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Going from 0 to 100,000 points is kind of a big deal.

You go from no reward, to rewards worth at least $1250 towards travel, and perhaps much more transferred to an airline or hotel. First class, five star, or just somewhere far – you name it. And now, the rewards add up even further, with a bunch of new card features.

Yes, I’m talking about the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, and no, I just don’t think the incredible welcome bonus can last much longer. It’s just so good.

Update: we now know it can’t! Chase says this bonus will come to an end on October 6th, giving just two days to get approved before it all disappears!

There’s reasons for this, and that’s mainly because all the other card competitors have reverted to 60,000 point welcome bonuses. If you’re seriously considering adding this rewards card to your arsenal, it makes more sense than ever.

a passport with a card in it

Chase Improved The Sapphire Preferred Card

Many credit card issuers rolled back some of the most customer friendly features recently. Apparently, they were too friendly. Chase went a different way. The Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve cards got a makeover, and in the Sapphire Preferred makeover, nothing was lost, but much was gained.

Mainly…

  • 5x total points on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out (previously 2x)
  • 3x points on select streaming services
  • 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased through Ultimate Rewards. New cardmembers will start earning towards the credit immediately and existing cardmembers will start earning after their next account anniversary.  
  • 10% Anniversary Point Bonus. Each account anniversary, cardmembers will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year. That means, $25,000 in spend will earn an additional 2,500 bonus points. 
Emirates First Class Champagne

100,000 Point Bonus: Ends October 6th

The most direct competitor of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the Capital One Venture Card, which also ramped up travel benefits lately. For much of the summer, the Capital One Venture Card offered a 100,000 point welcome bonus, which actually prompted Chase to match.

But now, with a bevy of exciting new card benefits and the Sapphire Preferred Card’s most direct competitor returning their welcome bonus back to the standard 60,000 points, how much longer will Chase keep this one up?

Even the Amex Gold Card only offers 60,000 points, and carries a $250 annual fee, with similar earning rates to the Sapphire Preferred.

When you look at other $95 a year cards bringing fantastic value, there just aren’t any other 100,000 point bonuses to be found. Sure, some airline or hotel credit cards offer 100,000 point bonuses, but those points aren’t typically as flexible or lucrative as the Chase Ultimate Rewards program.

Basically, if you’ve been considering the Chase Sapphire Preferred, there’s no time like the present to finally jump in. Here’s how to spend the 100,000 point bonus, and a full round up on the best features. You can check out the card offer. Remember, the offer expires October 6th!

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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4 Comments

  1. Hey Gib,
    Help me out here… I downgraded my CSR to Freedom Unlimited in order to apply for the new CSP with the 100K offer. Now I am confused if I should upgrade my Freedom card back to CSR or get some new credit card (with lesser AF ) that offers Priority Pass. Any suggestions there?

    1. Hey, good question.

      I’d say it depends on a couple things.

      1) Will you book hotels through Chase rather than elsewhere, such as direct?
      2) Do you actually end up consuming lots of priority pass stays/visits? If not, it’s a marginal benefit.

      The CSP and Freedom U combo is pretty incredible tbh, but I do hold all three!

  2. Hi – I downgraded from CSR to FFlex about 10 days ago. The rep I spoke to said I would not be approved for this offer until my account shows as closed by the credit bureaus and that can take 6-8 weeks. Wondering what you think the chances are of me getting approved for this offer is (everything else is in line with me getting approved) if the account is not “closed” at Experian?
    Thanks!

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