Best promotion for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
 

Hi, are there ever any great promotions on this card?

Seems like the standard is:

new sign-ups: you will receive 40,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months!

Should I jump on that or wait for something better?

Thanks very much!

Data point: Applied for UA Explorer card yesterday using 50/5/$50 offer. Not sure who they pulled yet but it’s usually EQ or EX. Currently have 8 inquiries on EQ and 15 on EX in the past 2 years.

App went into pending review, I called into credit analyst department and had a rep confirm my identity with a few questions then approve the app in less than 60 seconds with no questions or issues. Issued me 10K CL.

Approx. 15-20 new accounts opened in the past 2 years. Seems to be another data point supporting the hypothesis that the new rules only apply to certain cards.

It is the date that the bonus POSTED. Which is usually the statement closing date of the month when you met your minimum spend. So it could be anywhere from 1 month to 4 months after you opened/applied for the account.

Great, thanks!

Not that simple. I was denied for the very same card (UA Explorer) for having too many new accounts with no option to shift CL after 3 HUCAs.

I wish it was that simple. It would be easy to counter. But it seems they have a different model, one we have yet to figure out.

I'll add another data point on Freedom and United cards

• I have gotten about 6 new personal cards, 3 business cards and 1 (refi)mortgage in the last 9 months. I have a pretty high annual income, and a history of spending with Chase (and other banks.)
• I had the personal United card for 26 months and 30 days ago cancelled it and payed it off.
• 3 days ago I lowered the credit on a United Club from 17k to 5k.
• Yesterday, at the deadline, I applied for the United card.
• Yesterday, using a referral post, I also applied for a Freedom

Both went to recon and the systems were down yesterday. Today I called and got denied for Freedom and approved for United.

The rep was ultra firm in tone about the - Denied for 'too many accounts in the past two years.'

• I asked if I could move credit. 'No'.
• I explained 'that the three business cards and mortgage shouldn't be included.' She replied by reading all my open cards one after the other, and that they are all new accounts.
• I explained that 'this looks like a fun card, I'd use it and I've been a good customer of Chase'. 'No, this is rejected by the system, and I have no way to reconsider it."

The United card took a little while because I had typed my address in wrong. She took a while then asked me a bunch of questions about why I already have a United Club and why I am reapplying for the card I just canceled 30 days ago.

But she came back with a 35k limit. Ridiculous! I said 'How is it I can't get a freedom, but you gave me 35k on the United?'

Her answer was 'United is just a card we manage for United Airlines, it's not a Chase product. Chase products have different rules.'

Hopefully you get an instant approval, because if you have to call Recon, they use the "Magic 8 Ball Method". All signs point to yes, all signs point to no, we'll get back to you in a week. :p

Or maybe they just flip a coin. :confused:

I applied for the freedom and sapphire card last night, got the pending message. I was also given "too many new accounts within the last 2 years". The rep was firm and told me there is no way for him to reconsider or override the denial. I can't believe they can't even throw me a bone for the Freedom card. I only have 5 new accounts during the past 2 years. The other 7 was authorized users. ...

I wonder how many customers they are losing over "too many new accounts in the last 2 years". They should be able to actually look at a person's CR, and make a decision from there. Not just relying on the stupid system.

Has anyone gotten a CSP or Freedom last week through auto-approval? I think we've established that Recon will not work for those, but it is unclear if auto-approval is a way around this.

I was denied myself yesterday, 5 new accounts in the last 2 years. I had a friend apply today, auto-approved but he only had 2 new accounts in the past 2 years.

Thanks. Sounds like I'm going to miss the Freedom again.

They do look at your CR; that is where they get that count from I believe.

I only know this because one of the many recon agents that I spoke to went through the painstaking detail of each account I've opened in the past year. Thankfully, I can think on my feet and was able to explain the reasons/benefits for each account opening.

I should also note that this may not apply to co-brand cards...my SO was auto-approved for a BA card last week and she has the same (if not more if you count AU's) new accounts in the past two years as I do. We typically will both open a card at the same time when the bonus is high.

I don't think it applies to co-branded cards. They won't budge on recon with the Freedom but I got an auto-approval for IHG right after.

Yeah, only the computer system looked at my CR. I asked the rep several times if he could review my CR and go over it with me, he kept saying he is not able to reconsider or override this denial.

I spoke to three normal recon, a senior lending analyst (whatever that is), and a supervisor over the course of a week. Only the senior lending agent and supervisor discussed my CR with me.

The first three normal agents parroted the same BS..."they cannot reconsider the application at this time" and told me that there were no other options, until I asked for a supervisor.

The senior lending analyst seemed as if she had more power, but she also told me that the only denial reason was # of accounts. She specifically said Chase did not consider my DTI, other Chase accounts, payment history, or even utilization on other accounts. Oddly enough, when I pressed her and the supervisor on what Chase wanted me to do (stop applying for other cards, close cards, move credit lines, etc) and why they can't consider my DTI, utilization, and AoA, they both said, multiple times, "I am not a financial advisor, and I cannot tell you what to do with your financial portfolio, only that at this time, we cannot open a new line of credit".

It's very obvious that a memo went out. I've had to call Chase recon probably 10-15 times since I started MSing years ago and I've never had so many similar calls. These guys are reading from a script and they are literally pushing the same response. The question is how long will this last...

Edit: I should note that I am calling again tomorrow, as I never got a callback from a higher level supervisor that I asked for. I have nothing to lose on these applications and I don't MS chase, just get some bonuses and put my main daily spend on most of their cards.