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Sapphire Offers Low Rate And $100 Bonus

Posted in Credit Card Deals by CardShark
October 13, 2009 10:00 AM - 6 Comments

There’s been a lot of discussion since we pointed out that the Chase Freedom credit card has one of the best reward programs.

So let’s see what you think about the new Chase Sapphire credit card. We think it provides an intriguing combination of cash rebates and interest rates.

It charges no annual fee and an annual interest rate of 12.24% on purchases, which is lower than the teaser rate on many other credit cards.

This credit card offers a $100 bonus, low interest rate and no annual fee.As soon as cardholders make their first purchase they receive enough bonus points for a $100 rebate.

After that they earn points on all purchases, which can be redeemed for a 1% cash rebate. (Chase promotes a higher 2% to 10% rebate on purchases made through its Ultimate Rewards program, but that’s more marketing gimmick than real savings.)

This seems to strike a good balance for consumers who need a low interest rate because they occasionally carry a balance, but want to benefit with a modest cash rebate when they’re all paid up.

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Comments (6)
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  1. Rachel said:
    on October 14th at 02:20 pm

    I heard the Chase Sapphire card was for those who had high incomes (top 15% of American households) and excellent credit. I’ve not even bothered to look into it further as I am single and only been working full time just over a year.

  2. DealMaven said:
    on October 15th at 12:00 pm

    Chase is definitely marketing the Sapphire card to high-income consumers, just as you say. It would like to steal customers from premium cards such as the American Express Black Card.

    But the Sapphire Card doesn’t have all the trappings of a premium card and certainly doesn’t charge the $500 annual fee that goes with them.

    That’s why we think Chase may be willing to accept applicants of more modest means than its advertising might lead you to believe.

    There’s nothing in the application or fine print that’s different from most other middle-market credit cards. There’s certainly no minimum income requirement.

    So if you like the card, we say give it a try. You might be surprised.

  3. moneymike said:
    on October 15th at 02:26 pm

    I just got the card and make under $50,000, but have excellent credit.

  4. Bloggingbanks said:
    on October 18th at 11:51 am

    That’s a very sweet deal for $100. Making 1% is pretty decent for a credit card. Have you looked at Charles Schwab bank’s credit card before? They offer 2% cash back ion purchases, deposited straight into your brokerage account.

  5. Jonathan Segal said:
    on November 5th at 11:04 pm

    Total bulls***! I used to have a Chase Freedom card and it was converted into a Chase Sapphire/Ultimate Rewards Card. I used to get 3% on my top 3 eligible categories of spending, which every month included groceries and gas. All of a sudden, I no longer get this, and I’m dropped to 1% rebate. The whole reason I got the card in the first place was the 3% back on groceries and gas! Arrrrgh!

  6. jaxon said:
    on November 19th at 10:22 pm

    I here ya, Jonathan. I just got new Sapphire cards in the mail, and my statement now says it is a Sapphire card, and my points have been automatically transferred. I had the Freedom for the 3%!! I am not sure I have been getting it however, because my points look much lower that what I should have had, tracking 1 for 1 with my purchases, recently. I read somewhere else that they changed this in May, but I never got a notice. I am PO’d. There is no reason for me not to go back to using my other cards.

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