While the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best transferable points cards around, those who are big spenders and/or travel frequently can get even more value from the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card.
On top of earning 60,000 points after meeting the minimum spending requirements, you also get perks like an annual travel credit, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® credit, and primary rental car insurance.
Who is this card for?
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card is for anyone who wants to collect the most flexible travel rewards points (Chase Ultimate Rewards®). With 3x points on travel and dining, no foreign transaction fees, a smart chip and worldwide VISA acceptance, it appeals to frequent travelers and big spenders.
You can apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card here.
Card Features
Bonus Offer
You’ll earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
Annual Fee
The card comes with a $550 annual fee. At first, the fee seems steep, but there are so many benefits and credits available from the card that you can get tremendous value.
Earning Rates
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card is geared towards earning bonuses on travel and dining expenses.
- 10x points per $1 spent on hotels and car rentals purchased via the Chase Travel Portal
- 10x points per $ spent on purchases through Chase Dining
- 5x points per $1 spent on flights purchased via the Chase Travel Portal
- 3x points per $1 spent on travel
- 3x points per $1 spent on dining
- 1x points per $1 on all other spending
The nice thing about the travel category is how broad it is. You can earn bonus points even if you aren’t actually traveling. Bonus points are earned on passenger trains, taxis, limos, Uber, Lyft, highway tolls, parking lots, garages and more.
Redeeming Points
The flexibility of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points is evident when it’s time to redeem for travel. Your points are worth 50% more when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through the Chase travel portal. For example, 50,000 points are worth $750 towards travel. There are no blackout dates, so if there’s an open seat on the flight you want or an available room at the hotel, you can pay for it with points.
Points never expire and there are no limits.
The travel portal isn’t your only option, however. You can often get even greater value by transferring points to any of Chase’s 14 travel partners and really maximize your points!
You can transfer points to participating frequent travel programs at full 1:1 value – that means 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points equals 1,000 partner miles/points.
For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Card Benefits
Annual Travel Credit
This is one of the great benefits of the card because it can be applied to any purchases that qualify in the travel category. Chase will automatically credit your account $300 when you use it to make eligible purchases.
Priority Pass
You, authorized users and up to two guests can access 1,200+ VIP airport lounges worldwide with Priority Pass™ Select and enjoy lounge amenities such as Wi-Fi, free snacks, beverages and more.
Lyft Bonus
Earn 10x points on Lyft rides when you pay with your card through March 2025.
DoorDash Delivery
Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees for one year, with a complimentary DashPass subscription from DoorDash. DashPass normally costs $9.99 per month. In addition, customers also get $5 in monthly DoorDash credits to be redeemed at checkout.
Complimentary Instacart+ Membership
Receive one complimentary Instacart+ membership per eligible card account for 1 year. In addition, Instacart+ members earn up to $15 in statement credits each month through July 2024.
The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection is a hotel and hospitality management company that owns a suite of luxury hotels. Card-members will receive the following benefits when booking a room at one of the eligible hotels on the LRH website:
- Daily complimentary breakfast for two people
- A special benefit unique to each property, such as a dining or spa credit
- Complimentary WiFi
- Complimentary room upgrades (when available)
- Early check-in and late checkout (when available)
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee Credit
Like most premium credit cards, you’ll receive a statement credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card. Remember that Global Entry includes PreCheck®, so going with Global Entry is the smarter choice.
Primary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
The vast majority of credit cards offer some type of coverage when it comes to auto rentals. However, there are two different coverage categories (primary and secondary) and knowing the difference is key. Secondary coverage is what most credit cards offer and it applies after your own personal auto insurance policy. Typically it means that your auto insurer pays the claim, but the card will reimburse your deductible and potentially other costs not covered by your personal policy.
Primary coverage, however, applies before your own personal auto insurance policy and will cover full damages due to collision or theft of most rental cars. That means you can avoid paying a deductible and potentially seeing your premiums rise.
There are only six consumer credit cards that offer primary auto rental CDW coverage:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred®
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- United℠ Explorer Card
- United Quest Card
- United Club Infinite Card
- Capital One Venture X Card
There are also five business credit cards that offer this as well. You’ll only be covered by primary insurance while renting for business purposes, renting outside your country of residence for personal reasons or if you do not have automobile insurance:
- Chase Ink Business Preferred® Card
- Chase Ink Business Cash® Card
- Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Card
- United Club℠ Business Card (only when renting for business purposes)
- United Business℠ Card (only when renting for business purposes)
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance
If your trip can’t start, is cut short or interrupted by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations, you can be reimbursed for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses up to $20,000 per covered trip.
Baggage Delay Insurance
If you experience baggage delays over 6 hours by passenger carrier, you can be reimbursed for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing, up to $100 a day for 5 days.
Trip Delay Reimbursement
If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 6 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for non-reimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket.
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
Up to $3,000 per person (up to $500 per person for jewelry, watches, cameras, video recorders and other electronic equipment)
No Foreign Transaction Fees
For those who travel internationally, this card does not charge foreign transaction fees.
Purchase Protection
This benefit covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account. As always, make sure you read the fine print for benefit terms and conditions. But you’ll sleep easy knowing your new, big purchases are covered.
Extended Warranty Protection
With this benefit, you can extend the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by one additional year. This applies to eligible warranties of three years or less.
Who should look for another card?
While the majority of people can find great value from this card, the $550 annual fee is somewhat steep. Those whose spending doesn’t justify the annual fee may want to focus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card instead.
If you’re not a big traveler and/or don’t dine out much, you won’t get the full value of the 3x points for travel and dining. Also, people who would rather earn rewards exclusively from one airline or hotel chain might be better off spending on one airline or hotel branded card.
If the annual fee gives you anxiety, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s is only $95, and is waived the first year. That makes it a free way to test your appetite for the points game over the course of a year.
You can apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card here.
Bottom Line
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card a great choice for those wanting to get more value in the travel points game. I’ll say it again – it’s hard to find another travel rewards program that gives you more value and flexibility than Chase Ultimate Rewards®. From the Chase travel portal to the hotel and airline transfer partners, there are just so many ways to redeem your points.
While your Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card may be your go to credit card, you can get even more value by pairing it with another card that can fill in the holes in your rewards plan. For example, you might want to consider getting a no annual fee card like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ card. This way, you can maximize the rotating categories that earn up to 5% back, and put everything else on your Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. Another option is pairing with the Chase Freedom® Unlimited, which earns 1.5% on all purchases.
Since all of these cards are in the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program, you can transfer the points to the CSR account and get 50% more value when redeeming through the Chase travel portal. In almost every case, the more points you have in one place, the easier it is to maximize them.
Bottom line is this card is a no-brainer for big spenders who want flexibility in how they redeem their points.
