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The Chase Sapphire Reserve features top-tier benefits and perks designed to make your traveling experiences a bit better all around. There’s a high annual fee, but you’ll get an annual travel credit, airport lounge access, and perks to help your stays away from home feel more comfortable.
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We gave the Chase Sapphire Reserve® 5 out of 5 Stars because it’s one of the most rewarding travel credit cards that’s not tied to a particular airline or hotel.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a high-end metal travel rewards credit card, designed for frequent travelers with excellent credit. It could be a great way to save some money and have a better time overall while away from home.
This is a general-purpose travel card, meaning it’s not associated with a single airline or hotel chain. Instead, it provides 3X points per dollar for travel expenses and dining at restaurants. You’ll get a 50% point bonus when redeeming through Chase Ultimate Rewards, or you can transfer your points at a 1:1 rate to a variety of travel partners, where they might be worth even more.
There’s a $550 annual fee to pay, but you’ll get a number of great benefits and perks to make this card worthwhile. Those include a $300 annual travel credit, unlimited access to Priority Pass Select airport lounges, and complimentary services at certain hotels and resorts.
If you’re not a frequent traveler, the high annual fee might put this card out of reach. If that’s you, check out some good but less-expensive travel cards.
This card earns the equivalent of 1% to 4.5% cash back on most purchases with the normal redemption methods, depending how you earn and redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points. If you transfer points you can find better deals, which could give a 6% cash back equivalent or more.
For Lyft rides, however, you could see a cash back equivalent of up to 20% or more!
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Since this card has a $300 travel credit, you won’t earn any Ultimate Rewards points on the first $300 in travel purchases. But you’ll immediately start earning 3X points on travel purchases after you’ve used up the full $300 travel credit.
The Sapphire Reserve provides its rewards for general travel expenses, so you can earn points for any related purchases. That covers your initial reservations, plus any other eligible purchases you make while traveling. Some other cards are more limited, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review), which has reward categories that are only useful for booking travel in certain ways.
There are several options for redeeming your Ultimate Rewards points:
The easiest way to redeem your points will probably be through Chase Ultimate Rewards, getting that 50% point bonus. You can use them to pay for:
There are no blackout dates or travel restrictions when booking through Ultimate Rewards, although you may find blackout dates with some travel partners.
Redeeming through Ultimate Rewards can provide a good value, but you can find an even better deal through a point transfer. Below, we go through an example showing how you can get a cash back equivalent of 6.8%. But the value you get will vary depending on the way you use your points after transferring.
We do not recommend redeeming for statement credits, gift cards, or by paying with points, because you can get more for your points elsewhere.
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Aer Lingus AerClub | British Airways Executive Club | Emirates Skywards | Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM | Iberia Plus |
JetBlue TrueBlue | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | United MileagePlus | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
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IHG Rewards Club | Marriott Bonvoy | World of Hyatt |
Let’s say you want to fly from Burbank, California, to San Antonio, Texas. We can fly United, and can take a MileagePlus Saver Award flight to get an even better deal than usual.
We’ll take a one-way economy-class flight, on Monday, March 26th. This trip would normally cost $289. Or, you can take a Saver Award flight for 12,500 miles, plus $80.60.
So how much do you need to spend to earn this flight? Since the transfer rate is 1:1, you need to earn 12,500 points with your card. It will take $4,167 in spending to earn that many points at the 3X rate (it will take more spending if you earn at a lower rate).
Once you earn the points, you can convert them to United MileagePlus miles and then book your flight.
In this example you spend $4,167 to earn the points, and then an extra $80.60 for the flight. That’s a total of $4,247.60.
That gets you a flight valued at $289, which means you’re getting a cash back equivalent of 6.8%. That’s quite good, and its even better than the 4.5% you can get through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Your points are worth about 1.6 cents each in this particular transfer example. But keep in mind that different transfers will provide different values, and you may end up with a better or worse deal. United is typically one of the better redemption options, with its Saver Award flight routes, but you can find similar deals with other airlines.
With some effort (and patience) you can probably find deals giving you 2 cents per point or more!
The extra perks and protections you’ll get with this card are pretty comprehensive, and are comparable to other high-end travel cards. These are just some of the most interesting features, so check your Guide to Benefits for more details when you get your card, or delve into our favorite Sapphire Reserve benefits to learn how they help make this card worth the premium price tag.
Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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16.99%-23.99% Variable | 16.99%-23.99% Variable | 24.99% Variable |
Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee |
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$550 | $0 |
Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. | Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater. |
Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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None | Up to $39 | Up to $39 |
Since this is a card designed for frequent travelers, no foreign transaction fee is expected (see other great travel cards without foreign transaction fees). The biggest cost that stands out is the annual fee.
Authorized users will each cost $75 per year.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the most impressive general-purpose travel rewards credit cards, with a very enticing offer.
The annual fee is pretty high, but if you travel enough you’ll be able to offset it with the perks and points you’ll earn. The 3X category is very broad, so you can use it to earn points both while booking travel and for extra expenses as you go.
You should redeem those points through Chase Ultimate Rewards or for point transfers to get the best value, but that shouldn’t be hard for frequent travelers.
Make use of as many benefits as you can, especially the travel credit. The airport lounge access should make your trips more comfortable, and having expedited security screening could save you a headache or two. Don’t forget about the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, to make your stays a bit more pleasant as well, and the host of protections that cover you in case something goes wrong.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a valuable set of rewards and benefits, but it’s not the only premium travel credit card on the market. Check out some of those other cards below, one of which might be a better fit.
Want to apply now for this card? Just click the link below to apply securely on Chase’s website.
This card is made of metal, and you won’t need to request that when you apply. There is no plastic version.
Many applicants will get an instant response, but in some cases it could take longer. Chase may request more information from you.
If you have a different Chase Sapphire card you may be able to request a product change to the Sapphire Reserve. Call the number on the back of your card to make this request, although there’s no guarantee you’ll be approved. Currently, the only other Sapphire card you can apply for is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Review).
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is designed for people with excellent credit.
If you have a minimum score of 740 for FICO (the “very good” level) and you’re in the range of 750–850 for VantageScore, you’ll have a good shot at being approved.
However, if you have lower credit scores than what are recommended you may still be approved. Or, even if you have high enough credit scores, you might not be accepted. Approval relies on more than just credit scores, including factors like income.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a number of strong benefits attached. These include a $300 travel credit, Priority Pass Select membership, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, a one-year Lyft Pink membership, a DoorDash membership with $60 annual credits, and a good selection of travel protections. These protections include primary rental car insurance, travel accident insurance, trip cancellation/delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, and more.
Review a more detailed explanation of all the benefits you can expect with your card.
The annual $300 travel credit can be applied to any travel-related expenses. This means hotel stays, transit, airline tickets, airline fees, or anything else related to your trips.
If you want to see how the Reserve stacks up to other luxury credit cards, check out our list.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve’s rewards include 10X Ultimate Rewards points for Lyft rides (through 3/31/22), 3X points per dollar for travel and dining, and 1X point for all other purchases.
But you’ll need to use the full $300 travel credit before you start earning 3X for travel.
There are several different avenues you can take when it comes time to redeem your points.
You can:
The simplest method would be to redeem for statement credits at 1 cent per point, but if you choose to redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you’ll get a 50% point bonus.
However, you could potentially find an even better value by transferring your points to one of Chase’s travel partners.
Yes, the Chase Sapphire Reserve has an annual fee of $550. However, it’s somewhat mitigated by the $300 annual travel credit, and the value you’d get from the other benefits like the Priority Pass Select membership and shopping and travel protections.
Just head over to Chase.com and input your account information in the login box. From there, you can navigate to your account page and keep an eye on all things card-related. You can pay your bill, see your statement, and take advantage of your card features.
The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) features top-tier perks and benefits along with rewards focused on the Amex Travel service.
These cards differ quite a bit in their annual credits. The $200 airline credit you get with the Platinum can only be used for incidental fees at one airline you have to choose ahead of time (through 2021), unlike the $300 credit you’ll get with the Reserve. The latter can be used for anything travel related.
There’s also $200 in annual Uber credits with the Platinum, compared to the Reserve’s Lyft Pink membership. The Lyft membership could be worth around $240, but it’s hard to say the true value someone may get out of it, based on how often they’ll use Lyft.
When you take those various credits into account, and subtract them from the annual fees, they effectively drop to about $150 for the Platinum and $250 for the Reserve. Keep in mind there are plenty of other benefits to factor in, so your valuation may be different.
The airport lounge access you’ll get with the Platinum is considerably better than what you would get with the Reserve, providing a Priority Pass Select membership along with entry to Delta Sky Clubs and exclusive Centurion Lounges, among others.
