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The Chase Sapphire Reserve® sign-up bonus is currently sitting at 150,000 points after $6,000 in spend over 3 months, which is the highest public offer this card has ever had. This card's welcome bonus has typically ranged from 60,000 to 125,000 points since 2016 with a few outliers, so 150,000 is historically high and worth acting on if you're eligible. Here's how to check eligibility, meet the spend requirement, and maximize redemption value.
TLDR:
Yes. The answer is yes. This is arguably the best public offer the Chase Sapphire Reserve has ever had. There is no reason to wait for a better public offer because there hasn't been one.
A few things to keep in mind before applying:
Note: the Sapphire Reserve carries a $795 annual fee, so the first-year value calculation should factor in both the bonus and the card's ongoing benefits, including the $300 annual travel credit that offsets a large portion of that fee.
Before you can collect a single point from the Chase Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus, you need to clear Chase's eligibility rules. These aren't always obvious, and getting tripped up by them after you've already applied is a frustrating way to miss out on tens of thousands of points. The key points to watch out for are: your current Sapphire card(s), and how many cards you've opened the past 24 months.
Chase no longer uses a fixed 48-month waiting window between Sapphire products to determine bonus eligibility. Eligibility is now simply based on whether you've ever received a welcome bonus on the Sapphire Reserve in your lifetime. It's worth flagging that "lifetime" could mean 7 years, like it typically does for American Express, but definitely don't count on it.
Chase's unofficial 5/24 rule is a separate eligibility check. If you've opened 5 or more new credit card accounts across all issuers in the past 24 months, Chase will typically decline your application regardless of your credit score. Business cards from most issuers generally don't show on your personal credit report, but most personal cards do count toward your 5/24 tally.
Chase now allows you to hold both the Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card at the same time. No need for you to close or downgrade one before applying for the other.
| Feature | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
|---|---|---|
| Current sign-up bonus | 150,000 points | 75,000 points |
| Minimum spend required | $6,000 in 3 months | $5,000 in 3 months |
| Annual fee | $795 | $95 |
There are some instances where numbers don't tell the whole story, but in the case, I'll let the numbers do the talking.
Assuming you have neither, the only reason to NOT get the Reserve and get the Preferred instead is if you cannot spend the bonus requirement of $6,000 within 3 months.
$6,000 over three months works out to $2,000 per month, which feels more manageable once you map it against real spending. Dining at 3x, direct hotel and flight bookings at 4x, and everyday purchases all count toward the threshold on a card you'd reach for anyway.
The categories where people close the gap fastest:
Timing your application before a seasonal expense or big trip often lets the requirement handle itself. The real risk is overspending on purchases you wouldn't have made otherwise. The 150,000 bonus carries serious value, but not at the cost of carrying a balance.
The sign-up bonus is only as good as what you do with it. Earning 150,000 points is straightforward; getting full value out of them takes a bit more thought.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth up to 2 cents each when redeemed through Chase Travel with Points Boost on the Reserve, which means 150,000 points can net you up to $3,000 in travel value. This is already really good value honestly, but if you transfer them to the right airline partner, that ceiling can move much higher..
Chase's transfer partners are where serious redemption value lives.
My friends and I are long-time Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cardholders, and have personally found ridiculous redemption value through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. Whether it be a 5cpp redemption at Hyatt, or extending our trip from Japan to Singapore, there's really no shortage of ways to get serious value out of 150,000 points.
Once you're approved, tracking your progress is straightforward. Log into your Chase account at chase.com or open the Chase mobile app, go to your Sapphire Reserve card, and look under "Rewards Activity" or the new cardmember offer section. Chase typically shows real-time progress toward the spending threshold, so you don't need to tally purchases yourself.
Few things to flag before you assume everything counts: balance transfers, cash advances, and fees do not apply toward the minimum spend. Regular everyday purchases do. If a transaction looks like it should have counted but your progress didn't move, give it a day or two for processing before worrying.
After you clear the $6,000 requirement, expect the bonus points to post within 6 to 8 weeks. They'll show up directly in your Ultimate Rewards balance. Chase usually sends a notification when they land, but logging in and checking your balance is the most reliable confirmation. If 8 weeks pass with nothing posted, call the number on the back of your card instead of waiting it out.
