Posted on May - 14 - 2011

New Chase Sapphire Credit Card with $500 Sign-Up Bonus

No one can accuse Chase of not being a generous credit card company these days. Many Chase credit card offers come with lucrative signup bonuses ranging from $50 to 25,000 frequent flyer miles. But these offers pale in comparison to the new Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card’s unprecedented 50,000 Ultimate Reward point sign up bonus. At the very least, this Chase promotion is worth a whopping $500. If the Chase Ultimate Rewards are used for travel, this incentive is worth an even more impressive $625.

In order to get your hands on the 50,000 Ultimate Reward points being offered on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you must simply apply for the card – it is not available to current cardholders – and spend $3,000 within three months of opening an account. The $3,000 spending requirement is higher than most required to earn credit card sign up bonuses, but the $500 reward is also three to five times higher than what even the most generous cards are offering.

In order to meet the spending requirement, use your Chase Sapphire card to pay for everything: gas, groceries, utilities…. Most families can easily meet this target. Just be sure to pay your bill in full every month to avoid interest charges and you’ll make out like a bandit.

Once you satisfy the $3,000 spending requirement, you can opt to redeem your 50,000 Ultimate Reward points for a $500 statement credit, a check or $500 in gift cards from a range of top tier merchants. This is the no hassle approach, though not the most profitable.

The key to getting the most out of you points is to use them to book a trip on the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel platform. As a Chase Sapphire cardholder, I’ve tested the system and found the results to be nearly identical to major travel sites like Orbitz.com or Travelocity.com. Thus, armed with 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points, you can book a flight or hotel and realize a $625 reduction in cost. This is really a great deal and if I were not a cardholder already, I’d sign up for this today. (I called in to see if I could qualify by upgrading my current Sapphire card, but was denied.)

There are really only two drawbacks to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. The first is the annual fee of $95. However, there is no fee the first year, so if you aren’t happy with the Sapphire card, you can close your account and never pay a dime in fees. The second is a lack of a 0% introductory offer. If you have credit card debt or will be taking on new debt, you may be better off focusing on paying down debt with a 0% APR balance transfer credit card.

Despite these drawbacks, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is definitely worth trying out. No other credit card company will pay you $500 to $625 just to test out their product, so if you’re in market for a rewards card, this is definitely the best option available today.

For additional information and to apply, see the table above or review the online application here.

 

 

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