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Chase is currently giving spending bonuses for streaming services.
If you own the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (CSR), you will get 10X per dollar, on up to $1,500, until September 30th, for select streaming services.
If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (CSP), the bonus is 5X per dollar.
Initially, I thought this was only limited to the usual suspects – Hulu, NetFlix, Spotify, Pandora, etc.
Well, I recently learned that Chase also considers Apple as a streaming service if you load your Apple account with money using your CSR or CSP.
You have to go through your iTunes / Apple account and transfer money there using either a CSR or a CSP to trigger this particular bonus. Buying items directly with your credit card will not activate this offer.
If you’re considering buying Apple products like the latest iPhone, Apple Watch, or Macbook, now’s the time to take advantage and earn 10X per dollar.
However, I recommend reading my “heads up” below before making the purchase.
Heads Up: If you plan to purchase Apple items using this route, you will have to give up the extended warranty protections typically included when using your credit card. Thus, you need to assess whether 10X or an extended warranty is more important. Should you decide to take the 10X path, make sure you add AppleCare to your cart. Alternatively, you can also charge a portion of the cost to a credit card that provides extended warranty protection for partial payments, such as the CSR. For example, for a $550 Apple Watch, use $500 from your Apple account and charge $50 on your CSR to activate extended warranty.
Steps
A. Go to your Apple/iTunes Account on your Mac, tablet, or iPhone, and click Manage Payments.
B. Add your CSR or CSP as a new payment method.
Remove your other accounts to avoid confusion. Your Chase card should appear below your Apple Account.
C. Add money to your account.
D. If you want to maximize this promo, you can load your account up to the full $1,500, therefore earning 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Still, I would only transfer the amount that you anticipate to need.
Lastly, determine if purchasing directly using a credit card is a better alternative for the extended warranty protection perk, particularly if acquiring an expensive piece of technology.
If so, skip this deal altogether. I am sure that there will be other 10X opportunities later down the road.
Tip: If you are already using your CSR or CSP to pay for Netflix or any other streaming service, make sure that you do not go beyond the $1,500 maximum. Any amount beyond that will only be equivalent to 1 point. Crunch your own numbers and make sure you only load the amount that will get you to the $1,500 limit.
Datapoint (DP)
To obtain a DP, I tested the waters myself to see if I would get the 10 points per dollar bonus by loading my Apple account with my CSR.
I tried it with a $10 purchase, and it gave me 100 Chase UR points a day or so after.
So, yes, it works but remember to go follow the steps above to trigger this generous 10X per dollar bonus.
Final Thoughts
Chase has truly upped their game this quarter with these spending bonuses.
I value one Chase Ultimate Rewards point at 1.5 cents each, so maximizing this deal can effectively earn you at least $200 when redeeming your points through the Chase Travel Portal.
Alternatively, if these points are transferred to Chase’s travel partners like United or Hyatt, 15,000 points are halfway to a luxurious hotel stay or a free flight to your bucket list destination.
If you are not familiar with the difference between the travel portal and transfer partners, I’d recommend this post. You must know the difference between the two if you want to optimize your Chase redemptions.
I recommend taking advantage of this generous deal if you have future Apple purchases in the pipeline.
Please remember that you only have until September 30th to load your accounts, so the earlier, the better.
In a nutshell, Chase Ultimate Rewards are one of my favorite travel rewards currencies out there, so I am certainly planning to maximize this deal as well.
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE – Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. The content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
