Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card Review
Tommy
Last updated 11/24/21
The battle of the premium cards began when JPMorgan introduced the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) credit card back in 2016 to directly compete with the American Express Platinum charge card and the battle wages on today. The CSR was so popular back then, when it offered a 100,000 point sign-up bonus, that Chase ran out of metal to produce the credit cards and the CSR lost about $330 million of profit out of Chase. Even without the 100,000 point sign-up bonus, the CSR is still one of the most powerful credit cards on the market.
Who should get this card?
The CSR is great for people who dine out a lot, travel occasionally, and want a luxury travel experience. It’s especially valuable for people who live in major cities as they have more access to restaurant options, food delivery services, and travel options.
The CSR is a top-tier credit card with Chase so you will need to have an excellent credit score (at least 750+) in order to be accepted. You should also know about the notorious Chase 5/24 rule. The Chase 5/24 rule is a theory that Chase will decline all credit card applicants if they have opened 5 or more credit cards in the past 24 months. Chase has not said this, but it has essentially been confirmed by the travel hacking community. So if you want a Chase credit card then you should open them up first so your application won’t get declined because of this rule.
Sign-up Bonus & Annual Fee
Unfortunately, I missed out on the 100,000 points sign-up bonus as I got this card back in January 2018. But Chase is still offering a 50,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of opening the credit card. The bonus is worth at least $750 because you can redeem points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal at 1.5 cents per point.
The annual fee is $550 so very high, however, I find it very easy to offset with the credits and earning potential of the Chase Trifecta.
How to Earn Points?
The CSR alone is not the highest points earning credit card on the market, but it is quite strong for dining and travel.
There was a revamp in August 2021 and it was a small improvement. You earn 10x points on hotels & car rentals booked through the Chase Travel Portal, 10x points on Chase Dining, 10x points on Lyfts through March 2022, 5x points on flights booked through the Chase Travel Portal, 3x points on travel and dining, and 1x points on everything else.
Chase’s dining and travel category classifications are very broad. This means every time you purchase something using your credit card, there is a code that describes the purchase. These codes can be found on your recent transactions and you can see your points activity on the Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal under “Rewards Activity”. Below are the categories that will typically trigger the bonus points.
- Dining: Restaurants, fast food, food delivery apps except Postmates, cafes, bars, breweries, university dining halls, vending machines, and most sporting/entertainment events. Dining purchases that Chase does not count as dining include bakeries, catering services, grocery stores, in-flight food & drinks, meal subscription services, and movie theaters (Exception is AMC Dine-In Theaters).
- Travel: Flights, hotels, motels, AirBnB’s, timeshares, campgrounds, car rentals, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel websites, and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, rideshare apps, limousines, ferries, toll bridges/highways, and parking lots/garages. The following do not count: real estate agents, websites or owners that rent vacation properties, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, tourist attractions, merchants within airports, and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. In addition, the purchasing of points or miles does not qualify in this category.
The Perks
- Annual $300 travel credit: The CSR offers a $300 travel credit per anniversary year effectively lowering the annual fee to $250. The travel credit is very easy to redeem as the Chase travel category classification is very broad (see above). I typically use this credit within the first month of every year as booking a flight usually eats up the entire credit.
- Priority Pass Select Membership: Cardholders will receive a Priority Pass Select membership, which gives you and a guest access to over 1,200 airport lounges around the world. Priority Pass also added 31 airport restaurants at 20 U.S. airports. You will receive a $28-$30 food & drink credit. Some restaurants will allow an additional $28-$30 credit a guest, but make sure to check the Priority Pass website to know for sure. It should be noted that tip is not included so please remember to tip your servers so we don’t lose this perk! Lastly, authorized users ($75 for each user) receive a membership as well.
- DoorDash: DoorDash is a food delivery service in most major cities and you will receive DashPass through 2021, which includes lower service fees and offers free delivery on orders over $12. DashPass is normally $9.99/month. You will also receive two $60 DoorDash credits, one in 2020 and one in 2021.
- Lyft Pink Membership: This membership typically costs $19.99/month, but cardholders will receive it for free. Lyft Pink offers 15% off of all rides, priority airport pickup, relaxed cancellation fees, and more. Cardholders will also earn 10x points per ride until March 2022.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit: When you charge your application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck to your CSR, you will receive a reimbursement credit for both. Remember that TSA PreCheck is included in Global Entry so that’s the better option to go with in case you travel internationally. The benefit is available to cardholders once every four years. So if you already have enrolled, you can cover the application fee for a family member or friend.
- Visa Infinite Perks: Perks include Primary Rental Car Insurance, trip cancellation insurance, trip delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, concierge service, and access to a luxury hotel & resort collection. Every time I rent a car, I use the CSR for the primary rental car insurance, which means you can decline the rental car company’s insurance and you do not have to file a claim with any other insurance. I have actually had to use the trip delay insurance multiple times already as my flights were delayed/cancelled so that has come in handy for me.
