What credit score do you need to be approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card?

5 days ago 10

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) is one of the best travel cards on the market. With a moderate $95 annual fee, it's a top choice for both frequent and casual travelers — especially those new to earning travel rewards.

If you've been eyeing the Chase Sapphire Preferred, now is a great time to apply, as Chase is offering a stellar welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

This is one of the biggest welcome bonuses we've seen for this card in recent years.

If you're considering filling out an application, you might be wondering: What credit score do you need to be approved for the Sapphire Preferred? While there's no set number that guarantees approval, understanding the Chase Sapphire Preferred requirements can help you gauge your chances.

At TPG, we devote a lot of time to discussing how credit scores work, how credit scores impact credit card approvals and what factors issuers consider beyond your score.

Let's examine the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit score requirements and how to improve your chances of getting approved.

Chase Sapphire Preferred overview

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a longtime favorite among advanced points and miles collectors. If you're considering adding it to your wallet, now is a great time to do so.

The Sapphire Preferred earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to the program's hotel and airline partners. It also includes perks like an annual $50 hotel credit for reservations made through Chase Travel℠ and a 10% points bonus on your cardmember anniversary.

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Check out our full Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card review for more information.

Credit score needed for the Chase Sapphire Preferred

Credit scores in the mid-700s and above will typically be enough to get you approved for most travel credit cards. However, having a lower score doesn't necessarily mean you can't add one of these cards to your wallet.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is known as one of the best starter travel credit cards on the market, and beginners can still be approved for it.

While you likely won't need an exceptional credit score to be approved, we recommend that you have a credit score of at least 700 to increase your chances of approval. This score falls in the middle of the "good" credit score category, which ranges from 670-739.

The credit score ranges using the FICO scoring model are:

Exceptional: 800-850
Very good: 740-799
Good: 670-739
Fair: 580-669
Poor: 579 and below

Just note that although your credit score is a good indicator of your approval odds, it's not an absolute science. Chase might still deny you even if you meet the "required" credit score — and might still approve you even if you're below it.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is considered a great beginner card, but you might not get approved if you have little credit history or only one credit card to your name.

If you are brand-new to credit cards, we recommend first applying for one of the best first credit cards or a starter card to help build your credit.

Many other factors go into qualification beyond your credit score, such as your income and the average age of your credit accounts. Chase does not publicly disclose income or credit utilization requirements, but a higher income and lower credit utilization will increase your chances of being approved.

Another significant factor that's often overlooked is your relationship with the bank. If you've been a longtime Chase customer and have large balances in your bank accounts with them, you may have better approval odds (especially if you apply in a branch).

Finally, even if you're eyeing a more premium Chase card, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees), you may want to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred first. After all, getting approved for the Sapphire Preferred is generally easier than the Sapphire Reserve.

Then, once you're ready to graduate to a more premium product or if you want access to the perks on the Sapphire Reserve at a later date, you can request a card upgrade.

How to check your credit score

Under no circumstances should you pay to check your credit score. Many credit cards come with a free FICO score calculator. And even if yours doesn't, there are many other ways to check your credit score for free.

Many free sites can help you keep better track of your score and its factors. You can even use these services to dispute any information on your score that isn't accurate or appears to be fraudulent. If you want even more credit services, you may also consider paying for a credit monitoring service like myFICO.

Factors that affect your credit score

Before you start applying for any credit cards, it's essential to understand the factors that make up your credit score. After all, the mere act of applying for a new line of credit will change your score.

While the exact formula for calculating your credit score isn't public, FICO is transparent about the factors they assess and the weightings they use:

Payment history: 35% of a FICO score represents your payment history. So, if you get behind in making loan payments, this part of your credit score will suffer. Also, the more extended and more recent the delinquency, the more significant the negative effect.
Amounts owed (credit utilization): 30% of your FICO score consists of the relative size of your current debt. In particular, your debt-to-credit ratio is the total of your debts divided by the total amount of credit available across all your accounts. Many people claim having a debt-to-credit ratio below 20% is best, but it's not a magic number.
Length of credit history: 15% of your score represents the average length of all accounts on your credit history. The average length of your accounts can be a significant factor if you have a limited credit history. It can also be a factor for people who open and close accounts quickly.
New credit: Your most recent accounts determine 10% of your credit score. So, this part of your credit score will suffer if you've recently opened too many accounts. After all, obtaining a lot of new credit is one sign of financial distress.
Credit mix: 10% of your score is related to how many different credit accounts you have, such as mortgages, car loans, credit loans and store credit cards. While having a mix of loan types is better than having just one type, we don't recommend taking out unnecessary loans solely to boost your credit score.

With regard to the Sapphire Preferred, one crucial factor to consider is your average age of accounts. While a lengthier credit history will boost your score, many issuers focus on the one-year cutoff. That means that having an average age of accounts of more than a year can go a long way toward increasing your odds of approval. However, you might have trouble getting approved with 11 months of credit history — even if your numerical credit score is excellent.

If you have any delinquencies or bankruptcies on your credit report, Chase might hesitate to approve you for a new line of credit. It's important to remember that your credit profile is more than just a number. Indeed, your credit profile is a collection of information given to the issuer to analyze your creditworthiness.

As a result, there is no hard-and-fast rule about a specific credit score that will automatically get you approved (or denied) for the Sapphire Preferred.

Chase Sapphire Preferred application requirements

After you've checked your credit score, there are a few Chase-related factors to consider before you apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

'1 Sapphire card' rule

Chase limits cardholders to having only one Sapphire card, so if you already have one, your application will likely be automatically rejected. This includes all of Chase's Sapphire products, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the no-annual-fee Chase Sapphire® Card, the latter of which is no longer accepting new applicants.

The information for the Chase Sapphire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

5/24 Rule

As with most Chase cards, the Sapphire Preferred is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule, which states that Chase will automatically reject your application if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (with any issuer) in the last 24 months.

The 5/24 rule is hard-coded into Chase's system, so agents generally can't manually override it. As such, if you're over 5/24, your only option for getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred is to wait until you're under 5/24 again.

Previous Sapphire card welcome bonus

Another factor to consider when applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred is welcome bonuses. If you've received a welcome bonus from any Sapphire card in the last 48 months, your application will likely be automatically rejected.

What to do if your application is rejected

If Chase rejects your credit card application, don't give up. If you receive a rejection letter, you should first examine the reasons for your rejection. By law, card issuers must send you a written or electronic communication explaining what factors prevented you from being approved.

Once you've figured out why Chase rejected you, you can call the reconsideration line.

Tell the person on the phone that you recently applied for a Chase credit card, were surprised to see Chase rejected your application and would like to speak to someone about getting that decision reconsidered.

From there, it's up to you to build a case and convince the agent why Chase should approve you for the card.

For example, if Chase rejected you for having a short credit history, you can point to your stellar record of on-time payments. Or, if Chase rejected you for missed payments, you could explain that those were a long time ago and your recent history has been perfect.

Chase is also known to limit a customer's total credit line across all cards. You may have success overcoming a rejection by offering to shift unused credit from an existing card to a new one.

There's no guarantee that your call will work, but it's worth spending 15 minutes on the phone if it might help you get the card you want.

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a great option for those just getting started in the world of points and miles, especially with the current welcome bonus. Hopefully, you won't have trouble getting approved, but keep in mind that Chase will likely automatically reject you if any of the following apply to you:

Already have a Sapphire card (including the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the no-annual-fee Sapphire card —which is no longer accepting new applicants)
Received a welcome bonus from any Sapphire card in the last 48 months
Opened five or more cards across all issuers in the last 24 months

Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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