Guide To Chase Sapphire Reserve & Preferred Application Rules

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The Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card are two of the most recommended travel cards. Both Chase cards are extremely popular with consumers because of their perks and the flexibility of Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points, which both cards earn. With the ability to transfer points to Chase’s major travel partners, it’s easy to see why these travel rewards cards are so popular.

And, side note, they are both metal credit cards that are free of foreign transaction fees, making them excellent companions that won’t get easily damaged.

However, Chase has implemented a couple of restrictive rules regarding their cards.

For the best chances of Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card approval, here are the Chase Sapphire application rules to look out for.

Chase Sapphire Application Rules Contents

• Why should you get the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
• Why should you get the Chase Sapphire Reserve?
• Chase Sapphire Application Rules
• Chase 5/24 Rule
• One Bonus Per Sapphire Family of Credit Cards
• Chase 48-Month Rule
• Other Bank Application and Bonus Rules
• Q: Can You Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred Again?

Why should you get the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a popular starter card. The Ultimate Rewards points it earns are some of the most coveted in the travel community.

Enjoy Chase Sapphire benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x points on dining, and 2x points on all other travel purchases, plus more.

You can book travel at 1.25 cents per point, or they can be cashed out at 1 cent per point. If you prefer to use points for travel, you can transfer to one of the airline and hotel transfer partners. This is a solid card with a $95 annual fee.

Bonus

New Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Why should you get the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the big brother to the Sapphire Preferred card. The Reserve comes with a $300 annual travel credit. It earns 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when purchased through Chase Travel℠ (immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually). Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Points are 50% more valuable with the Reserve because they are worth 1.5 cents per point for Chase Travel℠. You can also cash out the points at 1 cent per point or transfer them to the same Chase travel partners as the Preferred.

The Reserve offers many other benefits to justify its $550 annual fee. This essentially reduces the net annual fee to $250. Cardholders also receive a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee reimbursement every four years.

Other Benefits

If you reserve rental cars when you travel, you’ll appreciate the Primary Rental Car Insurance. Other benefits include Priority Pass Select lounge membership, trip cancellation & interruption insurance, extended warranty protection, and purchase protection.

You will need an excellent credit score for this card.

New Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.

Related: Does it Make Sense to Go for the Chase Sapphire Reserve over the Sapphire Preferred?

Chase Sapphire Application Rules

A couple of years ago, Chase took a $300 million charge to its corporate earnings due to “credit card superusers” maximizing credit card rewards. When travel credit cards and our behaviors start impacting the bottom line of a bank, bank management will take notice.

Chase has taken a couple of steps to restrict applications for some of its credit cards. Thankfully, these application rules won’t affect most consumers.

Chase 5/24 Rule

A couple of years ago, Chase implemented the “5/24 Rule.” If you have more than five new credit cards on your credit report in the last two years, you will be declined for many of Chase’s most popular credit cards.

This rule is more restrictive than others because it includes any new credit cards you’ve opened from other banks. Unfortunately, if you are added as an authorized user on someone else’s credit cards, that also counts toward your five new cards. Most people don’t realize that Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs) also count for this total.

I was over 5/24, so I couldn’t get the Chase Sapphire Reserve® until more than two years after it was released. Ok, part of the delay had to do with refinancing a couple of rental properties I own. But applying for a lot of credit cards over a short period of time also put me on the Chase 5/24 list. At long last, I finally have my own Sapphire Reserve credit card.

Which Cards are Exempt from Chase 5/24?

The Chase 5/24 policy has become stricter over the years, as data points confirm.

Previously, American Express charge cards without a preset spending limit didn’t penalize you. Going forward, apply for the Sapphire Reserve before The Platinum Card® from American Express or the American Express® Gold Card if you’re nearing the 5/24 threshold.

Credit Score Needed for the Chase Sapphire

Good or excellent credit (670 to 850 credit score) is needed for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

This card is easier to qualify for than the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which commands excellent credit (740 FICO Score or higher).

The credit score requirements and the 5/24 policy are the two most important factors. Additional conditions apply if you’re an existing or previous Sapphire member.

One Bonus Per Sapphire Family of Credit Cards

With most Chase credit cards, you can receive the bonus even if you have had another version of the card. In 2017, Chase updated its application rules on the Chase Sapphire cards to be more like Citibank. Now, if you’ve received the signup bonus from the Chase Sapphire Preferred in the last two years, you cannot receive the bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (and vice versa).

Chase 48-Month Rule

Until recently, consumers were eligible to receive another bonus from the Chase Sapphire family of credit cards if they had not received that bonus in the last two years. The clock started ticking when the bonus was earned, not when a cardholder was approved for the credit card.

In September 2018, the Chase Sapphire application rules became even more restrictive. The waiting period was increased to at least 48 months since the Sapphire credit card bonus was received.

Here is the official language from Chase Bank: “This product is available to you if you do not have any Sapphire card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months.”

If you’re a previous Sapphire cardmember, you can be eligible for a new Sapphire Reserve or Preferred when:

• You are not currently a primary or authorized user of a Chase Sapphire product
• Haven’t earned a Sapphire signup bonus within the most recent 48 months

Assuming you’re a current Sapphire card member, you must contact Chase to either upgrade or downgrade your account to the alternate product. While you won’t be able to earn a second Sapphire bonus, you get to keep your account open and keep enjoying Sapphire rewards.

Two Cards Every 30 Days

At most, Chase will approve two personal credit cards in a 30-day period or one business credit card within a rolling month.

Maximum Number of Chase Credit Cards

There are no publicized limits about how many Chase credit cards you can have at once, assuming you have a qualifying credit score and are not penalized by the 5/24 guidelines.

Digging deeper, a common rule of thumb is that your total credit limit between every Chase card is equal to half of your household income. For example, your combined credit limit can be up to $50,000 with an annual $100,000 income.

Depending on your current credit limits, you will need to make sure there’s room for adding a Chase Sapphire credit limit. The minimum limit for the Chase Sapphire Preferred is $5,000, and $10,000 for the Sapphire Reserve.

Other Bank Application and Bonus Rules

I won’t go into detail on these rules, but other banks also have rules that restrict the welcome bonuses on their credit cards. Here’s a quick summary:

• American Express – “once per lifetime” rule means that you cannot receive the bonus from the same credit card twice. Some cardholders have reported receiving another bonus after waiting seven years or more between applications. Your mileage may vary.
• Bank of America – “2/3/4” rule restricts cardholders from applying for no more than two BofA credit cards every two months, a total of three cards within a year, and four within two years.
• Capital One – One bonus per card per lifetime, but you can earn multiple bonuses with the same card family, such as two Venture family spending bonuses. Additionally, you can only have two personal cards open at once (co-brand cards can be exempt).
• Citibank – “one bonus every 48 months” rule limits you to only one bonus per credit card product every four years. For example, you must wait 48 months to receive a second bonus for the Citi Premier® Card after earning the first. The restriction currently isn’t linked to other credit cards that earn ThankYou points (although it used to be).

These are all important to consider when reviewing the Chase Sapphire application rules.

What To Do If You Can’t Get Either Card

If you aren’t currently eligible to get either of the Chase Sapphire credit cards, you have some options.

#1) Wait until you become eligible.

If you are having trouble with the Chase Sapphire application rules, there are alternatives. Try to see what you can possibly do to prepare for future applications. If you can wait and build up your credit score, you might have more success.

#2) Try for credit cards from other banks.