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finder.com’s rating: 4.6 / 5
★★★★★
60,000
Points as welcome offer
Up to 10x
Points
$550
Annual fee
22.49% to 29.49%
Purchase APR (variable)
Annual fee | $550 |
---|---|
Welcome offer | Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® |
Rewards | 5x points on flights and 10x points on hotels and car rentals through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on other travel after earning your $300 travel credit, 10x points on Lyft rides, 10x points on Chase Dining through Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on other dining and 1x points on all other purchases |
Purchase APR | 22.49% to 29.49% variable |
Balance transfer APR | 22.49% to 29.49% variable |
Minimum credit score | 740 |
Issuer | Visa |
Review by
Steven Dashiell is a personal finance writer, specializing in credit cards, banking and growing and protecting your income. His insights and expertise has been featured on Nasdaq, U.S. News & World Report, Time, CBS, ABC, Fox Business, Lifehacker and Martha Stewart Living, among other top media. Steve holds a BA in English from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, minoring in composition and rhetoric. In his spare time Steve nerds out on birds, paints and plays a whole lot of Street Fighter.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is the premier travel rewards offering under the Ultimate Rewards banner. For the $550 annual fee, it comes with a 60,000-point welcome offer after you spend $4,000 within your first 3 months of account opening, earns 5x points on flights through the Chase travel portal, 10x points on hotels and car rentals through the Chase travel portal, 10x points on Chase Dining purchases, 3x points on all other travel and dining purchases, and 1x points on everything else. It also offers a a $300 annual statement credit, $100 toward the application fee for Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check, and countless additional travel perks.
This card is, in fact, the second credit card I ever decided to add to my wallet. That might sound a bit risky based on the card’s annual fee, but I knew there was nothing to worry about just by reading the card’s features: This card sweats value into your wallet so long as you’re using the card’s benefits. Case in point: I immediately used the $300 statement credit to pay for my partner and I’s annual trip to the east coast. Think of it as shaving $300 off the annual fee of the card – travel once with this credit and you only have to generate another $250 in value to make up for the card’s cost. We did this handily by signing up for the card’s complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, which is a value of over $400. All told, this card more than paid for itself within the first flight I took after getting the card.
This card has continuously demonstrated its value in the years since I’ve had it: I’ve since earned free amenities and breakfast at hotels from the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection, enjoyed a complimentary full year of Lyft Pink, had several free meals through DoorDash and regularly redeem my earned points at 1.5x value through the Chase Travel Portal. Not even COVID-19 travel restrictions COVID-19 hurt this card’s value as Chase moved quickly to add temporary benefits and ways to spend credits. And this card now leans into its strengths even harder by offering much more earning potential on Chase travel purchases.
Applying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is simple and straightforward. First, to qualify, you’ll need at least an excellent credit score of 740 or higher. Then, simply follow these steps:
Absolutely. When my partner and I applied for this card, we made sure to do so a few months ahead of a planned cross-country trip.
Once we received the card, we booked our flights using it, instantly taking advantage of the $300 travel credit — a significant portion of our annual fee. Really, even a single trip can help take the bite out of your annual fee if you take advantage of all of the card’s features.
Select up to four credit cards and select Compare to see how the other credit cards stack up to the competition and find the best card that suits you.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a favored card from users across a variety of social media. Many customers tout the generous travel credits and signup bonus as big factors in their happiness with the card, with several users on Reddit recommending frequent travelers upgrading from the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Among social media complaints for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, some cardholders felt the card wasn’t worth the high annual fee. Others complained about a lack of lounge coverage through the Priority Pass program — a sting felt by yours truly. Finally, a few cardholders felt Chase customer service was lacking when they encountered issues.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a travel rewards workhorse. It offers plenty of ways to earn Ultimate Rewards points on top of its base earning rate. Moreover, it also allows you to redeem earned Chase rewards at a higher rate than average, and even transfer your points to other eligible rewards programs.
The name of the game with making the most of your points is pairing up your Chase rewards cards. By pairing up the Chase Freedom Unlimited with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can earn bigger rewards on purchases you wouldn’t earn otherwise earn accelerated rewards on. And from there, you can move the points you earn on the Unlimited over to the Reserve, allowing you to redeem those points for greater value. Check out our Chase Trifecta guide for more information on maxing your rewards.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® can also prove useful for this technique, providing a steadier 1.5% base cashback rather than rotating categories, in addition to the same accelerated categories as the Chase Freedom Flex℠.
Chase restricts cardholders to only one Sapphire card per person. There are a few things to note about this ruling:
With a terrific signup bonus, tremendous earning rates on travel and dining through Chase Ultimate Rewards, more than $300 in statement credits and a plethora of travel perks, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is more than worth your time if you’re a frequent traveler. And if you were like me and hardly traveled much beforehand, this card’s benefits might motivate you to go out and see the world. Or at the very least, visit your family once in a while.
If you like the perks mentioned here but don’t quite travel enough to make this card worth it, compare rewards cards to find one that best suits your needs.
Do my reward points expire?
Your reward points don’t expire as long as there’s no change in your account status.
Is there qualifying criteria to get complimentary airport lounge access?
No, but you’ll need to enroll in Priority Pass Select.
How many interest-free days do I get on purchases?
There will be a gap of at least 21 days between your next due date and the close of the previous billing cycle. If you pay the entire balance from purchases during this period, you won’t pay interest on your charges.
What is the Chase Sapphire Reserve phone number?
If you have issues with your card, call 800-432-3117. This isn’t a dedicated Chase Sapphire Reserve® number, but it’s Chase’s support line for personal credit cards.
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