The elite hotel statuses provided by the Platinum are likely to be more valuable too, as they include a wider collection of affordable hotels: Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton, rather than the fancy Relais & Châteaux.
Read more about these two high-end travel cards in our comparison guide: the Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. the Amex Platinum.
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Although the Platinum card is a bit more limited, it can end up being more rewarding overall. You can earn the equivalent of 5% cash back through the normal redemption methods, when earning at the 5X rate. And point transfers could provide even more than that, up to 10% cash back or more.
The Amex Platinum only provides these 5X rates when booking travel. If you have any incidental charges by airlines or hotels, like food while traveling, it won’t be included in the bonus categories. The Sapphire Reserve’s 3X category will cover all of those purchases.
American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
The Citi Prestige® Card (Review) is similar in quite a few ways to the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
The rewards program here offers 5X points on dining and air travel, better than the Reserve. And hotels get 3X points, the same rate.
There are a few differences in their benefits, however. The Prestige offers a 4th free night at any hotel, when you book four consecutive nights. That’s a pretty valuable, and versatile, perk, potentially worth over $1,000 per year if you stay somewhere fancy.
The annual travel credit the Prestige provides ($250) is slightly less than the credit offered by the Reserve, though it is equally as flexible. When you subtract the Prestige’s credit from its annual fee, it effectively drops to $245.
That’s just about even with the offset fee of $250 for the Reserve after its $300 credit. But the Reserve’s effective annual fee could be considered to be even lower, depending on how often you take advantage of its Lyft membership, and the Prestige’s may change based on how you value its perks.
Overall, the Sapphire Reserve probably has the better set of extra benefits. But if you book a lot of long hotel stays of four nights or more, the Prestige card could save you quite a bit of money.
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The value you get for your ThankYou points will vary depending on how you redeem them. If you consider points to be worth about 1.25 cents each via point transfers, a reasonable value, you’ll be getting an equivalent of 6.25% cash back in the 5X category. The 3X category will provide an equivalent of 3.75% cash back.
This isn’t as much as what you can get through the normal redemption methods with the Sapphire Reserve. But, like the Sapphire Reserve, the value you get will depend on how you use your points.
The information related to Citi Prestige® Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
The American Express® Gold Card (Review) features plenty of useful amenities for the frequent traveler.
The travel credit you’ll get here is $200 less than what the Reserve offers, at just $100, and can only be used for incidental fees at a single airline you choose ahead of time (through 2021).
The Gold Card is a bit more food-focused than the Reserve, offering a $120 dining credit and earning 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 spent per year).
The Gold Card has a lower annual fee than the Reserve, and after you take the credits into account, they effectively drop the Gold Card’s fee to just $30.
There are no hotel memberships included with the Gold Card. Instead, you’ll get access to The Hotel Collection, which provides a $100 credit per stay and room upgrades (when available) at a larger swath of hotels than the more narrow-focused hotel membership the Reserve features.
The Gold Card could still save you some money compared to the Reserve if you don’t expect to spend a lot on hotels while traveling, focusing instead on groceries and dining out.
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American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
The Mastercard® Black Card™ (Review) is here, uniquely, to provide a foil for the other high-end travel cards.
Whereas the other cards provide a good deal of value for their annual fees, the Black Card stands apart. Despite its $495 annual fee, it doesn’t provide much in the way of rewards.
It does offer a few useful perks, like a $100 annual travel credit and Priority Pass membership, but the credit is far less than what the Reserve offers. Unfortunately, there’s little value to the Black Card’s perks behind that.
There’s an intro balance transfer APR, but this isn’t a card to get if you’re looking for a place to stick a balance (see better balance transfer cards for that). While the design is sleek and metal, there’s little else beyond aesthetic value here. You’d get much more bang for your buck by choosing another top-tier travel card.
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But wait, maybe those points are worth $5 each? Nope. :-(
They’ll be worth:
That means you can earn a maximum of 2% cash back with this card. That’s all you’ll get for the high fee, and it certainly doesn’t seem worth it.
Brendan has been writing about personal finance for over eight years, and is now taking on the challenge of bringing high quality credit education to the masses. He makes sure that Credit Card Insider is covering the most important credit topics transparently and precisely, and that we have up-to-date reviews of credit cards so you can find cards that are right for you.
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