Chase recently upped the ante on its flagship *chase sapphire reserve* card, offering a best-ever 150,000-point bonus after spending $6,000 in the first three months of card membership.
That's up from the 125,000 points you could previously earn for the same spending requirement, meaning now is the time to apply. But there's a $795 elephant in the room …
After “refreshing” the Sapphire Reserve last summer, Chase now charges nearly $800 per year to hold its top-tier card. To help soften the blow, the card now comes with “$3,000-plus in annual value” – Chase's words, not mine – in the form of use-them-or-lose-them travel and lifestyle statement credits. The reality is, most people won't squeeze every dollar out of these benefits … but that's fine, you really only need to use a couple of them to make the math work.
For anyone considering a pricey travel card like this, the card's easy-to-use $300 travel credit and up to $500 per year The Edit℠ hotel credits are the only two perks you need to use to justify paying such a high annual fee – everything else is really just gravy. If you can put these two perks to work for you, you'll be able to offset your entire annual fee, and that doesn't even account for the bonus itself, which can be worth as much as $3,000 when booking select flights and hotels through Chase Travel℠.
Here's how these two credits work and everything else you need to know about making the most of the Sapphire Reserve.
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
$300 Travel Credit
The Reserve Card offers an incredibly lucrative benefit that easily offsets some of the annual fee. Each year, Chase automatically reimburses you for up to $300 in travel purchases. Whether that is a taxi, Uber, hotel, plane ticket, cruise, or any other travel expense, this benefit alone takes much of the sting out of that high annual fee.
Any purchase that Chase considers travel will qualify, and that covers a lot of ground … including many expenses you might not normally consider “travel,” like parking fees, tolls, and campgrounds.
You don't have to book through Chase Travel℠ or jump through any hoops like you do with other cards. Just spend on travel, pay with your Sapphire Reserve, and the $300 credit kicks in automatically.
If you're the type of person who spends at least $300 per year on travel – and you certainly should be, if you're considering the pricey Sapphire Reserve – this effectively reduces the card's fee to $495 per year. That's still a decent chunk of change, but it looks a whole lot better than the $795 price tag.
Considering this credit covers nearly any travel purchase, making good use of it is key to justifying the annual fee.
Read More: All About the $300 Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit
$500 “The Edit” Hotel Credit
Sapphire Reserve cardholders now get up to $500 in statement credits for prepaid “The Edit” hotel bookings to use every calendar year. When the new-look Sapphire Reserve first launched last summer, this was a semi-annual benefit … but that's no longer the case: You now get up to $250 in credit twice per year, regardless of when you book (two-night minimum stay required).
But this credit is even better in year one. Since it runs on the calendar year, you'll actually get up to $500 to use in 2026 and another $500 in 2027 … all while paying a single $795 annual fee. That means you could book something later this year for a stay far off into 2027 and then add on even more nights with next year's credit, saving $1,000 in the process.
If you're unfamiliar, The Edit is a curated collection of luxury and boutique properties available exclusively to Sapphire Reserve cardholders. Think of it as Chase's answer to American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts®, where you get elite-like benefits … no status required.
When you reserve a property through The Edit, you also get access to valuable perks like:
- A $100 property credit to be used on dining, at the spa, or activities at the property
- Daily breakfast for two
- Room upgrades, when available
- Early check-in and late check-out, if available
You'll also earn 8x points per dollar spent on these bookings with your Chase Sapphire Reserve card and, in most cases, still earn hotel points and elite night credits as well. That double dip makes this one of the most rewarding ways to book these hotels, even without taking all the other benefits into account.
Add this on top of the card's annual $300 travel credit, and you've more than offset the annual fee with these benefits alone.
Read more: A Complete Guide to Chase's ‘The Edit' for Sapphire Reserve Cardholders
Other Credits & Benefits Further Tip the Scale
Not the luxury hotel type? No problem. The Sapphire Reserve comes packed with a handful of other credits that can help offset the annual fee … many of which have nothing to do with travel.
Here's a quick look at what else you get with the card:
- Complimentary access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, Priority Pass Lounges for the cardholder and two guests.
- Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS every four years stays in place
- Up to a $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
- Complimentary subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music through June 22, 2027 – a value of $288 annually
- Up to a $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)
- Up to $120 in Peloton credits annually towards memberships through Dec. 31, 2027 – split up into up to $10 monthly credits (activation required)
- Cardholders will still earn 10x points on Peloton equipment and accessories over $150 through Dec. 31, 2027
- Up to $120 in Lyft credits annually, split into $10 monthly allotments through Sept. 30, 2027
- Up to $300 for DoorDash annually through Dec. 31, 2027. This includes two $10 monthly discounts toward non-restaurant orders, a $5 per month discount toward restaurant orders, and a complimentary DashPass membership (a $120 value for 12 months)
If you sub out The Edit hotel credit and make use a couple of those, you're still money ahead and able to make the math work in your favor. And that's before taking into consideration other (non-monetary) perks like top-notch travel protections, complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum elite status, and all the points you'll earn on your day-to-day spending.
So, yeah … that $795 annual fee is a tough pill to swallow, but if you find yourself trying to justify it to take advantage of the current limited-time offer, it really might not be quite as bad as it seems.
How to Use 150K Points
Earning 150,000 Chase points in one fell swoop is a real goldmine. Those points are worth a minimum of $1,500 when used through Chase Travel – or as much as $3,000 when booking select flights and hotels with the bank's new Points Boost feature.
But you can often do even better by moving them to Chase's slew of airline and hotel partners for an award booking. Here are a few ideas:
- Hyatt remains one of the best Chase transfer partners and one of the best ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards, period – though a meaningful Hyatt devaluation is coming soon. Even after that, this bonus alone will cover multiple nights at Hyatt's top-tier properties or more than a month at the hotel chain's cheapest properties.
- You could book Virgin Atlantic Upper Class to London-Heathrow (LHR) for as low as just 29,000 points each way. With that big of a bonus, you'll have enough for two roundtrip Upper Class tickets and points to spare … just beware of the recently increased taxes and fees!
- By sending your points to airlines like Southwest or British Airways, you could easily book several roundtrip flights to Hawaii with this big bonus.
- 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
You want to take advantage of the Chase Sapphire Reserve's limited-time 150,000-point bonus. That's not a question – it's a fact.
The hard part? Justifying the pricey $795 annual fee. Thankfully, you don't need to use every single benefit or credit this card offers in order to make the math work. Even if you only use the card's flexible $300 travel credit and up to $500 per year The Edit hotel credit, you'll have recouped your money and then some. If you can make use of a few other perks, you'll be even further ahead.
