The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium credit card and a favorite of frequent travelers, despite its hefty $550 annual fee. Cardholders can earn points in a large variety of bonus categories, receive hundreds of dollars in statement credits, enjoy complimentary memberships and get a ton of insurance coverage on their purchases and travels.

• Pros and cons
• Overview
• Rewards
• Benefits
• Interest rates and fees
• FAQs
• How we evaluated the Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Summary of Money’s Chase Sapphire Reserve® review

Chase Sapphire Reserve® Pros and Cons

Chase Sapphire Reserve® Overview

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® stands out among luxury credit cards because it offers high rewards on travel categories, as well as valuable statement credits and perks. Its $550 annual fee isn’t cheap but is still lower than some of its main competitors, some of which charge $600+.

It’s an especially good card when it comes to travel. Cardholders can earn 10x points on hotels and rental cars, as well as 5x points on flights, when purchasing through Chase Travel℠. It also offers primary rental car insurance, statement credits for TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry and access to airport lounges through Priority Pass™ Select, among other premium benefits

While its redemption rate is already high, redeeming for travel through Chase Travel℠ makes points worth 1.5x times more, meaning 10,000 points are worth $150 instead of $100.

Foodies would also benefit greatly from this card, as it offers 3x points on dining and 10x points when making Chase Dining purchases and reservations through Chase Travel℠. There’s also the Reserved by Sapphire℠ program, which grants VIP access to exclusive restaurants and entertainment events.

All in all, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the best luxury credit cards in the market, and with a competitive annual fee.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® Rewards

Earning points

You can earn points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® by using it anywhere VISA is accepted. However, you can get far more points when using it for purchases in the bonus categories, especially through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® and Chase Travel℠ portals:

• 10x points on Chase Dining through Chase Travel℠

• 10x on Lyft rides until March 2025

• 10x on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases above $150 until March 31, 2025, with a maximum of 50,000 points earned

• 10x points on hotels and rental cars when purchasing through Chase Travel℠ (after the first $300 spent, which accumulates toward the annual travel credit)

• 5x points on flights booked through Chase Travel℠ (after the first $300 spent, which accumulates toward the annual travel credit)

• 3x points on travel worldwide (after the first $300 spent, which accumulates for the annual travel credit)

• 3x points on dining, including delivery and takeout

• 1x point on other eligible purchases

Redeeming points

Chase allows you to redeem your points in different ways. You can turn your points into cash deposited directly to your bank account or statement credits applied to your balance. You can redeem points as gift cards or direct purchases with select retailers and services such as Amazon or PayPal.

Points are worth one cent when redeemed as statement credits or gift cards. However, when redeemed for travel, points are worth 50% more, meaning each point is worth 1.5 cents. For example, you can purchase a $600 airplane ticket through Chase Travel℠ by redeeming only 40,000 points (which have a $400 cash value).

You can also transfer points to any of Chase’s 14 transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio. These include:

Airlines

• Aer Lingus, AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards®
• Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
• United MileagePlus®
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotels

• IHG® Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy®
• World of Hyatt®

Keep in mind that when you transfer points or redeem them outside of Chase’s platform, they could be worth less, depending on the partner and their current offers.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® benefits

Insurance and protection

Trip cancellation/interruption insurance. If a trip is canceled or interrupted due to inclement weather, illness or other covered situations, cardholders can get reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for pre-paid travel expenses, such as flight tickets, hotels and guided tours.

Auto rental collision damage waiver. The auto rental collision damage waiver applies to rental cars whose full booking amount is charged to the card (or booked with points through Chase Travel℠). It acts as primary insurance, which means that the card covers the damages, not just what the cardholder’s primary insurance doesn’t. It can reimburse up to $75,000 for theft, damage, loss of use, towing and more. Note that the cardholder must be the primary driver in the rental agreement and must decline the rental company’s own collision damage waiver for Chase’s coverage to be valid.

Lost luggage reimbursement. Up to $3,000 in coverage if luggage belonging to the cardholder or a family member (under the same booking made with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®) is lost or damaged by the carrier.

Trip delay reimbursement. The cardholder and family can be reimbursed up to $500 per ticket if the trip is delayed six hours or more.

Emergency evacuation and transportation. Up to $100,000 in coverage if there’s a need for medical evacuation during a covered trip. This includes the cardholder, spouse and any children under 19, or under 26 if they’re full-time students.

Purchase protection. This covers theft, damage or loss on purchases made with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for 120 days from the date of purchase. Reimbursements can be up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year.

Return protection. If a retailer doesn’t accept a return, cardholders have up to 90 days to request a reimbursement of up to $500 per eligible item with a maximum of $1,000 per year.

Extended warranty. This adds one year of warranty coverage to items with eligible manufacturer warranties of three years or less. There’s a maximum of $10,000 per claim and $50,000 a year, though it’s limited to the item’s original price.

Statement credits

Annual travel credit. Cardholders can get a statement credit of up to $300 for purchases in the travel category during an anniversary year. This includes airfare, hotels, rental cars, train tickets and more.

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS credit. Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can receive a statement credit of up to $100 every four years if they pay for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS with their card.

Instacart+ statement credits. Up to $15 each calendar month in statement credits after making eligible Instacart purchases while the Instacart+ membership is activated. (Cardholders must activate the complimentary Instacart+ membership before July 2024.)

Other benefits

Lyft Pink All Access. Cardholders get a 2-year complimentary membership to Lyft Pink All Access when activating before December 31, 2024. After those first two years, cardholders get an additional year at 50% off. Lyft Pink All Access includes benefits such as free Priority Pickup, discounts on e-bike and scooter rides, waived cancellation fees and more.

DashPass membership and credits. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® includes a complimentary year-long DashPass subscription for DoorDash if activated before December 2027. The membership includes $0 delivery fees on orders of $12 or more, as well as exclusive offers.

Instacart+ subscription. When activated before July 2024, cardholders get a 12-month complimentary membership to Instacart+. This premium membership includes free delivery on orders of $35 or more, 5% back in Instacart credits and more.

Airport lounge access with Priority Pass™ Select. Cardholders can activate a Priority Pass™ Select membership to access more than 1,300 airport lounges all around the world.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® interest rates and fees

How we evaluated the Chase Sapphire Reserve®

In order to review the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, we took into account the following factors:

• Annual fee. We analyzed whether the card's perks, statement credits and rewards made up for its high annual fee.

• Rewards. We evaluated the rewards offered, based on the usefulness and array of the categories in which they’re offered.

• Insurance. While rewards are great to have, insurance coverage is an important feature. We look at the different insurance policies offered as well as the levels of coverage.

• Additional benefits. We carefully analyzed the card's benefits such as statement credits, complimentary memberships, lounge access and more.

• Other fees. Relevant fees are taken into account, with the main ones being the foreign transaction fee, balance transfer fee and late fees, depending on the nature of the card.

Summary of Money’s Chase Sapphire Reserve® review

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a high-end credit card that provides competitive travel benefits and an easy redemption process for flights, rental cars and hotels. It also offers high rewards on dining, a long list of insurance coverage options (including primary rental car insurance) and travel statement credits. All of this makes it one of the top travel credit cards in the market, with an annual fee that’s actually lower than some of its direct premium competitors.