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The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is Chase's premier travel card. It has a long list of benefits -- along with one of the most expensive annual fees. This card costs $550 per year. Authorized users cost another $75 each.
If spending that much money on a credit card is out of the question, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a much more affordable option with a $95 annual fee. But frequent travelers may find that the Chase Sapphire Reserve® more than pays for itself through the value of all its perks. Before you decide, check out what it has to offer to see if the annual fee makes sense for you.
On Chase's Secure Website.
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 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
60,000 bonus points
All the perks we've come to expect from a top travel card, including a $300 annual travel credit, airport lounge access, and big bonuses on travel and dining. Points are transferable to airline and hotel partners or worth 50% more if you book through Chase Travel. The annual fee is hefty, but if you can use all its features, this card could be well worth the cost.
You'll earn a sign-up bonus of 60,000 bonus points by spending at least $4,000 on purchases within 3 months of opening the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Since points are worth $0.015 each on Ultimate Rewards travel purchases, this bonus can be worth $900. It's also possible to get an even higher value by transferring points to Chase travel partners.
If you don't need the superior benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® just yet, another option is starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. After 13 months, you could upgrade your credit card to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
You can get over half of the annual fee back through the Chase Sapphire Reserve®'s $300 annual travel credit. This is one of the biggest spending credits you'll find among the premium travel rewards cards.
To make it even better, it's also one of the easiest credits to use. Because it applies to any purchase that fits into Chase's broad travel category, frequent travelers have no trouble getting their full $300 back.
If you sign up for either the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck program and pay the application fee with your Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you'll get a statement credit that covers the cost. That's a $100 credit for Global Entry or an $85 credit for TSA PreCheck. You can get either one every four years, so your Chase credit card also covers every renewal fee.
Both programs can help you get through airport security faster. Global Entry offers expedited entry to the United States after international travel, while TSA PreCheck offers an expedited security screening process before flights. Global Entry is by far the better deal, though, because it includes a TSA PreCheck membership. If you sign up for Global Entry, you get the benefits of both programs.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® includes a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership with access to over 1,300 airport lounges. This airport lounge access lets you bring up to two guests free of charge. Lounge access is nice to have while you wait for your flight to start boarding. Airport lounges are generally more comfortable than boarding areas, and they usually offer free food and drinks.
At select airports, Priority Pass also has partnerships with specific restaurants, which entitles members to spending credits on their meals.
This card offers plenty of bonus opportunities that help you maximize credit card rewards. Here's how much the Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns by spending category:
The Chase Ultimate Rewards program is one of the card issuer's best perks.
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. These points are extremely useful because of all the redemptions Chase offers.
There are two popular ways to book travel using the Chase Sapphire Reserve®'s points:
Here's a closer look at the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and a couple other Chase cards, including one that has no annual fee.
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Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Chase Freedom Flex® |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor |
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor |
Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Reserve®
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Chase Freedom Flex®
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. 60,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. 60,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening! $200 bonus |
Rewards Program: 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℠. |
Rewards Program: Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more. 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases |
Rewards Program: 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter! Plus, earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. 5% cash back offer |
Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: 0% Intro APR on Purchases Purchases: 0% Intro APR on Purchases, 15 months Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers, 15 months |
Regular APR: 22.49%-29.49% Variable |
Regular APR: 21.49%-28.49% Variable |
Regular APR: 20.49%-29.24% Variable |
Annual Fee: N/A $550 |
Annual Fee: N/A $95 |
Annual Fee: N/A $0 |
Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Reserve®
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Chase Freedom Flex®
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Show More Show Less |
The Chase Sapphire Reserve®'s annual fee is worth it if you use the card often and take advantage of its benefits.
With the $300 travel credit, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® actually costs you $250 per year after the annual fee. You could recoup that $250 by earning at least 16,667 points per year and redeeming them for at least $0.015 per point. It's easy enough to get that much value per point through the Chase Travel portal or transfers.
That's before we add the value of all the other perks. You also get a membership fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and you have at least one year of DashPass. Plus, you get unlimited access to Priority Pass airport lounges. These are all great features, assuming you use them. If so, this is among the best credit cards we've come across.
Some other questions we've answered:
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