Table of Contents
Though it comes with an annual fee of $550, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card is a great choice for frequent travelers who want to start earning bonus rewards for everyday purchases and elevate their experience with luxury travel perks.
Quick Review
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card is a premium travel rewards card that brings in significant cash back for those who frequently spend in the bonus categories. It has a $550 annual fee and requires excellent credit to qualify, so it’s definitely not a card for everyone.
Benefits like an annual $300 travel credit and a welcome bonus of 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months help cover the annual fee before you even start earning bonus rewards.
Compared to similar travel rewards cards, this credit card has a highly accessible bonus rewards structure—not only are the rewards rates higher than most competitors, but the bonus categories are more tailored to everyday life, including dining and rideshare as some of the highest-rate bonus categories.
Another great feature of the Reserve card is that bonus points can be transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs at a 1:1 rate, making it a great option for those who already travel often and want to get the most out of travel-related purchases.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Annual fee: $550
- Purchase APR: 20.74%–27.74% (variable)
- Rewards rate: 1%–10%
- Welcome bonus: 60,000 points
- Grace period: 21 days
Additional Information
- Annual $300 travel credit
- Travel and purchase coverage
- 24/7 worldwide customer service access
- Partner rewards with Lyft, Gopuff, and Doordash
- My Chase Plan for breaking up large purchases into fixed monthly payments
- 10,000 point bonus for friend referrals
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Feature Breakdown
Check out the fees, rates, rewards, and other borrowing details of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® to decide whether or not it’s the right card for you.
Fees
- Annual fee: $550
- Authorized user fee: $75 annually
- Balance transfer fee: $5 or 5% (whichever is greater)
- Cash advance fee: $10 or 5% (whichever is greater)
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
- Foreign transaction fee: None
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 20.74%–27.74% (variable)
- Balance transfer APR: 20.74%–27.74% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 27.24%–29.99% (variable)
- Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%
Rewards
As you use your card to make purchases, you’ll earn bonus points for each dollar you spend with higher rates for dining and travel-related purchases. Some of the highest bonus rates are only unlocked once you spend a minimum of $300 on travel.
Here’s a breakdown of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card’s bonus rewards system:
- 10x points on dining purchases booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 3x points on other dining purchases
- 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
After the $300 minimum travel purchase threshold is met, you’ll also receive:
- 10x points on car rentals and hotels booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x points on airfare booked through Ultimate Rewards
- 3x points on all other eligible travel purchases
Through March of 2025, you’ll also receive 10x bonus points on qualifying Lyft rides regardless of whether you’ve reached the $300 minimum.
Redeeming Rewards
The basic value of bonus rewards is $0.01 per point, but Chase offers a few ways to make your bonus points go further.
If you use your points to book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, their value will increase by 50%, so 50,000 bonus points would equal $750 in travel booked using Chase’s platform.
Another way to maximize bonus points is to use Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature, where you use bonus points to pay off select purchases or your annual fee at the same increased rate of $0.015 per bonus point.
You can also choose to redeem bonus points for cash, gift cards, or a statement credit at the base rate of $0.01 per point.
Finally, if you’re already a member of an airline or hotel loyalty program, you can transfer bonus points over at a 1:1 rate. This can be an excellent way to maximize the value of your points and earn extra rewards in your airline or hotel loyalty program.
Welcome Bonus
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card has a generous welcome bonus of 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months after opening your account. This equates to $900 if you use it to book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal or $600 redeemed another way.
While the welcome bonus covers the high annual fee the first year, you’ll have to consider whether the annual travel credit and rewards rates will make up for the annual fee in years to come.
Cash Advance
If necessary, you can use your Chase Sapphire Reserve® card to get a cash advance. You’ll have to pay a pretty standard cash advance fee of $10 or 5% of the transaction, whichever is greater, plus the cash advance APR of 27.24%–29.99%. Given how high the interest rate is, it’s not advisable to use this card at an ATM to withdraw funds.
Balance Transfers
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card isn’t the best choice for consolidating your credit card debt since you’ll start paying interest on balance transfers right away, without a 0% APR period. If you do transfer a balance to your new card, your APR for that balance will be between 20.74%–27.74% (variable).
Travel Benefits
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card comes with plenty of luxury travel benefits such as:
- A $300 annual travel credit
- Reimbursement for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or Nexus application fees
- Priority Pass Select airport lounge access
- Access to reservations at popular restaurants with Reserved by Sapphire
- Extra benefits such as late check-out and room upgrades at top hotels and resorts
Your card also has travel protections to ensure a smooth trip, including:
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses
- Delayed trip reimbursement for food and lodging (up to $500 per ticket) if you have to stay overnight or your trip is delayed for more than 6 hours
- Auto rental theft/damage reimbursement up to $75,000 when you charge the rental to your card and decline the rental company’s insurance
- Lost baggage reimbursement up to $3,000 per passenger if the carrier loses your luggage
- Emergency evacuation coverage up to $100,000 if you or a family member are injured far from home and must be evacuated.
Other Benefits
Your Chase Sapphire Reserve® card comes with the following additional benefits:
- Purchase protection: New purchases are covered against damage or theft for the first 120 days. You can claim up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year.
- Extended warranty protection: Items with US manufacturers’ warranties of 3 years or less will be protected for an additional year.
- Return protection: If stores won’t accept a return, certain items can be reimbursed up to $500 per item and $1,000 per year.
Credit Reporting
Chase reports to credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) on the last day of your billing cycle each month.
You can check your credit score at any time using their free Chase Credit Journey service.
Authorized Users
You’ll need to pay $75 annually to add an authorized user to your Chase Sapphire Reserve® card. Since there are no caps on the rewards you can earn, most cardholders can easily offset this fee with increased bonus rewards.
Customer Service
If you have questions about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card, you can contact Chase’s customer service team at: (800) 935-9935
Should You Get the Chase Sapphire Reserve®?
FinanceJar verdict
The high-value bonus rewards make this card one of the best choices for frequent travelers. If you regularly spend enough in the bonus categories to counter the annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card could be well worth it, especially if you can benefit from the additional travel perks.
If you want to earn rewards on travel purchases but can’t afford the fee, there are lower-cost cards available that can get you started.
Who is this card for?
- Seasoned travelers: If you travel constantly (for work or pleasure), you’re probably ready to start taking advantage of airport lounge access and TSA PreCheck®, not to mention earning bonus rewards to put toward future trips. Even better, if you’re already part of an airline program, you can directly transfer your Chase Sapphire Reserve® points.
- Family vacationers: If your family enjoys taking trips together, you’re in a great position to get the most out of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card’s rewards and travel perks. Additionally, this credit card’s travel protections and insurance will bring you the peace of mind needed to fully enjoy your travels.
Comparable Cards
To help decide if the Reserve card is right for you, let’s see how it holds up against comparable travel rewards cards.
