Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Review: 80,000-Point Bonus Ends Soon

Plus, you’ll unlock the ability to transfer those points to Chase’s airline and hotel partners — an option that’s not available if you only have a no-annual-fee Ultimate Rewards card.

Benefits and features

Up to $300 travel credit

Each cardmember year (meaning every 12 months starting the month you open the card), the Sapphire Reserve offers up to $300 in 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 Sapphire Reserve annual fee is effectively $250.

DoorDash food delivery

Chase was clearly feeling the pressure from updates to American Express cards like aThe Platinum Card® from American Express
, American Express® Gold Card
, and American Express® Green Card
 — which have all added benefits including statement credits over the last few years.

Chase has added DoorDash benefits for Sapphire Reserve cardholders. Cardholders receive a complimentary DashPass membership (for waived delivery fees on qualifying orders) through December 31, 2024. Enrollment is required to receive the benefit, and in addition, you’ll also get a $5 monthly DoorDash in-app credit. These credits expire every three months, so you can accumulate up to $15 in credit before you redeem.

Instacart benefits

If you’re an Instacart customer, the Sapphire Reserve can save you money. Until July 31, 2024, cardholders can enroll for a complimentary year of Instacart+ membership, which comes with free delivery on orders of $35+ and reduced service fees. Be sure to set a calendar reminder to cancel if you don’t intend to keep the membership beyond a year, because it will automatically renew for another year (currently $99) once your free year is up.

In addition, Sapphire Reserve cardholders now receive up to $15 per month in statement credits toward Instacart purchases (activation required). If you maximize this benefit each month, it’s worth up to $180 per year — which goes a long way to offset the annual fee.

Airport lounge access including new Chase Sapphire lounges

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 1,300 airport lounges around the world, any of which you and two 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.

Chase is also starting to unveil its own Chase Sapphire Lounges, the first of which opened on October 25, 2022, at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). It boasts comfortable areas for relaxing and working, locally curated menus and art, signature cocktails, and other premium amenities.

Additionally, Chase will open new Chase Sapphire Lounges at New York-LaGuardia (LGA) Terminal B, Boston (BOS) Terminal B to C connector, San Diego (SAN), Phoenix (PHX), Las Vegas (LAS), Washington Dulles (IAD) Terminal A, and two other unknown airports. Specific information about opening dates isn’t available yet, but these lounges are slated to begin opening in 2023.

Chase Sapphire Lounges will be available to Sapphire Reserve cardholders and all Priority Pass members. 

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit

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. And with NEXUS, you get the privileges from both of these programs, plus expedited entry into Canada. The programs cost $85 (TSA PreCheck), $100 (Global Entry), or $50 (NEXUS), and Chase will provide a credit for that fee every four years (memberships are valid for five years).

Primary car rental 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 and use the card to pay for the rental. 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.

Discounts and perks with Avis, National, and Silvercar car rental agencies

Sapphire Reserve cardholders receive special privileges with Avis, National, and Silvercar car rentals. These include discounts, upgrades, savings on luxury and premium cars, and special promotions. To access these deals, visit the card benefits section of your online account and navigate to the “Special Car Rental Privileges” section to enroll.

Trip interruption/cancellation insurance

If you’ve paid for an eligible trip with the Sapphire Reserve and it’s cut short or canceled for a covered reason like illness or severe weather, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses.

Trip delay insurance

When you use your Sapphire Reserve to pay for your fare, you can get reimbursed up to $500 per ticket for hotel rooms, food, toiletries, clothes, or other reasonable expenses when your flight is delayed overnight or by six hours or more.

Baggage delay insurance

If you paid for your trip with the Sapphire Reserve and your bags are delayed for six hours or more, you could be reimbursed for essential purchases (like clothing and toiletries) up to $100 per day for up to five days.

Lost luggage reimbursement

If the airline damages or loses your bags, you and your immediate family members could be covered for up to $3,000 per passenger as long as you’ve paid for your tickets with the Sapphire Reserve.

Extended warranty

The Sapphire Reserve extends the time period of a US manufacturer’s warranty on eligible items by an additional year, on warranties of three years or less when you pay with your card.

Purchase protection

If an eligible item you’ve bought with the Sapphire Reserve is damaged or stolen within 120 days of purchase, you could be eligible for up to $10,000 in reimbursement per claim, and up to $50,000 per account.

Travel and emergency assistance services

If you’re traveling away from home and run into problems, you can get help with medical and legal referrals or other emergency assistance. This service is free, but any third-party costs are your responsibility.

Travel accident insurance

When you pay for your air, bus, cruise, or train transportation with the Sapphire Reserve, you’re eligible for accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $1,000,000.

Roadside assistance

Sapphire Reserve cardholders can contact the roadside assistance hotline for help with a tow, jumpstart, tire change, locksmith, or gas. Coverage is for up to $50 per incident, up to four times per year.

Emergency evacuation and transportation

It offers up to $100,000 in coverage if you’re injured or become critically ill during a covered trip of between five and 60 days, as long as you’ve charged a portion of the cost, or the entire cost of a covered trip to your account. The evacuation also has to be approved by Chase’s benefits administrator in consultation with a licensed physician.

If you’re hospitalized for more than eight days, this benefit will even pay the cost of an economy-class ticket to bring a friend or relative to your bedside.

Emergency medical and dental benefit

Another unique benefit of the Sapphire Reserve is an emergency medical and dental benefit, which supplements any existing medical coverage you have if you are injured or become ill during a trip of five to 60 days. There’s a maximum benefit of $2,500 with a $50 deductible.

If you need to recover in a hotel, you can be covered for costs up to $75 per day, for up to five days. 

