Chase Sapphire Reserve - Application & AU Question

[dfree86]

Hey All,

Has anyone applied for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card? I know the 100,000 bonus points only apply if you aren't "upgrading" from a CSP. My question is this:

My wife is currently down as an Authorized User on my CSP card. Could she apply for the CSR and, if approved, get the 100k bonus points? Maybe I take her off my CSP for a month or so and she can then approach the CSR application as a new client? She could then add me as an AU on her account and we'd have the opposite arrangement we do now.

I'm trying to get the 100k bonus points for one of us, twice over.

Would love some guidance here. Have the CSP and love it, but the CSR just makes too much sense!

thanks!

[FLBiker]

Slight diversion -- you think it's worth it even with the $450 annual fee (non-waived)?  I just got a CSP for myself, after DW got a CSP and Ink Plus.  I thought about the CSR, but I avoid annual fees virtually all the time (the one exception being when I got two Southwest Rapid Rewards cards to get a companion pass).

[rpr]

Slight diversion -- you think it's worth it even with the $450 annual fee (non-waived)?  I just got a CSP for myself, after DW got a CSP and Ink Plus.  I thought about the CSR, but I avoid annual fees virtually all the time (the one exception being when I got two Southwest Rapid Rewards cards to get a companion pass).

The math as I saw it.

Annual fee on CSR is $450
Travel credit per year from CSR is $300
I got the TSA Pre -- Fee per year is $85/5 = $17
Fee net of Credit and TSA Pre  is $133

Annual Fee on CSP is $95

Fee difference between CSP and CSR is now $38

CSR comes with Priority Pass Select. This can be beneficial if you travel a fair bit.

[Catbert]

Your wife being an AU on your CSP would not prevent her from getting a CRP.  What could prevent her is if she is 5/24 (i.e., has gotten 5 new cards in the past 24 months.  Getting an AU counts against her 5/24).  If being your AU makes her at 5/24 then you can cancel her AU, it will disappear from her credit report and she could get CRP.

P.S.  $450 fee is totally worth it if you can meet the minimum spend and otherwise like the card. 

[myhotrs]

Second what Mary said. No issues getting the CSR and its a fantastic card, totally worth the fee. I also hate annual fees but will be keeping this as my go to card. Some additional benefits that make this a keeper are that you can redeem UR points for travel at 1.5c/each and the extended warranty/return protection they offer.

After buying a cell phone through Paypal, I will now only put purchases on the CSR as they offer a year of return protection while PP only offers shitty service and frustration :)

PS, the card also comes with Primary rental car coverage.

[MidWestLove]

I am not sure where you are getting "upgrading" limitations - is this attempt to change an existing account? I have an open Preferred card, applied for Reserve, got it,  have both, no problems.

[dfree86]

I am not sure where you are getting "upgrading" limitations - is this attempt to change an existing account? I have an open Preferred card, applied for Reserve, got it,  have both, no problems.

According to what I've read, you only get the 100k bonus points if you are applying for a CSR without having a CSP beforehand. So the "upgrade" from CSP to CSR is fine, but you don't get the 100k bonus.

Did this happen to you?

[haschen]

Me and my husband both received our CSR cards yesterday.
I do have currently CSP card under my name, with my hubby as AU, that made no problems.

I've called Chase and they've confirmed that I will still get my 100k points, I just need to spend 4k withing 3 months.Working on that already. Buying air tickets for all my friend using this credit card. BTW new card was visible in my chase and personal capital accounts, even before we got approved.
Hope that helps

ps we decided to go for 2 cards, cos  it made to scene to pay 75$ for additional cardholder without extra points.. Plus we both travel a lot. Will be checking the lunge in Houston next week!

[Nothlit]

I am not sure where you are getting "upgrading" limitations - is this attempt to change an existing account? I have an open Preferred card, applied for Reserve, got it,  have both, no problems.

According to what I've read, you only get the 100k bonus points if you are applying for a CSR without having a CSP beforehand. So the "upgrade" from CSP to CSR is fine, but you don't get the 100k bonus.

Did this happen to you?

You're misunderstanding the limitations. It is true that upgrading (converting) from a CSP to a CSR will not get you the 100k bonus. But having an existing CSP and opening a separate CSR is entirely different (you can have both cards at the same time) and you will get the bonus in that case - assuming you meet the minimum spend.

[dfree86]

I am not sure where you are getting "upgrading" limitations - is this attempt to change an existing account? I have an open Preferred card, applied for Reserve, got it,  have both, no problems.

