Chase Sapphire Reserve; 100,000 points signup bonus

[Curbside Prophet]

Cash back on 100,000 pts is $1,000.

[Eurotexan]

For those of you asking how long it takes to get the card, I ordered mine last Wednesday morning and received it this evening. As others have stated, it's already activated.

Lots of information came with the card on its benefits.

Now off to book my Christmas flights!

[Curbside Prophet]

Does anyone know if you use Square Cash or Venmo to send money to someone via credit card, is that considered a purchase or cash advance?

[johnny847]

Does anyone know if you use Square Cash or Venmo to send money to someone via credit card, is that considered a purchase or cash advance?

Purchase

[NorcalBlue]

Been thinking about getting into the CC churning game and finally decided to give this one a try.  Generating $4k of spend will take some creativity, but it sure sounds like a good deal.  I plan on being fully FIRE in 2017 so these points will really come in handy for my travel plans.  Any other cards the group would suggest after this one?  As I said, I'm really new to this and only had one CC before I applied for this one.  Not gonna lie - I'm pretty excited about the prospects of the CC deals!

[NESailor]

Been thinking about getting into the CC churning game and finally decided to give this one a try.  Generating $4k of spend will take some creativity, but it sure sounds like a good deal.  I plan on being fully FIRE in 2017 so these points will really come in handy for my travel plans.  Any other cards the group would suggest after this one?  As I said, I'm really new to this and only had one CC before I applied for this one.  Not gonna lie - I'm pretty excited about the prospects of the CC deals!

Check out the travelmiles101.com website and course.  Those guys are really good at it and provide a wealth of free and organized info.  I believe they also got a mention in an MMM post at some point.

[Tetsuya Hondo]

Cash back on 100,000 pts is $1,000.

Glad you mentioned this. So you can get cash back with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card then? Maybe I'm suffering from situational blindness, but I can't find anything about it on the site.

[Tubby]

Greetings all. Stopped lurking and actually joined. Signed up for this deal and was instantly approved. When I get the card, I will go to my Holiday Inn rewards site and buy points with the card as they are running a sale on points for the next two weeks. Figure that'll cover the $300 travel spend right off the bat.

Be very careful and ensure this will count as a travel expense.  Once upon a time I used points + cash to book an IHG hotel.  I used my Barclaycard so I could erase the charge.  Didn't work b/c while I thought I was paying cash to  for a hotel room what I was really doing was buying points from a third party.  It didn't code with Barclaycard as a "travel" purchase.  Not saying it won't work here b/c Barclaycard isn't Chase.  Just be sure or have a backup plan.

Thanks for the heads up. The point purchase will likely NOT count as a travel expense. But the exercise made me question why I would spend almost $700 on 108000 IHG points. Instead, I cancelled upcoming reservations at a Holiday Inn that cost me 120000 points and rebooked it using cash. $300 of the $350 cost will count towards the Chase credit and I effectively purchase the 120000 points for $350.

[bikebuzz]

Thanks for the heads up on this.  It's scary how easy it is to get approved for a large amount of credit...

I plan on keeping this one and cancelling my Preferred right before the annual fee is charged.

Can anybody verify that purchasing $300 gift cards for American or Southwest would count as a travel expense?

[Tetsuya Hondo]

Cash back on 100,000 pts is $1,000.

Glad you mentioned this. So you can get cash back with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card then? Maybe I'm suffering from situational blindness, but I can't find anything about it on the site.

Yes, yes you can redeem points on this card for cash back. I finally found it on the points discussion of the offer terms link. Just wanted to confirm.

[Jaguar Paw]

Thanks for the heads up on this.  It's scary how easy it is to get approved for a large amount of credit...

I plan on keeping this one and cancelling my Preferred right before the annual fee is charged.

Can anybody verify that purchasing $300 gift cards for American or Southwest would count as a travel expense?

Plus one on the scariness of easily being approved: chase has approved my house for 90k of credit limits this year.... On our 160k per year household income. Seems nuts to me.

