It’s Gone! Earn A Big Bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

UPDATE: After more than a month and a half, Chase pulled the 80,000-point offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 1. You may still be able to get that offer directly through Chase’s website, through personal referral links, or by applying in-person at a Chase Bank branch. Our original story on this offer continues below.

Chase upped the ante again on its most popular travel credit card, rolling out an 80,000-point bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card after spending $4,000 within the first three months. But that offer is ending soon – really soon.

This new 80,000-point bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card ends later today: Wednesday, June 1! That means you’ve got just hours remaining to apply before this bonus disappears – and it’s unclear what the welcome offer will drop to afterwards. Either way, it’s worth getting now: It won’t get any better than this on the Preferred Card … and this is easily among the single best bonuses you can get right now, period.

Plus, if you’re just getting started with travel rewards credit cards, there’s no better place to start than the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. You can redeem these 80,000 points towards at least $1,000 in travel when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal – and potentially much, much more by sending points to the airlines and hotel chains that are Chase transfer partners. Considering the card has an annual fee of just $95, you can easily come out way ahead.

This is a stellar offer to rack up some serious points. If you have the financial responsibility to open a new credit card and meet the spending requirement without going into debt, this is the time to grab one of the best travel rewards credit cards on the market before this bigger bonus disappears.

Read on for everything you need to know about this stellar offer.

 

 

Just How Good is an 80,000-Point Bonus?

Really, really good. While it’s not the best-ever bonus we’ve seen on this card, it’s probably the biggest welcome bonus we’ll see on this card going forward.

Let’s go through some history quick.

For years, the Preferred Card has been a mainstay in travelers’ wallets and is easily among the best cards for getting started with travel rewards. For a long time, the card offered a welcome bonus of 50,000 points after spending $4,000. That’s certainly not bad … but it’s gotten much better.

 

 

A few years back, Chase increased that bonus to 60,000 points for the same spending requirement. But as banks tried to dig their way out of the pandemic, they opened the floodgates of bigger bonuses to compete for a share of consumers’ wallets. And Chase was no exception.

Here’s a brief rundown of the bonuses we’ve seen on the Preferred Card over the last two years:

• In fall of 2020, Chase launched an 80,000-point bonus on the card for several months – at the time, its biggest welcome offer ever.
• They did it again in the spring of 2021, bringing back an 80,000-point offer on the Preferred Card
• Then Chase did the unthinkable: They leveled up to a record-setting 100,000-point bonus in June 2021
• By October 2021, that unprecedented 100,000-point offer ended, bringing the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus back down to 60,000 points
• After several competing banks flooded the market with eye-popping offers, Chase brought back an 80,000-point bonus on the Preferred Card in mid-April. Now we know that will end sometime on June 1, 2022.

Thrifty Tip: There have been months of reports that you can get an 80,000-point offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card with the first year’s annual fee waived by applying in-person at a Chase branch.

We may not have a crystal ball, but it’s unlikely that a 100,000-point bonus ever comes back. It’s simply far too lucrative – especially as more and more travelers are getting back out into the world again. So if you are waiting for an offer bigger than 80,000 points, don’t hold your breath.

So what can 80,000 points get you? A lot. Those points are worth a minimum of $1,000 toward flights, hotels, and other travel expenses booked through the Chase travel portal. But by leveraging Chase transfer partners and sending these points to airlines like Air Canada Aeroplan, United, Iberia, or British Airways – or even hotel chains like Hyatt – you can get much, much more value from this 80,000-point bonus.

Read our guide on the best ways to redeem 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points!

 

 

Sapphire Preferred Card Benefits

It’s not just the big bonus. After the addition of some new benefits last August, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card packs a big punch in terms of benefits, especially when you consider the card’s annual fee is only $95.

Here’s a look at all the benefits of the Preferred Card.

 

 

Welcome Offer Bonus of 80,000 Points

For a limited time, you’ll earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of card membership. That’s up from the standard bonus of 60,000 points for the same spending requirement. This limited-time offer ends today, Wednesday, June 1!

So long as you apply before Chase pulls this 80,000-point offer, you’re set – you don’t need to spend the $4,000 sum by that deadline.

These points are worth a minimum of $1,000 towards travel and potentially much more by using Chase’s airline and hotel transfer partners.

Read more: Chase Ultimate Rewards: A Guide to Earning and Burning in 2022 and Beyond

 

Earn up to 5x Points On Travel

When you book flights, hotels, or rental cars through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you’ll earn 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on an unlimited amount of spending each year.

Any travel purchase you make on the Preferred card outside of the travel portal will earn 2x points per dollar spent.

Chase defines travel purchases to include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds, and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, rideshare services, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, parking lots and garages.

 

Earn 3x Points On Dining, Online Grocery Orders, & Streaming Services

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 3x points per dollar spent at restaurants – including takeout and delivery services like DoorDash and more. That puts it on par with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® – the Sapphire Preferred’s bigger and more expensive sibling which charges an annual fee of $550 each year.

You’ll also earn 3x points per dollar spent on online grocery orders from services like Instacart. However, this doesn’t include Target, Walmart, or wholesale clubs like Costco or Sam’s Club.

Finally, you’ll earn 3x points per dollar spent on streaming platform subscriptions like Netflix, Disney +, Spotify and more.

 

 

A $50 Annual Hotel Booking Credit

Each and every year you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll get a $50 credit to use for hotel bookings made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal.

Simply book a hotel, and Chase will automatically credit you up to $50 towards that booking. You’ll also earn 5x points per dollar spent on that booking.

Read More: How to Use the $50 Chase Sapphire Preferred Hotel Credit

 

Earn a 10% Points Bonus on Your Spending Each Year

Each year when you renew your card, you’ll receive a 10% Ultimate Rewards points bonus based on your spending from the previous year.

