Ultimate Guide to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
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EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE:
Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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⚡️ Fast Facts:
$795 annual fee
Annual $300 Chase travel credit (automatically applied)
Up to $500 annual credit for The Edit (Chase's luxury hotel portal)
Up to $300 annual credit at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurants
Up to $300 annual StubHub credit
Up to $250 annual Apple TV+ and Apple Music credit
Up to $120 annual Peloton credit ($10/month)
Earns 5x points on dining
Earns 10x points on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase
Earns 5x points on flights booked through Chase
Earns 4x points on hotels and flights booked directly
TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit up to $120 every 4 years
Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership
Access to Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club
Complimentary DoorDash DashPass + up to $25 monthly promotions
Monthly $10 Lyft credit + 5x points on Lyft
IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status
This card is the ultimate flex.
If money is no object and you want the most premium Chase experience possible, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card is the crown jewel of travel rewards credit cards.
With its hefty annual fee comes an extensive list of luxury benefits, unmatched earning rates in key categories, and access to the most valuable Ultimate Rewards® program. This isn't just a credit card—it's a lifestyle upgrade.
The Perks
Premium Category Bonuses
The Reserve doesn't mess around when it comes to earning points. With 5x points on dining and 10x points on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase, your everyday spending and travel bookings will rack up points faster than you can say "first class upgrade."
The 5x points on flights booked through Chase and 4x points on direct hotel and flight bookings mean you're earning at premium rates no matter how you book your travel.
The Credits That Pay for Themselves
Here's where the Reserve gets interesting… 👀 The credits can actually offset much of that $795 annual fee if you use them strategically:
$300 Annual Travel Credit: This automatically applies to travel purchases, making it essentially a $300 discount on your annual fee right off the bat.
Up to $500 The Edit Credit: Two $250 credits per year for luxury hotel bookings through Chase's premium hotel portal. Perfect for those special anniversary trips or fancy-shmancy getaways.
Up to $300 Exclusive Tables Credit: Two $150 credits per year at participating high-end restaurants. Date nights just got more affordable!
Up to $300 StubHub Credit: Two $150 credits annually for concerts, shows, and sporting events. Your entertainment budget just expanded significantly.
Up to $250 Apple Credit: Annual credit for Apple TV+ and Apple Music subscriptions.
Up to $120 Peloton Credit: $10 monthly credit for Peloton membership, plus 10x points on Peloton purchases.
Travel Benefits & Protections
The Reserve comes with no foreign transaction fees and an impressive suite of travel protections including:
Primary rental car coverage (one of the best in the business)
Trip delay insurance
Trip cancellation insurance
Baggage delay insurance & lost luggage reimbursement
Purchase protection
Extended warranty coverage
Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership (1,300+ lounges worldwide)
Access to Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club
TSA PreCheck/Global Entry Credit: Up to $120 every four years for trusted traveler program applications.
Lifestyle Perks
Hello, Premium DashPass! 🥡
Cardholders receive complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership plus up to $25 in monthly DoorDash promotions. That's potentially $300+ in annual DoorDash value.
Lyft Benefits: Monthly $10 Lyft credit plus 5x points on all Lyft purchases through September 2027.
IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status: Complimentary elite status through December 31, 2027, including room upgrades and late checkout.
Brad living his best life sipping a latte in the lounge at the Athens International Airport. ☕️
Airport Lounge Access
Priority Pass Select Membership: One of the Reserve's most valuable perks is complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, giving you and up to two guests access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide. That's a $469 annual value right there!
Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club: Exclusive access to Chase's own premium airport lounges, starting with locations at major airports. These lounges offer elevated dining, premium cocktails, and a more refined atmosphere than typical airport lounges.
Big Spender Bonuses
If you put $75,000+ on the card annually, you unlock additional premium benefits:
$500 Southwest credit + A-List status
IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite Status
$250 credit for The Shops (Chase's shopping platform)
Anniversary Boost
The Reserve includes the same 10% anniversary bonus as the Preferred. You'll receive bonus points equal to 10% of your total spending for the year (at a 1 point per $10 rate). So $10,000 in annual spending nets you an extra 1,000 points.
Redeeming & Transferring Your Points
The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers multiple ways to maximize your Ultimate Rewards points, with the newest being Chase's Points Boost program.
🚀 Points Boost: Enhanced Travel Redemptions
When you book travel through Chase's portal, you'll encounter two types of redemptions:
Points Boost Eligible Bookings: These special deals offer enhanced redemption values:
Standard Points Boost bookings: 2 cents per point
Premium cabin Points Boost bookings: Up to 2 cents per point
Regular Travel Bookings: Non-Points Boost travel bookings through Chase redeem at 1 cent per point.
🤩 Transfer Partners: Where the Magic Happens
The best way to maximize value is through transferring points to travel partners. You can get upwards of 2, 3, or even 8+ cents per point when you transfer directly to one of Chase's airline and hotel partners!
