Experts Utilized Chase Sapphire Preferred Welcome Bonuses to Accumulate Rewards
Revamped Article:
Our team at the website can't help but be smitten by the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. And with a brand-new, mouthwatering welcome offer recently announced, this card proves time and time again why it's a staff favorite.
For a limited time, the card offers 100,000 points when you spend at least $5,000 within the first three months of account opening. This translates to $1,250 in value when you cash in your points on travel-related purchases through Chase Travel. But with a slick transfer to a high-value partner, you can squeeze 2 cents per point out of your rewards, making the potential value of the new bonus soar to $2,000!
We, the card enthusiasts, can't help but share inspiring stories of how we've used the points from previous offers to make our own dreams come true. Here's a peek at how five of our experts used their Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome bonuses:
🌴 Ana Staples, Staff Writer: Paradise Found in Mexico
I jumped on the Chase Sapphire Preferred train back in 2021 when they advertised a 100,000-point bonus – the highest welcome offer I'd ever gotten on a credit card. I didn't hesitate to snag it.
I used the bonus to score my mum and me a trip to Cancun, where we lapped up the sun, sand, and azure waters for two weeks. I snagged her a roundtrip ticket from chilly Moscow to balmy Cancun for around 60,000 points. My ticket from Austin, Texas, to Cancun came in at little over 17,000 points. The extra 23,000 points covered our accommodation at the luxurious InterContinental Presidente Cancun. Since the nightly rate was about $130 to $140 per night, it was like scoring two nights' stay for free!
We still talk about that vacation over margaritas. We reminisce about the beach bum life, the ruins of Tulum and the tranquil tropical island of Isla Mujeres. I'm crossing my fingers that my credit card rewards will take me there again one day.
🏨 John Puterbaugh, Senior Editorial Director: A Plush Weekend Getaway in Savannah, Georgia
John and his family took advantage of the 100,000-point bonus during the pandemic, too. They both applied for the card and pocketed 200,000 points between them. They splurged around 80,000 points on a weekend getaway and a swanky hotel in Savannah, Georgia.
The lavish hotel being covered, they had leeway to spend more on food and entertainment in Savannah. And since they still had a tidy stack of points left afterword, they used them on lodging for family trips with their two kiddos.
"I'm a fan of keeping a big stash of points and then using them to trim costs on trips rather than going all out on specific points-funded trips," John says.
🍜 Sarah Gage, Managing Editor: Indulgent Trips to South Carolina and Texas
Sarah signed up for the card when the offer was bumped to 75,000 points in May 2024. She used 51,000 of her points to splurge on a solo trip to the Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston, South Carolina – a $1,200 out-of-pocket cost she snagged for a steal.
Sarah blended the rest of her bonus with the Chase points she collected through everyday spending on the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, the Chase Freedom® (since discontinued) and the Chase Sapphire Preferred cards. She used the rewards to treat herself to a New Year's Eve trip with her son to the Grand Hyatt San Antonio, a hotel steal at 14,000 points per night with club access.
"San Antonio, Texas goes all-out for New Year's Eve fireworks," she raves. "The main show was right behind our hotel (we watched from the pool deck), but there were smaller shows going off across the skyline. The hotel was a short stroll from the Riverwalk, so we spent hours exploring."
🏂 Lance Davis, Vice President of Content: A Wintry Ski Trip in Utah
Lance and his wife have made an annual tradition of grabbing a quick vacation in February.
In 2022, he pocketed the standard 60,000-point bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred and put it towards a ski trip in Park City, Utah, in February 2023. The couple secured two Delta flight tickets from Atlanta, Georgia, to Salt Lake City, Utah, for around 55,000 points.
🌐 Courtney Mihocik, Senior Editor: A European Honeymoon to Remember
Courtney netted the standard 60,000-point bonus and used it on her European honeymoon. She splurged a little over 19,000 points for a hotel booking in Zurich, close to 16,000 points on flights, and 10,000 points on a car rental.
Swimming in Lake Lucerne in the midst of a heatwave was one of the trip's high points for Courtney. "The water was freezing cold, but it was over 90 degrees outside, making it feel heavenly," she recalls. "We also waded in Lake Geneva the night before. We sat next to the river in Zurich and stuck our feet in because of the heatwave. Funny enough, that hotel I booked in Zurich is where we found out I was pregnant!"
The lowdown
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has support from a host of credit card experts across the industry, thanks to the incredible flexibility it offers. From the sandy beaches of the Caribbean to the cool waters of European lakes, our team has used welcome bonuses to take some truly memorable trips.
So, if you're eager to get in on the action, this is the perfect time to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. With this limited-time offer of up to $2,000, you'll be well on your way to planing your next adventure! And we hope our card whizzes have given you the inspiration you need to use your points to create your own epic adventures.
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- Personal finance expert Ana Staples utilized the points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus to fund a luxurious two-week vacation in Cancun, Mexico, which included airfare and accommodations worth over $2,500.
- Senior editor John Puterbaugh and his family maximized their 200,000 point bonus from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card by splurging on a weekend getaway and a high-end hotel in Savannah, Georgia, along with covering food and entertainment expenses, totaling over $1,000.
