If you’ve been thinking about applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) — and even if you haven’t, you’ll want to hear this — now is the best time to do so.
That’s because you can currently earn a limited-time bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
TPG’s March 2025 valuations peg Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2.05 cents each, which means this bonus is worth a whopping $2,050. This matches the highest-ever welcome offer we last saw on this card over three years ago.
Offer alert: Earn 100,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred for a limited time.
Before you apply, though, you should make sure you’re eligible for this offer. Here’s a quick rundown of the eligibility requirements and restrictions for the Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus.
Am I eligible for Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus?
This is what Chase states on its website regarding Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus rules and eligibility:
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.
That means that you’re in the clear to apply for the card and receive the welcome bonus if you’ve never held the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees).
However, things get a little more complicated if you currently have the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve — or if you’ve had one in the past.
Chase has a 48-month rule for customers to receive new cardmember bonuses within the Chase Sapphire card family.
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So, if you’ve earned a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve welcome bonus in the past four years, you’re out of luck to earn this bonus. And keep in mind that the 48-month rule applies to when you received the bonus, not when you applied for the card.
Additionally, you can only have one Sapphire credit card open at a time. That means those who are current cardholders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve or the no-annual-fee Chase Sapphire Card (no longer open to new applications) cannot apply for this card or receive the bonus.
The information for the Chase Sapphire has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: What credit score do you need to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred card?
Chase’s 5/24 rule
Something else to consider when thinking about whether to apply for the Sapphire Preferred is Chase’s 5/24 rule.
Even if you meet the above requirements, Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus rules require you to still fall under Chase’s infamous — though unpublished — 5/24 rule.
If you’ve opened five or more new personal credit card accounts (including authorized user accounts and some business accounts) across all issuers in the past two years, Chase is almost certainly going to deny your application.
You can try calling Chase to see if they’re willing to not hold authorized user accounts against your maximum of five new accounts in the last two years if you get denied for a new Chase card; however, note that this doesn’t mean you’ll get an automatic approval.
Related: How to calculate your 5/24 standing
Shifting credit lines
There’s one final note regarding Sapphire Preferred applications. If you currently have multiple Chase credit cards with large credit limits, there’s a chance you’ve hit the maximum (total) amount of money that the issuer is willing to loan you.
If this happens, you most likely won’t be rejected for the card when you apply. Instead, your application will go into “pending” status.
You could wait for Chase to make a decision, but you might be better off calling the reconsideration line. You could proactively offer to move credit lines from an existing card to the Sapphire Preferred, which can help the agent push your application through.
Bottom line
The current Chase Sapphire Preferred limited-time welcome bonus of 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards is very valuable, so those who are eligible should consider applying.
If you’ve had your eye on the Sapphire Reserve, you could apply for the Sapphire Preferred now to earn the higher welcome bonus. Then you could request to upgrade to the Sapphire Reserve after a year to access elevated travel perks.
To learn more, read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Related: Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred should still be your first rewards card