7 Things to Do After You Open the Chase Sapphire Preferred

Photo by Mary West on Unsplash

You were just approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred travel rewards credit card. Congratulations! Now what do you do? 

This article will guide you on the top 7 things you should do as soon as you are approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. Each of these steps will play a vital role in ensuring that you unlock the maximum value when using your new credit card.

Expedite shipping on your new card

Chase will mail you your brand new credit Sapphire Preferred next day shipping free of charge.  This allows you to get started with spending toward your sign-up bonus right away without having to wait for the card to arrive in 7-10 business days. Once you’re approved, simply call Chase Customer Service (1-800-432-3117) to let them know you’re newly approved for the Sapphire Preferred and would like the shipping of the card to be expedited. 

This is handy advice for all the Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning cards (Freedoms, Sapphires and Inks) plus some co-branded cards. However, the World of Hyatt personal and business cards do not ship the next day.

Add the card to your digital wallet

Upon approval, you will be able to add your new card number to your digital wallet to be able to make online or in-store purchases using Apple Pay®, Google Pay™ or Samsung Pay.

The process to add your card is simple:

1. Log into your Chase app
2. Click on your Sapphire Preferred card
3. Scroll down to where it says “Manage Account”
4. Select “Digital Wallets”
5. From there, select from the list of available digital wallets to add your card to.

Use your card on all travel expenses

The Sapphire Preferred is an excellent card for all types of travelers because it bonuses spend on travel purchases. This means you will earn two points per dollar on all travel-related purchases. And lucky for you, Chase defines travel pretty broadly: 

Merchants in this category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages. Some merchants that provide transportation and travel-related services are not included in this category; for example, real estate agents, educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, excursions, tourist attractions, RV and boat rentals, merchants within hotels and airports, public campgrounds and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. Purchases from gift card merchants or merchants that sell points or miles will not qualify in the travel category.

Based on this definition, in addition to the more obvious travel purchases like flights, cruises, car rentals and hotels, you should also use your Sapphire Preferred card when paying for tolls, parking garages or booking with travel agencies to earn 2x points.

Familiarize yourself with the other bonus spend categories

In addition to earning 2x Ultimate Rewards points on travel purchases, you will also earn:

• 3x Ultimate Rewards points on dining (including takeout and delivery)
• 3x Ultimate Rewards points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• 3x Ultimate Rewards on select streaming services 
• 1x Ultimate Rewards on all other purchases
• The card also earns 5x on travel booked through Chase Travel. However, I don’t recommend booking travel through third party online travel agencies like Chase Travel except for in limited situations. One situation would be to use the $50 annual Chase hotel credit for stays booked through Chase Travel. I recommend using this on a low-risk hotel stay and on a non-chain, boutique hotel so you don’t lose out on elite qualifying nights toward hotel status or points.

Register for free with Chase transfer partner programs

The best value you can get for your hard-earned Chase Ultimate Rewards is by transferring your points out of Chase and into the loyalty program of your choice to book flights and hotels. For clarity, this is NOT the same thing as booking travel on the Chase Travel portal. You will get much more value for your points by transferring to the travel partners. 

Chase transfer partners are listed below along with links to easily register for a free loyalty account with each program:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club Avios
• Emirates Skywards®
• Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
• Southwest Rapid Rewards®
• United Airlines MileagePlus®
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• IHG® One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy®
• World of Hyatt®

Pay attention to the date on which you earn the sign-up bonus

The Chase app provides a tracker for an easy way to track your earning the sign-up bonus. When you do finally earn the bonus, mark this date down in your calendar, spreadsheet or wherever else you keep track of your credit card rewards. The reason being is that 48 months from that date, you will be eligible to earn the sign-up bonus all over again. This is known as the 48 Month Sapphire Rule. 

When that time comes, you will be able to downgrade your Sapphire Preferred to one of the Freedom cards, (I recommend the Freedom with Ultimate Rewards which is no longer available to new applicants) then re-apply for the Sapphire Preferred all over again. You can repeat process every 48 months.

Understand the partner benefits

Chase partners with several great companies to offer rewards in the form of bonus points, statement credits and more. Be sure to activate the offers immediately upon getting the card. Some of these partner benefits include:

• DoorDash
  • Activate your free DoorDash DashPass Subscription. This is valued at $120 for 12 months and gets you $0 delivery fee plus up to $10 off each month on non-restaurant orders.
• Lyft
  • Add your Sapphire Preferred to your Lyft rideshare account. You will earn 5x the points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025. This means you will earn 3x points on top of the 2x points you will already earn just by using the card to pay for travel purchases.
• Peloton
  • Use your Sapphire Preferred to buy Peloton equipment and accessory purchases and earn 5x points (up to 25,000 points) through March 31, 2025.

Final Thoughts

You will unlock incredible value by having the Sapphire Preferred card in your wallet. But with great power comes great responsibility. Becoming well-versed in the card’s benefits, spending bonuses and transfer partners is the key to maximizing the card’s benefits and points earning abilities.