For over the last 3 years the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has been one of the most popular cards on the market. In fact, they even ran out of the metal used to make the card when it first launched!
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers exactly what most are looking for out of a premium rewards credit card — it offers great bonus categories, benefits, and travel protections. When the Chase Sapphire Reserve card first launched, it came with a massive bonus of 100k Ultimate Rewards points. But is it still possible to get that bonus now?
Benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
You might be wondering, is the Chase Sapphire Reserve card a good fit for me? Let’s examine the card’s benefits before breaking down the welcome bonus options.
Key Benefits
- Priority Pass Airport Lounge Access: Get free access to over 1,300 airport lounge worldwide.
- DoorDash DashPass Subscription: DashPass members receive free food delivery and discounted service fees on select food delivery orders on the DoorDash app.
- The Parking Spot Status and Perks: Enroll in complimentary Spot Club Platinum status at The Parking Spot for 2 years and receive 20% off of your first reservation and points for 1 free day of parking.
- Primary Rental Car Coverage: Your rental car is covered in the case of theft or damage in the U.S. and most countries around the world.
- 50% Point Bonus Through Chase Travel Portal: Your points are worth 1.5 cents apiece, instead of 1 cent, when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.
- Baggage Delay Insurance: If your checked baggage is delayed more than 6 hours, you’ll receive $100 in reimbursements for essential items per day for up to 5 days, for a total of $500 in reimbursements.
- Trip Delay Reimbursement: If you pay for your trip with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and it is delayed for 6 or more hours, you’ll be eligible for reimbursement of up to $500 per ticket in reasonable expenses like lodging, meals, or personal items.
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance: If you need to cancel or cut a trip short due to covered issues (like severe weather or an illness), you’re eligible for up to $10,000 in coverage per trip, $20,000 per occurrence, and $40,000 per year.
- Purchase Protection: Your new purchases are covered for up to 120 days against damage or theft, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Extended Warranty Protection: The time period of a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty is extended by an additional year.
- Rental Car Benefits: Cardholders get discounts on Avis and Silvercar rentals, plus complimentary Emerald Club Executive status with National.
Can You Still Get the 100k Chase Sapphire Reserve Bonus Offer?
Image Credit: Nicole Glass Photography via ShutterstockNaturally, you always want to get the best bonus offer on your new card, so here are a few tips to help get you there.
Increased Public Welcome Offer
To date, the highest ever public welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card was 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points. Unfortunately, the 100k offer has not been offered publicly from Chase since January of 2017. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they never will again, but it’s worth keeping an eye out to see if they ever run an increased offer!
Utilizing CardMatch
Image Credit: CardMatchCardMatch is an incredibly helpful tool offered by CreditCards.com. CardMatch lets you check to see if you’re targeted for any special offers from any of the CreditCard.com partners — including major U.S. credit issuers like American Express, Chase, and Citibank.
To use the CardMatch tool, all you need to do is provide your full name, zip code, and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. Afterward, CardMatch will provide you with any targeted or pre-qualified offers that you might be eligible for. Keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that you’ll see better offers than what is offered publicly, but in our opinion, you might as well double-check for a better offer before applying!
Bottom Line: CardMatch is free and easy to use, doesn’t require a hard credit pull, and is secured using 256-bit encryption, making it a great tool to check for the best credit card offers. For a step-by-step guide, explore our detailed guide to the CardMatch tool.
Targeted Mailings From Chase
If you wanted to be contacted directly whenever you’ve been targeted for an increased bonus offer, Chase makes that simply by allowing you to opt into target mailings. All you need to do is log into your account and click Profile, then Settings. Once there, select Marketing Preferences, and then make sure you’ve selected Yes to receive special offers from Chase — this includes credit card offers, banking offers, and any other special offers.
Reasons You May Not Be Able to Get a Higher Welcome Offer
Chase’s 5/24 Rule
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card, like most credit cards from Chase, is subject to the 5/24 rule. This rule limits any new applicants from being approved for the card if they have opened 5 or more new credit card accounts in the last 24 months.
This restriction largely applies to personal credit cards, meaning most business credit cards, car loans, personal loans, etc., do not count towards the limit.
So even if you happen to find a higher bonus offer for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you won’t be eligible for the card if you’re over the 5/24 limit.
The Current Public Offer Is Not an Increased Offer
As mentioned before, the biggest bonus ever offered on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card was the 100k offer that ended in January of 2017, which just so happened to be a public welcome offer.
You’re probably aware that increased public offers from Chase can come and go throughout the year, so this is something to keep in mind when deciding when to apply for a card. Don’t forget, you can always check periodically to see if you have a targeted offer from the CardMatch tool.
Low Credit
No surprises here, but if you currently have a low credit score, it is unlikely that you will be approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
If this happens to be your case then you should first focus on improving your credit score before you worry about how to track down higher bonus offers.
You’ve Opted out of Marketing Offers
Chase cannot send you marketing offers if you do not opt-in to receive them — this means they likely will have no way of notifying you that you’ve been selected for a certain bonus opportunity! So if you want to make sure that you get any and all targeted offers mailed straight to you, you have to opt-in!
Final Thoughts
It’s not hard to see why the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is one of the best travel rewards cards available. The card is packed full of travel benefits and offers the ability to earn some of the most valuable travel points — Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Obviously, if you’re in the market to add the Chase Sapphire Reserve card to your wallet, you’re going to want to do everything you can to get the best bonus possible! Then you can start redeeming your Ultimate Rewards points for incredible travel experiences!
Featured Image Credit:
Marriott