According to what I've read, you only get the 100k bonus points if you are applying for a CSR without having a CSP beforehand. So the "upgrade" from CSP to CSR is fine, but you don't get the 100k bonus.

Did this happen to you?

You're misunderstanding the limitations. It is true that upgrading (converting) from a CSP to a CSR will not get you the 100k bonus. But having an existing CSP and opening a separate CSR is entirely different (you can have both cards at the same time) and you will get the bonus in that case - assuming you meet the minimum spend.

Ah! Okay got it. Last question: once we've got the CSR opened, it makes little sense to keep the CSP open as well since the CSR is basically a suped-up version of the CSP.

What would be the negative effects of getting the CSR and the shortly afterwards closing the CSP? Thanks!

[Catbert]

Are you going to keep the CRS for the long run (past the initial year)?  If so, you may want to drop the CSP or downgrade it to the Freedom card.*  If you plan to cancel the CRS after a year you could cancel the CPS when the annual fee is due and then downgrade the CRS when its fee is due.

*Freedom has no annual fee and quarterly rotating 5% categories.  If you have a CPS or CRS the 5% can be transferred to them at UR points.

[NextTime]

Slight diversion -- you think it's worth it even with the $450 annual fee (non-waived)?  I just got a CSP for myself, after DW got a CSP and Ink Plus.  I thought about the CSR, but I avoid annual fees virtually all the time (the one exception being when I got two Southwest Rapid Rewards cards to get a companion pass).

The math as I saw it.

Annual fee on CSR is $450
Travel credit per year from CSR is $300
I got the TSA Pre -- Fee per year is $85/5 = $17
Fee net of Credit and TSA Pre  is $133

Annual Fee on CSP is $95

Fee difference between CSP and CSR is now $38

CSR comes with Priority Pass Select. This can be beneficial if you travel a fair bit.

The $300 travel credit is per calendar year. So the first year you have the card you will actually get a $600 travel credit (though at this point in the year you may not be able to have the travel credit post prior to the december statement date so may want to wait until february). I opened it in September and already received the travel credit for this year, and will be sure to use next years credit before closing it in August. So right there, you actually come out ahead by $150 the first year (plus the 100k points).

I also had the CSP and downgraded it to just the Chase Sapphire last month, before the annual fee hit.

[MidWestLove]

"The $300 travel credit is per calendar year. So the first year you have the card you will actually get a $600 travel credit "

I would not count on this being forever as I think I have seen threads already (Flyertalk?) there Chase indicating that they will fix it so it is not abused by prorating it. i.e. person who applied and received card on Sept 1st would be 4/12 (1/3 or $100 ) travel credit maximum for that particular year. same person who cancelled on August 1st of next year would be eligible for 7/12 worth of the credit for the next year. Chase is not stupid and the more people publish (and arguably abuse this) the faster they will do it, right now they just want publicity and sign up numbers , however people post (and I agree) their thoughts that Chase fixing it is inevitable. the higher the abuse, the faster the fix. 

[Tetsuya Hondo]

Slight diversion -- you think it's worth it even with the $450 annual fee (non-waived)?  I just got a CSP for myself, after DW got a CSP and Ink Plus.  I thought about the CSR, but I avoid annual fees virtually all the time (the one exception being when I got two Southwest Rapid Rewards cards to get a companion pass).

The math as I saw it.

Annual fee on CSR is $450
Travel credit per year from CSR is $300
I got the TSA Pre -- Fee per year is $85/5 = $17
Fee net of Credit and TSA Pre  is $133

Annual Fee on CSP is $95

Fee difference between CSP and CSR is now $38

CSR comes with Priority Pass Select. This can be beneficial if you travel a fair bit.

With the 100,000 points, factor in another $1000 cash back into your math.

[renata ricotta]

Heads up that many of these questions and more have been discussed at great length over here: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/chase-sapphire-reserve-100-000-points-signup-bonus/

[Easye418]

My wife and I applied separately, both approved instantly for $30k+ credit limit.

Great Lakes loans allows you to pay student loans for free using Credit Cards, put $4,000 on Credit Card, paid off Credit Card in Cash.  Easy peasy.

So my reaping:
200k points + $8k spend points
$1200 SWA Gift Cards = $300 each of us in 2016 then $300 to begin 2017
for $900 annual fee. 

We used this to "force" vacation and it worked out great that Great Lakes allows us to pay. 

