For those about to pull the trigger on a Chase Sapphire Preferred application, you may want to hold off for 1 week, until February. According to the official CSP program details:
You’ll receive a 7% Annual Points Dividend on all new points earned on purchases made with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card during the previous year. (“Year” means, for your first year as a cardmember, the period beginning with your Enrollment Date through your billing cycle with a December closing date of that same year. For each year thereafter, “Year” means the twelve billing cycle period beginning the day after your billing cycle with a December closing date through your billing cycle with a December closing date of the next year.) Your 7% Annual Points Dividend will appear on your January or February billing statement.
If you apply and get approved for a CSP today or any other day in January you may end up in a situation 1 year from now where you want to close/downgrade your card in order to avoid the $95 annual fee, but you're still waiting for your 7% annual points dividend to post. If you apply in February (or ideally March to be safe) you should have enough time between the posting of your 7% dividend and the end of your free intro period to transfer the bonus points out and then close/downgrade the card. Of course, if you plan to hold the CSP forever, and pay the recurring annual fee, this makes no difference.
Just some food for thought.
