Chase Sapphire 50,000 Points (two flights)

zstryder said:   Are most FWers planning on cancelling the card after the first year? The $95/yr fee seems kind of steep, given that this card really doesn't have great benefits aside from the bonus sign up. The 0% foreign fee is nice, but I'm covered by a few other lesser fee cards like the Capital One Venture.

I'm thinking about applying for both Freedom/Sapphire Preferred for just the bonus, but the Preferred doesn't seem like it has much going for it otherwise.

If you like to travel, it's well worth it. The points transfer 1:1 into Continental/United, British Airways, Korean Air, Marriott, Hyatt, and a few other partners. You get 2x on dining which is big. Plus if you combine the Sapphire Preferred with the Freedom, you'll enhance the ability of traveling since you can get the 5% quarterly promotions and essentially give yourself up to 30,000 miles on your preferred traveler each year.

If you don't travel then it's probably not worth it.

Got instant approval. Was a little nervous since I did the Chase hyatt (2 weekend nights at the Grand Hyatt!) that I cancelled aftewards

Hoping to use this for 625 towards a United/Continental flight. Also, hoping to get the card real soon so I can put some Christmas shopping on it!

Question: so the points you get thats not bonus (for example the $3,000 you spend to get the bonus) how soon do you get those points? like could I redeem those instantly at the same time I'm using the 50,000 points? or do you have to wait a year and thats how they try to get you in the following year to stick around?

zstryder said:   Thanks for the feedback - as I suspected I'm mostly covered by Venture card. I think the one X factor is how easy/better/cheaper it is to book travel through the Chase network to actually get those additional savings, does anyone have any experience with that?I just booked a flight through the Chase site; it was straightforward enough, and I did indeed get the 25% discount.

freefun4every1 said:   i was misinformed by the application department. the activation department confirmed it's account approval date, not card activation date. hth.

ankitgu said:   freefun4every1 said:   i have chase freedom and got approved for sapphire preferred.

does anyone know how soon i have to activate the card i received? is there a deadline? thanks.

thok said:   Looks like it's first-time customers only. Does a Freedom card disqualify you? What about a Sapphire basic card? Anybody try getting the 25k for Sapphire offer and then immediately trading up to the Preferred for 50k?
The spending of $3k in first 3 months is based on activation date? That would help quite a bit actually - I don't want it till December because I'll have expenses in February that make up most of the $3k. I was going to wait till December to apply, but I might apply sooner if that's the case.

Thanks for the follow up - I'll apply in December because I plan on making some larger purchases in January

I had a Chase Sapphire in the past (got only 25K bonus points after the 1st purchase at that time). I cannot remember if that was Chase Sapphire Preferred or not. So you think I am qualified for this offer? Thanks.