On the heels of a major (and mostly positive – with one big catch) update that added tons of new benefits without raising its $95 annual fee, Chase is giving travelers 100,000 reasons to pick up the *chase sapphire preferred*.
The bank just rolled out another massive welcome bonus: Earn 100,000 bonus points after $5,000 in purchases in your first three months from account opening. This is a record-tying bonus and an absolutely incredible sum of points for a card with just a $95 annual fee.
If we sound excited shocked, it's because we are. This is the second time we've seen a 100,000-point bonus on one of our favorite travel cards in the last year and change – and honestly, we were sure we'd never see it again. Combined with all the new benefits like a $100 hotel credit and $120 to cover Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, we consider this the best card travel card offer … ever.
It's unclear how long this bonus will be available – don't wait around!
Learn more about the *csp*.
Considering you can easily redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards through Chase Travel℠ at a rate of 1 cent per point (or more with Chase's new “Points Boost” redemptions), this bonus is worth a bare minimum of $1,000 towards travel! But you can squeeze far, far more value out of those points by sending them to Chase's excellent airline and hotel transfer partners.
Beyond that big bonus, the Sapphire Preferred is a keeper for travelers new and old thanks to solid spending categories to earn more points on dining and travel – plus, new additions for gas stations and vacation rentals and some of the best built-in travel insurance you'll find on any travel card. There's even an annual $100 hotel credit when you book through Chase Travel℠, making it laughably easy offset the card's modest $95 annual fee.
Just keep in mind: Credit cards are serious business. Adding a new card to your wallet just for the big bonus isn't worth it if you can't afford to pay off every dime in spending it takes to earn those points.
Whether you're eligible to earn this bonus is another question. Chase recently reworked its eligibility requirements, allowing travelers to hold (and earn a bonus on) both the Preferred and the top-tier *chase sapphire reserve* … but prior or current Sapphire Preferred may not be able to earn the bonus again. Still, it's worth giving it a shot: Chase's new pop-up system will let you know either way before you actually proceed with your application.
Bottom line, this is a massive opportunity. Keep reading for everything you'll want to know.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Benefits Overview
- Welcome Offer Bonus: bonus_miles_full
- Earn 5x total points on travel purchased through the Chase Travel℠ portal, excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit.
- New! Earn 3x points on gas and EV charging
- Earn 3x points on dining (including eligible delivery services), online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), and select streaming services
- New! Earn 3x points on vacation homes at top brands, including Airbnb, Vrbo, and more
- Earn 2x points on travel purchases
- Earn 1x points on all other purchases
- Updated! Earn up to $100 Chase Travel℠ Hotel Credit every account anniversary year (doubled from $50)
- New! Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year when activated by December 31, 2026 (terms apply).
- New! Get up to a $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS credit every four years
- Ending soon! 10% Annual Points Bonus: Receive a 10% points bonus on your total spending during the account anniversary year – 1 point for every $10 spent.
- The 10% Anniversary bonus is being discontinued, effective immediately for cardmembers who apply on or after June 15, 2026. For cardmembers who applied prior to June 15, 2026, eligible purchases made through October 1, 2026, will continue to earn the 10% bonus, which will be awarded by January 31, 2027.
- Updated! Travel Protections: Trip Cancelation & Interruption Coverage, Baggage Delay and Lost Luggage Coverage, Primary Rental Car Insurance – now, including Emergency Evacuation and Transportation Coverage
- Foreign Transaction Fees: None
- Annual Fee: $95
Read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred!
Learn more about the *csp*.
Just How Good is This Bonus?
Unbelievably good. At the risk of sounding dramatic, this is a “can't miss” and “best of all time” credit card bonus. If you're eligible, this big bonus is one you should take advantage of while you can.
In normal times, you'll get just a 60,000-point bonus on the Preferred Card. Chase has upped the ante a few times over the years with bonuses of 75,000 or 80,000 points.
But Chase has gone up to this 100,000-point benchmark just twice, last spring and then again way back in 2021. And that was a different time: Banks like Chase were desperate to bring in new cardholders who were still tuned out of travel due to the pandemic. A record-setting bonus of 100,000 points was an easy way to pile people in.
Not into travel? Well, that's a shame … but this offer is still worth your attention. Since Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to a bank account, this bonus is worth $1,000 in cold hard cash. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better cashback bonus than that!
While the card's $5,000 spending requirement in three months is no small sum, there are some creative ways to hit that amount without spending irresponsibly. Consider using it to pay your taxes, pre-pay insurance and utilities, or even add an authorized user to double your purchasing power.
Are You Eligible for This Bonus?
That's the right question to ask before you get too excited … and the answer is more nuanced than Chase would probably like to admit.
