Ending soon: Chase Sapphire Preferred's increased welcome bonus worth at least $1,000 in travel

Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.

One of the best limited-time welcome offers available is ending soon.

Right now, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is offering an 80,000-point welcome bonus after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. This is already one of the top travel credit cards, and the increased welcome offer makes it even more enticing. After all, 80,000 points are worth up to $1,000 on travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards^®, and potentially more when redeemed through one of Chase's transfer partners.

If you're interested in taking advantage of this limited-time offer before it expires, here are the details on why this bonus is so valuable, how to qualify and how you can earn it responsibly without getting yourself into credit card debt.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred's increased welcome bonus gives you 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. This offer will end by the end of the day on May 24, 2023.

At a minimum, 80,000 Chase points are worth $800 in cash back. After paying the card's $95 annual fee, the bonus would still net you $705. However, Chase points can be even more valuable depending on how you use them.

Preferred cardholder's points are worth 25% more when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal, which allows you to book flights, hotels, rental cars and more. That makes these 80,000 points worth at least $1,000 in travel. But you may be able to do even better than that.

The best way to maximize Chase points is to transfer them to one of Chase's partner travel programs to book flights or hotel stays. Chase points can be transferred to 14 different airline and hotel loyalty programs, such as Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, JetBlue TrueBlue, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt.

Each of these partners transfer at a 1:1 ratio, meaning that your 80,000 Chase points will turn into 80,000 points with the respective program you choose.

So how far can 80,000 points take you? Here are some examples:

• Transfer 50,000 points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book a one-way flight in business class on Delta Air Lines from the U.S. to Europe
• Transfer 78,000 points to British Airways Executive Club to book three round-trip economy flights from the U.S. West Coast to Hawaii on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines
• Transfer 80,000 points to Air Canada Aeroplan to book two round-trip domestic business class flights under 1,500 miles on United (i.e. Los Angeles to Houston or Chicago to Orlando)
• Transfer 80,000 points to World of Hyatt to book four standard nights at a Category 5 hotel (i.e. Hyatt Regency Coconut Point or the Park Hyatt Washington D.C.)

In addition to a great welcome offer, the Sapphire Preferred comes with solid benefits to help you earn heaps of points, as well as make your travels easier.

As you spend on the card, you'll earn:

• 5X points per dollar spent on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• 5X points per dollar spent on Lyft rides through Mar. 31, 2025
• 3X points per dollar spent on dining
• 3X points per dollar spent on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
• 3X points per dollar spent on select streaming services.
• 2X points per dollar spent on all other travel purchases
• 1X points per dollar spent on all other purchases
• 10% anniversary points boost: Each account anniversary, you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. That means if you spend $25,000 on purchases, you'll get 2,500 bonus points.

You'll also have access to valuable benefits like:

• $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards^®
• Comprehensive travel insurance, including trip delay reimbursement and primary rental car insurance
• Purchase protection and extended warranty protection
• DoorDash: Unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 for a minimum of one year on qualifying food purchases with DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service. Cardholders must use by Dec. 31, 2024.
• No foreign transaction fees

To earn this limited-time welcome bonus, you'll need to first get approved for the card. You'll typically need a FICO score of at least 700 or more to qualify for the Sapphire Preferred, although other factors like income and employment status are also considered.

To be approved for any Chase credit card, you'll need to have opened less than five credit cards in the last 24 months, this is known as the Chase 5/24 rule. Chase also has specific restrictions for its Sapphire cards. You're only eligible for a new welcome bonus on any version of a Sapphire card once every 48 months. This includes the welcome bonuses for the Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card card.

Here are a few tips for hitting the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card bonus' $4,000 minimum spending requirement responsibly and without getting yourself mired in credit card debt.

Prepay your expenses

For certain expenses such as auto insurance or homeowners insurance, you may be given the option to pay for the entire premium at once, and sometimes at a discount. Or if you've recently purchased a new phone from your cell phone carrier on a payment plan and have the funds, you can consider paying that off in full to help meet Chase Sapphire Preferred's spending requirement.

Pay your rent or mortgage

While many landlords and mortgage services either don't allow for payments to be made via credit card or charge high fees for the privilege, it's always worth asking to see if this is an option.

If it's not, consider using a bill pay service like Plastiq. Let's say your rent is $2,000 per month, for example. The fee to use Plastiq to pay with a credit card is 2.9%, so for a $58 fee, you'd end up earning 2,058 points. If you were to do this twice, you'd more than earn the welcome bonus. And while you incur $116 in fees, the value of the 80,000-point welcome bonus you're earning more than justifies it.

Charge for your friends and family

If you have trusted friends or family, charging purchases for them can help you meet the card's minimum-spend requirement faster, with no expense to you. For example, when dining out or booking a group trip, you can offer to put the entire charge on your card and then be reimbursed via a money transfer app like Venmo or Zelle.

Time is running out to take advantage of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card's elevated 80,000-point welcome offer. This special offer will end by the end of the day on May 24, 2023. The card's bonus normally sits at 60,000 points, so this is a significant boost, and it can save you big on your next vacation.

Before applying, be sure to check your credit score and ensure you are above the pesky Chase 5/24 rule to ensure you are eligible to be approved for the card. It's also important to ensure that you'll be able to earn the welcome bonus responsibly.

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