This isn’t based on the number of points you earn from welcome bonuses or category spending bonuses but on the raw dollar figure of how much you spent on the card.

So for example, if you spend $10,000 throughout the year on your Preferred Card, Chase would give you a 1,000-point bonus.

 

Great Travel and Rental Car Insurance Policies

The coverage you get from charging your car rental to a Sapphire card is some of the best rental car insurance you can get from a credit card.

It covers any damage to your rental and provides cardholders with primary auto rental insurance. And that generally means you can skip additional policies from your rental car company – and even from using your own policy to file a claim if the worst happens.

This benefit alone can be worth the $95 annual fee if you frequently rent cards during your travel.

Read More: All About the Chase Sapphire Rental Card Insurance Benefit

 

$95 Annual Fee

The Sapphire Preferred charges an annual fee of $95 which is not waived in your first year of card membership, though there have been reports that you can get this same bonus with the annual fee waived by applying in-person at a Chase Bank branch.

The card also doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, which makes it a great option for international travel.

 

Who is Eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred 80K Bonus?

Before applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, there are a few things you will need to keep in mind to give yourself the best chances of getting approved.

You’ll Need Good-to-Excellent Credit

The first thing you’ll need to consider before applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (or any card, for that matter) is your credit score.

Chase indicates that you need to fall into the “Good” to “Excellent” credit buckets to be approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. As you can see, that means you’d probably need at least a 680 credit score to get approved.

 

 

But this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. There are certainly exceptions – especially if you have a history with Chase. But your best bet for getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred is likely by having a credit score of 700 or higher. If your credit score isn’t at least 680, it’s likely you won’t be approved.

Read More: What Credit Score Do You Need for the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

 

The Chase 5/24 Rule

The next thing you’ll need to be aware of is something called the Chase 5/24 Rule.

The Chase 5/24 rule is a hard-and-fast restriction rolled out years ago in order to limit card applicants from opening credit cards for the sole purpose of earning the bonus rewards.

Here’s what it boils down to:

• If you have opened five or more credit cards in the past 24 months from any bank (not just Chase cards), you will not be approved for Chase credit cards, regardless of your credit score or history with Chase bank.
• The rule does not count credit inquiries, but rather card products you have applied for and been approved for. That also means mortgages and other lines of credit don’t count.

The rule is not officially published through any of Chase’s platforms. Case in point: If you ask about it in a Chase branch or on the phone with a Chase customer service representative, employees have likely not heard of it.

 

Have You Earned the Bonus on the Preferred or Reserve Previously?

It’s not just the amount of cards you’ve opened that could be a factor. Specific cards could rule you out from earning this bonus, too.

Chase does not allow you to hold both the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve at the same time. That means if you already have a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card open, you will not be eligible to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Additionally, you will not be eligible to apply for the Sapphire Preferred if you earned a sign-up bonus on either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve in the last 48 months – four full years.

 

 

The four-year restriction starts from the date you earned the bonus points – not the date that you opened or closed either card.

Have either the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card open but it’s been more than four years since you’ve earned the welcome offer bonus points? you’ve got a few options to move ahead and still be eligible for this bonus.

• Cancel your Sapphire Card, and then reapply. It’s generally a good idea to wait for at least a full billing cycle before applying again, so it’s probably too late to get this big bonus.
• Downgrade your Sapphire card to one of the no-annual-fee Chase Freedom cards, and then reapply. Again, it may be best to wait for at least a full billing cycle before applying again.

Downgrading to one of the Freedom cards is a good option if you have Ultimate Rewards points in your account. If you close a Sapphire Card with a balance of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, they will be forfeited. Downgrading keeps them intact. Once you open a new Sapphire Preferred Card, you could then transfer those points back to your Preferred Card.

Just keep in mind that when you reapply for the Sapphire Preferred Card, you’ll still need to be under the Chase 5/24 rule and have a credit score that will allow you to get approved.

 

What About Personal Referrals?

If you already hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you can now refer friends and family to the card with your unique link. For doing so, Chase will reward you with 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points of your own capped at 75,000 points each calendar year.

Chase began emailing current cardholders with referral links last month, otherwise you can log into your Chase account and easily find your own link.

 

 

Our Analysis

Chase is playing some catch-up here. And that’s a win for you.

When Capital One launched the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card many months ago, it was an immediate hit. It’s vaulted itself to the top of the list of the best travel rewards credit cards – and for good reason. With an annual fee of $395, it’s priced in the middle of the market – sure, it’s $300 more than the Chase Sapphire Preferred … but also $155 less than the top-tier Chase Sapphire Reserve.

There’s no doubt that Venture X has put a damper on consumer interest for Chase’s top-tier cards including the Preferred Card. The Venture X Card’s introductory bonus of 100,000 miles sucked all the oxygen out of the room. That has since disappeared: You can now earn 75,000 Venture Miles after spending $4,000 within three months.

 

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture X: Which One Wins?

That’s no accident. The value of those miles matches the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s previous 60,000-point offer, which was worth at least $750 toward travel. The same was true of the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s 50,000-point bonus.

Chase increasing this bonus seems to be a direct response to Capital One’s offering and should provide some much-needed interest in the Sapphire Preferred.

But now we know that this bonus will end today, June 1. That means you’ve got just hours to take advantage and get one of the best bonuses on the market right now.

 

 

Bottom Line

Chase is out with a 80,000 point bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. That’s up from the standard offer of 60,000 points for the same spending requirement and worth a minimum of $1,000 towards travel.

But this bonus is ending soon: It will disappear sometime today, June 1, 2022. That means you’ve got hours remaining to apply to be eligible for this bonus before it’s gone.

 

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