The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card is one of the most popular travel rewards credit cards on the market today, and it’s easy to see why. This Chase credit card allows users to earn Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to partner airlines and hotels or used directly to book flights. And with a generous signup bonus of 60,000 points (after $4,000 in the first three months, of course) for just $95 a year, this card will appeal to anyone looking to earn valuable travel rewards.
In addition to the signup bonus, this card also gives you:
- 3x Points on Meals (including qualifying delivery services), select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs)
- 5X Chase Ultimate Travel Rewards Points
- 5x more points on Lyft rides (until March 2025)
- Double points for other trips
- 1X points for other purchases
In addition to solid rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits include valuable travel coverage such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance, car rental damage liability waivers, baggage delay insurance, and trip delay reimbursement. With all these awards and benefits for a competitive annual fee, this card is definitely hard to beat.
However, it’s important to know the credit score required for Chase Sapphire Preferred before you apply, as well as additional rules that may come into play to ensure you’re approved.
What credit score is required for Chase Sapphire Preferred?
Chase Sapphire Preferred is a premium travel card, and as such, you can expect instant rejection if you have a credit score that is considered fair or poor. Meanwhile, those with a credit score in the “good” or “excellent” range will be much more likely to get approved.
According to FICO, one of the leading credit score makers, a good FICO credit score is between 670 and 739, and a very good one is 740 or higher. Therefore, you almost certainly need a 670 credit score to meet Chase Sapphire Preferred’s minimum credit score requirements. If your score is 740 or higher, that’s even better.
Chase, like most lenders, usually takes into account factors other than your credit history. For example, you may be more likely to be approved for a Sapphire Preferred loan if you already have a relationship with Chase, such as a savings account or mortgage. You can also increase your chances of being approved if you have small outstanding balances on your other Chase cards.
Your income and debt-to-income ratio will also be counted along with your Chase Sapphire Preferred credit score. If all your stats look good, you have a pretty good chance of getting approved.
But not so fast – you still need to consider the 5/24 chase rule. This unpublished rule states that you cannot get approved for a new Chase credit card if you have opened five or more cards from any issuer in the previous 24 months.
If you had five or more new cards in the two years before you started considering the preferred Chase Sapphire, you’d be better off waiting until it’s gone.
What if my application is rejected?
Credit card denials can be unexpected and confusing. The card issuer is required by law to explain why you were denied, but the language used may not be clear.
If you do not fully understand the reason for the denial, you can contact your card issuer and inquire about your application. Sometimes a waiver can be reversed, a process known as a credit card review. To speak with a Chase representative about your personal credit card application, call 1-888-270-2127.
Once you contact a Chase representative, you will be told why your application was not approved. Often there is a simple explanation for this, including the issuer’s failure to verify your address or other personal information. In this case, as soon as Chase receives the correct information, it will be able to approve your application over the phone, despite the earlier rejection.
In other situations, you may be denied for more compelling reasons, which you can also decide. For example, Chase may decide that he has already given you as much credit as he wants. However, if you would like to transfer some of your available credit from one of your existing cards, Chase can approve your application.
In addition, you may not have included all available sources of income initially, which can be corrected. By law, you have the right to include all available sources of income, including alimony, child support, disability payments, and payments from retirement savings accounts. You can even include income from your spouse or household partner if you have a reasonable expectation of accessing that person’s income to pay off the loan.
Another reason for rejection could be the Chase 5/24 rule as noted above, in which case all you can do now is wait.
Finally, you may have a bad credit score or credit history that caused the rejection, and all you can do in this case is to correct your past mistakes.
Once you have exhausted the re-appraisal process, the only alternative you have is to re-apply in the future if you really want the card. If you were rejected from Chase Sapphire Preferred because of a low credit score, work on improving your score before considering reapplying. Chase will accept a new application 30 days after the original application, so you won’t have to wait long before you’re ready to try again.
How can I improve my score to receive this card?
If you’ve been turned down because you don’t meet the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit score requirements, there are a few things you can do to quickly improve it before you reapply.
First, you can work on paying off the debts you have since the amount you owe on revolving accounts is 30 percent of your FICO credit score. Pay off as much of your outstanding balances as possible and your credit score can improve quickly. At the same time, you can also make sure that all your bills are paid early or on time. Because this factor makes up 35 percent of your FICO score, late payments can hurt your score a lot, and making payments on time can help.
You can also get copies of your credit reports to check for errors. Inaccurate information related to missed payments can damage your credit history, and if you successfully challenge these errors, your credit history will improve. You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three national credit bureaus once every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport.com, but if you have other credit cards, free services may also be available from these issuers.
Finally, consider free tools that can help you grow your bill using non-traditional accounts like subscriptions and utilities. An example is Experian Boost, which helps you increase your credit score with a few clicks and is completely free.
bottom line
Chase Sapphire Preferred is a fantastic travel-rewarding credit card, but not everyone can immediately qualify for it. By understanding the credit score required for approval and how to improve your score if you need it, you can decide if this card is the best one for you.
In the meantime, it never hurts to learn everything you can about this card. Start by reading our review of Chase Sapphire Preferred Cards. From there, you can decide if this card is worth it, or if you should consider another card altogether.
Editorial disclaimer
The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective judgment of our contributors and is not based on advertising. It was not provided or ordered by credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to our partners’ products.
