Chase unveiled major changes to its flagship *chase sapphire reserve*, including a hefty, $795 annual fee and tons of new benefits – teasing a huge welcome bonus to lure in new customers, too. That relaunched card is finally open for applications … and now we know just how big of a bonus is on the table.
New Reserve applicants can now earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points and an extra $500 credit usable through the Chase Travel℠ portal after spending $5,000 within the first three months. That's a record-smashing bonus on one of the best premium travel cards on the market, dwarfing the standard 60,000-point bonus and even 100,000-point bonus we saw when the card first launched nearly a decade ago.
While many travelers were no doubt hoping for an even bigger sum of points rather than another travel credit, it's still a massive bonus easily worth at least $2,000 toward travel … if not much, much more by sending the points to Chase transfer partners. And that's before counting the Reserve Card's many additional credits, from the longstanding $300 annual travel credit to a new, $500 credit for high-end hotels in Chase's “The Edit” portfolio.
Think you can't get the Reserve Card and this big bonus? Think again: In tandem with this big news, Chase is also making major changes to its frustrating eligibility rules, including dropping the longstanding ban on holding both a Reserve and the cheaper *chase sapphire preferred*. While some finer details of bonus eligibility are still up in the air, it's clear that Chase is opening the door to more cardholders and customers than ever.
Now, credit cards are serious business. No matter how alluring a 100,000-point bonus sounds, it's not worth digging yourself into credit card debt.
We don't know exactly how long this mammoth bonus will last … but bonuses this big don't last long. Here's what you need to know.
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
The Basics on the (New) Chase Sapphire Reserve
For the first time in five years, Chase is raising the annual fee on its ultra-popular Reserve Card from $550 to a whopping $795 a year.
That's steep, and Chase knows it. That's why they're adding a metric ton of new benefits to the card – some better than others. A few longtime benefits are getting tweaked, but many remain completely unchanged. But honestly, nothing helps offset that fee more than this huge welcome bonus.
- Welcome Bonus: New applicants can earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points and an extra one-time $500 credit usable through the Chase Travel℠ portal after spending $5,000 within the first three months
- Changing! Earn 8x points on all purchases through the Chase Travel℠ portal
- Cardmembers previously earned 5x points on flights and 10x points on hotels and rental cars
- Changing! Earn 4x points booking flights and hotels direct
- Cardmembers previously earned 3x points on all travel purchases, not just those made directly
- Earn 3x points on all dining purchases remains untouched
- Complimentary access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, Priority Pass Lounges, and select Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges for the cardholder and two guests
- Annual $300 travel credit for all travel purchases remains unchanged
- $120 credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS every four years stays in place
- New! $500 in annual hotel credits for 1,100-plus properties in Chase Travel's “The Edit” portfolio with additional benefits like a $100 onsite credit, complimentary breakfast for two, space-available upgrades, and more
- Split into two, $250 credits available from January through June and again from July through December. Must book at least a two-night stay
- New! Automatic IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status
- Cardholders can bump up to top-tier Diamond Elite Status by spending $75,000 on their Reserve each calendar year
- Changing! Expanded “PointsBoost” redemptions in Chase Travel on select premium cabin flights and hotels, where each point is worth 2 cents apiece
- Chase will officially sunset the 1.5-cent-per-point redemptions on all travel through the portal as of Oct. 26, 2027. Until then, existing cardholders can continue redeeming points for enhanced value on all travel bookings – but only for points earned prior to Oct. 26, 2025.
- New! $300 annual dining credit at select “Sapphire Reserve Dining” restaurants bookable through OpenTable
- Split into two, $150 credits available from January through June and again from July through December
- New! Complimentary subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music – a $250 value
- New! $300 annual StubHub credit for concert and event tickets
- Split into two, $150 credits available from January 1 through June 30, and again from July 1 through December 31 for purchases on StubHub.com and viagogo.com. Activation required
- New! $120 in Peloton credits annually towards memberships
- Cardholders will still earn 10x points on Peloton equipment and accessories
- $120 in Lyft credits annually, split into $10 monthly allotments
- Up to $300 for DoorDash annually including two $10 monthly discounts toward non-restaurant orders, $5 a month off restaurant orders, and a complimentary DashPass membership
- Excellent travel insurance policies for trip delay, trip interruption, rental cars, and more
- Changing! Annual fee of $795 – up from $550 a year
- Authorized user fees are also increasing from $75 per card to $195
Chase is also adding in some sweeteners to encourage big spenders to keep pulling out their Reserve card. In addition to that bump up to IHG Diamond Status, cardholders who spend $75,000 or more on their Reserve will also get:
- Automatic Southwest A-List status
- A $500 travel credit for Southwest Airlines (when booking through Chase Travel)
- A $250 credit for the new “Shops at Chase”
Whew, got all that? That's a long, long list of new and changing benefits – a mix of travel-focused perks and lifestyle credits. Chase pegs the total value of the card north of $2,700 a year.
