Chase Launches New Restrictions on Sapphire Cards

By Gavin | July 16, 2019

Chase has brought in some new restrictions on that series of sapphire cards this first emerged. I think it was yesterday or perhaps the day before on the website doctor of credit in a form of a leaked memo, leaked internal memo from Chase, but Chase has actually started updating their terms and conditions now. So it is official, these changes do seem to be happening. Let's take a look at all the new restrictions, it's not that many, but let's check it out.

Can't have more than one sapphire card

The first one is that you can't have more than one sapphire card anymore. You might not know this, but there are actually three sapphire cards, most people probably only know about two, because there's only two that are publicly advertised and that you can apply for.

There's only two that accept new applications at the old sapphire, the original sapphire card you cannot apply for it in a new application, but you can't downgrade from your Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire reserve to the original sapphire card. It's a plastic card, and it has no annual fee, its perks aren't as good as the other two cards.

These changes do impact all clients, both existing clients and new clients, although there is one group, if you already have two Sapphire cards you can continue to use them, you don't have to cancel one of your cards. Chase points out that you can upgrade and downgrade, even though you can't apply for.

You don't get the signup bonus generally when you upgrade

If you have the stuff I prefer you can't apply for the Sapphire reserve, you can, of course, upgrade to it now. This is kind of tricky because it means that you don't get the signup bonus generally when you upgrade, you do a product change, you don't get the signup bonus for that new card.

Now this last new rule set out in this memo, and this one is really aimed at people who churn credit cards aimed at stopping them doing that, showing credit cards is when you apply for a credit card you get the sign up bonus, close it a few months later, then wait maybe six months or a year, however long is stipulated in the terms and conditions.

Apply again get the signup bonus again, and keep repeating when you can accumulate a massive amount of miles, it's not really what the credit card companies want you to do. I'm not a fan of that practice either.

The last rule about signup bonus in the last 24

So this last rule basically is that if you've had a signup bonus from any Sapphire card in the last 24 you're not allowed to open a new sapphire card, basically this would mean, for example, myself I had the sapphire reserved 100,000 points island bonus at the beginning of this year.

If I closed my sapphire reserve tomorrow I won't be allowed to apply for either of sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred any other Sapphire card until the beginning of 2019, because I would have that's when the 24 month period since I had to sign up bonus ends, this is obviously because Chase has had to save a lot of money because they lost so much money on the release of the Sapphire Reserve.

Cutting down on people who want to turn the cards

They have to find two hundred million dollars worth of savings in the unit that oversees the Sapphire cards, so that's quite a lot of savings that they're having to find, and this is obviously one of the ways they're trying to do that cutting down on people who want to turn the cards.

I have to point out though that even though they're adding this new restriction it is actually quite generous compared to American Express with American Express. If you've had the signup bonus from a specific card once in your lifetime you cannot have it again in your whole life. You have to wait until you reincarnate and get it in the next life.

It's getting over that one area, what do you think? Will this impact you? To be honest, it doesn't really impact me, I have the Sapphire Reserve, I'm very happy with it, I've already had a signup bonus, and for me, it's a keeper card, I'm enjoying the lounge axis from it. I'm enjoying the three points on travel and dining. I have no intention of canceling it and generally, I don't like the idea of churning cards.

I personally believe I apply for like one new credit card per year, what one or two. I'm perfectly happy with getting one nice big signup bonus per year, and then the rest of the points that I need for the year. I can make out from spending normally get enough to cover like a vacation, maybe one long-haul flight, a week's stay in hotels, all that.