Just three months after a sweeping overhaul of the *chase sapphire reserve*, Chase is already circling back to make some substantial tweaks to some of the card’s headline perks – and they're a win for cardholders.
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Reserve and *sapphire reserve for business* cardmembers will get a more flexible hotel credit at Chase's luxury “The Edit” portfolio. Rather than forcing cardholders to use two, $250 hotel credits in each half of the year, they'll be able to use up those two credits at any time.
At the same time, Chase is adding in another new $250 hotel credit booking through Chase Travel℠ for next year with a wrinkle: It's a one-time credit for next year only eligible for seven select hotel brands including IHG, Virgin, Omni, and others. Those are the brands where Reserve cardholders can now earn both Ultimate Rewards and points (plus elite status) with the chain itself when booking through Chase.
All those hotel credits require at least a two-night stay – a frustrating hoop. On the plus side, they can be stacked: You can use one of two $250 Edit credits, the new $250 hotel credit, and even the card's longtime annual $300 travel credit on the same hotel stay.
Coming just months after the card's biggest makeover since its launch nearly a decade ago, a top Chase executive insisted that these changes aren't an admission that the new Reserve Card isn't moving the needle with travelers but rather proof that the bank is willing to quickly pivot to make their flagship travel card even better.
“We’re very, very happy with the way that the market has responded to the card. This is a never-ending process,” Sam Palmer, the general manager of Chase Sapphire, said in an interview. “We want to make sure that the credits we bring to our clients are easy, and easy to redeem.”
Here's a deeper look at what's changing on Chase's top travel credit cards starting next year.
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
Learn more about the *sapphire reserve for business*
A More Flexible “Edit” Credit
The biggest shift is to the Reserve’s $500 annual “The Edit” hotel credit, which was one of the flashier perks Chase rolled out during its overhaul this summer.
That credit was split into two, $250 chunks: One available from January through June, and another in the back half of the year. If you didn’t have a qualifying two-night prepaid stay lined up in each window, half your benefit went to waste.
Come Jan. 1, 2026, Chase is loosening the reins. While it's still split into two, $250 credits – and requires a two-night booking to kick in – cardholders can use them to book prepaid stays at any time throughout the year. That means you could book an eligible stay on Jan. 1 and another on Jan. 2 and use up the entire $500 in credits rather than waiting (and perhaps forgetting) until the second half of the year.
Cardmembers will still get up to $500 back on prepaid stays within the Edit portfolio, but it’s now structured as up to $250 per booking rather than tied to the calendar.
It’s a subtle tweak, but one that should make those credits easier to use.
New $250 Credit for Select Hotels
On top of that, Chase is throwing in a one-time $250 credit for prepaid bookings with a handful of partner hotel chains through Chase Travel. Cardholders can also get up to $250 back on prepaid Chase Travel bookings at select hotel brands, including:
- IHG Hotels & Resorts
- Montage Hotels & Resorts
- Pendry Hotels & Resorts
- Omni Hotels & Resorts
- Virgin Hotels
- Minor Hotels
- Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts
This is one-time credit for 2026 – not an ongoing benefit cardholders will get every year. Like the Edit credits, these bookings require a minimum two-night stay and must be prepaid to trigger the benefit.
But Palmer called it a “celebration” of an important change: Chase now says you’ll earn both Ultimate Rewards® points and the hotel’s own loyalty points when booking these stays through Chase's portal – something that’s often off the table when booking through a third-party portal. You won't earn Ultimate Rewards until you've exhausted that $250 credit.
Put it all together, and Sapphire Reserve cardmembers could now get up to $750 back on hotel stays next year … assuming they’re willing to prepay for two-night stays through Chase’s portal.
Why It Matters
For cardholders, these tweaks make it a bit easier to actually use the Sapphire Reserve’s new hotel perks.
By eliminating the timing requirements to use up both $250 The Edit credits, travelers no longer have to time their bookings around the calendar. Plus, the one-time additional $250 credit for select hotel brands offers another way to offset the Reserve's steeper $795 annual fee next year.
Palmer said it was driven by cardmember feedback since the new Reserve Card launched in late June that travelers wanted more freedom to use those Edit hotel credits – and to earn points with both Chase and their favorite hotel chains, too.
“And we continue listening,” he added.
Asked whether Chase could have instead made it one $500 credit or eliminated the two-night minimum stay requirement – a restriction you won't find in Amex's eerily similar Fine Hotels and Resorts program – Palmer said the latest changes push the card as far as Chase can while making sure “that the economics of the product overall works.”
“If it doesn’t, then the card doesn’t exist and we cannot give the benefits to anybody,” he said. “We will always push as far as we can to give more value.”
But the timing is no coincidence. For Chase and every other bank in the country, premium travel credit cards are the clear focus.
This Wednesday announcement comes just one day before American Express's long-awaited Platinum Card unveiling. And it comes on the heels of new premium travel credit cards from Citi, Alaska Airlines, and others.
With Amex ready to dominate headlines, Chase appears eager to keep the Sapphire Reserve in the conversation.
Bottom Line
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Chase Sapphire Reserve and Reserve for Business cardmembers will get more flexibility to use their $500 Edit hotel credits – plus a new, one-time $250 credit for prepaid stays at select hotel brands booked through Chase Travel.