- All of the benefits and fine print can be found on the Chase website.
Redeeming Ultimate Rewards Points
As mentioned above, Ultimate Rewards Points are worth at least 1.5 cents per point if you book flights and hotels through the Chase portal. I like simplicity and I mainly book through the Chase Travel Portal at 1.5 cents per point. Plus booking through the portal books as a cash price so you are able to use Airline/Hotel status and earn more miles/points. I even cashed out points at 1 cents per point so I could invest into the stock market back in March 2020.
The better option is transferring them to any of their 13 transfer partners. Ex.) You can book United flights to Europe in business class for 60,000 – 70,000 points each way. I actually got burned during the COVID-19 Pandemic as I transferred 17,000 points do British Airways to book my Portland, ME flight. Cash prices at the time were about $300 round trip so good value at about 1.7 cents per point, but then I checked the cash prices later and it was down to about $150/round trip so I redeemed them for a bad value at 0.7 cents per point. I ended up cancelling the flight as my plans changed for my Maine trip and now I am dealing with an expiring travel credit. I’ll be able to use it and not let it go to waste, but it is a real pain in the a**… But that is an example of the problems with Dynamic Pricing.
Competitors & Alternatives
- American Express Platinum Card: The Platinum card earns 5x points on flights and prepaid hotel purchases through the AMEX travel portal and one point on everything else. It comes with access to Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Lounges when flying on Delta, and a Priority Pass Select membership. It also comes with Gold elite status for Hilton and Marriott. There is a $200 airline credit good for checked bags, seat selections, inflight food & drink, etc. with one designated airline and $200 in Uber credits, a $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit, $240 entertainment credit, $200 hotel credit, etc. The Platinum card has a $695 annual fee.
- Citi Prestige Card: The card earns 5x points on dining and flights, 3x on hotels and cruises, and 1 point per dollar on everything else. There is the 4th night free perk where you receive a 4th night free at a hotel stay that can be used twice per year. This can be extremely valuable if you stay at higher-end or expensive hotels. Lastly, there is a $250 travel credit. The annual fee is $495.
Bottom Line
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the best credit cards on the market period. It’s suited for high spenders and frequent travelers, but the $300 travel credit effectively brings the annual fee down to $250. I only travel about 3-5 times a year and I still find it beneficial, even with the $550 annual fee, especially when compared to the AMEX Platinum card. 2022 will actually be my first year paying $550 as I was locked in for the $450 annual fee in 2020 & 2021 due to COVID so that was a nice gesture by Chase. So if you spend at least $700/month on dining and travel, then that will be enough to cover the annual fee.
With the revamp of the CSR and the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP), it looks like the CSP is winning the battle as the earning potential is superior. However, I think that is what Chase wants. They want a ton of people to switch to the CSP and make the CSR more exclusive down the line. I think that they are trying to rebrand it into the “most exclusive” credit card of Chase. I don’t know when or if there will be another revamp for the CSR as we just had one and this is just a feeling I have. But I think they will have step up their game if they don’t want people to switch to the AMEX Platinum. AMEX has been very aggressive with their sign-up bonuses for the AMEX Platinum. Even I couldn’t resist 100,000 points and 10x on gas stations and groceries for 6 months. I would imagine that the AMEX Platinum grew significantly with the aggressive sign-up bonuses in 2021 and Chase increased their annual fee from $450 to $550 without many “good” additional perks. I think they need to make dining at least 4x points for every dollar spent as they don’t even compete with the AMEX Gold. So I plan on keeping the CSR and Chase Trifecta through 2022 and see what happens. Also a reminder, that I opened up the AMEX Dyad in 2021 so I am playing the field. I am not totally sure how I feel about AMEX. They have superior customer service, but they are not easy to use.
I am a HUGE believer in having transferable points (Ex. Chase Ultimate Rewards, AMEX Membership Rewards, & Capital One Points) and not be loyal to a single airline/hotel. Over the recent years, airline’s and hotel’s rewards programs have all changed to dynamic pricing where prices/point redemptions vary based on supply/demand/seasonality and there are some God awful deals out there. And that’s what they want. So that is why I highly value cashing in points for 1.5 cents per point with the CSR and 1 cents per point for cash.
If you are hesitant about the $550 annual fee then check out this link as it compares the CSR to the CSP. Both cards are extremely good and it all depends on what fits your lifestyle. The CSR offers some incredible travel perks, industry leading travel protections, and has a strong points earning potential and is definitely a keeper in my wallet.
Sign-Up Bonus: 9
Earning Potential: 8
Perks: 9
Overall: 8.67