[Richie Poor]

Just transferred my points from Preferred to Reserve and it appears I have already made back the annual fee in terms of increased travel redemption (from 1.2x with Preferred to 1.5x with Reserve). Woohoo!

can you elaborate more on what exactly this accomplished/how? I am curious.

Also...i wonder if you can carry over that $300 travel credit from year to year....anybody know?

For example, if you already have 100k points, under the Preferred, you can exchange 100k for $1200 worth of reward travel. Under the Reserve, you can exchange the same points for $1500 worth of reward travel. In other words, just by moving reward points from Preferred to Reserved you automatically gain $300 in reward redemption value.

I am not new to UR points but I'm confused by the 1.5x multiplier talked about for redeeming points with the Reserve card. It makes sense that you would earn more points because of the dining/travel bonus but I can't find where it says redeeming points with Reserve is more valuable. If you were to book the same trip on the Preferred and Reserve systems, the Reserve system would cost less points? I have 60k UR points on Preferred and 60K UR points on Ink Plus so this would be nice to know. I will be applying for the Reserve regardless of the answer to my question.

Thanks to all for the great information in this thread.

[JLee]

Just transferred my points from Preferred to Reserve and it appears I have already made back the annual fee in terms of increased travel redemption (from 1.2x with Preferred to 1.5x with Reserve). Woohoo!

can you elaborate more on what exactly this accomplished/how? I am curious.

Also...i wonder if you can carry over that $300 travel credit from year to year....anybody know?

For example, if you already have 100k points, under the Preferred, you can exchange 100k for $1200 worth of reward travel. Under the Reserve, you can exchange the same points for $1500 worth of reward travel. In other words, just by moving reward points from Preferred to Reserved you automatically gain $300 in reward redemption value.

I am not new to UR points but I'm confused by the 1.5x multiplier talked about for redeeming points with the Reserve card. It makes sense that you would earn more points because of the dining/travel bonus but I can't find where it says redeeming points with Reserve is more valuable. If you were to book the same trip on the Preferred and Reserve systems, the Reserve system would cost less points? I have 60k UR points on Preferred and 60K UR points on Ink Plus so this would be nice to know. I will be applying for the Reserve regardless of the answer to my question.

Thanks to all for the great information in this thread.

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve2?CELL=6305&IS2F=FH24R8

50% more in travel redemption
Get 50% more value when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.* For example, 100,000 points are worth $1,500 toward travel.

[Richie Poor]

Just transferred my points from Preferred to Reserve and it appears I have already made back the annual fee in terms of increased travel redemption (from 1.2x with Preferred to 1.5x with Reserve). Woohoo!

can you elaborate more on what exactly this accomplished/how? I am curious.

Also...i wonder if you can carry over that $300 travel credit from year to year....anybody know?

For example, if you already have 100k points, under the Preferred, you can exchange 100k for $1200 worth of reward travel. Under the Reserve, you can exchange the same points for $1500 worth of reward travel. In other words, just by moving reward points from Preferred to Reserved you automatically gain $300 in reward redemption value.

I am not new to UR points but I'm confused by the 1.5x multiplier talked about for redeeming points with the Reserve card. It makes sense that you would earn more points because of the dining/travel bonus but I can't find where it says redeeming points with Reserve is more valuable. If you were to book the same trip on the Preferred and Reserve systems, the Reserve system would cost less points? I have 60k UR points on Preferred and 60K UR points on Ink Plus so this would be nice to know. I will be applying for the Reserve regardless of the answer to my question.

Thanks to all for the great information in this thread.

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve2?CELL=6305&IS2F=FH24R8

50% more in travel redemption
Get 50% more value when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.* For example, 100,000 points are worth $1,500 toward travel.

Well there you go. I'll work on my reading comprehension. Thanks!

[Rubic]

Can anybody verify that purchasing $300 gift cards for American or Southwest would count as a travel expense?

