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Yesterday Chase made it harder to get repeat bonuses on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card by changing the terms and conditions of the card offers. Previously, you were only eligible to earn the bonus on a Sapphire family card 24 months after you earned the bonus on a previous one.
You now have to wait four years instead of two between Sapphire cards to get a new member bonus. Note that the old Sapphire card must be closed in order for you to be eligible for another.
The Other Chase Eligibility Rules to Remember
- Specific rule for the Sapphire branded cards (i.e. the Sapphire, Sapphire Preferred, and Sapphire Reserve): New applicants will not be approved for another credit card in the Sapphire family if they already have one open. In other words, if you currently hold a Sapphire card, you’re not eligible for a Sapphire Preferred nor a Sapphire Reserve. If you currently hold a Sapphire Preferred, you’re not eligible for a Sapphire Reserve. If you currently hold a Sapphire Reserve, you’re not eligible for a Sapphire Preferred. You also cannot earn the bonus on the Sapphire Reserve unless it’s been 48 months past when you earned the bonus on the Sapphire Preferred, or vice versa.
- You can downgrade a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve to a no annual fee Chase card like the Freedom or Freedom Unlimited and that will count as getting rid of your Sapphire card for the purpose of this rule. Canceling isn’t necessary.
- 5/24: If you have 5+ new credit card accounts with any bank (not counting most business cards except for those issued by Capital One) in the last 24 months, you will be denied Chase personal and business credit cards.
- You probably shouldn’t apply for more than two cards in a 30 day period. Chase is known for denying people who apply for more than that.
Bottom Line
You now must wait 48 months after earning the sign up bonus on a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve card to be eligible for another bonus on either.
Question. Have both Sapphire’s. What if I product changed the Preferred to a Freedom? Could I pick up another Preferred as long as all the other conditions met? What length of time must I wait to apply after product change?
Yes, downgrading works. How much time you need to wait seems to vary. Some data points I’ve seen say they were approved immediately after product changing, but the general consensus is one week.
The total cards I have applied for in the last 24 months is 5. If one of those cards was the British Airways card, would I be denied acquiring the freedom card from Chase. My credit rating is in the 824.
While you can get approved for the BA Visa if your count is above 5/24, the BA Visa does count in your 5/24 total.
Were any of the cards you applied for business cards? Business cards (except those issued by Capital One) don’t count in your 5/24 total.
I got the CSP in Feb 2014. In 2016 when the Reserve came out, due to reasons I was not approved, however was able to product change from CSP to CSR. Still have the CSR today, as well as the Freedom, Freedom Unlim, and United Explorer.
What do I need to do to obtain another Sapphire 50K bonus? I believe I am around 1/24 right now. Cancelling the CSR seems like the only option I believe.
You can try downgrading to a Freedom or Freedom Unlimited. Not sure if Chase will allow you to have two of one kind, but they might via downgrade.