My experience getting approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business card

I’ve been a longtime cardholder of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees), so when I learned that Chase would be launching a business version of the card, I was very intrigued.

This curiosity turned into shock when I learned that the new Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (see rates and fees) had a massive welcome bonus: Earn 200,000 points after you spend $30,000 on purchases in your first six months from account opening.

I decided to take the plunge, and, luckily, I had a surprisingly easy experience getting approved for this card. Here’s how it went.

Submitting the application

Once I decided to apply, completing the application was the first step. It’s relatively straightforward to apply for a business credit card with Chase, especially since my wife and I have a formal limited liability corporation. I put in the full details of our LLC, including our federal Employer Identification Number — though you can apply as a sole proprietor using your Social Security number.

Going into this, I knew that I was just under the cusp of Chase’s 5/24 rule, as I had opened four new cards across all issuers in the last two years. However, I also have a number of other Chase credit cards, and since Chase typically limits the total amount of credit it’ll extend to you, I figured that would lead to a “pending approval” message.

And, sure enough, that’s exactly the message I got.

I was still hopeful to ultimately be approved — though I was surprised at how quickly it happened.

Going from pending to approved

As soon as my application went into a pending status, I decided to call Chase directly. My goal was twofold:

• Documentation: I had read some early reports of Chase requiring formal documentation of a business before approving a Sapphire Reserve for Business application, so I wanted to make sure it had what it needed.
• Expedited review: I also wanted to see if Chase could push through a review of the application so I could start spending on the card. I had a work trip just a few days after I applied, and I was hoping to make progress toward the hefty $30,000 spending requirement.

The first agent I spoke to verified that she had everything she needed, and there was nothing else she could do to expedite the approval. She noted that I would receive a final decision within seven to 10 days, so I resigned myself to letting the process play out without any further intervention on my end.

However, less than 30 minutes after I submitted my application, I received a phone call from a different representative at Chase. She asked a few questions about the nature of my business and how I planned to use the card. She was also interested to know why I had so many open, active credit card accounts (24 at the time, to be exact).

I was honest and said that I work for TPG, where we educate our audience on how to maximize these credit cards — though I also reiterated that every single card is paid in full and on time every month. She seemed satisfied with my responses, though she, too, said it would take some time to review the application and come to a final decision. I thanked her for her time and hung up; the call lasted just six minutes.

Once again, I planned to simply wait on the decision, but then, less than an hour later, I received the glorious email letting me know that my application had been approved.

In all, it took just one hour and 22 minutes from the submission of my application to receiving the approval email. That’s among the quickest timelines I’ve ever experienced (outside of immediate approvals, of course).

Receiving (and using) the card

All of this happened on a Friday, and I was interested to see how long it would take for the actual card to arrive. The approval email indicated that I would receive it in five to seven business days, but fortunately, I didn’t have to wait that long. On Monday, I received a message from UPS that my package from “Chase Card Services” would be delivered by the end of the day Tuesday, and, sure enough, it was delivered just after 4 p.m. EDT. This was about an hour before I left for the airport, which meant I’d be able to start working toward that spending requirement.

My business trip included a hotel stay, which triggered the $300 annual travel credit.

I also added the card to my Lyft account to start taking advantage of the annual $120 statement credit (up to $10 per month); plus, I’ll earn 5 points per dollar spent on Lyft purchases through Sept. 30, 2027. And finally, I went ahead and purchased a $50 gift card through giftcards.com/reservebusiness for some business-related items (up to $50 biannually through Oct. 31, 2028).

I’m also excited to try The Edit by Chase Travel℠ on an upcoming trip, but, for now, I’m focused on spending the $30,000 to earn the 200,000-point welcome bonus.

Unfortunately, Chase only extended me a credit limit of $10,000, so I’ve made a couple of midcycle payments to ensure I don’t get too close to that limit.

Bottom line

I decided to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business, and the approval process was relatively painless. It took less than 90 minutes from the moment I submitted the application to the moment I was approved, and this even included a proactive call from Chase to verify some information about my business.

It’s true that the card has a hefty $795 annual fee, and I won’t be able to maximize all the business-related perks on the card given the nature of my LLC. Nevertheless, I’m thrilled with the prospect of earning the welcome bonus and testing out the other perks as a new cardholder — and the easy approval process was just the icing on the cake.