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If you're in the hobby of earning and burning points and miles, you're always on the lookout for a new credit card. A major factor in deciding whether to apply for a new card is the card's current welcome bonus and your eligibility to earn it.
If you're interested in two of the most popular cards out there, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees) or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), eligibility is now a lot simpler.
Here's what you need to know.
New Chase Sapphire Welcome Bonus Language
We reported back in January that a memo was sent to bankers (as first reported by Doctor of Credit), stating that Chase planned to simplify the welcome bonus language on its Sapphire cards at some point in the near future.
Back then, the language for earning a bonus on the Sapphire Reserve or the Sapphire Preferred was as follows:
“The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you currently have any other personal Sapphire cards open, previously held this card or received a new cardmember bonus for this card. We may also consider the number of cards you have opened and closed, as well as other factors in determining your bonus eligibility.”
In other words, if you were a cardholder of the Sapphire Preferred, you couldn't earn a welcome bonus on the Sapphire Reserve, even if you had never held that card before. You'd need to downgrade to a card like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ before applying for the Sapphire Reserve.
As of April 1, 2026, the language on the application page had not changed. We were beginning to wonder if these welcome bonus rules would ever change, but when Chase launched the best-ever offer on the Sapphire Reserve, AwardWallet was the first to spot brand-new language (which you'll find on both the Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred application pages):
“This credit card is unavailable to you if you currently have one open. The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you previously held this card or received a new cardmember bonus for this card. We may also consider the number of cards you have opened and closed in determining your bonus eligibility.”
In other words, the bonus (provided you check the other boxes) can be available to you if you already have a Sapphire-branded card.
This is in line with the language that's been around on the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (Rates & Fees):
“The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you have ever had this card. We may also consider factors pertinent to your business in determining your bonus eligibility.”
So, Chase has implemented once-per-lifetime language, similar to American Express cards. And even if you're currently a cardholder of a Sapphire card, you can earn a welcome bonus on the other Sapphire card. Ideally, it's not an actual “lifetime” policy, but one that resets after a certain number of years, after earning a welcome bonus on the card. However, only time will tell.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Bottom Line
It's always nice to have simplified language regarding earning a welcome offer. The last thing you want is to apply for a new card and be ineligible to earn a lucrative offer, especially on a card like the Sapphire Reserve, which offers new cardholders a phenomenal 150,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. However, introducing a once-per-lifetime policy isn't great news.
$95Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
$795Rates & Fees
- 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on dining worldwide
- 1x points on all other purchases
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For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (Rates & Fees), and Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees)