When Chase revamped the Chase Sapphire Reserve® last year, the bank softened some of its notoriously strict eligibility rules. Most notably, you can now hold both the Sapphire Preferred and the Sapphire Reserve at the same time. That's a big deal for anyone who picked up the Reserve in recent years, as it clears the way to earn a bonus on the cheaper Preferred without having to give anything up.
But Chase also buried plenty of “mays” and “may nots” in the terms, leaving the door open for some applicants while shutting it on others. The bank itself won't say exactly who qualifies, telling Thrifty Traveler in a statement last year that “New account bonus offer eligibility for either [Sapphire] card will be based on factors including previously earned bonus offers and the number of cards opened and closed, among others.”
Here's what the data points tell us so far.
Read more: Are You Eligible For a Chase Sapphire Bonus?
You’ll Need Good-to-Excellent Credit
If you've never had a Chase Sapphire card and have solid credit, you should be a shoo-in – and eligible for this bonus. Chase indicates you'll need to fall into the “Good” to “Excellent” credit range, which generally means a score of at least 680. Based on reader accounts and historical data, anyone below 700 will typically have a harder time getting approved.
That said, it's not a hard-and-fast rule. If you have a history with Chase, there are exceptions. But your best bet is having what Chase considers good-to-excellent credit before you apply.
What if You Already Have a Sapphire Card?
It's now possible to hold both Sapphire cards at once, but you may not be eligible for a bonus on the Preferred if you've had it before.
Several members of the Thrifty Traveler team applied for the Sapphire Reserve's own big bonus last month – all recent(ish) Reserve cardholders. One was auto-declined with little explanation. The others received Chase's new pop-up message letting them know they could proceed, but wouldn't earn the bonus.
We don't know for certain whether the same logic applies to the current 100,000-point bonus on the Preferred … but if you've held the card before, your odds of earning a big bonus are likely slim.
If it's been a while since you earned a Preferred bonus, it may still be worth trying. Chase's terms state that the new cardmember bonus “may not be available” if you previously held this card, which leaves the door open. Four years is generally a safe benchmark. And here's the good news: if you've only had the Sapphire Reserve – not the Preferred – you should be eligible for this bonus. If you picked up the Reserve to earn a big bonus in recent years, you can now stack that with a Preferred application.
The best part? There's no harm in checking. Chase's pop-up will tell you whether you're eligible before your credit is pulled and your application is officially submitted.
What if You Recently Downgraded Your Sapphire Card?
Being a longtime Sapphire cardholder doesn't necessarily put you out of the running … it just depends on timing.
Chase previously had a strict 48-month rule: earn a bonus on either Sapphire card in the last four years, and you're out. That rule is no longer in the terms. So if you recently downgraded your Preferred to one of the no-annual-fee Chase Freedom cards, you could still be eligible – even if it's been less than four years since your last bonus.
If you're considering that move, downgrading to a Freedom card is smarter than closing outright. Canceling a Sapphire card forfeits any Ultimate Rewards points sitting in that account. Downgrading keeps them intact, and once you open a new Sapphire card, you can transfer them back to your new Preferred (or Reserve) card.
The Chase 5/24 Rule
The final hurdle is the Chase 5/24 Rule … and it can be a killer.
Chase introduced the 5/24 rule years ago to prevent applicants from opening multiple credit cards solely to earn bonus rewards. You won't find it in the application terms anywhere, and Chase customer service reps likely won't know what you're talking about if you ask. But it's real, and it's enforced.
Here's what it boils down to:
- If you've opened five or more credit cards in the past 24 months from any bank (not just Chase), you will not be approved – regardless of your credit score or history with Chase.
- The rule counts cards you've been approved for, not credit inquiries. Mortgages and other lines of credit don't count.
There are signs Chase has loosened 5/24 in limited cases, but it's still hit-or-miss. Being under that count remains your best shot at getting approved.
Not sure where you stand? Our new (and free) credit card benefit tracker is a great way to track your 5/24 status.
What Can You Do With 100K Points?
The beauty of Chase points is just how valuable – and flexible – they are. So, what can 100,000 points get you? In two words: A lot.
Those points are worth a minimum of $1,250 toward flights, hotels, and other travel expenses booked through Chase Travel. But you can easily do even better by leveraging Chase's transfer partners and sending those points to airlines like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Avios, or even a top-notch hotel partner like Hyatt instead – though unfortunately, new applicants' points won't go as far with Hyatt anymore.
Here's a quick list of some of our favorite ways to use this bonus.
This list is just the start! Read our full guide on the best ways to redeem a big Chase bonus!
