5 Ways Your Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Can Get You Amazing Deals
KEY POINTS
- The card's rewards and perks offer a ton of ways to save on travel.
- Partner discounts and Chase Offers can save you hundreds of dollars on your favorite brands.
- If you're splurging on a nice hotel, this deal is a no-brainer.
When I see a credit card annual fee that more closely resembles a car payment, I hope that card has a lot to offer. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a good example. This popular travel rewards card has a $550 annual fee (see rates and fees) -- yet it also has thousands of cardholders. There has to be something to it, right?
Right. This card offers a ton of ways to recoup its cost, not the least of which are some of these great deals.
On Chase's Secure Website.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
On Chase's Secure Website.
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
22.49%-29.49% Variable
Rewards Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
5x points on flights and 10x points on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel℠.
Annual Fee N/A
$550
Welcome Offer Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,125 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
75,000 bonus points
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This Chase card is your ticket to big rewards on travel spending and dining out, like up to 10x points on spending through Chase Travel, where your points are worth 50% more if you book through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You'll also score excellent perks, like a $300 travel credit, airport lounge access, and a Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit. The annual fee is hefty, but if you can use all its features, this card could be well worth the cost. Read Full Review
-
- Sign-up bonus
- Travel credits
- Airport lounge access
- Travel and dining rewards
- Flexible travel points
- Annual fee
-
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,125 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 75,000 points are worth $1125 toward travel.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Member FDIC
1. Free travel with Ultimate Rewards points
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns Ultimate Rewards points. These are travel rewards that you can redeem for free travel (terms apply).
If you want the easy method, you can redeem through the Chase Travel portal. Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders get a bonus in the portal, so you'll earn a total of $0.015 per point when you redeem this way.
If you really want a deal, however, you can transfer your points to a hotel or airline loyalty program. These can then be redeemed through the hotel or airline, hopefully at a high rate -- you can get $0.03 or more per point in some cases. Business-class flights tend to offer the best per-point value.
Cardholders can earn points on their spending in a few useful bonus categories, including travel and dining. But the big score is the welcome bonus, which could start you off with enough points to fly to Europe (round trip in coach, one way in business).
2. Complimentary airport lounge access
One of my absolute favorite travel card perks is airport lounge access. It's saved me hundreds of dollars over the years. While my top card for lounge access is The Platinum Card® from American Express, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a close second place.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders get complimentary Priority Pass membership (enrollment required). This gives you access to more than 1,300 lounges around the world, typically with up to two guests per visit.
A typical lounge pass can easily top $50, making this a valuable perk for regular travelers.
3. Discounts and bonuses through Partner Benefits
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® currently offers Partner Benefits from four popular brands. Benefits include extra rewards, credits, and free memberships (terms apply).
- Lyft: Earn 10x total Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on Lyft rides. You also get a complimentary two-year Lyft Pink All Access membership. You need to activate your membership by Dec. 31, 2024.
- Peloton: Earn 10x total Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 (tops out at 50,000 total points). Expires March 31, 2025.
- DoorDash: Get $5 a month in DoorDash credits, redeemed at checkout. You also get a complimentary DashPass membership for a minimum of one year. Must activate by Dec. 31, 2024.
- Instacart: Get $15 a month in Instacart credits. You also get a one-year complimentary Instacart Plus membership. Must activate by July 31, 2024.
Note the individual expiration dates for each deal.
4. Credits and cash back through Chase Offers
Every Chase credit card comes with access to the Chase Offers portal, a fun place full of great deals for all kinds of retailers, restaurants, and services. Discounts are in the form of cash back, and they range from a few bucks to 15% of your order (most have caps).
Using Chase Offers is easy, since you only need to activate the offer and then use your card. The deal will trigger automatically when you make an eligible purchase.
The types of deals you'll see will vary a lot from cardholder to cardholder. I've even seen some hyper-local Chase Offers for businesses that I know are exclusive to my area.
5. Hotel benefits with The Edit by Chase Travel
This appears to be Chase's response to Amex's awesome Fine Hotels & Resorts program (which I love). Essentially, if you book a participating hotel through the program, you'll get an array of extra perks, including:
- Daily breakfast for two
- $100 property credit
- Space-available room upgrade at check-in
- Early check-in/late check-out (when available)
- Complimentary wifi
Properties in these types of programs are typically on the higher end, so expect to see a lot of hotels with $250+ nightly rates (most will likely be two-, three-, or even four-times that).
That said, if you're already looking to splurge on a fancy hotel, these types of programs offer a lot of value.
On Chase's Secure Website.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
On Chase's Secure Website.
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
22.49%-29.49% Variable
Rewards Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
5x points on flights and 10x points on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel℠.
Annual Fee N/A
$550
Welcome Offer Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,125 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
75,000 bonus points
-
This Chase card is your ticket to big rewards on travel spending and dining out, like up to 10x points on spending through Chase Travel, where your points are worth 50% more if you book through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You'll also score excellent perks, like a $300 travel credit, airport lounge access, and a Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit. The annual fee is hefty, but if you can use all its features, this card could be well worth the cost. Read Full Review
-
- Sign-up bonus
- Travel credits
- Airport lounge access
- Travel and dining rewards
- Flexible travel points
- Annual fee
-
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,125 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 75,000 points are worth $1125 toward travel.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Member FDIC
Was the annual fee the real deal all along?
I suppose, at the end of the day, we could consider that the card's annual fee may really be the best deal the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers. Sure, it's a big fee, but the card's rewards, offers, and perks bring a lot of value to the table. For the right cardholder, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® could easily be worth every penny of its annual fee -- and then some.
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