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The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: Chase Freedom Flex℠, American Express® Green Card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.
If you're new to rewards credit cards you may want to start elsewhere. But if you know you want to earn Chase points and you spend a lot of money on travel and dining each year, the
Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only Review
On top of a generous welcome bonus and earning rates, the
Newer perks that can help offset the annual fee include $5 per month in DoorDash in-app credit (through December 2024) and up to $15 per month in Instacart credits (through July 2024). These two benefits combined can offset the annual fee by up to $240 per year.
Moreover, the card now offers cardholders two years of complimentary Lyft Pink All Access membership, the most premium Lyft membership option (worth $199 per year), and 50% off the third year of membership. This gets you ride discounts, priority pickup upgrades, unlimited bike rides, cancellation forgiveness, and more.
If you don't want to pay the card's high annual fee, the
Read our full breakdown of the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve for a head-to-head comparison of these two popular travel cards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only Fees
The
You'll want to make sure you can pay your balance in full each month to avoid interest charges (currently a
Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only Rewards
The
- Around
Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Featured Reward Value in travel when you transfer points to airline and hotel partners (based on Insider's valuation of Chase points at 1.8 cents apiece on average) - $900 in travel when you redeem points through the Chase travel portal
- $600 in cash back or gift cards
How to earn rewards
The
- 10x points on Lyft rides through March 2025
- 10x points on Chase Dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 10x points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x points on air travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 3x points on other travel (after earning the $300 travel credit) and dining
- 1 point per dollar on everything else
If you're not sure if a purchase qualifies to earn bonus points, read our guide to what counts toward each of the Chase Sapphire categories to learn more about any restrictions.
How to use rewards
The
You can also use your points to purchase travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal, which works just like any other online travel agency. When you use points that way, you get a 50% bonus — in other words, each point will be worth 1.5 cents instead.
Finally, you can also transfer points to Chase's airline and hotel partners to book award travel — transferring points is generally the most valuable way to use them.
It's also worth noting that, if you have other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, you can transfer points from those cards into your
Plus, you'll unlock the ability to transfer those points to Chase's airline and hotel partners — an option that's not available if you only have a no-annual-fee Chase Ultimate Rewards card.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only Benefits
Up to $300 travel credit
Each cardmember year, meaning every 12 months beginning from the month you open the card, the
The credit will be applied to the first $300 worth of purchases you make that year in the travel category, including purchases for subways, taxis, ridesharing, and parking, as well as hotels, airfare, and cruises.
When you subtract the travel credit, the
DoorDash food delivery
Chase was clearly feeling the pressure from updates to American Express cards like
Instacart benefits
If you're an Instacart customer, the
In addition, cardholders now receive up to $15 per month in statement credits toward Instacart purchases (activation required). If you maximize this benefit each month, it's worth up to $180 per year — which goes a long way to offset the annual fee.
Lyft Pink All Access membership
Cardholders can activate two years of complimentary Lyft Pink All Access membership, and 50% off the third year (activation required by December 31, 2024). Lyft's most premium membership (worth $199 per year) gets you excellent perks (like member-exclusive pricing, cancellation forgiveness, and more) just by activating the promo in the Lyft app.
Airport lounge access including new Chase Sapphire lounges
Having access to airport lounges is one of my favorite perks of the
The card comes with a Priority Pass Select membership. Priority Pass is a network of more than 1,300 airport lounges around the world, any of which you and two travel companions can access for free when you have your membership card.
With the Priority Pass membership provided by the
Chase is also starting to unveil its own Chase Sapphire Lounges, the first of which opened at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) in 2022. The Hong Kong lounge boasts comfortable areas for relaxing and working, locally curated menus and art, signature cocktails, and other premium amenities. The Sapphire Lounge in Boston (BOS) Terminal B to C connector opened in 2023 with similarly luxurious decor and amenities.
Chase will continue opening new Chase Sapphire Lounges at a number of locations including New York-LaGuardia (LGA) Terminal B, San Diego (SAN), Phoenix (PHX), Las Vegas (LAS), Washington Dulles (IAD) Terminal A, and the Philadelphia (PHL) Terminal D/E connector.
Chase Sapphire Lounges will be available to
Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit
TSA PreCheck and Global Entry (which comes with PreCheck) are absolute musts for just about any traveler. Once you enroll, you can use special lanes to breeze through airport security — you won't have to remove shoes and light coats, and you can leave your laptop in your bag.
With Global Entry, you can use a fast lane when you return to the US from abroad, which makes clearing immigration and customs easy and quick. And with NEXUS, you get the privileges from both of these programs, plus expedited entry into Canada. The programs cost $78 (TSA PreCheck), $100 (Global Entry), or $50 (NEXUS), and Chase will provide a credit for that fee every four years (memberships are valid for five years).
Primary car rental insurance and rental elite status
The
When you have the card, you can also get complimentary elite status with Avis, National, and Silvercar rental agencies. The benefits vary a bit between the companies but generally include a car class upgrade, easy pick-up/drop-off, and more.
Discounts and perks with Avis, National, and Silvercar car rental agencies
Cardholders receive special privileges with Avis, National, and Silvercar car rentals. These include discounts, upgrades, savings on luxury and premium cars, and special promotions. To access these deals, visit the card benefits section of your online account and navigate to the "Special Car Rental Privileges" section to enroll.