Can't verify yet because we don't have the data points.  You can monitor
the comments in the following link as they become available:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/300-chase-sapphire-reserve-travel-credit-work-triggers/

In general, I've had good luck with purchasing AA ecards in $100 increments
and getting them reimbursed for travel, but I don't have the Chase CSR card:

https://giftcards.aa.com/

[Catbert]

Just transferred my points from Preferred to Reserve and it appears I have already made back the annual fee in terms of increased travel redemption (from 1.2x with Preferred to 1.5x with Reserve). Woohoo!

can you elaborate more on what exactly this accomplished/how? I am curious.

Also...i wonder if you can carry over that $300 travel credit from year to year....anybody know?

For example, if you already have 100k points, under the Preferred, you can exchange 100k for $1200 worth of reward travel. Under the Reserve, you can exchange the same points for $1500 worth of reward travel. In other words, just by moving reward points from Preferred to Reserved you automatically gain $300 in reward redemption value.

I am not new to UR points but I'm confused by the 1.5x multiplier talked about for redeeming points with the Reserve card. It makes sense that you would earn more points because of the dining/travel bonus but I can't find where it says redeeming points with Reserve is more valuable. If you were to book the same trip on the Preferred and Reserve systems, the Reserve system would cost less points? I have 60k UR points on Preferred and 60K UR points on Ink Plus so this would be nice to know. I will be applying for the Reserve regardless of the answer to my question.

Thanks to all for the great information in this thread.

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve2?CELL=6305&IS2F=FH24R8

50% more in travel redemption
Get 50% more value when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.* For example, 100,000 points are worth $1,500 toward travel.

Even better:  transfer the points you have in your Ink and Preferred cards to your new Reserve card and they will also be worth 50% for travel.  Will take 5 minutes to do on the website.

Well there you go. I'll work on my reading comprehension. Thanks!

[Dollar Slice]

I was hesitating on applying right now, because I wasn't sure I could use the $300 travel credit this year. But it seems that the credit can be applied to taxis, and it would give me great pleasure to use $300 worth of free taxis before the end of the year. I applied and they are reviewing my application... I'll hope for the best. :-)

[katsiki]

Southwest is doing a special on points right now (ends 9/2).  I might buy some when the card arrives and see what happens.  Will post if I do.

[robtown]

When I talked with Chase customer support  (to verify activation)    they did not think my cruise tickets via Vacations2Go would qualify for 3x points or for the $300 travel.   They seem to look for purchases direct from the airlines or through their points award travel system.

Does anyone know if paying off a $4k purchase immediately will speed up the 100k points award?

[Sailor Sam]

When I talked with Chase customer support  (to verify activation)    they did not think my cruise tickets via Vacations2Go would qualify for 3x points or for the $300 travel.   They seem to look for purchases direct from the airlines or through their points award travel system.

Does anyone know if paying off a $4k purchase immediately will speed up the 100k points award?

On my other Chase cards, points post in conjunction with my statement, not with the payment. I assume the CSR will be the same.

[geekette]

In my experience (both as a travel agent decades ago, and as a consumer now) the charge will show the cruise line, not the agency.  Minutes after getting the CSR card, I made final payment on our Royal Caribbean cruise via Best Price Cruises. It shows up on the card as a pending charge from Royal Caribbean.

I'm waiting for it to post to see if the $300 will come off automatically (and that we get the 3x points).

The points may post the first closing date after you meet the spend. I had one card (Chase UAL) that took the full three months, though.

[geekinprogress]

Got my card today!  I'm a *tiny* bit bummed because I didn't get one of the cool boxes - guessing they didn't anticipate the demand?  Whatever I guess, so long as I get my bonus points once I hit my spend requirement :) 

I applied on Thursday and was instantly approved, just to add a data point on shipping time; seems to be already activated.

[Sailor Sam]

I didn't even know about the box, until you post sent me searching. Mine came in the USPS envelope, inside the UPS envelope. Seems like that's been the trend. Did anyone actually get a box?

