Why is the Chase Sapphire Reserve 100k bonus not available?

You cannot get the Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus anymore; this was an offer that gave 10,000 points for each person who applied for this card using your referral link and got approved. Through mid-August, 2018, you were able to get up to 5 Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonuses each year, for a total of 50,000 points. Unfortunately, the Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus offer is not currently available.… read full answer

Chase still offers referral bonuses on several other cards, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited®. The process is the same for all the eligible cards, and it’s good to know the procedure in case the Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus ever comes back.

How to get a Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus (when available):

1. Go to the Chase Refer a Friend page and select a card.
2. Enter your last name, zip code, and card number’s last 4 digits (right side of page).
3. Click “Get Started.”
4. Invite people to apply with a special web link, email, Facebook post or Twitter post.

If the Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus happens again, your friends can use your referral link to apply for the card. Asking them to do so is definitely worthwhile, too. It doesn’t cost you anything, and if you hit the 50,000-point maximum each year, that would put an extra $750 toward travel in your pocket. And that more than offsets the card’s $550 annual fee. Don’t expect to see any bonus points right away, though. It might take one to two billing cycles for them to post to your account.

Yes, you can upgrade from Chase Sapphire Preferred to Chase Sapphire Reserve® either online or by phone at (800) 432-3117.

To request an upgrade online, enter your information to Chase’s Product Upgrade Catch All Page. It may take up to four business days for your request to be approved and new benefits to take effect. If you prefer to do so by phone, enter your account information and ask to speak to a customer service representative. Tell the representative you would like to upgrade your Chase Sapphire Preferred to Chase Sapphire Reserve, and they should be able to pull up your file and give you a decision in a few minutes.… read full answer

Either way, asking for an upgrade won’t trigger a hard inquiry on your credit, so there’s no harm in trying. But there are a few details you should be aware of before you make your request.

Here’s how to upgrade Chase Sapphire Preferred to Chase Sapphire Reserve:

• Wait at least 13 months after opening your Chase Sapphire Preferred account. You can’t upgrade sooner than that.
• Keep your Chase Sapphire Preferred for at least 24 months if you want Chase Sapphire Reserve’s 50,000 points initial bonus.
• Contact Chase customer service by phone at (800) 432-3117 or online when you’re ready to upgrade.
• Get a decision within four hours, if not immediately.
• Both Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve require excellent credit. So, you shouldn’t need to upgrade your credit score in order to upgrade to Chase Sapphire Reserve, as long as you’ve at least maintained your standing since getting Chase Sapphire Preferred. You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub and use your customized credit analysis to improve, if need be.
• Even if your credit is excellent, you could be denied an upgrade. For example, you might have too much debt relative to your income, high credit utilization, or a spotty payment history. It’s especially important to pay your bills on time in the months before you want a credit card company to approve you for something.

Asking to upgrade Chase Sapphire Preferred to Chase Sapphire Reserve is quick and easy. Approval is not guaranteed, but using your available credit responsibly certainly helps. And since you’ll find out the same day, you won’t waste any time wondering if you’ve been successful.

But it’s also important to note that Chase Sapphire Reserve isn’t an obvious upgrade over Chase Sapphire Preferred for everyone. It all depends on whether you’ll get enough value from Chase Sapphire Reserve’s extra travel perks to make up for its much higher annual fee.