Putting all that to use is probably a stretch. Fortunately, Chase is making it a bit easier to do so than some of its competitors (cough – American Express) by making most of these new money-saving credits available either throughout the full year or split into two, semiannual credits. That sure beats remembering to use up $10 or $20 credits each and every month.
Who Can Earn this Big Bonus?
Earning 100,000 ultra-valuable Chase points from one card is tough to beat. Tossing in another $500 in travel credits is the cherry on top.
But for more than a decade, Chase has been notoriously stingy with actually allowing travelers to earn these big bonuses. The pesky Chase 5/24 rule means travelers with a wallet full of credit cards are often ineligible. Worse yet, there's a 48-month restriction between earning bonuses on Sapphire Cards. Oh, and that longstanding restriction on applying for both the Preferred and Reserve Cards, too.
Even as the new Chase Sapphire Reserve hits the market, we're not entirely sure how these policies are changing … but it's clear Chase is softening its stance. Here's what we know – or what we think we know:
- Chase has confirmed that the ban on holding both the Reserve and Preferred cards simultaneously is gone.
- All indications are that Chase is also dropping the 48-month restriction across the Sapphire family
- That means current *chase sapphire preferred* cardholders should be eligible to earn this big new bonus on the Reserve
- But travelers who have already earned a bonus on the Reserve Card will not be eligible to earn this new bonus again
- We know for sure that Chase is also rolling out a preapproval pop-up tool similar to Amex's “Apply with Confidence” feature, which will notify would-be applicants whether they're eligible to earn the bonus before hitting “submit” and triggering a credit pull
The biggest question right now is whether someone who just recently applied for and earned a bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred – say, the 100,000-point bonus from just a month ago – will be eligible to earn this new bonus. Stay tuned.
How to Use This 100K + $500 Bonus
There's a reason why the launch of the Chase Sapphire Reserve nearly a decade ago practically broke the internet. Earning 100,000 Chase points in one fell swoop is unbeatable.
That extra $500 travel credit should be easy enough to use. Book any flight, hotel, rental car, or other travel expense through Chase Travel and it should kick in automatically. You could even pair it the card's new $500 credit for Chase “The Edit” hotels for a grand total of $1,000 toward some seriously high-end lodging with extra perks. Just keep in mind that second, ongoing annual credit is split in two, $250 semiannual amounts that reset on Jan. 1 and July 1.
But then there's the points, which are a real goldmine. And since you'll have to spend $5,000 to earn it, you'll actually have at least 105,000 points to throw around. Here are a few ideas:
- Hyatt is one of the best Chase transfer partners and one of the best ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards, period, with properties starting as low as 3,500 points per night
- You could book Virgin Atlantic Upper Class to London-Heathrow (LHR) for as low as just 29,000 points each way. If another 25% transfer bonus (or even bigger!) rolls around, you'll have more than enough points for two roundtrip tickets!
- By sending your points to airlines like Southwest or British Airways, you could easily book several roundtrip flights to Hawaii with these Chase points
- Even after a recent devaluation, Iberia business class remains one of the cheapest ways to get to Europe in a lie-flat seat at 40,500 Avios each way – requiring even fewer points if you time it right with one of the frequent 20% or 30% transfer bonuses we see from Chase to Iberia or British Airways
Read our full list of awesome ways to redeem a big Chase bonus!
Bottom Line
The new *chase sapphire reserve* is officially on the scene, complete with a massive welcome bonus to make a splash.
New applicants can earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points and an extra $500 credit usable through the Chase Travel℠ portal after spending $5,000 within the first three months. It's the biggest bonus we've ever seen on Chase's top travel card and an easy way to take the sting out of its higher, $795 annual fee.
We don't know how long this offer will be around, but we know this: Bonuses this big typically don't last very long!
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