[Jet9]

I just called and was told Chase is sending out plastic cards in advance while the metal cards get printed. They confirmed the $300 is per calendar year and so the benefit will be available  again in January 2017 (don't have to wait til December). Also confirmed that the $300 reimbursed travel expenses and $100 Global Entry application fee reimbursement count toward the $4k spend.

FYI for those with Amex Premier Rewards: I also just called AmEx to request the $195 fee be waived to keep the Amex Premier Rewards. They offered $50 cash credit now and another $50 if I spend $500 in the next 6 weeks to stay (leaves the 95 fee but you get the $100 airline reimbursement). OR after much discussion, they offered 50,000 points for the Everyday card. The problem is that I would need to apply for this card first, then transfer the points from my Premier Rewards, and I was afraid I would get turned down for CSR if I applied for the Everyday. So what would you do? 50k points for the Every Day does sound like a great deal...I did not see this offer online or on my website, either, although the agent swore up and down it was there. She said I'd have to apply over the phone with another agent.

Question: If I want to combine points from the United Mileage Plus Card (also Chase) with points from the CSR card, can I do this through the Chase portal or do I lose the opportunity to combine these?

[ender]

Thanks for the heads up on this.  It's scary how easy it is to get approved for a large amount of credit...

I plan on keeping this one and cancelling my Preferred right before the annual fee is charged.

Can anybody verify that purchasing $300 gift cards for American or Southwest would count as a travel expense?

I'm planning on converting my CSP to a freedom, rather than cancelling it.

You can freely transfer points between them anyways.

The CSR seems like a worthwhile card to keep at least one of after my wife and I churn both CSP and CSR bonuses for both of us. Might convert both CSPs and one CSR to freedoms. I'm assuming you can have multiple freedom cards with Chase?

[davisgang90]

Instantly approved.  I know for a fact that they will waive the annual fee for active duty, so I'll make that call once I've got the card in hand.

[bikebuzz]

I'm planning on converting my CSP to a freedom, rather than cancelling it.

You can freely transfer points between them anyways.

The CSR seems like a worthwhile card to keep at least one of after my wife and I churn both CSP and CSR bonuses for both of us. Might convert both CSPs and one CSR to freedoms. I'm assuming you can have multiple freedom cards with Chase?

I didn't even know this was an option.  Do you just call and ask them to convert it?

[ender]

I'm planning on converting my CSP to a freedom, rather than cancelling it.

You can freely transfer points between them anyways.

The CSR seems like a worthwhile card to keep at least one of after my wife and I churn both CSP and CSR bonuses for both of us. Might convert both CSPs and one CSR to freedoms. I'm assuming you can have multiple freedom cards with Chase?

I didn't even know this was an option.  Do you just call and ask them to convert it?

My understanding is that when the AF hits you can call them and downgrade it.

[geekette]

My cruise final payment posted to the CSR this morning, and the $300 travel credit did as well.

It also shows 3x points for the Royal Caribbean sale, not booked through their portal.

[Rubic]

Question: If I want to combine points from the United Mileage Plus Card (also Chase) with points from the CSR card, can I do this through the Chase portal or do I lose the opportunity to combine these?

You just transfer whatever number of UR points you need to your
United Airlines account.  I just transferred 1,000 points to my Southwest
account, as I was getting near the 24 month inactivity expiration,
because I closed my Chase SW account 2 years ago.

Don't transfer UR points to United until you need them, or you'll
forgo the additional flexibility they offer you for other travel expenses.

[Cwadda]

I'm planning on converting my CSP to a freedom, rather than cancelling it.

You can freely transfer points between them anyways.

The CSR seems like a worthwhile card to keep at least one of after my wife and I churn both CSP and CSR bonuses for both of us. Might convert both CSPs and one CSR to freedoms. I'm assuming you can have multiple freedom cards with Chase?

