Chase's Sapphire Reserve credit card has a high annual fee - but here's why it's worth it

SkyTeam

The Chase Sapphire Reserve gets you access to more than 1,000 airport lounges thanks to a Priority Pass membership.

• The Chase Sapphire Reserve is an incredibly popular credit card, especially considering that it has a high annual fee.
• The card comes with tons of travel perks, earns rewards quickly on your normal everyday spending, and offers a big sign-up bonus.
• Here are the benefits that get you way more value than the annual fee costs.

When Chase launched its Sapphire Reserve credit card in 2016, it got the kind of hype you'd normally see for the newest iPhone. In fact, it was almost pandemonium, made all the more impressive by the fact that Chase didn't make any traditional marketing efforts. Instead, awareness of the card spread through word of mouth, blog posts, and news reports leading up to its launch.

Part of the buzz was the incredible 100,000 points that Chase offered as a sign-up bonus when approved applicants spent $4,000 within the first three months of card membership. Those points were worth anywhere from $1,000 - $1,500, or even more if you were savvy about transferring them to frequent flyer partners. However, that huge bonus was only available for a limited time - it's since dropped to 50,000 points.

Even with the lower bonus, though, the Sapphire Reserve is an extremely valuable card. Although it carries a $450 annual fee, which is the standard range for premium credit cards, it comes with a ton of benefits, perks, and rewards that are worth way more than that fee. Take a look below at some of the best features.

Sign-up bonus

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a sign-up bonus of 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months. That's a solid bonus - based on travel website The Points Guy's subjective valuations, Chase points are worth 2 cents apiece, so 50,000 gets you $1,000 in value - but the Sapphire Reserve's sibling, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, actually offers a higher bonus. With that card, you can earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.

Of course, sign-up bonus is only one factor to consider about a credit card, and the Sapphire Reserve is more rewarding for travel and dining purchases, and offers more benefits overall.

See also: Preferred vs. Reserve: How the Chase Sapphire credit cards stack up

Points earning on the Sapphire Reserve

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a popular choice for dining and travel thanks to its strong earning rates on this spending. It has the following bonus categories and earning rates:

• 3 points per dollar on dining - which includes everything from delivery services like Seamless to restaurants around the world to some bars
• 3 points on travel - which includes airfare, parking fees, tolls, hotels, subway fare, cruises, and many other purchases

You'll earn 1 point per dollar on everything else with the Sapphire Reserve.

Using Chase Ultimate Rewards points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns Ultimate Rewards (UR) points - this is the points currency of Chase's in-house rewards program.

Ultimate Rewards points can be exchanged for cash back, gift cards, or statement credits, with each point worth 1 cent. You can also use them to purchase travel through Chase, 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 transfer points to Chase's airline and hotel partners' loyalty programs - transferring points is generally the most valuable way to use them.

The Sapphire Reserve's 50,000-point sign-up bonus is worth $500 as cash back, $750 for travel purchased through Chase, or more if you transfer the points to an airline or hotel program.

Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits

$300 travel credit

Each cardmember year (meaning every 12 months starting the month you open the card), the Sapphire Reserve offers a $300 credit toward travel purchases. The credit will be applied to the first $300 worth of purchases you make that year in the travel category, including things like subways, taxis/ridesharing, and parking, as well as hotels, airfare, and cruises.

When you subtract the travel credit, the Chase Sapphire Reserve's annual fee is effectively just $150.

Airport lounge access

Having access to airport lounges is one of my favorite perks of the Sapphire Reserve. Lounges are comfortable, relaxing, and exclusive areas where you can enjoy comfortable seats, an internet connection, food and drinks - often complimentary - and sometimes other amenities.

The Sapphire Reserve comes with a Priority Pass Select membership. Priority Pass is a network of more than 1,000 airport lounges around the world, any of which you and your travel companions can access for free when you have your membership card.

With the Priority Pass membership provided by the Sapphire Reserve, you can bring in two guests. So whether you're traveling alone or with your family, you can enjoy free snacks, drinks, newspapers and magazines, showers, and more, all separate from the hustle and bustle of the main terminal.

Aspire

The Aspire lounge at London's Heathrow airport is part of Priority Pass.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck

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. The programs cost $85 to $100, and Chase will provide a credit for that fee every four years (memberships are valid for five years).

Primary rental car insurance and rental elite status

The Sapphire Reserve offers a primary auto rental collision damage waiver, or free loss and damage coverage when you use the card to pay for a rental car. Just decline the collision/damage/loss coverage offered by the rental agency. Keep in mind you may still want to opt for the rental company's liability insurance.

When you have the Sapphire Reserve, 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.

Other benefits

The Sapphire Reserve comes with a handful of other benefits, including various travel and purchase protections.

In my opinion, one of the most useful is trip and baggage delay insurance. When you're traveling and you're delayed for at least six hours, or overnight, you're covered for up to $500 of incidentals per person traveling with you whose ticket was purchased with the card. That covers things like hotel accommodations, meals, toiletries, and a change of clothing - really, anything that can be considered a "reasonable" expense.

Similarly, if your baggage is delayed, things like clothing and toiletries are covered up to a certain amount until your bag is delivered.

Other protections include travel accident insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, extended warranty, and return protection.

Bottom Line

While the Chase Sapphire Reserve doesn't offer the same sign-up bonus as when it launched, it's still an incredibly valuable card, offering benefits that more than outweigh its $450 annual fee.

Click here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve from our partner The Points Guy.

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