Chase Sapphire Reserve Review

Update: Starting January 12, 2020, the fee is going up to $550 and there are new and improved benefits. Here’s a quick recap of the changes:

• Fee increased to $550 for new customers on 1/12/2020
• Fee increased to $550 for renewals on or after 4/1/2020
• Travel Benefit Increased to $325
• Free DoorDash DashPass for two years ($9.99/Month)
• $60 DoorDash credit for 2020 and 2021
• Free Lyft Pink ($19.99/Month)
• 10x Ultimate Rewards on Lyft Rides

Read more here.

Update: Starting August 26th, 2019 the card will lose three benefits:

• Limited Priority Pass Guests
• No 3X Earning on Travel Purchases That Qualify for $300 Travel Credit
• No Price Protection

Read more here.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a new premium card from Chase that was released on August 21st 2016. It was actually released in error a few days before that and those who were lucky to get an application in during that short hour were able to go around the 5/24 rule and get approved. Since its real release, the 5/24 rule has been enforced.

There was a lot of hype about the card and most of it is justified. The card has tons of benefits but it also has a $450 annual fee. Authorized users will cost $75. The first year should make sense for everyone, even with just the sign up bonus. The original bonus was for 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,500 toward airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards since you get a 50% bonus. The bonus is now halved.

The card is a Visa Infinite which comes with extra benefits, but the $100 companion air travel discount is not included. You can read more about Visa Infinite here.

$300 Annual Travel Credit

One of the best benefits of the card is that you automatically receive up to $300 annually in statement credits as reimbursement for travel purchases such as airfare and hotels charged to your card. That means that you could receive that credit twice, while only paying the annual fee once. Qualifying purchases made by authorized users on your account will be included in the $300 Annual Travel Credit.

Earning UR Points

The card will earn 3X Points on travel and dining at restaurants- from airfare and hotels to fine dining and cafés. All other purchases will earn one UR point.

Complimentary Priority Pass Select Membership

The card comes with Complimentary Priority Pass Select Membership which give you access to over 900 airport lounges participating in the Priority Pass Select network. You’ll need to activate your membership and your account must be open and not in default to maintain it. For complete Priority Pass Select Terms and Conditions and a listing of participating lounges, please visit http://www.prioritypass.com/select Opens Overlay .

Free Global Entry or TSA Pre ✓

The card will help you zoom by security lines at airports. You will get Global Entry ($100 application fee) or TSA Pre ✓  ($85 application fee) for free. Statement credit is processed after the Global Entry program application fee OR TSA Pre ✓ application fee (whichever program is applied for first) is charged to your Chase Sapphire Reserve card. You are entitled to either one statement credit per account every 4 years in connection with the Global Entry or TSA Pre ✓ program application fee. The statement credit posts to your account within 24 hours. Check out this post, to see which option is best for you.

Redeeming UR Points at 1.5cpp

Another great benefit of this card is that you’re able to redeem Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents per point when you book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. While this doesn’t give you the most value for your points, it is a good option that adds flexibility to your points while not losing much in value.

Warranties, Insurance, & Protections

• Free roadside assistance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by calling 1-866-860-7978. Includes free battery boost, flat tire service, 2 gallons of fuel delivery, towing, or lockout assistance.
• Primary car rental CDW coverage worldwide.
• Extended manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
• Purchase protection for your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year.
• Return protection for eligible items that the store won’t take back within 90 days of purchase, up to $500 per item, $1,000 per year.
• Lost luggage insurance of $3,000 per person per trip.
• Baggage delay reimbursement of $100 per day per person (max of 5 days) for essential items needed (Clothing, toiletries, charger, etc) for delays more than 6 hours.
• Trip delay reimbursement of $500 per person for reasonable expenses (Hotel, food, toiletries, medicine, etc) required for delays more than 6 hours.
• Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance of $10,000 per trip or $20,000 per trip with multiple travelers.
• Emergency Medical and Dental Benefit when traveling more than 100 miles from home.
• Emergency Evacuation and Transportation insurance when traveling more than 100 miles from home.
• $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance.

Eligibility

The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months. If you are an existing Sapphire customer and would like this product, please call the number on the back of your card to see if you are eligible for a product change. You will not receive the new cardmember bonus if you change products.

As mentioned above, this card also falls under the 5/24 rule which means that if you’ve had 5 or more new credit cards in the last 24 months, your application will be declined.

If you still want the card, you can do a product change but you will not get the bonus. This is probably not a good idea, but it could make sense for some frequent travelers that can get enough value out of the card. Card that you can product change to the Sapphire Reserve are Sapphire Preferred,  Freedom and Freedom Unlimited.

You might also have a chance for approval if you get pre-qualified or pre-approved offers. These are usually available by mail, or at a Chase Branch. A banker will tell you if you’re pre-approved for a card. You just need to ask them.

The only sure bet is to quit churning for a while, until you;re under the 5/24 rule, and then go for the Sapphire Reserve card. You’d have to decide on your own if it makes sense to forgo other bonuses for the 100K UR and the benefits of this card.

Card Details

• Apply Here
• 50,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months
• 3X Points on travel and dining worldwide
• 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
• 1.5 cents per point in value when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Transfer 1:1 to the regular Ultimate Reward transfer partners
• $300 Annual Travel Credit (once per calendar year)
• Complimentary lounge access at over 900+ lounges
• Global entry or TSA pre check credit of up to $100
• Visa Infinite
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• $550 Annual Fee
• $75 Authorized User Fee