire card (no longer available for new applications). So, if you currently have any card open, you will be out of luck.

Likewise, it’s not available to previous cardmembers of any Chase Sapphire credit card who received a new member bonus within the last 48 months. 

Keep in mind that this is not when you applied for the card but when you received the welcome bonus, which could have been up to four months after application. 

If you’re not sure when you received a bonus with a previous Sapphire card, check your statements in your Chase online account. (Statements go back seven years.)

The information for the Chase Sapphire has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Also, remember that Chase has a 5/24 rule. So, if you have opened five or more personal credit card accounts (including authorized user accounts and certain business accounts) in the past 24 months — across all issuers, not just Chase — then Chase will likely decline you for this offer. 

Before applying, check your accounts and their ages through a service like Credit Karma to ensure you fall under this threshold. 

Related: Chase Sapphire welcome bonus eligibility checklist

How do I find out when I got my last Chase Sapphire card welcome bonus?

As we mentioned, this current offer is only available to applicants who have not received a welcome bonus on a Chase Sapphire-branded card in the last 48 months. It can be hard to remember when you applied for the card, let alone pinpoint the exact date you got a bonus haul of points.

If you still have your Chase Sapphire account open, you should be able to see your statements for the past seven years and do the math from there.

If you have since closed or downgraded your card, you can use a tool like Credit Karma to find your specific account and its opening date, then work backward to the present day to see if you are outside the 48-month window.

I recently applied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred when the bonus was just 60,000 points. Can I ask Chase for more points?

It feels awful when you apply for a card only to see its welcome bonus rise to a new high shortly afterward. We have a good-news-bad-news situation on our hands with this one, though.

Based on anecdotal evidence from several TPG readers, we have seen that folks who applied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred within a few weeks of the offer launching in early April have had luck calling Chase to ask the issuer to match the current 100,000-point offer. 

It might not work every time, but it’s worth calling Chase to see if they will let you qualify for the current bonus. Keep in mind, your spending requirement will increase from $4,000 (previous offer) to $5,000 in order to be eligible for the 100,000 points.

Related: Can you get the 100K Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus if you recently got the card with a lower offer?

If I already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, can I get the Chase Sapphire Preferred, too?

Unfortunately not. 

You can only have one personal Chase Sapphire card at a time. So if you already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and it remains open, you will not be eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Related: When can you downgrade your credit card?

If I already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, should I cancel it and apply again?

No. It’s probably a better option to downgrade to another Chase card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees), wait a couple of weeks and then reapply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. 

Given that this offer is ending soon, though, the time for this specific strategy may have passed. If you do decide to pursue it at this point, it’s risky. 

I have a Chase Freedom card. Can I upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Preferred for this bonus?

No, you will have to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred on its own in order to earn this welcome bonus. The good news is that holding a Chase Freedom card should not preclude you from being eligible for this offer. 

Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee count toward the welcome bonus minimum spend?

No. The Chase Sapphire Preferred charges a $95 annual fee each year, and the first one will be due with your first statement. 

Some folks think that this charge will count toward the minimum-spending requirement of $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. 

However, the operative phrase is “on purchases.” The annual fee is just that, a fee, not a purchase, so it does not count. 

Just to be safe, try to spend at least $5,000 on purchases, or slightly more, within the first three months of your account being open (not when you receive your physical card) to make sure you don’t miss out on this offer.

The good news is, you can track your spending toward the welcome bonus in the Chase app or on the Chase website.

Related: Why I love my Chase Sapphire Preferred card — and will always keep it in my wallet

I’m an authorized user on another Chase Sapphire card. Can I still get this bonus?

Good news: Yes!

You can only be the primary account holder of a single Chase Sapphire card. However, if you’re just the authorized user on someone else’s Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, you should still be eligible to apply for this card in your own name and receive the bonus to boot.

Can my spouse and I both get the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

Why not? 

If neither of you has the Chase Sapphire Preferred yet and you both qualify and can meet the combined minimum spending requirements of two cards instead of just one, then why wouldn’t you try to score 200,000 bonus points rather than just 100,000?

That’s the beauty of having a partner to maximize credit cards in two-player mode — you can potentially reap twice the rewards.

Related: Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred remains the top travel rewards credit card year after year

Do you need to have a bank account with Chase to get the Sapphire Preferred?

Nope. 

Opening this card can be the start of a relationship with Chase, including all the travel that earning valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points can afford you, thanks to the program’s excellent airline and hotel transfer partners. 

The Sapphire Preferred also allows you to redeem your points for 1.25 cents per point when booking trips directly through the Chase Travel℠ portal. 

Related: Best Chase credit cards

Can you combine Chase points with other people?

You can combine Chase points with just one other member of your household, meaning they live with you and receive their credit card statements at the same address as you. 

If you try to combine your points with a holder of one of the Chase Ink cards, they must own the business with which the Ink card is associated.

To set up such point transfers, you will need to call the customer service number on the back of your Chase card and have an agent link them using the card number of the other person. After that, you should see your household member’s account in your own online account as one of the transfer options.

I was rejected and don’t know why. Is there anything I can do?

Call Chase’s reconsideration line. 

What’s a reconsideration line? That’s the phone number you can call to talk to a human representative and go over the specifics of your application.

Like many issuers, Chase’s automated application system is not perfect. Sometimes it rejects folks out of hand since it would be damaging to the bank to approve potentially risky applicants without further review.

If you feel like your application deserves another look, you might need to talk to a real human about the particulars of your credit — especially if you’ve had a lot of recent inquiries for a big-ticket purchase or loan like a car or a mortgage. Your chances of getting an approval will depend on the exact reasons for your denial, but it never hurts to talk it out. 

