How Chase Sapphire Preferred Became Under-hyped and Under-appreciated

You can get 60,000 bonus points on your Chase card if you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months.

It was the greatest frequent flyer thing since miles themselves because it was fast-earning and had valuable points that transferred to great partners.

The card was considered sexy. Andy decided to change his Chase card to a regular card with no fee. He tried to throw the card away. With a torch.

When renting cars, the card added primary collision coverage and has added many transfer partners. For some people it's an unimportant thing. It shouldn't be.

What happened? When it was launched nearly 6 years ago, it was called Chase Sapphire Reserve. Everyone wanted one, and if they had less than 5 new cards in the last 24 months, they were getting one. 3 points per dollar on travel and dining and a Priority Pass was sexy.

The Priority Pass no longer has unlimited free guesting that comes with it. It has been more difficult to get the Reserve over the last few years than it was when it first launched.

The one you can get approved for is the better card between the two products. Chase revealed some fascinating data about the Sapphire Reserve cards, which have higher approval standards.

Cardholders have an average income of $180,000 and a credit score of 785. When it seemed approval standards weren't as tight, that included the time. My guess is that the requirements for income and credit score skew higher on the higher side.

We have seen lower credit scores get approved if they are under the age of 24.

Wait until your card renewal and asking to product change to get a clearer shot at Chase Reserve.

Points from both cards are transferred.

• Airlines: United, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, JetBlue, Air France KLM, Southwest Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Air Canada Aeroplan
• Hotels: Hyatt, IHG, Marriott

United Polaris Business Class

You need a Chase card with an annual fee to combine points into that account and transfer them to airline miles. You can get other Chase cards with no annual fee that earn 1.5 points per dollar on all spend, or that bonus office supplies, telecommunications or other categories with as many as 5 points per dollar. The annual fee card increases the value of your points.

Don't forget the!

Chase seems to only approve people for this card if they haven't applied for 5 new cards in the past two years. There are many anecdotes from card applicants who have been told by Chase representatives that this is solid.

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My favorite card for earning rewards points is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which has a best-ever public offer that lets you earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Even more is earned by Citi Prestige.

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My favorite card for earning rewards points has gotten better with an offer of 50,000 points as a sign up bonus. These points can be used for airline miles and hotel points. There was a test of 50,000 points with a higher annual fee.

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