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Maximizing Rewards: An Overview of The Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase’s “Sapphire” family of credit cards hosts two primary players, the Sapphire Reserve (CSR) and the Sapphire Preferred (CSP). We’ve already written about the CSP, so in this article we’ll take a look at the CSR and see what a $550 annual fee gets you.

The Sapphire Reserve is Chase’s premium travel card. Its main competitors are the Platinum Card from American Express, and the Venture X from Capital One. These two cards have annual fees of $695 and $395 respectively. We’ll put the rivalry to the side for now, and focus on the CSR in this article.

Senso-ji temple in Asakusa, Tokyo at night
A premium travel card opens the door to exotic adventures

THE WELCOME OFFER

The welcome offer for the CSR tends to fluctuate between 50,000 and 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Some competitors have more generous offers, but Chase has a notable and unique way of increasing the value of their points. We’ll look at this a little later on.

THE ANNUAL FEE

With a steep annual fee of $550, I’m sure you are expecting the card to deliver a host of valuable perks, and it most certainly does.

Right off the bat, the CSR comes with a $300 annual travel credit. I place a lot of value on credits being easy to use, and this travel credit is just that. Chase calls it “… the most flexible travel credit available”, and I agree.

To redeem the credit all you need to do is use the card to pay for travel expenses. They don’t make you jump through any hoops. You don’t need to enroll, and you don’t need to book through their travel portal.

If you’re a frequent traveler, you will already be spending at least $300 on travel. That makes this credit as good as cash. This effectively brings the annual fee down to $250.

THE UNIQUE PERK THAT GIVES INCREDIBLE VALUE

The unique way of increasing the value of Chase points that I referenced earlier is booking through Chase’s travel portal. For CSR card holders, your points are worth 50% more when you redeem them this way! This is a perk that competitors such as the Venture X and Platinum card do not have.

Remarkably, this 50% bonus is not limited to points earned by the CSR. This applies to all of your Chase points. For example, if you have 200,000 points, you can transfer them to your CSR and redeem them for $3,000 worth of travel!

Chase credit cards including Sapphire Reserve, designed for premium and easy travel
Chase does an excellent job of making their cards work together synergistically

A DEEPER DIVE INTO BENEFITS

Please note, this list is not comprehensive, and benefits change over time.

  • Priority Pass Membership
    • Complimentary Priority Pass (PP) membership. This includes unlimited access to over 1,500 airport lounges worldwide. This membership covers the cardholder and two guests
  • A $100 Global Entry or TSA Precheck credit every 4 years
    • Both of these last 5 years, so you will have both for as long as you have the card
  • Impressive suite of travel insurance when travel is purchased with the card
  • 10x points for hotels and car rentals, and 5x points for flights booked through the Chase travel portal
  • 3x on all other travel purchases, regardless of where you purchase them
  • Complimentary Lyft Pink for 2 years and 10x points on all Lyft rides
  • Ability to transfer points to partners
    • This subject demands numerous articles of its own, but as a teaser, this is the perk I used to book a $7,500 business class flight to New Zealand for under $100
  • Complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription and a $5 monthly credit
Priority Pass airport lounge bar in Sydney, Australia
Many Priority Pass lounges are stocked with a variety of complimentary alcohol

SAPPHIRE AIRPORT LOUNGE ACCESS

Cardmembers have complimentary access to Chase Sapphire airport lounges for themselves and two guests.

Current lounge locations: Boston (BOS), Hong Kong (HKG), New York City (LGA and JFK)

Planned lounge locations: Las Vegas (LAS), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), San Diego (SAN)

FINAL THOUGHTS

This card is a strong option for frequent travelers. Extensive lounge access is a very valuable perk for those who can take advantage of it. The 50% bonus when redeeming points towards travel is a massive bonus that is unparalleled in the industry. This perk is especially attractive for individuals with a lot of points, as the value scales.

The CSR is a great option for those looking for a premium travel card that requires minimal management. For those who don’t travel several times a year, or those looking for a travel card with a lower annual fee, check out this article for entry level travel cards.