Trip interruption/cancellation insurance
If you've paid for an eligible trip with the card and it's cut short or canceled for a covered reason like illness or severe weather, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses.
Trip delay insurance
When you use your card to pay for your fare, the card's trip delay insurance can reimburse you up to $500 per ticket for hotel rooms, food, toiletries, clothes, or other reasonable expenses when your flight is delayed overnight or by six hours or more.
Baggage delay insurance
If you paid for your trip with the card and your bags are delayed for six hours or more, you could be reimbursed for essential purchases (like clothing and toiletries) up to $100 per day for up to five days.
Lost luggage reimbursement
If the airline damages or loses your bags, you and your immediate family members could be covered for up to $3,000 per passenger as long as you've paid for your tickets with the card.
Extended warranty
The
Purchase protection
If an eligible item you've bought with the
Travel and emergency assistance services
If you're traveling away from home and run into problems, you can get help with medical and legal referrals or other emergency assistance. This service is free, but any third-party costs are your responsibility.
Travel accident insurance
When you pay for your air, bus, cruise, or train transportation with the
Roadside assistance
Reserve cardholders can contact the roadside assistance hotline for help with a tow, jumpstart, tire change, locksmith, or gas. Coverage is for up to $50 per incident, up to four times per year.
Emergency evacuation and transportation
Cardholders and their immediate family members can access an emergency evacuation and transportation benefit, which can be a lifesaver if things go very wrong while traveling.
It offers up to $100,000 in coverage if you're injured or become critically ill during a covered trip of between five and 60 days, as long as you've charged a portion of the cost, or the entire cost of a covered trip to your account. The evacuation also has to be approved by Chase's benefits administrator in consultation with a licensed physician.
If you're hospitalized for more than eight days, this benefit will even pay the cost of an economy-class ticket to bring a friend or relative to your bedside.
Emergency medical and dental benefit
Another unique perk is an emergency medical and dental benefit, which supplements any existing medical coverage you have if you are injured or become ill during a trip of five to 60 days. There's a maximum benefit of $2,500 with a $50 deductible.
If you need to recover in a hotel, you can be covered for costs up to $75 per day, for up to five days.
Reserved by Sapphire restaurant benefit
Cardholders can access Reserved by Sapphire, a new opportunity to book hard-to-get reservations at some of the country's top restaurants.
These include Canlis in Seattle, Redbird in Los Angeles, SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg, California, Reverence in New York City, and One Off Hospitality in Chicago.
Gopuff credits
Chase has partnered with Gopuff to provide $10 per month in credits on select cards, including the
Gopuff is a rapid delivery service that provides essentials like snacks, drinks, cleaning supplies, and personal care items. To use the Gopuff credit, there's a minimum order of $10 and a $3.95 fee per delivery. You can take advantage of the monthly credit through December 31, 2023.
Compare the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only
This card is extremely valuable for travel, thanks to the flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards points it earns and benefits like Priority Pass airport lounge access and up to a $300 annual travel credit. It does charge a
Sapphire Reserve vs Sapphire Preferred
If you're trying to decide between the
If that annual fee is too rich for your blood, the
Here's our comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve for a deeper dive into the differences.
Sapphire Reserve vs Venture X
These two premium credit cards have a lot in common, with the
Between the Venture X's annual travel credit and a 10,000-mile bonus each account anniversary, you can easily offset its entire annual fee. However, Capital One's transfer partners aren't as useful as Chase's for the average traveler, so depending on your award preferences, the
Read our comparison of the Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve if you're trying to decide between these cards.
The Amex Platinum is the iconic luxury travel card, with a whopping
Compared to the
Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Gold
The
The
Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only Cardholder Concerns
As part of our analysis of the
Brand-specific lounge access
If you're an avid credit card hound, you probably have more than one premium credit card in your wallet. In these situations, the value you'll drive from the
Wasting money on premium benefits
Redditors also debate the value of the
The comparison against the
If you're considering the
Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What credit score do you need to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only ?
You'll need a credit score of at least 670 to get the
Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only card worth it?
The
Between the annual travel credit (up to $300 per year), DoorDash credits (up to $60 per year), and Instacart credits (up to $180 per year), you can offset the annual fee almost entirely — and the rest of the benefits are just gravy.
Who is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only good for?
The
Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only hard to get?
The
How do I add an authorized user to my Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only ?
You can add an authorized user to your
There's a $75 fee for each authorized user, but they'll get their own Priority Pass Select membership and get access to travel insurance and other benefits when they use their card.
Why You Should Trust Us: How we reviewed the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only
Insider's credit cards team reviewed the
- Ease of use — Is the card's rewards earning and redeeming easy to understand, even for beginners? Are there multiple options for using rewards?
- Potential rewards — Does the card offer a generous welcome bonus compared to competing cards, and does it offer bonus categories that are useful to the average traveler? Are any of the categories capped?
- Annual fee — Premium cards usually come with high annual fees. Is the fee justified by the rewards and perks the card offers?
- Benefits — Are the card's benefits, especially related to travel and upscale perks, at least equal to or better than similar cards?
Here's a guide to how we rate credit cards at Insider for closer look at our methodology.