Three weeks ago, one of the best offers in points and travel landed.
Chase revamped the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card with new perks, credits, and earning categories, and the $95-a-year card now pays for itself more than ever.
To mark the reboot, the issuer did something super rare: it brought back the limited-time 100,000-point welcome offer for spending $5,000 in the first three months.
The deal was so tempting that I applied for the card myself. (This is just the third time the offer has been this high.)
Just a week after the card arrived, I crossed the $5,000 minimum spend threshold.
Here’s exactly how I pulled that off without buying anything I wouldn’t have bought anyway. Plus, what I’m doing with the 100,000 bonus points.
(Quick reminder: if you apply via my affiliate link, I earn a small commission that keeps this newsletter free. Thanks in advance.)
📋 In this edition
The $5,000 sprint
Some six-figure welcome offers demand a steep minimum spend.
This one — $5,000 — feels fair, and I hit it without rearranging my life or my broader credit card strategy.
Three purchases got me over the line:
A full year of car insurance: $2,600. I usually pay in installments, but I wanted the points now.
Personal articles insurance: $1,200. This is a rider I carry for some valuables we received as wedding gifts. Another bill I usually pay in installments, but I paid the annual balance in full instead.
Flights to Greece: $1,300. My wife and I are heading to Greece next month, and I’ve been holding off on buying flights for the right moment. This was it. (Plus, I’ll earn 5x points on the fare since I booked via Chase Travel℠ and still get the card’s trip delay and trip cancellation coverage.)
The credits are earning their keep
I haven’t even earned the welcome bonus yet, and the Preferred is already paying for itself.
I’ve got an upcoming hotel stay at the end of the month, and I’m booking it through the Chase Travel℠ portal to trigger the card’s up-to-$100 hotel credit.
That’s $100 back on a stay I was going to book anyway. This math alone makes the card a no-brainer for most travelers.
What 100,000 points actually buys
Now for the fun part: redeeming.
I’m planning to transfer the bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, one of my favorite Ultimate Rewards partners.
Virgin regularly prices Upper Class redemptions between the East Coast and London at 29,000 points one-way (plus roughly $600 in taxes and fees — steep, but worth it).
The math:
100,000 points ÷ 29,000 per ticket = 3 one-way business class flights across the pond with 13,000 points to spare.
Cash cost on those seats: conservatively $5,000 apiece.
That’s north of $15,000 in Upper Class value from a $5,000 minimum spend on a $95 card (after factoring in the taxes and fees).
Even if you never plan to transfer to one of Chase’s 14 airline and hotel partners, you can still redeem directly through Chase Travel for nearly any trip — no digging for award availability required.
4 practical tips to consider
Four practical tips if you’re eyeing the offer:
Line up your big annual bills. Insurance renewals, HOA dues, property tax, tuition, quarterly estimated taxes. If it's a check you were going to write anyway, put it on the new card. (Yes, often worth it even with a transaction fee.)
See if you and a partner qualify. Doubling up on the offer is a clean way to net 200,000 bonus points combined. My wife already has the Preferred; otherwise, I would’ve gotten her the card too.
Reserve + Preferred works: If you already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can now double up and take advantage of this offer. Yes, that means you can hold both the Preferred and Reserve at the exact same time.
Don’t procrastinate. Last year’s 100,000-point offer lasted six weeks. There’s no official end date this time, but I wouldn’t count on it sticking around long.
The card, at a glance
Here’s everything you need to know about the Preferred card.
Ongoing value: No foreign transaction fees. Up to $500 trip delay protection and up to $100,000 emergency evacuation and transportation coverage.
Reasonable annual fee: Just $95 a year.
Easy-to-use credits: Up to $100/year in Chase Travel℠ hotel credits. $120 credit every four years for Global Entry, TSA Precheck, or NEXUS. Complimentary year of Apple TV (must activate it by Dec. 31, 2026)
Points earning:
5x on Chase Travel
3x on dining worldwide
3x on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
3x on select streaming services
3x on gas, EV charging, and vacation homes (eligible brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com, and Vacasa)
Questions?
Are you applying? Already applied? Stuck on how to hit the spend without going overboard?
Hit reply and tell me.
I'm planning a follow-up in a few weeks with reader stories (plus updates on my brother, who also just applied last week and is brand-new to the Chase ecosystem).
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