If you’ve spent any time in the credit card influencer space, you’ve probably seen countless people pushing Chase cards. There’s a reason for that: Chase has one of the most lucrative referral and affiliate marketing programs out there. Influencers and bloggers get rewards very well for every sign-up, which can make it hard to separate hype from what’s actually good.

But here’s the thing - the Chase Sapphire Preferred is actually a great card. And what makes it even better right now is the 100,000 point sign-up bonus. It’s a top-tier card, but is it overhyped, or should you get on that card now?

This post will help you analyze whether you should get this card or not. We can say whatever we want since we have no affiliate partnership with Chase - plus our referral codes have a referral limit, so all of you can’t help us even if you wanted.

Finally, we’ll share what we’re going to do about this at the end.

Who isn’t eligible for this card

Let’s start with the easy qualifications - some of you just flat out won’t be able to get this bonus, so you can chill with the FOMO.

• You already received a Chase Sapphire Reserve/Preferred bonus in the past 48 months - and definitely aren’t on the cusp

• You are over 5/24, meaning you’ve opened at least 5 personal cards (and select Capital One business cards) in the past 24 months

• You don’t have any credit cards. It’s highly unlikely Chase will approve you for the CSP as your first - or even second - card. If you have high income, high credit score, and some credit history, there is a chance.

• You have a low credit score. General consensus is you need 700+ credit score to qualify.

• You have low income. There isn’t a specific cut-off but for the premium card you need to have some income to justify the minimum $5,000 credit limit.

• You already hold a Sapphire card. But don’t worry, you can call Chase using the number on the back of your card to downgrade to the “Freedom with Ultimate Rewards”

• Finally, if you’ve been bankrupt with Chase or shutdown by them, obviously you’re out.

Hey, even if you don’t qualify this time around, maybe your friends and family do, so keep reading!

Why you SHOULD get this card

There’s a plethora of reasons to get this card so we’ll hit a few key reasons and highlights.

• The 100,000 point sign-up bonus an all-time high for this card, and better than its competitors. That’s enough for 4 nights at a mid-tier Hyatt hotel or round-trip international business class.

• The $95 annual fee is pretty low considering all the benefits and the $50 hotel credit + $10/month Doordash grocery credit.

• If you have any other Chase cards or plan to expand in the Chase ecosystem, you’ll need a premium card anyways to have the ability to transfer out your points - so why not get an extra 40,000 points?

• Ignoring this card because you’re a cash back Charlie? Think again - the bonus is equal to $1,000 when redeemed for statement credit. So for that first $5,000 you spend on the spending requirements, you’re earning at minimum 21% back - which beats most cards and covers the annual fee.

• Points are very easy to redeem. If you don’t want to complicate with international transfer partners, you still have United, JetBlue, and Southwest available. And if you really need to, there is the portal for 1.25x on your points - making the value of the bonus to be $1,250. But I highly recommend avoiding the portal.

• For those new to the credit card journey, this is a great starter card since it is relatively cheap and has outsized benefits.

• For those veterans, you know that this bonus is very lucrative.

Why you should NOT get this card

While there’s a lot of good reasons to get the CSP, here is a non-exhaustive list of why you shouldn’t bother with this card.

• Points & miles don’t integrate well into your travel style (e.g., you just stay at Airbnbs, you fly budget airlines, you don’t care about international business class, etc.)

• You already have millions of Chase Ultimate Reward points and have no idea what to do with them - yes some of my clients hoard points, so let me teach you how to use them effectively.

• You frequent an airport with a Sapphire Lounge (e.g., San Diego, Philadelphia, New York, Boston) - so you’d rather have unlimited access to that lounge with the Sapphire Reserve.

• You can’t make the minimum spend without overspending. For some, $5,000 in 3 months isn’t doable, so spending extra money just to get points might not be worth it. There are ways to manufacture that spending, but you have to be disciplined and in the know.

• If you’re 4/24 you might want to skip this and keep going for Chase Ink cards while you can - those bonuses can add up to a lot more and don’t count towards 5/24.

• If you’re applying to a loan or mortgage soon, you probably should avoid getting any new cards. The extra 40,000 points probably isn’t worth percentage points of interest you could potentially be charged - consult with a financial advisor on this one.

How to get this card

If you do decide to go for this card you have a couple options:

• Go to a branch and get the card with the 100,000 point bonus

• Wait for 100,000 point bonus to show up on referral links like ours (expected in a week or two) and use it to help your friends or us out

• You can just go ahead and apply through the referral links and ask Chase to match the 100,000 point offers, data points on Reddit show that this is happening.

Did that answer your questions? Feel free to respond to this newsletter if you’re still debating and what some opinions!

Our plan for this card

Unfortunately, Matthew got the Reserve last year so can’t qualify for the bonus. Sarah’s 48-month mark is actually up soon, so we might be cutting it close.

Initially Sarah was going to get the CSR for sure so we could get access to the Sapphire Lounge in San Diego and Hong Kong for our upcoming trips. Then we’d do the downgrade hack to profit the 2nd year’s travel credit.

So if Sarah’s 48-month timer ends and the offer is still available we’ll go for the 100,000 point bonus since we value the extra 40,000 points more than the travel credit profit and lounge access.

Bonus tip, Chase is very generous with matching - even when the offer expires, there might be some time before they won’t match offers.

What’s In our Wallets (Newsletter Exclusive)

Our lineup for this week is below. See our rationale here just for newsletter subscribers like you.

Matthew: World of Hyatt Business

Sarah: American Express Delta Gold

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About WuhooPoints

WuhooPoints focuses on the credit card consultation side of Wuhoo Group. We help you unlock the power of your credits cards for free luxury travel.