Chase Sapphire Reserve Bonus Dropping
The Chase Sapphire Reserve was the miles & points story of 2016. Not only did Chase bring a truly world class premium credit card to market, they launched it with an amazing bonus. All good things must come to an end though. According to Frequent Miler, the online bonus on this card will drop from 100,000 points down to 50,000 points on January 12. (Apply by January 11.)
One good bit of information did come with the announcement of the change in bonus. The bonus will remain 100,000 points if you apply in-branch at least through March 12. Additionally while many blogs are saying March 12 is the last day to apply in-branch for 100,000 points, I have seen some indication that the bonus may remain higher in-branch even longer. I have reached out to a Chase rep, but have yet to hear back. I’m sure we will know more as March 12 approaches.
Who Should Apply & When
In my opinion the bonus on this card along with its benefits are absolutely worth applying for. As I have covered before, both my wife and I opened Sapphire Reserve accounts and while we most likely will close one, we plan to keep the other long term. If you don’t have the card, here are some things to consider about where and when to apply.
Don’t apply if:
- You are not comfortable paying a $450 annual fee up front.
- You don’t pay off your balances in full each month.
- You don’t travel often enough to use the annual travel credit and/or the card’s other benefits.
- You have opened up a ton of new cards lately and are not pre-approved since based on data points you most likely will be denied.
Apply online by January 11 if:
- You are under 5/24 and want/need this card now.
- You don’t have a Chase branch nearby.
- You don’t have the time and/or patience to go into a branch to apply.
Apply in-branch by March 11 (or later if we find that date has been extended) if:
- You don’t want the card now.
- You are over 5/24 and want to see if you are pre-approved for the Sapphire Reserve. (Being pre-approved can help you avoid 5/24.)
- You are over 5/24 now but will be under 5/24 by March.
If you do decide to apply online, please consider supporting the site. What is your game plan?
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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[…] you might have heard, the online bonus on the Sapphire Reserve is dropping to 50K tomorrow, although you’ll still be able to get it in-branch until at least March. When getting Chase […]
If I’m counting my applications, does Chase reset the 5/24 period at the beginning or the end of the month? For example, looking at my credit report, i’ll drop below the 5/24 mark when a March 2015 approval falls off the report in two months. Can I then apply in March or do I wait until April? Thanks.
It is generally based on the account opening date.
[…] Sapphire Reserve Bonus Will Plummet, But You Might Still Want to Wait […]
^You could just charge $300 in GCs on Jan 1 2018 and still get two $300 travel reimbursements I assume.
I just drove over 70 miles to the nearest Chase branch to see if I was preapproved. I’m well over 5/24, but they still had me preapproved. I applied and got it! It has been a great weekend.
Congrats!
Shawn – One point you missed is that by delaying your application, you increase the time you have to claim your second annual $300 travel reimbursement before the annual fee comes due next year.
But is that worth losing 50k UR points worth $750???
@ Norman, no, it’s not worth losing 50k UR points, but at this point I’d rather just wait to apply in-branch for the 100K. @Lincoln, another good point, but personally I really don’t want to buy any travel gift cards, as I have so many airline and hotel points that I’d like to finally use! I’d rather just charge current expenses as I go and get the reimbursement that way. It all depends on your personal travel situation.
thanks, very good point, Radster!
How so, you could just charge $300 on 1 Jan 2018 and close the account before your statement ends sometime in early February.
My husband was pre-approved being over 5/24 so we are happy to have one and plan to keep it long term. Every time we are in a state with a Chase bank I check to see if I am pre-approved. I am using my Freedom cards every month and I hope that helps.
You can see your preapprovals within the chase website (after you are logged in). Those are the same preapprovals the branch see as well.
Often the in-branch preapprovals are different. For example my wife had no preapprovals online but had a preapproval for CSR in-branch.