I didn't even know this was an option.  Do you just call and ask them to convert it?

My understanding is that when the AF hits you can call them and downgrade it.

Last time I cancelled my annual fee it was prorated. This was for AMEX, but wouldn't the Chase annual fees also be pro rata?

[ender]

Last time I cancelled my annual fee it was prorated. This was for AMEX, but wouldn't the Chase annual fees also be pro rata?

The CSP fee is waived the first year.

[Rubic]

I'm planning on converting my CSP to a freedom, rather than cancelling it.

You can freely transfer points between them anyways.

The CSR seems like a worthwhile card to keep at least one of after my wife and I churn both CSP and CSR bonuses for both of us. Might convert both CSPs and one CSR to freedoms. I'm assuming you can have multiple freedom cards with Chase?

I didn't even know this was an option.  Do you just call and ask them to convert it?

My understanding is that when the AF hits you can call them and downgrade it.

When talking to the customer service rep, you want to ask them for a "product change"
to the Chase Freedom.  Otherwise, they might say you can't "downgrade" the CSR.  They
will try to talk you out of the product change since it's their job to keep you enrolled
in the CSR tier.  ;-)

[chesebert]

I don't understand how UR points are worth 2c? On a number of occasions I have found revenue flight paid with UR points through UR portal actually cost less miles than airline transfer. Can someone enlighten me on the value of UR points? Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

[geekette]

I don't understand how UR points are worth 2c? On a number of occasions I have found revenue flight paid with UR points through UR portal actually cost less miles than airline transfer. Can someone enlighten me on the value of UR points? Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

It certainly depends on the flights.  Short haul, it probably is better to buy a revenue flight, but I flew cross country round trip first class for 50k points (the equivalent of $500).  Try finding that through their portal.  Even a coach round trip flight was more than $500.

SW flights are another good thing - points are always lower than revenue flights.

[johnny847]

SW flights are another good thing - points are always lower than revenue flights.

Huh? Southwest flights booked with points are pegged to the cash price of the ticket (specifically, the base fare, which excludes taxes and fees).

[chesebert]

When I talked with Chase customer support  (to verify activation)    they did not think my cruise tickets via Vacations2Go would qualify for 3x points or for the $300 travel.   They seem to look for purchases direct from the airlines or through their points award travel system.

Does anyone know if paying off a $4k purchase immediately will speed up the 100k points award?

I see what you mean. I can use 40k KrisFlyer points to buy United round trip domestic business, which would normally cost more than $600.

Anyway, I just booked a round trip flight to London in economy and the ticket price was $550, which came out to 37,000 points. I looked really hard to find US-UK route with less points requirement, but I think the cheapest starts at 40k miles round trip.

[geekette]

SW flights are another good thing - points are always lower than revenue flights.

Huh? Southwest flights booked with points are pegged to the cash price of the ticket (specifically, the base fare, which excludes taxes and fees).

Pegged to, perhaps, but still cheaper to buy with points, IMHO. I just checked an east coast flight - cash, $146. Points, 8,263 ($82.63 + $5.50 fee).  Not .02/point, but cheaper than cash.

[beastykato]

Yes, Southwest is definitely cheaper with points.  I believe the value is 1.7cents/point.  Although, you can find specific examples and flight routes that are worth more.

[johnny847]

SW flights are another good thing - points are always lower than revenue flights.

Huh? Southwest flights booked with points are pegged to the cash price of the ticket (specifically, the base fare, which excludes taxes and fees).

Pegged to, perhaps, but still cheaper to buy with points, IMHO. I just checked an east coast flight - cash, $146. Points, 8,263 ($82.63 + $5.50 fee).  Not .02/point, but cheaper than cash.

If your "cash" comparison is redeeming UR points as a statement credit or as a redemption through Chase's travel portal, then sure

[TomTX]

AAAAAGGHHHHH.....

Still pending.

[kitkat]

AAAAAGGHHHHH.....

Still pending.

