The *chase sapphire preferred* is widely considered the best travel card for anyone just getting started with points and miles, and I should know: It was the first credit card I ever opened beyond my trusty bank card. It's been a mainstay in my wallet ever since.
I opened the Sapphire Preferred card almost a decade ago for the same reason most people want to open a travel card: I wanted to earn a big welcome bonus to travel for (nearly) free with points and miles. The Chase Ultimate Rewards points I earned from that initial signup bonus were enough to cover a Singapore Airlines business class flight home from Southeast Asia. But I've kept it (and kept spending on it) to keep earning more valuable Chase points as well as use other perks, like some excellent built-in travel protections and a relatively new $50 annual hotel credit.
But with a bigger bonus of 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening back on the table for the first time in four years, I'm finally going to get rid of my Preferred Card … just so I can open it and earn a big bonus all over again.
Here's why – and why it works.
I Can Earn Another Big Welcome Bonus
There are plenty of ways to keep padding your stash of points, but a big welcome offer is undoubtedly the easiest way to earn a big pile of points fast. And it's tough to beat the current 100,000-point bonus on the Preferred Card – especially with its reasonable $95-a-year fee.
But earning that bonus isn't so straightforward, as Chase's rules make it harder for travelers to earn multiple bonuses. Most importantly, Once you've earned a welcome bonus on a Chase Sapphire card – whether it's the Sapphire Preferred or the *chase sapphire reserve* – you won't be eligible to earn a bonus again for at least four years.
That four-year clock starts based on when you last earned a Sapphire bonus – not when you opened the card.
But since I've held my Chase Sapphire Preferred card for nearly eight years, I'm in the clear. I can get another boatload of Chase points if I open it again.
The best part? I don't have to close my current card and risk my credit score taking a small (albeit temporary) hit. Instead, I'm going to downgrade my Sapphire Preferred card to the *freedom unlimited*, one of Chase's no-annual-fee cashback cards (and the perfect companion for a Preferred Card). Plus, I won't lose the 29,000-some Chase points I currently have to my name as I would if I closed my account outright.
To do that, I'll simply call the number on the back of my card and let them know I want to downgrade my card. After that, it's waiting time: I'll wait another week, maybe two, to make sure my account is in the clear and that my old Sapphire Card is really gone in Chase's eyes.
Then, it's time to apply for a new Chase Sapphire Preferred card all over again.
The best time to apply for any new card is when there's a big welcome offer available, and right now, you can earn 100,000 Chase points when you spend $5,000 on your new Sapphire card within the first three months of holding the card. Those points are worth a minimum of $1,250 towards travel, if not much more. And that will easily help offset the cost of some of the trips I have planned this year and beyond.
Read more: How to Get Another Chase Sapphire Card Bonus
Best of all, I'm timing it out so that I can easily meet the spending requirement.
That's crucial. 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.
Learn more about the *csp*.
How I'll Use 100K Chase Points
I'd never say no to even 1,000 Chase points. But 100,000 of them? This is a golden opportunity – too good to pass up for me.
On the latest episode of The Thrifty Traveler Podcast, our host Gunnar and I chatted about just what lengths we'd go to in order to earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (Gunnar may or may not be willing to sacrifice a finger for it…). But we also put our thinking caps on and dreamt up a handful of great ways to redeem our (soon-to-be) newfound stash of Chase points.
As much as I love flying fancy business class cabins using points, there's something to be said about the simplicity of redeeming Chase points. Even just booking through the Chase Travel℠ portal with a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, every point is worth 1.25 cents toward travel. It's one of the easiest ways to book free flights using points – and one of the only ways to make it absolutely free.
The cheaper the flight, the fewer Chase points it'll cost me. That means this $143 roundtrip fare from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Nashville (BNA) would set me back just 11,436 points – the most cost-effective way to book these flights with points by far.
But sending my points to one of the dozen-plus Chase transfer partners is probably how I'll wind up using the vast majority of this bonus.
While I'm not as high on Hyatt as I once was, I'll almost surely wind up transferring some of these points to book some hotels. With a trip to London on the horizon, I'm torn between booking the excellently located Great Scotland Yard Hotel for 25,000 points per night or forking over a few thousand more per night for the fancy new Park Hyatt London River Thames.
But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking of something more selfish. Emirates First Class has earned its place at the top of countless flyers' bucket lists, including mine … even though I've flown it once before.
It'd cost me dearly on the ultra-long flights between the U.S. and Emirates' hub in Dubai (DXB), where the airline charges close to 150,000 points and more than $800 in taxes and fees each way. Even this massive bonus doesn't get me there.
That's why I'm looking instead at the airline's funky fifth-freedom route between New York City (JFK) and Milan (MXP), which Emirates flies daily with one of its signature Airbus A380s decked out with a bar behind business class and a pair of showers for first class passengers at the front of the plane.
On that route, Emirates charges just 102,000 Skywards miles and under $150 in taxes and fees each way.
Specifically, I'd be booking the flight from Italy back to the states – not the route over to Europe. The westbound flights spend longer in the air and also depart during the day, giving me more time and daylight to enjoy this all over again.
Read my full review of my first flight in Emirates First Class!
Bottom Line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the oldest travel card in my wallet, but I'm planning to downgrade it to one of Chase's no-annual-fee cashback cards … just so I can open a Sapphire Preferred card all over again.
There are plenty of reasons I want the Sapphire Preferred card again, but none more important than earning another big bonus on the card. And since Chase is currently out with a big welcome offer of 100,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first three months of card membership, it's time to put my plan in action.
I opened my account in June 2019. Does referral bonuses count against the 4 year clock?
Hi John. Referral bonuses will not count against that 4 year clock.
Will you update us on our your plan work out?
I downgraded my CSP to a Freedom Unlimited last week and just reapplied for CSP again today and it worked like a charm! Instant approval.
I thought exactly the same thing you did when I opened my Sapphire card the first time; I thought I’d remain loyal to my Southwest Card. But I have to say I have gotten much more value out of my Sapphire card than i ever did out of my SW card; five years later I still have both!