On June 17, Chase announced the addition of a brand new commercial credit card. Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business- (See rates and fees, and full refresh Chase SapphireReserve® (See rates and fees), this is its popular premium travel card. With new benefits, statement credit and higher annual fees, Chase is currently offering new cardholders a high welcome bonus.
Chase has also implemented a new eligibility policy that may affect your ability to earn a welcome bonus for Sapphire Cards. However, policy changes only affect consumers’ sapphire cards and exclude sapphire reserve businesses.
Let’s dig into the changes.
Chase SapphireReserve® – Earn 100,000 bonus points, plus $500 of ChaseTravel℠Cred, and purchased $5,000 from account opening in the first three months (see interest rates and fees).
New chasing sapphire qualification bonus rules
Chase previously had a 48-month welcome bonus eligibility policy on sapphire cards. This means that if you have received a new sapphire welcome bonus in the past 48 months, then you will not be able to receive a new sapphire welcome bonus. Also, you cannot have both sapphire reserves and Chase Sapphire Priority® Card (See rates and fees) At the same time.
Starting from June 23, 2025, you will be able to have Both Sapphire Sanctuary and Sapphire Preferred Cards. However, the bonus eligibility for each card will be based on several factors, including the bonus offer previously earned, the number of cards opened and closed, and among other considerations, the Chase representative of TPG is confirmed.
So, what does this mean?
If you have received a sapphire welcome bonus before:
Retrospectively, if you have received a welcome bonus for sapphire on a specific card in the past, if you reapply for that card, you are likely not eligible for another sapphire on that particular product even if the 48-month trademark has passed.
For example, senior travel editor Lyndsey Matthews Chase for Freedom® (See rates and fees) and reuse your preferred card. At that time, she was eligible for a welcome reward.
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But, through Chase’s new policy, even if she downgraded her card, 48 months later, she was not eligible for another sapphire welcome bonus.
You currently hold a Sapphire Credit Card:
If you are currently holding one of these sapphire cards, you may not be eligible for a sapphire bonus. However, if you are no longer a sapphire customer, you may be eligible for a bonus if you do not receive a welcome offer for a specific sapphire product.
So if you hold priority for sapphire and want to apply for a sapphire reserve (and never holds that card), although you can now hold both cards, you are likely not eligible for a Sapphire reserve bonus. However, if you lower your preferred sapphire and then apply for a sapphire reserve, you may be eligible for a welcome bonus.
For example, Senior Points and Miles Editor, Gabrielle Bernardini, who previously served as the Sapphire Sanctuary and demoted it to Chase Freedom Unlimited. Since she no longer holds a sapphire card, she is likely to be eligible for a welcome bonus if she applies for a sapphire first because she never received a bonus on that particular card.
You used to have two sapphire cards:
If you have sapphire reserves and have priority for sapphire, you can apply for a sapphire preferred, but you are likely not eligible for a bonus because you have previously obtained sapphire reserves and Sapphire preferred bonus.
For example, Editorial Director Carly Hefland previously served as Sapphire Reserve. She lowered her unlimited freedom and applied for the sapphire preference she currently holds. If she reapply for the sapphire reserve, she may get approval for the card, but most likely won’t receive a reward on it and Currently holds the preferred card.
Again, this new policy applies to all sapphire consumption cards, excluding new sapphire reserves.
Check sapphire eligibility using Chase’s card tool:
After the bonus changes, Chase implemented a pop-up tool for the card application, which will tell you if you are eligible for a welcome bonus and then it will not affect your credit score. This is the best way to confirm that you receive a welcome bonus.
Related: Final Guide to Credit Card Application Restrictions
Bottom line
While these new bonus eligibility rules may be detrimental to some current sapphire cardholders, you can earn if you do meet the eligibility requirements. Very Profitable bonuses. The biggest takeaway is that if you have previously received a sapphire bonus, you will most likely no Qualify to win another for that particular sapphire card.
However, this is a nice addition, you can now have both Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire prefer to maximize your final reward points income and take advantage of new offers in your reserves.
