The 100K Offer Expiry and Who Can Qualify

An often-overlooked opportunity for Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders is about to expire. The Sapphire Preferred card’s 100,000-point welcome bonus – a sum The Points Guy values at up to $2,050 for travel – is set to end on July 30 at 3 p.m. ET. Many Reserve holders assume they are automatically blocked from earning another Sapphire bonus, but that is not the case.

The key: Chase treats the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve as separate products. As long as you have never been the primary cardholder on a Sapphire Preferred account, you remain eligible for its welcome bonus – even if you currently hold the Reserve. The offer requires spending $5,000 in the first three months from account opening.

However, other standard Chase restrictions still apply. The 5/24 rule, which typically declines applicants who have opened five or more new credit cards across any issuer in the past 24 months, remains in effect. Business cards are not counted in that tally. Additionally, the Sapphire Preferred bonus is effectively “once per lifetime”: anyone who has previously earned the bonus (or held the card as a primary holder) will not be eligible again, regardless of their Reserve status.

If you have only been an authorized user on someone else’s Sapphire Preferred, that does not disqualify you. The opportunity is narrow – it applies only to those Reserve holders who have never carried a Preferred of their own and who have not yet triggered the bonus.

Decoding Chase’s 5/24 Rule and Bonus Eligibility for Existing Sapphire Reserve Customers

Why Chase’s 5/24 Rule Still Applies

Chase’s 5/24 guideline is not always spelled out, but it is one of the most consistent filters in the rewards-card world. For Reserve holders who opened multiple cards in the last two years, the rule will likely block an application regardless of their relationship with Chase. The only exception is business cards, which do not appear on personal credit reports and are therefore not counted. Travel bloggers who have monitored approvals confirm that 5/24 is rarely waived for the Sapphire Preferred.

The ‘Once Per Lifetime’ Bonus Policy

Chase restricts the Sapphire Preferred bonus to once per customer’s lifetime. That means even if you held the card years ago and closed it, you are still ineligible. The term “lifetime” is not defined, but the industry consensus is that Chase tracks bonus eligibility indefinitely. Holding the Sapphire Reserve does not reset this counter, and the rule is enforced at the time of application. So anyone who has ever been a primary Sapphire Preferred cardholder or earned its bonus is out of luck.

What the Authorized User Loophole Means

Many couples or families add each other as authorized users on credit cards. Here, being an authorized user on a Sapphire Preferred account does not count as “holding” the card. As long as the applicant was never the primary account holder, they qualify. This creates a path for a household to earn two separate 100,000-point bonuses – one for the primary holder and one for the authorized user who later applies for their own Preferred. Such strategies are common in the points-and-miles community but require strict adherence to the timing of applications and the 5/24 cap.

What Reserve Cardholders Should Do Now

  • Check your 5/24 status before July 30. Count the new personal credit cards you’ve opened in the past 24 months. If you’re at five or more, your application will almost certainly be declined. Business cards are excluded, but store cards that appear on your personal report count.
  • Verify whether you have ever held a Sapphire Preferred as a primary cardholder. Even if you never earned the bonus, simply being the primary account holder at any time disqualifies you. Being an authorized user does not. If you’re uncertain, review your credit reports or old statements.
  • If eligible, plan the $5,000 spending requirement. The 100,000 points post after you spend $5,000 in the first three months. Make sure you can meet that organically – Chase may revoke points if spending includes manufactured spend or gift card purchases that breach terms.
  • Apply before 3 p.m. ET on July 30. The offer is advertised to end at that time. Apply online directly with Chase to lock in the 100,000-point deal. Because approvals are instant for many, you will know quickly if the 5/24 rule or other restrictions block you.