New Chase Rule: Only One Sapphire Bonus Per 48 Months

MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.

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.

The new terms in regards to eligibility for the sign up bonus on the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve now read…

“The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months. “

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.

Temporary Loophole for Sapphire Preferred

Not all the applications for the Sapphire Preferred have been updated to say 48 months instead of 24 months yet. While the public links–those that you’ll find by putting Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve into Google–both say 48 months, MileValue’s link for the Sapphire Preferred leads to an application that still contains the 24 months language.

I imagine the language on that application will change soon, so go ahead and apply if you want the bonus and have earned a bonus on the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve in the last 25 to 48 months. Just BE SURE To check the Offer Details (always linked at towards the top of the application page) for the 24 month language as it could change to 48 at any time. I’ll try to update this post as soon as I notice it change.

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 24 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 most Chase personal and business credit cards (with the exception of these).
• 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.