Chase targets Millennials with 100k points offer

Chase recently announced a new and enticing offer of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points for Sapphire, Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve credit card customers who apply and are approved for a new Chase mortgage. This limited time incentive (ends August 7) is only available to those who were cardholders on or before May 7. While the actual value of those points will vary depending on the specific Sapphire card one has, on the high end of the spectrum, those points can be redeemed for up to $1,500 in travel.

This move shows that Chase is betting big on the Millennials who drove the Sapphire card to stardom last year and currently make up half of all Sapphire customers. At the time of its launch, the introductory sign-up bonus for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card also was 100,000 points – a big driver of the card’s immediate popularity. After an unprecedented and unexpected rush of applications for the card, Chase eventually lowered that sign-on bonus to 50,000 points.

Millennials rank saving for emergencies and paying off credit card debt above saving for a down payment on a house
On one hand, Millennials are in a stage of life where buying a home is an important milestone, and Chase is trying to capture a piece of this lucrative pie. However, according to Mintel’s Educational Lending US 2016 report, Millennials are most likely to delay buying a home or condo, are less likely to apply for a credit card, and have delayed marriage due to student loan debt. Millennials also rank saving for emergencies and paying off credit card debt above saving for a down payment on a house in terms of their current biggest financial challenges, according to Mintel’s Millennials and Finance US 2017 report. These findings could soften the impact Chase is hoping for with this alluring offer.

Chase is not the first bank to tie a credit card incentive in with a mortgage offer. Earlier this year, Capital One offered bonus miles to new mortgage customers if they were also Capital One Venture or VentureOne credit card members, but on a sliding scale where the bonus was dependent on the total value of the loan. The largest possible reward was 1,000,000 bonus miles awarded for new purchase loans ranging from $1.5M-$2M.

While Chase customers, or even Millennials in general, might not pounce on this offer the same way they did with the Sapphire card’s original launch, it is certainly an offer worth considering for anyone who is actively in the home-buying process.

Lily Harder is the Vice President of Research for Mintel Comperemedia. Lily specializes in the financial services industry, researching and presenting on the latest industry trends, competitive intelligence insights and newsworthy developments.