Referral bonuses incentivize cardholders to become credit card marketers. If you have a card you love, you recommend it to a friend. And if that friend applies for a card through your referral and is approved, you get some bonus points or cash back thrown your way for bringing new business to the card issuer.

For a while now, Chase has run its Refer-A-Friend program on many of its cards. This includes cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points as well as co-branded cards that earn airline or hotel loyalty currencies.

Previously, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders could only refer friends to the specific Sapphire card they held. With a recent change to the program, those who hold any Sapphire card can refer friends to either product, expanding the possibility to earn more referral bonuses.

Featured Partner Offers

Chase Sapphire Reserve®
On Chase Bank USA, NA's Website
Welcome Bonus
75,000 bonus points
Annual Fee
$550
Credit Score
Excellent
Regular APR
22.49%-29.49% Variable
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,125 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase Bank USA, NA's Website
Welcome Bonus
75,000 bonus points
Annual Fee
$95
Credit Score
Excellent, Good
Regular APR
21.49%-28.49% Variable
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
On Chase Bank USA, NA's Website
Welcome Bonus
Up to $300 cash back
Annual Fee
$0
Credit Score
Excellent, Good
Regular APR
20.49% - 29.24% Variable
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.

Chase Sapphire Refer-A-Friend Program

If you’ve held a Chase credit card for a while, you may be familiar with Chase’s previous Refer-A-Friend policies.

For its Freedom, Ink, Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, IHG One Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy suites of cards, Chase has allowed cardholders to refer friends to any card that falls within the same respective suite. For example, Chase Freedom Flex℠ cardholders could refer a friend to apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

However, this perk did not previously apply to the Sapphire line of cards. Instead, those who held a Chase Sapphire card could only refer friends to the specific card they held.

Chase has now expanded the Refer-A-Friend program, however, making it easier to earn bonus rewards on Sapphire card referrals. You can now refer someone to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, regardless of which particular Sapphire card you hold.

How Many Points Can You Earn Through a Chase Sapphire Card Referral?

At the time of this writing, Chase Sapphire cardholders can receive 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points for each friend they refer, up to five friends or a maximum of 75,000 bonus points per calendar year.

In order to receive a referral bonus, your friend must apply through your unique referral link and be approved for the card. You can find and copy your unique referral link by logging into your Chase account online or through the mobile app.

Referral bonuses should hit your account within eight weeks of the new cardholder’s approval. The bonus points will appear on your statement as “Refer-A-Friend bonus.”


Bottom Line

Credit card referral bonuses are a great way to earn bonus rewards each year. With this change, Chase is making it even easier to earn a bonus for recommending either Sapphire card. If you have a friend or family member interested in applying for a card you hold, make sure they apply through your referral link so you can reap the rewards for your recommendation.

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