This $625.00 bonus is by far the best Chase Sapphire card offer you will find. My review will show you how to get the $625.00 deal and walk you through the pros and cons for both the regular and Preferred version. But before we discuss the benefits in detail, here’s a brief overview of the two offers currently available…

Sapphire Card - $250.00 promotion
You get an unlimited 2x points on restaurants/fast food, 2x on airfare/hotels through Ultimate Rewards and 1x on everything else. Use your points for just about anything, including travel without restrictions. No annual fee. Click here to learn about the $250.00 bonus

Sapphire Preferred Card - bonus of $625.00 towards travel (or $500.00 cash back)
You get all the above plus 2x points on travel including flights, hotels, car rentals and more (for air/hotel through Ultimate Rewards you get a total of 3x points). To top it all off, you get a “dividend” equal to 7% of all the points earned during the previous 12 months. When redeemed for air/hotel your points are worth 25% more. Your annual fee is waived the first year which is a $95 value.
Click here to learn about the $625.00 bonus (this is a very limited time offer)

As we all know, the customer service on most credit cards just isn’t what it used to be. A simple phone call turns into an endless run-around of pushing numbers and waiting on-hold. You go through all that just to talk with a foreigner that speaks broken English. Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to the “good ol’ days” of getting real customer service? Chase created these cards to offer superior service to cardmembers:
24/7 Dedicated Customer Service
They actually offer real customer service! You simply call up the number on the back of your card and you can speak with a real, live person immediately. No more of that endless number pushing game! In fact, Chase even advertises that you are connected immediately “without pressing “#.” Guaranteed.”

Free Concierge Service
Both of the Chase Sapphire cards come with free 24/7 concierge service. Yes, you read that correctly... it’s 100% free. Simply give them a call and they can help you out with all sorts of things… reservations, figuring out travel, planning your entertainment, helping you choose the perfect gift, etc. You can also use the concierge for simple tasks like directory assistance, too. From personal experience, I can also vouch this service is a lifesaver when you’re driving and can’t text or Google!
How do you earn points?
When you do a comparison of the Chase Sapphire vs Sapphire Preferred, at first glance the way you earn points appear to be similar. This is because they both give you:
  • 1 point per dollar on regular spending
  • 2 points per dollar on air/hotel booked using the Ultimate Rewards tool
  • 2 points per dollar on dining: Not only does this include restaurants, but also fast food, coffee shops and even caterers
  • up to 10 points per dollar when shopping at over 300 top retailers featured in the online Ultimate Rewards Mall
  • no reward caps - unlike many other cards, there are no caps on the amount of points you can earn
But after that, they differ. The Sapphire Preferred also offers you the following ways to earn points:
  • 2 points per dollar on travel: airlines, auto rentals, hotels, travel agencies, taxis, trains, cruises, bridges, tolls and parking. Plus, you also get the additional point per dollar on airfare/hotel booked through Ultimate Rewards, giving you a total of 3x points!
  • 7% Annual Points Dividend: Every year you are awarded a 7% points "dividend" based on the number of points earned during the prior 365 day period. So let's say you earned 100,000 points from spending during your first year. On the anniversary date, you would be given a dividend equal to 7% of that amount (so a bonus of 7,000 points). You get this perk year after year.
  • 25% Points Boost For Travel: Whenever you redeem your points for airfare or hotel through Ultimate Rewards, as a Preferred cardmember you get a 25% boost in value. For example, if you were using 30,000 points to buy a plane ticket, that would normally equal $300.00 in credit towards your ticket. However with the 25% boost, your 30,000 points would become 37,500 points, which equals a $375.00 value.
Of course on the drawback is that the Sapphire Preferred card does have an annual fee so the extra rewards do come at a cost. But for many people, it makes sense if they plan on using the card for the majority of their credit card spending. Plus, the Preferred also offers some additional benefits which I will discuss in a moment.

