When to upgrade Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve?

How to upgrade Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve?

You can upgrade your Chase Sapphire Preferred to Sapphire Reserve by calling customer service at 1-(800) 432-3117, entering your account information, and asking to speak to a customer service representative when prompted.

You can also upgrade from the Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve online. Log in to your account and send a secure message stating your request to upgrade. From the main menu, under “Connect with Chase,” click “Secure Messages,” and then “Compose Message.” You will usually get a response in a few hours. 

>>Related: How do I Retain Points When I Upgrade To Reserve?

Do You Qualify for an Upgrade?

Before making the change, it is important to check whether you qualify for the upgrade with the following requirements:

• Current card status

The CARD act mandates that credit cardholders can not be charged a higher annual fee on their account within the first year of opening their account. Because of this, your Chase card can not be upgraded to a new one with a higher fee until a year has passed since you opened your account. 

• Account Standing

Ensuring that your credit report and history are in good shape, including a consistent track record of on-time payments and responsible card usage, you can improve your chances of receiving the upgrade. It should just take minutes to receive your decision, and this won’t hurt your credit score as hard inquiries do.

Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve

Before you decide to upgrade your Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve, you need to know the differences between these two. Here is all you need to know on the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards.

While Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 2x points on any purchase in dining and travel and 1x point on everything else, Chase Sapphire Reserve provides 3x points on any purchase in dining and travel and 1x point on everything else.

Also, Chase Sapphire Reserve upgraded from no credit to $300 travel statement credits and $100 Global Entry Precheck membership credit. Last but not least, Chase Sapphire Reserve also increases travel rewards redemption rate to 1.5 (travel rewards redemption rate for Chase Sapphire Preferred is only 1.25). However, the annual fee for Chase Sapphire Preferred is only $95 but the annual fee Chase Sapphire Reserve is $550.

>>Related: Full Review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve

>>Related: Full Review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred

When should I upgrade Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve?

There is no specific time when one should upgrade Chase Sapphire Preferred to Chase Sapphire Reserve because both cards have their pros and cons. If you enjoy the premium travel benefits, higher earning rates, and better travel insurance and you don’t mind paying $550 every year, you should upgrade your card to Chase Sapphire Reserve. However, if you would like to have a lower annual fee and better welcome bonus, you should choose to stay with Chase Sapphire Preferred. This card still grants cardholders the same access to Ultimate Rewards transfer partners and rental car insurance. With all being said, cardholders need to compare two cards’ values and costs and choose the better one that caters to their lifestyles.

Should I Upgrade?

There are technical aspects you must consider before applying for an upgrade.

Pro-Upgrade:

• Chase’s new card rule

If you’ve opened more than five cards from any bank over the past two years, Chase will not approve you for a new card (with the exception of small business cards). In this case, it might be worth upgrading to the Chase Sapphire to redeem its points with Chase travel partners such as Hyatt and Southwest.

• Minimal Credit Report Impact 

When a credit card is updated, it doesn’t appear on your credit report as a new card and keeps your report clean. The same credit card number is preserved and the information attached to the initial card is transferred over.  

Anti-Upgrade:

• No Welcome Bonus

When you upgrade your Chase Freedom to the Sapphire, Chase does not offer the initial sign-up bonus. Regularly, the Preferred comes with  60,000 points for spending $4,000 on purchases within the first six months of opening an account. By upgrading, you can lose out on about $1500 worth of points. 

• Annual Fee

The Chase Sapphire comes with an annual fee of $550 which could be costly if you are not saving more money than you are spending.  If you can not afford the annual fee it is not smart to upgrade even if you qualify for the card. Annual fees can make it hard to pay back credit card bills so it is important to know whether a $550 annual fee is within your budget. 

• Different Purposes

The Chase Freedom card is meant for earning Chase points on services like Amazon, gas stations, supermarkets, streaming services, and more while the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve is meant for dining and travel. If your purchases don’t include the latter, it might not be worth upgrading. 

>>Related: Is Upgrading from Chase Freedom Unlimited to Chase Sapphire Worth it?

Takeaways

To determine whether or not you need an upgrade is to look at how you are utilizing your current card now. If you think you can benefit from more travel perks or rewards then you should switch cards only if you can pay the annual fee. If you do not see yourself regularly offsetting the annual fee with perks or rewards than upgrading may not be for you. 

Interested in the Chase Sapphire Reserve? You can apply for it online here. 

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