Update with improved 60k offer. The is a premium travel rewards credit card, now with an improved offer that is the best publicly-available bonus in years. The card earns points that can be redeemed for cash, travel credits, or transferred to airline miles. Here are the highlights:
- 60,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points after $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. That means 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel. No blackout dates. As long as there’s a seat on the flight, you can book it through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide. 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred named “Best Credit Card for Flexible Travel Redemption” – Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, June 2018.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs.
- $95 annual fee.
(Quick background: The previous offer was 50,000 bonus points with the annual fee waived during the first year. This one is 60,000 bonus points and a $95 annual fee. Since an extra 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points are worth at least 1.25 cents per point towards travel, that’s still a net $30 minimum improvement with a conservative estimate. Now, I just did an instant transfer to Hyatt last week that got me 2 cents per point value, which shows that the real value of Ultimate Rewards points is in its flexibility in transferring to places like United miles and Hyatt points as needed to reach a free night or flight.)
Note the following text:
The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months.
Note that Chase has an unofficial rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.
Ultimate Rewards points. This card offers a special 25% bonus on travel redemptions made through the Ultimate Rewards travel website. For example, 60,000 Ultimate Rewards = $750 in travel. Similar to Expedia or Travelocity, you can book flights on most major airlines and hotel chains. This makes it much more flexible to spend your points. You can even buy something more expensive and pay the difference.
If you have other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points like the Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Cash or Ink Business Unlimited, you can transfer points into this card account and take advantage of the this higher premium. In other words, your existing Ultimate Rewards points balance could be increased in value by getting this card.
The is the “ultra-premium” rewards card that offers a bigger 50% bonus on travel redemptions, along with more perks and a higher annual fee.
Prefer airline and/or hotel points? This card also allows you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points into hotel and/or airline miles. Transfer to United Airlines, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Southwest, Hyatt Hotels, IHG Hotels, and Marriott Hotels at a ratio of 1 Ultimate Rewards point = 1 mile/hotel point. Miles redemption continue to offer great value for savvy travelers, especially for last-minute travel and business class seats. I personally use the transfers to “top off” my account to reach a free coach ticket or free hotel night when I don’t have enough points otherwise. My favorite options are United miles, Southwest miles, and Hyatt hotel points. In this manner, I can often get close to 2 cents per point value.
Cash redemptions are a simple and easy option, but the conversion is a straight 100 points = $1.
Sharing points. Ultimate Rewards points are instantly transferable to other accounts like family members, as long as they have their own Chase card with Ultimate Rewards as an authorized user (free with Chase Freedom). This way, you can pool points together for transfers and redemptions if you like.
Additional card benefits:
- Premium, dedicated customer service line with a live person, 24/7. A real person picks up after a couple rings, no phone trees or typing those darn 16 digits over and over. You can use this feature to redeem cash rewards over the phone for free, although booking rewards tickets over the phone costs $20 (doing so online is free).
- Primary car rental collision damage waiver insurance. Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to $75,000 for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. Most other cards only offer secondary coverage that kicks in only after the deductible of your individual insurance policy is used.
- Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance. If your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
- Trip Delay Reimbursement. If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 6 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket
Bottom line. The has a 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points sign-up bonus, 2X points on Dining/Travel, and a $95 annual fee. This card has become quite popular because it is easy on both the earning and redeeming of rewards. Earning double miles on travel and restaurants is a useful category where a lot of people spend a lot of money (that’s not housing or student loans). If you can find a good use for airline miles, you can transfer them over. If you can’t, the 1.25 cent per point value on travel redemptions is easy to use. This is one of the few cards where I think paying the annual fee is worth it.
You can only get one Sapphire bonus every 48 months, so compare with the , which offers a bigger 50% bonus on travel redemptions, along with more perks and a higher annual fee.
I will be updating this improved offer on my list of .
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