Win-Win.  I do plan on keeping the CSR for myself, adding my wife as an AU, and product changing her to a regular Sapphire for no annual fee. 

[NextTime]

"The $300 travel credit is per calendar year. So the first year you have the card you will actually get a $600 travel credit "

I would not count on this being forever as I think I have seen threads already (Flyertalk?) there Chase indicating that they will fix it so it is not abused by prorating it. i.e. person who applied and received card on Sept 1st would be 4/12 (1/3 or $100 ) travel credit maximum for that particular year. same person who cancelled on August 1st of next year would be eligible for 7/12 worth of the credit for the next year. Chase is not stupid and the more people publish (and arguably abuse this) the faster they will do it, right now they just want publicity and sign up numbers , however people post (and I agree) their thoughts that Chase fixing it is inevitable. the higher the abuse, the faster the fix.

I don't think they can fix it after the fact. It was clearly stated per calendar year. People signed up for the card with that in mind. I for one would expect to be refunded my annual fee if they pulled that. Also, they did not prorate this year as I opened in September and have already received the travel credit on my last statement.

[dfree86]

Hey All,

Just wanted to say thanks again for the help! I applied for CSR and got approved right away with $34k limit. Going to add my wife as AU. Then downgrade our CSP to Freedom Unlimited. that's the plan!

[Cycling Stache]

Hey All,

Just wanted to say thanks again for the help! I applied for CSR and got approved right away with $34k limit. Going to add my wife as AU. Then downgrade our CSP to Freedom Unlimited. that's the plan!

Why downgrade, rather than cancel?  There is (or at least, was) a separate sign-up bonus for the Chase Freedom Unlimited card as well.  If you're going to get the card, might as well get the bonus, too, right?

Also, keep in mind that it's an additional $75 to add your wife as an Authorized User to the Reserve card, and it fills one of her 5/24 slots if you're considering signing up for more credit cards.

I just gave my wife a picture of the card (for online purchases) and gave it to her to use at the grocery store, etc.  Nobody has balked.  Once you hit the minimum spend, the Freedom Unlimited is going to be your better yield for all purchases other than dining and travel, and then just transfer the points earned from your Freedom Unlimited card to the Reserve card if that's where you want to use them.

Food for thought.  I'm not into the churning things, but have signed up exclusively for Chase cards, and their system is very workable for using the right card to maximize points with each purchase, then moving the points to where you want them to use.

On a separate note, I just got the card recently and purchased $300 in Southwest gift cards to get the travel credit for this year.  It went through fine, with the reimbursements showing up in the online activity as soon as the purchase moved from a pending purchase to an actual one.  If you sign up now, you need to do something quickly because the credit counts through the December statement, then resets again in January.  My online account still doesn't show the closing date in December, so I bought right away just in case the monthly account closing date gets set for early December.

[renata ricotta]

Great! If it were me though, instead of adding AUs I would just have both of you sign up for a CSR; my husband and I each got one and didn't add each other as AUs. 200k Ultimate Rewards points for a household is an insanely great deal. If you're worried about helping each other do the minimum spend, you could hold off on her being an AU, wait until your spend is done/almost done, hope the offer is still available, and then have her open the card so you aren't trying to hit $8k of spending in only 3 months (that's what we did). During my spend, I added my card to his apple pay and his online keychain, so he could still help get to the spend with his every day purchases - most of the stuff he buys is either online or at places with apple pay. When my spend was done and we started his, I did the same thing.

[Catbert]

Hey All,

Just wanted to say thanks again for the help! I applied for CSR and got approved right away with $34k limit. Going to add my wife as AU. Then downgrade our CSP to Freedom Unlimited. that's the plan!

Why downgrade, rather than cancel?  There is (or at least, was) a separate sign-up bonus for the Chase Freedom Unlimited card as well.  If you're going to get the card, might as well get the bonus, too, right?

Also, keep in mind that it's an additional $75 to add your wife as an Authorized User to the Reserve card, and it fills one of her 5/24 slots if you're considering signing up for more credit cards.

I just gave my wife a picture of the card (for online purchases) and gave it to her to use at the grocery store, etc.  Nobody has balked.  Once you hit the minimum spend, the Freedom Unlimited is going to be your better yield for all purchases other than dining and travel, and then just transfer the points earned from your Freedom Unlimited card to the Reserve card if that's where you want to use them.

Food for thought.  I'm not into the churning things, but have signed up exclusively for Chase cards, and their system is very workable for using the right card to maximize points with each purchase, then moving the points to where you want them to use.

