While my hands-down favorite travel credit card is Chase Sapphire Preferred, a flexible travel card with a low annual fee of $95 it also has a sister card.

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About Chase Sapphire Reserve

In 2016, Chase introduced Chase Sapphire Reserve as a new travel credit card with some outstanding travel benefits.

At the time, they offered a 100,000-point bonus upon meeting the minimum spend. It ended up being so popular that Chase ran out of the material it used to make the card!

The current offer now allows you to earn 125,000 points after a $6,000 minimum spend in the first 3 months.

Because it charges a significant $795 annual fee, you will need to be able to offset most, if not all, of that fee by using its many credits. I also really like Chase Sapphire Preferred, a card that offers similar perks for a lower annual fee. I’ll explain how to decide if you will get your full value out of Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Chase Sapphire Reserve earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transferred to many different airline and hotel partners, including my favorite, Southwest Airlines, as well as British Airways, United, JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic. Its points can also be transferred to hotel chains, including Hyatt, Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group, as well as used to book free travel in the Chase Travel℠ portal.

 

Key Benefits of Chase Sapphire Reserve

The eiffel tower in paris at sunset.
  • Bonus: 125,000 points after a $6,000 minimum spend in the first 3 months
  • Annual Fee: $795
  • $300 credit on any travel expenses charged on the card each year. This includes hotel, airline, car rental, transportation (bus, cab, train), tolls, parking and cruise line expenses. See complete list of what qualifies as travel
  • Earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, including The Edit℠
  • 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct (this one-ups the Chase Sapphire Preferred card: read my full review of this card here)
  • 3x points on dining worldwide
  • 1x points on all other purchases
  • Access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with a complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership, plus every Chase Sapphire Lounge® by The Club with 2 guests.
  • Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status through December 31, 2027
  • Up to $120 credit toward Global Entry, NEXUS or TSA PreCheck® every 4 years
  • Get up to $150 in statement credits every 6 months for a maximum of $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve
  • Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance, no foreign transaction fees and more. Primary auto rental coverage means you DO NOT have to file a claim with your insurance company, resulting in higher rates
  • Get complimentary Apple TV+, the exclusive streaming home of Apple Originals. Plus Apple Music across all your devices. Subscriptions run through 6/22/27 – a value of $250 annually
  • $300 Stubhub and viagogo credit ($150 January-June and $150 July-December) for booking concerts, sporting events, plays, etc
  • Complimentary DashPass (value of $120 for 12 months) which offers $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders for a minimum of one year when activated by December 31, 2027 + $25 in monthly promos, including $5 restaurant promo and 2 $10 promos for groceries, beauty, electronics and more

 

Other Details

You should earn back $300 in travel expenses at minimum + any of the other above credits you use along with the TSA PreCheck, NEXUS or Global Entry (up to $120). This should allow you to almost entirely if not more than offset its annual fee.

Interest Rate: It has a high interest rate, so it’s not a card you’d want to carry a balance on from month to month!

Authorized Users: $195 annual fee for each authorized user, which grants them their OWN Priority Pass and access to Chase Sapphire Lounge® by The Club with 2 additional guests. If you don’t want to pay this fee every year, be sure to remove any authorized users before the card renews!

 

Reasons You Should Apply for This Card

  • If you think you will use the $300 travel and other credits each year to recoup most, if not more than, the annual fee.
  • If you can pay the annual fee charged to your account in the first month by the credit card due date.
  • If someone in your traveling party needs TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or NEXUS for which you will be refunded the fee (up to $120) when paying with this card.

 

Reasons You Should Not Apply for This Card

  • If you have not yet applied for or been approved for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards and you plan to earn the Southwest Companion Pass or simply want to accrue the points for free flights. Chase will not approve you if you have applied for more than 5 credit cards in the last 24 months, so apply for Southwest cards FIRST. I can help you with what cards to apply for in what order inside of my Secrets of a Travel Journalist Club where I offer custom plans and personal support.
  • You don’t have $550 to spend out of pocket on the annual fee and/or can’t pay the $550 charged to your balance within 30 days. Instead, I’d suggest starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, which has a lower annual_fees annual fee, earns and earns 2X points on travel and 3X points on dining. One of my all-time favorite cards! Read my full review.
  • No one in your traveling party needs TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or NEXUS.

 

How We Have Used Chase Sapphire Reserve

My husband applied for the card in December 2016 while it had a 100,000-point bonus, and it netted us 4 tickets to Ireland entirely on points (plus security fees and fuel surcharges) on Aer Lingus.

We used the card in on a trip to Europe to offset some of the fuel surcharges we had to pay out of pocket and get my oldest son, who turned 13, his own TSA PreCheck, as he was too old to fall under ours at that point.

We’ve also used the $300 credit to help pay for a cheap flight on Allegiant Airlines to get us from Indianapolis to Ft. Lauderdale, where we flew to Grand Cayman on Southwest for Spring Break for only ~3,150 points round-trip per person, using our Southwest Companion Pass for my husband to fly with us free. Read exactly how we did that.

While holding it, we used the card to pay for most of our out-of-pocket dining and travel expenses, especially when traveling, to net us more points per $1.

We then transfer these points either to Southwest Airlines for more free flights or use them to book free flights or hotels in the Chase Travel℠ portal.

If you decide to apply, let me know if you are approved and how you like the card!

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Author

  • Lyn Mettler is a travel expert, author and longtime travel writer for US News & World Report, USA Today and The TODAY Show. Lyn is also the creator of the Secrets of a Travel Journalist Club, where she shares her Fly Free Formula and her insider tips for traveling easier gained from 25+ years as a professional travel journalist. She is one of the industry's foremost experts on collecting and using travel rewards with her expertise featured in major media outlets and on podcasts, television and radio.

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