Our favorite transfer partner remains Hyatt, with Southwest as a close second. Chase is the only major bank to transfer to these two very beginner-friendly programs. Hyatt's fixed award chart makes it incredibly easy to plan redemptions and get outsized value.
Chase Transfer Partners
✈️ Airline Partners
🏨 Hotel Partners
We spent our anniversary in London, England and stayed for 5 FREE nights at the Great Scotland Yard hotel using 133,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards!
Sapphire Card Eligibility
Great News: You can now hold both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve® simultaneously! This opens up incredible opportunities for earning more Chase Ultimate Rewards across multiple cards.
Chase 5/24
Since this is a personal card, it will count toward your Chase 5/24.
This also means you need to be under 5/24 in order to apply for this card. If you are at or above 5/24 you will automatically be ineligible to apply for this card.
Note: While you can now hold both Sapphire cards simultaneously, each application still counts toward your 5/24 status.
👉 Uncertain about what “5/24” means? Here’s the Chase 5/24 rule explained.
We keep track of our 5/24 window by entering our cards into our Travel Freely app. 📲 This app is free to use and we swear by it—especially for beginners—as it keeps track of welcome bonus deadlines, upcoming annual fees, and gives personalized card recommendations.
Referral Bonuses
The referral bonus structure for the Reserve is similar to other Chase cards, with the ability to earn up to 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points per calendar year through referrals (10,000 points per approved referral, with reduced bonuses after the 7th referral).
We transferred 240,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards to various partners to book a month-long European adventure including business class flights and luxury hotel stays!
Exit Strategy: Keep, Downgrade, or Cancel?
Before opening any premium card, especially one with a $795 annual fee, consider your long-term strategy.
For us, this card is a "Keep if You Use It" decision.
The Reserve is one of only four Chase cards that gives you the ability to transfer to airline and hotel partners (the others being the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Sapphire Reserve for Business℠, and Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card). And as we all now know, transferring points = MAXIMUM VALUE so you always want to have at least one of these cards in your wallet with this capability.
However, you need to honestly assess whether you can extract $795+ in value annually from:
The various statement credits ($1,000+ potential value)
Enhanced earning rates
Premium travel benefits
Points redemption flexibility
If you're not using the majority of these benefits, the Sapphire Preferred at $95 might be the smarter choice.
That being said, there is a popular strategy 👀 for those who want to maximize the welcome bonus but aren't sure about keeping the card long-term:
The Strategic Downgrade Play 🎯
Year 1: Get the Reserve, hit the welcome bonus, maximize the first year benefits 🥳
Year 2: As soon as your annual fee posts, downgrade to the Sapphire Preferred
Step-by-Step Downgrade Process:
Timing is Everything: Call Chase less than 30 days after your annual fee is set to posts
Make the Call: Dial the customer service number on the back of your card and ask to "product change" or "downgrade" to the Sapphire Preferred
What to Expect: Chase will typically approve this downgrade without issue since both cards are in the same product family andddd you’ll get the difference of the annual fee credited back to you, as long as you complete this within 30 days of the fee posting.
Your Points Stay Put: All your Ultimate Rewards points remain in your account - no transfer needed!
Benefits Change Immediately: You'll lose Reserve benefits (lounge access, higher credits) but keep transfer partner access 🙌
New Annual Fee: Your next annual fee will be $95 instead of $795
PRO TIPS:
You can downgrade to other Chase cards like the Freedom or Freedom Flex, but you'll lose transfer partner access
If you downgrade to Sapphire Preferred, you keep the "Master Key" to transfer directly to travel partners
This strategy works great if you're disciplined about maximizing Year 1 benefits, but know you won't use $795 worth of perks annually or if the annual fee is just not right for your budget after the first year.
With the new ability to hold both Sapphire cards, some users might consider keeping both for maximum benefits, but that's a $890 annual commitment to Chase cards alone.
Bottom Line
THE RESERVE IS THE ULTIMATE LUXURY CARD BUT ONLY IF YOU CAN MAXIMIZE IT.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card isn't for everyone. At $795 annually, it demands serious usage to justify the cost. But for frequent travelers who can take advantage of the extensive credits, premium earning rates, and luxury perks, it offers unparalleled value in the premium card space.
This card shines for:
Points enthusiasts (heyyyy! 👋 👋) who understand transfer partner values
Frequent travelers who value premium protections and credits
Luxury seekers who want access to exclusive dining and hotel programs
High spenders who can max out the earning categories
If you're someone who travels regularly, dines out frequently, and appreciates luxury experiences, the Reserve could actually save you money while providing premium perks.
But if you're looking to dip your toes into Chase Ultimate Rewards, start with the Sapphire Preferred.
With outrageously valuable points and a laundry list of benefits, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card has earned it’s spot among the top premium travel rewards credit cards.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.