Chase Sapphire Reserve Review: Is the New $550 Annual Fee Worth it?
When Chase released Chase Sapphire Reserve in 2016, it came with a sign-up bonus of 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points. Considering that you could get 2 cents per point on average when you transfer those points to Chase’s transfer partners, the sign-up bonus alone was worth $2,000. Its annual fee was $450, but also gave users a hefty $300 travel credit every calendar year that made the card very justifiable. Chase was basically paying people to have this card, and everyone loved it, especially millennials. As a result, Chase lost millions and millions of dollars because they did not anticipate the card to become so popular. Not long after its initial release, Citi’s Prestige card and AMEX’s Platinum card came out with competitively unique multipliers and benefits, and the popularity of Chase Sapphire Reserve decreased. In order to combat the increasingly saturating market of premium travel credit cards, Chase recently announced new benefits coming to Chase Sapphire Reserve and increased the annual fee from $450 to $550. Is Chase Sapphire Reserve still worth it with the new annual fee?
Is the new Chase Sapphire Reserve worth it with the new annual fee? - photo credit: chase.com
Chase Sapphire Reserve multipliers:
Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 3X UR points on dining and travel purchases. Luckily, Chase’s definition of “travel” is very inclusive. Airfare, hotel stays, tolls, ride sharing programs, trains, and even parking are considered travel expenses. Outside of travel and dining, cardmembers earn 1X UR points on all other purchases.
Current sign-up bonus offer and valuation:
Chase Sapphire Reserve now offers 50,000 UR points as a sign-up bonus after you spend $4,000 on the card within the first 3 months. We have not seen a higher bonus than 50,000 UR points (not counting the 100k bonus when the card was originally released), so we believe the current bonus is the highest you will see for a while. When you transfer UR points to Chase’s travel portal, Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers get 50% more in value, making the 50,000 UR points worth at least $750. However, if you were to transfer the points to Chase’s transfer partners, you can average 2 cents per point, and 50,000 UR points become worth about $1,000. Be aware that you won’t be eligible for the bonus if you received a sign-up bonus from any other Sapphire cards such as Chase Sapphire Preferred. In addition, you won’t be able to apply for this card if you currently hold Chase Sapphire Preferred, as you are only allowed to have one Sapphire product at all times.
Annual fee and benefits:
The annual fee of the card has recently increased from $450 to $550. Fortunately, the card comes with loads of new benefits / perks making the new annual fee easier to digest.
$300 annual travel credit
The main benefit is the $300 annual travel credit every cardmember year. This means that your $300 travel credit will reset on your card’s anniversary date. As mentioned previously, Chase’s definition of travel is very extensive and inclusive. If you travel at least once or twice a year, or if you use public transportation (i.e. buying monthly subway passes in NYC), you will spend the $300 travel credit in no time.
My $300 annual travel credit will be renewing soon.
Priority Pass Select membership
As with almost all premium travel cards, Chase Sapphire Reserve provides Priority Pass Lounge access. This means you can visit more than 1,200 airport Priority Pass lounges around the world. AMEX’s premium travel cards also offer a complimentary membership to Priority Pass Lounges. However, I value Chase’s Priority Pass Select membership much more because you can receive restaurant credits at select airport restaurants. For instance, when I had a layover in Lexington Blue Grass Airport in Kentucky (LEX), I visited the Kentucky Ale Taproom - one of the qualifying restaurants. As a Priority Pass Select member from Chase, you get between $28 - $30 towards food and drinks per person (meaning that if you bring a guest, each person gets separate credit towards drinks and food) and I received $28 towards my bill. Restaurant policies vary for how many additional guests can benefit from your membership pass, so be sure to check beforehand. The food was pretty mediocre, but the credit was enough to cover for a burger and two beers. Airport restaurants are usually overpriced, and this benefit can be quite helpful if you are at the right airport.
Priority Pass Select from Chase can be useful at certain airport restaurants. Photo credit: prioritypass.com/select
Up to $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA Precheck
This is another staple credit for premium travel credit cards. You can use this credit every 4 years, and you can apply this for your significant other or family members if you’ve already used the credit from another travel credit card.
Visa Infinite benefits
Chase Sapphire is a Visa Infinite card, meaning that its starting line is $10,000. If you rent a car, you automatically get a primary rental car insurance, which is quite uncommon even among premium cards. Primary rental car insurance simply means that if you were to get into a car accident, Chase’s rental insurance will cover you first. If Chase could not cover you entirely, the leftover charges will be passed onto your original car insurance. It also comes with great trip delay protection, purchase protection, lost luggage reimbursement, and a Visa Infinite concierge that is often comparable to services like AMEX Platinum Card Concierge.
There are two new main benefits:
DoorDash credits and DoorPass membership
Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders will receive $120 DoorDash credits between 2020 and 2021. In 2020, you will receive $60, and in 2021, you will receive $60. It doesn’t seem that you will be given the credit on a monthly basis like AMEX Platinum, so it is definitely easier to use and the credits will cover more than just a sandwich. However, I believe the annual DoorDash credit should’ve been higher than just $60 per year. In addition to free food credits, you also get a free DashPass membership. This is a monthly delivery membership by DoorDash, which would normally cost you $9.99 per month to waive delivery fees at certain restaurants. Also, you will enjoy reduced service fees, and DoorDash claims you’ll save an average of $4-5 per order. I signed up as soon as Chase announced the benefit, and I have a complimentary DoorPass membership until 12/31/2021 - that’s 2 free years of DoorDash deliveries!
Time to order DoorDash deliveries! Photo credit: chase.com
Lyft Pink membership
The other newly added benefit is a complimentary Lyft Pink membership. This ride-sharing membership service would normally cost you $19.99 / month, and Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers get it free for 12 months, valued at $240. As a Lyft Pink member, you get 15% off rides, priority airport pickups, 3 waived cancellation fees every month if you re-book within 15 minutes, waived lost and found fees, 3 free 30 minute bike and scooter rides every month at select cities, and other seasonal discounts.
Lyft Pink comes with many benefits. Is it worth $19.99 per month? Photo credit: lyft.com
Who is the audience?
Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card was originally targeting millennials who dine and travel frequently. With a rise of popularity in ride-sharing companies and meal delivery services, Chase had to pivot to compete against other premium cards such as AMEX Gold card. I think Chase shifted the target audience towards more mature millennials in big cities who value convenience, saving time with “dining in”, and getting to desired destinations faster. The new benefits can be worthless to some people, as Lyft and DoorDash are not available everywhere. Also, a Lyft Pink benefit like 3 free bike or scooter rides per month is oddly specific towards large metro hubs like New York City or Boston. It is interesting that Chase is targeting such a specific group of people, and I am intrigued to see how Chase’s decision will affect existing and potential cardmembers.
Chase Sapphire Reserve is perfect for people living in big cities.
Overall, Chase Sapphire Reserve still offers a competitive sign-up bonus and the versatile UR point system is still one of the strongest points currencies on the market. In spite of mediocre multipliers and newly increased annual fee of $550, the card brings additional benefits that can reasonably offset the new annual fee. The Priority Pass Select membership from the card is still more valuable than other Priority Pass Selects, and the collaborations with DoorDash and Lyft can really benefit certain demographics of existing and potential cardholders.