On a separate note, I just got the card recently and purchased $300 in Southwest gift cards to get the travel credit for this year.  It went through fine, with the reimbursements showing up in the online activity as soon as the purchase moved from a pending purchase to an actual one.  If you sign up now, you need to do something quickly because the credit counts through the December statement, then resets again in January.  My online account still doesn't show the closing date in December, so I bought right away just in case the monthly account closing date gets set for early December.

If he cancels/reapplies rather than downgrading it will count as a new card for 5/24 purposes and will show as another new card for FICO purposes.  If he downgrades it will bring the history of the current card with it (had it for a year or 5 years or whatever rather than Nov 2016).  It'll also keep the same cc number (at least it did for me) which is nice if you have things automatically charged to it - especially if they are once a year things that you've forgotten about.

[NextTime]

I think their point was that why did they downgrade to the Chase Freedom which has a nice signup bonus rather than cancel and apply for the Chase Freedom.

I downgraded my CSP, but I chose to downgrade to just the Chase Sapphire which has no annual fee and I believe no signup bonus.

[dfree86]

Great! If it were me though, instead of adding AUs I would just have both of you sign up for a CSR; my husband and I each got one and didn't add each other as AUs. 200k Ultimate Rewards points for a household is an insanely great deal. If you're worried about helping each other do the minimum spend, you could hold off on her being an AU, wait until your spend is done/almost done, hope the offer is still available, and then have her open the card so you aren't trying to hit $8k of spending in only 3 months (that's what we did). During my spend, I added my card to his apple pay and his online keychain, so he could still help get to the spend with his every day purchases - most of the stuff he buys is either online or at places with apple pay. When my spend was done and we started his, I did the same thing.

Yeah - we thought about this. $8k in 3 months is a lot! Even for moderate spenders like ourselves.

[dfree86]

Great! If it were me though, instead of adding AUs I would just have both of you sign up for a CSR; my husband and I each got one and didn't add each other as AUs. 200k Ultimate Rewards points for a household is an insanely great deal. If you're worried about helping each other do the minimum spend, you could hold off on her being an AU, wait until your spend is done/almost done, hope the offer is still available, and then have her open the card so you aren't trying to hit $8k of spending in only 3 months (that's what we did). During my spend, I added my card to his apple pay and his online keychain, so he could still help get to the spend with his every day purchases - most of the stuff he buys is either online or at places with apple pay. When my spend was done and we started his, I did the same thing.

If we were to do this to bank the 100,000 points for each of us - could we then product change my wife's CSR down a CFU? That is to say, bank the points from the CSR, then go back to a no fee card?

I'd keep the CSR for when we dine and buy travel. Thoughts? Thanks!

[NextTime]

Before you downgrade the card, I believe you would need to transfer her points to your card. This can be done easily on their website between spouses.

[renata ricotta]

Yep, you could do that. I'd wait until the first year is almost up and you're about to get hit with the second $450 annual fee (so like, 11 months from opening or something), just to keep Chase from raising its eyebrows too hard at you. Plenty of people don't think that's necessary, though.

If you downgraded hers and kept yours, would you add her as an AU then? I'd just consider what the true cost of having two cards is. Comparing having 1 CSR+AU and 1 no-fee card, you have:

$450 annual fee
- $300 travel credit
- $75 in savings from not adding an AU

That means keeping both cards open costs $75/year. If you use the other benefits like the priority pass for lounges with any regularity, it might end up as a wash to just keep both open. Although my understanding is that the Priority Pass gets the cardholder + travel companions into the lounge, so if you travel together, there isn't any unique benefit to having 2 cards versus 1. My husband and I both travel a lot, and it's separate, so we ended up concluding that it makes sense for both of us to just keep our cards because we each use the lounge at least $37.50 per year - I'm looking forward to a free glass (or two) of wine at LAX this afternoon before my holiday flight that I bought for free with UR points.

(ETA while posting - yes, make sure to transfer any outstanding points like dcozad999 mentioned)

[dfree86]

Thanks all! Does the annual fee get charged at the same time every year? So it'll come back around in November of next year?

[Catbert]

Thanks all! Does the annual fee get charged at the same time every year? So it'll come back around in November of next year?

Yes, same time each year on the anniversary of getting the card.  If you forget you can even call them and cancel/downgrade when you see the fee charged.  Not sure exactly how much leeway they give you but I called ~2weeks after a fee charged and they waived fee and cancelled card.