Since signing up for the card last October, I haven’t paid for a flight and still have points to redeem. So far, the bonus has covered a handful of trips home to Charlotte, plus flights to Jamaica, New Orleans, San Francisco and Chicago.
I will say that $4,000 in three months is more than I would typically spend, and any financial advisor will warn against overspending just to lock in a credit card signup bonus. I worked around this by putting big group tabs on the card when my friends and I went out and asking my family to use it for bigger expenses, like flights. After I picked up the bill, friends and family simply paid me back via Venmo.
This way, I earned the sign up bonus without altering my monthly expenditure.
Note that the sign up bonus for the Sapphire Reserve has since changed and Chase now offers 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months.
3. The perks align with my main expense
Besides rent, my biggest expense is travel, specifically airfare. This particular card rewards travelers by doling out an unmatched three times points on travel and dining. Plus, the card comes with access to airport lounges, waives the $100 application fee for Global Entry or TSA Pre-check and has no foreign transaction fees.
Travel is important to me. It’s one of my short- and long-term savings goals, and since it will likely continue to play a major role in my life, I want to take full advantage of the rewards available.
Sure, this card isn’t for everyone. If you don’t travel a lot and aren’t a big spender, you won’t necessarily reap the card’s benefits and offset the fee. But, for me, it’s worth it.
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