Chase Sapphire Reserve® Review
Best premium travel credit card with airport lounge access and good point multipliers.
By Sebastian F.|Updated on 3/14/2024
Back
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the best premium travel cards that also works for everyday life expenses. There is a $550 annual fee but $300 in credits and other perks that help offset this.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
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℠.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a strong premium card if you care about earning points or benefits when you travel. Despite the $550 annual fee, the $300 travel credit, Priority Pass membership, and travel insurances make the card worth considering.
Point Multipliers
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (CSR) earns Ultimate Reward (UR) points and has many competitive categories, including:
- 10x on Chase Dining through Ultimate Rewards
- 10x on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel℠
- 5x on flights through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on other travel worldwide
- 3x on dining
- 1x on all other purchases
Reward rates for travel take place once the $300 annual travel credit is used.
Optimal Strategy
The CSR is a great card to earn points and also get travel protections and other benefits.
The $550 annual fee is offset by a $300 annual travel credit that’s reimbursed each account anniversary year. For many, it makes the “effective” annual fee only $250 for the card.
The card also comes with a Priority Pass, allowing you and two guests to visit partner airport lounges for free. Unlike other issuers, Chase's Priority Pass membership works for airport lounges and restaurants.
Redeeming Points
The CSR earns Ultimate Reward (UR) points which provide a ton of flexibility whether you’re focused on cash back, travel, or aspirational travel.
Cash Back
At a minimum, points can be redeemed for 1 cent per point (1 CPP) as a statement credit. 3x = 3%.
Travel / Pay Yourself Back
CSR increases the value of your points when booking travel through the Chase Travel Portal or via the “Pay Yourself Back” program. Here, you earn 1.5 CPP, so 3x is 4.5% in value.
Aspirational Travel
Points can be transferred to airline and hotel partners – generally more useful for aspirational travel (i.e., first or business class flights).
Chase Trifecta
The CSR is often combined with the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom Unlimited® to create the Chase Trifecta. This means the cashback (points) you earn via the Freedom cards can be redeemed for more value.
Alternatives
If you value airport lounge access and want even more options, The Platinum Card® from American Express might be a better fit.
If you don’t care about airport lounges and want a lower annual fee (while elevating the value of your other Chase points), then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (CSP) might be better.
If you’re focused on earning points and want additional categories, the Citi Premier® Card and American Express® Gold Card are worth considering.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
The Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the best travel cards, especially if you can use the many credits. For many, this becomes a highly subsidized lounge access and travel perks card.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is ideal for those optimizing for cash back or travel. Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards for cash back at 1.25x on select categories through Pay Yourself Back or travel via Chase Travel℠. The card is also a basic travel card with good spend multipliers and benefits like no foreign transaction fees and primary collision damage waiver (terms apply).
Main Takeaway
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a strong premium card if you care about earning points or benefits when you travel. Despite the $550 annual fee, the $300 travel credit, Priority Pass membership, and travel insurances make the card worth considering.