Sapphire Preferred 10% Anniversary Bonus
We have discussed another forgotten benefit with our favorite starter card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred. However, this one also often gets overlooked, forgotten about, or miscalculated often. I am talking about the Chase Sapphire Preferred 10% anniversary bonus. I'll go over what exactly that is and how it is properly calculated in this write up.
The 10% Anniversary Bonus Benefit
With the Sapphire Preferred 10% anniversary bonus benefit, you earn a 10% points bonus on your spending for the year. You'll earn bonus points that equal 10% of your total spend from purchases made with your credit card during the previous account anniversary year at a rate of 1 point for each $1 spent.
The Terms
The terms of the Sapphire Preferred 10% anniversary bonus state the account anniversary year is calculated from your card sign up anniversary. And then it goes every 12 months from that. So if you signed up on May 11th, that is your account anniversary, and every May 11th from then on when start a new year for the 10% anniversary bonus. The terms of the 10% anniversary bonus also state it can take up to 2-3 billing cycles after each account anniversary date for points to post. You can find all of the information on your dates and points earned in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
How To Calculate How Many Points You Should Receive
Many might overthink or miscalculate here. If you spend $10,000 in spend, you will receive 1,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points (10,000 X .1). That is worth about $12.50 using portal points value, since you get 1.25 cents per point when booking through the Chase Travel portal. However, that is worth about $20 if you are getting two cents per point on your redemptions. Yes, only potentially $20 in points value for your $10,000 in spend.
Many people mistakenly think the bonus is applied to the points you earn, including the bonus points categories. They assume you get 3.3 on dining and 2.2 on travel etc. because it is 10% of the bonus points you earn. This is not the case. It is just .1 more points for every dollar you spend. That is the number that matters (dollars spent) not the points you earn. So you technically earn 3.1 points per dollar on travel and 2.1 points per dollar on dining. Unfortunately, that is a lot less exciting than many people think it is.
Sapphire Preferred 10% Anniversary Bonus: ToP Thoughts
Early on in the points and miles hobby you may be putting all dining and travel on your Chase Sapphire Preferred card. However, as you progress this card may become less and less of your everyday champion. That is because other cards may offer better earning rates, you could be working on more welcome offers or you could even have travel insurance now and use the card less often to book travel.
This all means that you may spend less on this card and in turn earn less points. Especially when considering the Sapphire Preferred 10% anniversary bonus. That is okay, because by now you hopefully realize that it is only worth $12.50 – $20 for every $10,000 you spend on your Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
Have you been miscalculating or overvaluing your CSP 10% anniversary bonus? Let us know your thoughts over in the ToP Facebook Group.