How do you spend points?
The Chase "Ultimate Rewards" program allows you to redeem your points for just about anything (including cash back) but as you probably guessed from the commercials, the most popular option is using them for travel rewards. But regardless of how you choose to use them, it's a very fair and flexible program:
No Expiration – Your points will be there as long as you have the card
No Blackout Dates – You can use your points for airfare and other travel purchases without restrictions (more on this in a minute).
For travel, here's how it works...
You can use your points to pay for a lot more than just airline tickets. Book with over 60,000 hotels and resorts across the globe. Take a cruise with Royal Caribbean or Carnival. You can use points to pay for a rental car and even airport parking. Almost any travel purchase can be paid for with points on the following conversion:

1 point = 1 full cent value towards the travel purchase of your choice

There are no blackout dates or restrictions surrounding points usage. So if you found a plane ticket you wanted to buy that costs $371.00, you could pay for it using 37,100 points.

Sapphire Preferred cardmembers get additional travel advantages...
Your points are worth more for travel with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. When you buy your plane ticket or book your hotel room using Ultimate Rewards you get a 25% boost in value:

1 point = 1.25 points = 1.25 cent value

With the Preferred you also have the option to convert your points to frequent flyer miles on partner airlines with a full 1 for 1 conversion. The partner airlines and hotel programs are British Airways Executive Club, Continental Airlines OnePass, InterContinental Hotels Priority Club, Marriott Rewards, and Amtrak Guest Rewards. Even if you don't see your preferred airline/hotel listed, remember that many of those programs allow you to spend your miles on their partners too (Example: The British Airways program allows you to redeem for flights on their partner American Airlines).

Other ways to spend your points
  • Gift Cards – Choose from popular retailers including Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, Nordstrom, gas stations, and dozens of others. Or you can choose from a selection of restaurants.
  • Entertainment – The Chase Sapphire rewards program gives you unprecedented access to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Use points to sit front and center at top concerts, shows, and events. In the past, cardmembers have even scored VIP passes for everything from American Idol to Fashion Week using their points.
  • Cash Back – You can always opt for a cash rewards check too and get a full 1 cent value per point.
What other benefits do you get?
Here are just a few of the extra benefits that cardmembers get:
  • Blueprint – a one-of-a-kind credit card management tool which let’s you decide exactly how you would like to pay your balances.
  • Travel Insurance – a wide array of free travel insurance services are included on eligible purchases made with the card; trip cancellation insurance, auto rental collision damage, travel accident insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, and more.
  • No Pre-Set Limit – The Chase Sapphire credit card has no preset limit, giving you ultimate flexibility with your spending
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees – On the Preferred version you pay no fees for international purchases
Chase Sapphire vs. Sapphire Preferred: Which is best for you?
Both of the Sapphire credit cards offers a wide array of benefits that you typically only find on premium cards with annual fees of several hundred dollars or more. Surprisingly, the regular version has absolutely no annual fee, which really makes it a no-brainer. The $95 annual fee for the Preferred may seem like a drawback but the extra value you get with rewards is often worth it for average and above-average spenders.

If you are on the fence on whether you should go with the regular Chase Sapphire versus the Preferred, my recommendation is to go with the Preferred since the current promotion waives the annual fee for one full year. That way, you can give it a test drive for free and if you change your mind, you can always downgrade before the first year is up so you avoid ever paying a fee.

Preferred: Apply now and get the first year free plus $625.00 in free travel!
Recently launched, this is an extremely limited time promotion and it has never been offered before. In the several years of running this site I have never seen a credit card promotion with a cash value even remotely close to this. All you have to is spend $3k over the course of the first 3 months and you get 50,000 points (equal to $500.00 cash back – or – $625.00 towards travel). This is truly an unbelievable offer that even I'm taking advantage of and recommend you do the same.

Standard: Apply now and get your $250.00 bonus!
Spend just $3k during your first 3 months and you will get an extra 25,000 points worth $250.00. Obviously there's no denying this is an unusually generous offer too, but being that the above Preferred Sapphire card promo is waiving the fee for the first year, I would highly recommend snagging the bonus on the other card while you still can.



Disclosure: CreditCardForum is proud to be an affiliate of Chase and advertise their credit cards. However please note that even though we have that relationship which makes it possible to bring you these special deals, this review and all opinions contained within it are solely ours.