Take a Flight Deal & Make it Free
One of our favorite ways to use any frequent flyer points is booking the cheap domestic or international flight deals you find via Google Flights or with a Thrifty Traveler Premium subscription. And the absolute best way to book them is with Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
That’s because with the Sapphire Preferred Card every point is worth 1.25 cents toward travel when you use them in the Chase Travel Portal. That's why we say the 100,000-point bonus is worth at least $1,250 toward flights, hotels, or other travel.
As an example, here’s a recent deal we sent to our Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers for flights to beautiful Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. You could fly to Calgary (YYC), just an hour away, for under $200 roundtrip this coming spring and summer – peak travel season!
Booking this flight with bonus points from your Chase Sapphire Preferred? It would cost you less than 20,000 points.
Better yet, you can book select premium cabin flights for even more value thanks to Chase Points Boost redemptions, which give you 1.75 cents apiece toward eligible flights. That means a $2,000 business class fare would set you back just 114,000 points and change!
Booking flights directly through the Chase travel portal is one of the easiest ways to redeem points for travel, period. You'll even earn miles when you take your free flight! Best of all, you can book flights on almost any airline using this method.
Read more: How to Book Flights Through the Chase Travel Portal
5 Roundtrip Tickets to Hawaii
It's tough to top a trip to Canada in the summer … but the Hawaiian Islands are up to the task. You can book five round-trip tickets to Honolulu (HNL) with a big Chase bonus like this. So much for Hawaii being an expensive place to get to, right?
This is where turning to Chase transfer partners really shines, as you have several options to book round-trip flights to the Hawaiian islands for about 30,000 points each – or much less.
If you time it right, you can get to Hawaii for under 20,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points, as with this round-trip flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL). And because Chase points transfer to Southwest on a 1:1 basis, 19,000 Chase points is all you need.
Even though Southwest recently moved to dynamic award pricing, converting your Ultimate Rewards into Rapid Rewards can still make sense … and this is a prime example. Rather than paying $334 apiece, you could turn to the Chase Travel portal and book for 27,000 Chase points per ticket.
But by taking an extra step and first moving your points to Southwest, you can save nearly 8,000 points per ticket and get 1.7 cents per point in value – far better than what the portal offers.
Read more on our favorite ways to get to Hawaii using points!
A Roundtrip for 3 to Europe – Or 2 in Business Class (Maybe?)
This 100,000-point bonus can be enough to get three people to Europe and back … or fly solo in style.
The trick is turning to Iberia, a Spanish airline and yet another Chase transfer partner. Using Iberia, you can fly from Boston (BOS), New York City (JFK), Newark (EWR), Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD), or Chicago-O'Hare to Madrid (Madrid) for as low as 32,000 miles roundtrip. Since Chase points typically transfer to Iberia on a 1:1 basis, you'd have enough to cover three roundtrip flights to Europe after completing the $5,000 spending requirement.
Or you could splurge for this:
That's right: 100,000 Chase points is more than enough for two one-way flights (or one roundtrip) to Europe in Iberia business class. It costs just 40,500 miles each way – or 81,000 miles roundtrip! That's a fraction of what most other airlines charge to fly business class to Europe.
But if you time it right, you might be able to multiply your points by taking advantage of a transfer bonus. Chase regularly offers a big bonus on transfers to Iberia – as well as British Airways and Aer Lingus. By taking advantage of a 30% transfer bonus, your 105,000 Chase points would be enough for two roundtrip flights to Europe … in business class!
Considering these business class flights typically cost $4,000 or more when paying cash, it's a phenomenal way to use those Chase points. And with a Thrifty Traveler Premium alert like this one, it's fairly easy to book as long as you have the points.
Read our step-by-step guide on how to book Iberia business class!
Score a Business Class Suite to Tokyo
This isn't just business class. It's ANA's The Room business class. And you can book your trip to Japan flying this with Chase points.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) might not be a Chase transfer partner, but Virgin Atlantic is … and even after a recent devaluation, this is still one of the cheapest ways to fly in style. You can fly from the western U.S. to Tokyo and back for just 105,000 Virgin Atlantic points or 120,000 points from Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) or East Coast cities. One-ways are half the price.
If you time it right with one of the frequent transfer bonuses from Chase to Virgin, like the massive 40% bonus offered a few months back, you'll have more than enough points for a roundtrip to Tokyo in business class … no matter where you're starting from.
Just be warned: Finding the award availability to actually book these seats with points can be tough.
Bottom Line
Chase is back with one of the best, limited-time bonus offers we've ever seen on the popular *chase sapphire preferred* … and it might just be the best
With this offer, you can earn 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months. Those points are worth a minimum of $1,000 when redeemed through Chase Travel … but you can do far better with some of the examples we outlined above.
Learn more about the *chase sapphire preferred*