Have you tried calling them? I don't know the details, but apparently there is a "reconsideration line" that you can call to basically ask about your application and push it through. May be able to find more about it here https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/wiki/chase_sapphire_reserve

[panny145]

For the AMEX PRG card, I was able to download the United Mileage Plus app and buy $100 in Amazon gift cards through that app, and it was coded as "travel". This is how I used the $100 in annual airline fee credit that comes with the card.

Does anyone know if you can do something similar to take advantage of the $300 in travel rewards for the Reserve card?

[johnny847]

For the AMEX PRG card, I was able to download the United Mileage Plus app and buy $100 in Amazon gift cards through that app, and it was coded as "travel". This is how I used the $100 in annual airline fee credit that comes with the card.

Does anyone know if you can do something similar to take advantage of the $300 in travel rewards for the Reserve card?

MPX only works for Amex. The merchant code "passes through" on Mastercard and Visa.

[Jet9]

Question: If I want to combine points from the United Mileage Plus Card (also Chase) with points from the CSR card, can I do this through the Chase portal or do I lose the opportunity to combine these?

You just transfer whatever number of UR points you need to your
United Airlines account.  I just transferred 1,000 points to my Southwest
account, as I was getting near the 24 month inactivity expiration,
because I closed my Chase SW account 2 years ago.

Ok, but I wouldn't be able to use the United Mileage Plus points through the Chase portal -  I would have to send the Chase points to United, right?

Don't transfer UR points to United until you need them, or you'll
forgo the additional flexibility they offer you for other travel expenses.

[monstermonster]

I got instant approval, which I was NOT expecting because I already have $14,000 of extended credit from chase (which obviously I rarely use and pay off any charges each month) - including already having an Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

For reference: $45,000 annual income, 792 credit score.

I have pretty low expenses (~1100/month) so it's always a stretch to get to $4000 in purchases in 3 months. Good incentive to book some speaking gigs for my side business so I can buy some plane tickets!

This will get me to my to my goal of enough points to fly first class emirates to Russia for the trans-siberian trip!

[Threshkin]

Stopped in at the branch and signed up for two cards. DW and me.  Instantly approved for both.  Transferred remaining UR points to the new card then cancelled the old Sapphire card.  Asked about the annual fee on the old card and discovered it was going to hit my account that day (Sept 01) so I scored by saving an extra $95.

We also have Chase issued United cards.  We will cancel those when we get the new physical CSR cards.

We have a big tax prepayment due.  We will use Plastiq or similar to pay that bill this will cover the $8K spending requirement.  The $600 in travel expense credit is justification for a short couples getaway.

Not that it matters much but we were able to rollover 100% of the credit limit from the old Sapphire card.  We rarely card about credit limits because we do not spend much and pay the bill off every month.

[HAPPYINAZ]

Yeah!  got my card this morning (according to MyUPS, it was supposed to come yesterday but was rescheduled and delivered this morning).  I am thrilled because I really wanted to get this before our trip to NH this weekend!  Chase rep had told me it likely would take two weeks because it's new and popular, but it took less than one week from date I applied.  Seems like that's what others have been posting too.  I applied on a Sunday, got the card by Friday morning.  nice!

[Sailor Sam]

Just got my annual fee waived, thanks to SCRA. I know it wasn't me personally, but I feel like the top ape right now, waving my arms in ecstatic victory. Winning!

Actually, I'm vaguly annoyed I had to call Chase, and specifically enroll my Reserve card, when the Sapphire is already in the system. That's either lazy, or greedy. BUT, the phone call took 3 minutes, which is roughly $8600/hour. I'll take it.

[frugalmaybe]

just received a different travel rewards card a few days ago, as soon as i spend 3k and trigger my bonus with that one, i'm looking into this one. already have chase preferred though. this one is a no-brainer for at least the bonus. first year you get $1500 in travel credit, plus an additional $300 at the year end and you pay $450. going forward it's 3% cash back + $300 travel credit every year (minus 450).