Chase Sapphire Reserve Refer A Friend Bonus
Over the weekend I saw a report of the Chase Sapphire Reserve refer a friend bonus coming back in the Travel on Point(s) Facebook group. It is nice to see CSR cardholders have the option to refer friends and family once again. Sadly, it is more limited than the Freedom Flex and Ink Business Cash referrals etc. It does not refer to the Sapphire family of cards, but only to the Sapphire Reserve card. This wouldn’t have been an issue a few years ago but now the Chase Sapphire Preferred is probably the card most people want. I may have a solution for that though.
Details On The CSR Refer A Friend Program
You can create a refer a friend link on the Chase referral site. By filling this out you will create a unique referral link tied to your account that offers the following:
- Every friend that signs up for a Chase Sapphire Reserve using your code will get you 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
- The earning is capped at 50,000 points per year, or 5 referrals
- The referrer gets the public offer of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of card membership.
The Issues With This Set Up
It is kind of a shame that the Sapphire products don’t refer to both cards like the Freedom and Ink cards do. Maybe that will change in the future but I have to imagine most people would prefer the Chase Sapphire Preferred with the lower annual fee and better earning structure. There is also a 70K offer out there (for most people at least) for the Sapphire Reserve so this isn’t the best option for them. Even if you are working with a two player system you come out net even.
This would have been huge news 3-4 years ago when the card had a lower annual fee and a competitive welcome offer. But, now, I don’t think it will move the needle much for most.
Remember That You Can Still Carry Both
The thinking on the street is that you can not carry both the Sapphire Reserve and Preferred. That comes from the fact that you can not sign up for one while carrying the other. However, you can product change a Freedom Flex or Freedom Unlimited into a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve (need a $10,000 limit on the card for the latter). Some do this just as a way to refer friends and family to the Chase Sapphire Preferred since they will often balk at the annual fee of the Sapphire Reserve and the hoop jumping required to extract full value from the credits.
Final Thoughts
While more options to earn points is always a good thing I think this move is a little late on Chase’s part to make much of a difference. Unless they allow referrals across the Sapphire family, like they do with other cards, it is going to be a missed opportunity for many. Remember that if you have friends and family that prefer the Sapphire Preferred, but you like the Reserve better for yourself, you can still carry both. You just need to play it right!
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