Over a year ago, I asked the folks at Chase why they don’t give extra points to existing cardholders for referring their friends and family. At that time, American Express had a similar program (now discontinued), so I was curious why Chase did not.
As a marketer, I know that the best marketing is from a businesses’ existing satisfied customers who are the most likely to say good things about the business and promote you to others. Word-of-mouth marketing from happy customers is also cheaper than most other ways of getting new customers.
So I’ve been puzzled why more banks don’t do this. If you’re reading Million Mile Secrets, you LOVE credit cards and can’t stop talking about them to your friends and family! Banks should line up to hire you to promote their cards!
One of the most popular questions from enterprising readers is how can they get their own affiliate links!
Refer a Friend Bonus
Well, Chase now has a referral program and you can get 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points (worth at least $50 if you redeem for cash back) for referring your friends for the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Freedom card.
Depending on how you value Ultimate Rewards points, the 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points referral is actually quite similar to the commission I’m paid for certain Chase cards.
The referral program is for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom and the Chase Sapphire (non-preferred) version, but not currently for co-branded cards such as the British Airways card etc. I wasn’t able to load the referral page for the Chase Freedom, but was able to load the referral page for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
The terms say that you can get up to 10 referrals of 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points for a total of 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points. You have to make a referral by January 31, 2014.
You get the points as long as the person who you refer uses the card before May 31, 2014.
I sent some test emails, but none of them were sent!
But it was easier to get a custom referral link from Facebook or Twitter and send it to others.
Bottom Line
You can now get 5,000 extra Ultimate Rewards points for referring your friends and family for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom card. Emily and I are always grateful when you use our links, but if you already have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Freedom, you’re better off referring others with your own referral link!