Once you're holding the Chase Sapphire Reserve, keeping tabs on your $300 travel credit and category spend can get surprisingly tricky without a system.
A few tools worth knowing about:
The $795 annual fee is the number that makes people clutch their wallets, and it's worth being honest about it: that's real money due upfront every year, whether or not you use the card hard. But the fee looks a lot less menacing once you subtract the credits that come attached to it.
(if you want to make your life easy, just use our Sapphire Reserve calculator)
The $300 annual travel credit is the easy one. It applies automatically to a wide range of travel purchases and functions essentially like cash, so for most cardholders it knocks the effective fee down to $495 right away.
From there the card layers on credits that take a bit more effort but add up quickly if your spending lines up:
The catch is that these are use-it-or-lose-it credits tied to specific programs and timing windows, so they're only worth what you actually redeem. If you travel and dine out enough to use even half of them, the fee pays for itself well before you factor in the 150,000-point bonus. If you'd be reaching to use them, that's a sign the bonus alone shouldn't be the reason you keep the card past the first year.
One myth worth busting while you're doing the math: the $795 fee does not help you hit the sign-up bonus. Chase's terms specifically exclude fees of any kind, the annual fee included, from the $6,000 of qualifying spend, so it neither counts toward the bonus nor earns points. Plan your spend around real purchases and treat the fee as a separate line item.
The hard part isn't the math, it's remembering to claim everything before it expires. These credits reset on different schedules, hide in different apps, and quietly disappear if you blink, so recouping the fee comes down to not forgetting. That's the kind of tedious calendar-keeping worth handing to a tracker like nextcard instead of trusting it to memory.
The 150,000-point welcome offer is the biggest this card has ever run, easily enough for several nights at a strong Hyatt property or a couple of international flights if you transfer smart. What matters more is hitting that spending requirement without forcing purchases you wouldn't make otherwise, then actually redeeming the points before they sit unused in your account for two years. Earn it, work the credits, and redeem with a little intention, and the Reserve more than deserves a reservation in your wallet.
I've owned the Chase Sapphire Preferred for over 4 years now, and have gotten a ton of value from the Chase Trifecta (Freedom Unlimited, Chase Freedom Flex®, Sapphire Preferred), in both points and redemptions. The only obstacles holding me back from getting a Sapphire Reserve were the old 48-month rule and the ban on holding Preferred and Reserve simultaneously. Now that both of those are gone, I'm absolutely not hesitating to add this card to my wallet.
Can I get the Chase Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus if I already have the Sapphire Preferred?
Yes. As of January 22, 2026, Chase lets you hold the Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred at the same time and earn the welcome bonus on each card once per lifetime. Holding the Preferred no longer blocks you from the Reserve's bonus, as long as you've never earned the Reserve's welcome bonus before. You no longer need to close or downgrade the Preferred first.
How do I check my Chase Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus eligibility?
Chase no longer uses a fixed 48-month waiting window. Eligibility is now based on whether or not you've received a Sapphire Reserve bonus in your lifetime. You're in the strongest position to apply if you're under 5 new cards in 24 months and haven't received any Sapphire Reserve bonus. Note that you can now hold both the Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred at the same time.
What's the highest Chase Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus ever offered?
The highest public offer ever is the current one: 150,000 Ultimate Rewards points after $6,000 in spend over 3 months.
How do I meet the $6,000 spending requirement without overspending?
Time your application before large planned purchases like vacations or home repairs, front-load recurring bills like utilities and subscriptions, and consider paying annual insurance premiums or estimated taxes in a lump sum. The requirement works out to $2,000 per month over three months, which most cardholders can hit with normal spending if they plan ahead.
When do Chase Sapphire Reserve bonus points post after meeting the spending requirement?
Bonus points post within 6 to 8 weeks after you meet the $6,000 spending requirement. You can track progress by logging into chase.com or the Chase app and checking your points activity under "Rewards Activity," and if nothing posts after 8 weeks, call the number on the back of your card.