Chase’s reconsideration line number is 1-888-338-2586. Go through the prompts, but make sure you talk to a live person about your application before conceding defeat.

Related: Your guide to calling a credit card reconsideration line

I have another Chase travel credit card. Can I still get the Sapphire Preferred?

Holding another travel rewards card from Chase — such as a United Airlines cobranded card or one of the Marriott Bonvoy-branded cards that Chase fields — should not prevent you from applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and earning its welcome offer. Just ensure the rest of your finances are in good order and your credit score is high (typically, above 700 to be considered for this card).

Related: What credit score do you need to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred card?

I already have airline credit cards. Do I really need the Chase Sapphire Preferred, too?

That depends on what you want to do with your points strategy. Airline cobranded credit cards are great for racking up multiple miles per dollar on purchases with a specific airline, as well as for day-of-travel perks like free checked bags and priority boarding.

The beauty of a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, though, is that it earns points that you can both transfer to a variety of hotel and airline loyalty programs and redeem directly through Chase for travel reservations. 

Carrying a card that earns transferable points is key to a successful points strategy. It can insulate you against sudden devaluations in individual frequent flyer and hotel points programs.

You do give up some travel-day perks, but the benefits of carrying a transferable points card far outweigh the downsides.

I used to have the Chase Sapphire Preferred and earned a referral bonus. Will that prevent me from applying now?

As long as you no longer have a Chase Sapphire-branded card and did not earn your last welcome (not referral) bonus within the past 48 months, you should still be eligible to apply for this offer. 

That’s assuming your credit is in good shape and you are under Chase’s 5/24 rule. So, be sure you check all the other eligibility boxes before hitting that apply button.

Related: Earn rewards with Chase’s Refer-A-Friend program

What tricks can I use to meet the minimum spending requirement?

Like many travel rewards cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred requires you to spend a certain amount on purchases within a set time period in order to earn its welcome offer — specifically $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.

That translates to about $1,667 per month, which should be fairly manageable if you can put all your main expenses on the card. 

If that still won’t get you over the hump, there are lots of creative but still responsible ways to meet the minimum spending requirement on a credit card. 

These include paying your rent or mortgage with the card (if that’s feasible and doesn’t hit you with tons of extra charges), waiting until you have a large purchase you were planning to make anyway, putting some business expenses on your card, or temporarily redirecting all of your credit card spend to your new card. 

Related: 10 ways to meet the spending requirements and earn the bonus on a new card

Will having a lot of other credit cards hurt my chances of getting this offer?

Not necessarily.

If you are eligible for this welcome bonus per the card conditions and you have not opened more than five other cards within the past 24 months (falling under Chase’s 5/24 rule), then having several other cards can actually help you — that is as long as you pay off your balances in full and on time very month.

Remember, you must have a high credit score to qualify for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and that requires you to carry a low debt-to-credit ratio. It also means you need to have your credit card accounts open and in good standing. 

So, if you have a lot of cards but are carrying a lot of debt, then it’s not a good idea to apply for a new card.

But if you have a lot of cards and are spending responsibly, why not boost your overall points balance with this incredible offer? 

It won’t hurt your credit score long-term, and it can even help boost it if you continue to practice good financial hygiene, as you’ll have an even larger line of credit overall.

Related: I thought I’d hardly use my Sapphire Preferred, then it became one of my go-to cards

What can you do with 100,000 Chase points?

So. Many. Things! 

There are countless ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for travel. This is partly because if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can redeem them at a rate of 1.25 cents apiece toward travel booked through the Chase Travel portal (including flights and hotel stays). 

But don’t forget, Chase Ultimate Rewards has 11 airline and three hotel partners to which you can transfer your points. Then, you can redeem those points for award flights and hotel nights. 

Those partners currently include:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• British Airways Club (formerly British Airways Executive Club)
• Emirates Skywards (temporarily suspended starting May 29)
• Club Iberia Plus (formerly Iberia Plus)
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United Airlines MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• IHG One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt

The possibilities are virtually limitless, but some of our favorite ways to redeem 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points include:

• Flying first class to Europe on Emirates or Lufthansa
• Booking a business-class flight to Japan on ANA
• Taking the whole family to Hawaii from the West Coast
• Flying Qatar Airways Qsuite business class to the Maldives
• Four nights at the Park Hyatt Hadahaa in the Maldives

There are plenty of other ways to squeeze the most value from your Ultimate Rewards points, though. 

Read more: 21 ways to use 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points: Budget-friendly redemptions and luxurious trips

Is 100,000 points a good deal on the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

We can’t say this enough: Yes. 

This is not only the highest offer this card has ever extended, but it is one of the all-time best travel credit card welcome offers. Ever. 

Why is that? Because 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns are ultra-valuable. Their minimum face value is $1,250 when redeemed directly for travel purchases through the Chase Travel portal. That’s already a 25% return on the bonus minimum spending requirement of $5,000 on purchases in the first three months.

Beyond that, though, you have the ability to transfer those points to airline and hotel partners, and you can get even more value from redemptions through those individual programs. Chase Ultimate rewards are worth 2.05 cents according to our May 2025 valuations.

We’re talking about business-class airline tickets that would cost thousands of dollars otherwise, or nights at hotels where rates start above $1,000. If you know how to leverage these points to their maximum value, you can get several thousand dollars of value out of them. 

And at TPG, we’re here to help you do that once the card is in your pocket. 

Good luck with those applications, and email us with further questions you may have!

Ending soon: Apply now for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card to earn a 100,000-point bonus after spending $5,000 within three months from account opening.