Reserved by Sapphire restaurant benefit

Later this year, Sapphire Reserve cardholders will have access to Reserved by Sapphire, a new opportunity to book hard-to-get reservations at some of the country’s top restaurants.

These include Canlis in Seattle, Redbird in Los Angeles, SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg, California, Reverence in New York City, and One Off Hospitality in Chicago.

Gopuff credits

Chase has partnered with Gopuff to provide $10 per month in credits on select cards, including the Sapphire Reserve. When you add your card as the default payment method of your Gopuff app and make a qualifying purchase, you’ll receive the credit on your statement a few days after the transaction.

Gopuff is a rapid delivery service that provides essentials like snacks, drinks, cleaning supplies, and personal care items. To trigger the Gopuff credit, there’s a minimum order of $10 and a $2.95 fee per delivery. You can take advantage of the monthly credit through December 31, 2023.

Fees and costs

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a premium credit card, and the $550 annual fee reflects that. It’s worth it if you can take advantage of the $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass lounge access, and other benefits like Gopuff, Instacart, and DoorDash credits. Like virtually every other premium travel card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. 

You’ll want to make sure you can pay your balance in full each month to avoid interest charges (currently a 19.99% – 26.99% Variable APR on purchases). As with most other cards, there are fees for balance transfers, cash advances, and late or returned payments.

Comparison: Chase Sapphire Reserve vs other Chase credit cards

The Sapphire Reserve is an extremely valuable card for travel, thanks to the flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards points it earns and benefits like Priority Pass airport lounge access and up to a $300 annual travel credit. It does charge a $550 annual fee, but if you can put its benefits to use, it could be the best premium credit card for you.

Chase Sapphire Reserve vs other premium cards

Chase Sapphire Reserve frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Top Offers From Our Partners

Plus, you’ll unlock the ability to transfer those points to Chase’s airline and hotel partners — an option that’s not available if you only have a no-annual-fee Ultimate Rewards card.

Benefits and features

Up to $300 travel credit

Each cardmember year (meaning every 12 months starting the month you open the card), the Sapphire Reserve offers up to $300 in 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 Sapphire Reserve annual fee is effectively $250.

DoorDash food delivery

Chase was clearly feeling the pressure from updates to American Express cards like aThe Platinum Card® from American Express
, American Express® Gold Card
, and American Express® Green Card
 — which have all added benefits including statement credits over the last few years.

Chase has added DoorDash benefits for Sapphire Reserve cardholders. Cardholders receive a complimentary DashPass membership (for waived delivery fees on qualifying orders) through December 31, 2024. Enrollment is required to receive the benefit, and in addition, you’ll also get a $5 monthly DoorDash in-app credit. These credits expire every three months, so you can accumulate up to $15 in credit before you redeem.

Instacart benefits

If you’re an Instacart customer, the Sapphire Reserve can save you money. Until July 31, 2024, cardholders can enroll for a complimentary year of Instacart+ membership, which comes with free delivery on orders of $35+ and reduced service fees. Be sure to set a calendar reminder to cancel if you don’t intend to keep the membership beyond a year, because it will automatically renew for another year (currently $99) once your free year is up.

In addition, Sapphire Reserve cardholders now receive up to $15 per month in statement credits toward Instacart purchases (activation required). If you maximize this benefit each month, it’s worth up to $180 per year — which goes a long way to offset the annual fee.

Airport lounge access including new Chase Sapphire lounges

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 1,300 airport lounges around the world, any of which you and two 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.

Chase is also starting to unveil its own Chase Sapphire Lounges, the first of which opened on October 25, 2022, at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). It boasts comfortable areas for relaxing and working, locally curated menus and art, signature cocktails, and other premium amenities.

Additionally, Chase will open new Chase Sapphire Lounges at New York-LaGuardia (LGA) Terminal B, Boston (BOS) Terminal B to C connector, San Diego (SAN), Phoenix (PHX), Las Vegas (LAS), Washington Dulles (IAD) Terminal A, and two other unknown airports. Specific information about opening dates isn’t available yet, but these lounges are slated to begin opening in 2023.

Chase Sapphire Lounges will be available to Sapphire Reserve cardholders and all Priority Pass members. 

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit

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. And with NEXUS, you get the privileges from both of these programs, plus expedited entry into Canada. The programs cost $85 (TSA PreCheck), $100 (Global Entry), or $50 (NEXUS), and Chase will provide a credit for that fee every four years (memberships are valid for five years).

Primary car rental 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 and use the card to pay for the rental. 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.

Discounts and perks with Avis, National, and Silvercar car rental agencies

Sapphire Reserve cardholders receive special privileges with Avis, National, and Silvercar car rentals. These include discounts, upgrades, savings on luxury and premium cars, and special promotions. To access these deals, visit the card benefits section of your online account and navigate to the “Special Car Rental Privileges” section to enroll.

Trip interruption/cancellation insurance

If you’ve paid for an eligible trip with the Sapphire Reserve and it’s cut short or canceled for a covered reason like illness or severe weather, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses.

Trip delay insurance

When you use your Sapphire Reserve to pay for your fare, you can get reimbursed up to $500 per ticket for hotel rooms, food, toiletries, clothes, or other reasonable expenses when your flight is delayed overnight or by six hours or more.

Baggage delay insurance

If you paid for your trip with the Sapphire Reserve and your bags are delayed for six hours or more, you could be reimbursed for essential purchases (like clothing and toiletries) up to $100 per day for up to five days.

Lost luggage reimbursement

If the airline damages or loses your bags, you and your immediate family members could be covered for up to $3,000 per passenger as long as you’ve paid for your tickets with the Sapphire Reserve.

Extended warranty

The Sapphire Reserve extends the time period of a US manufacturer’s warranty on eligible items by an additional year, on warranties of three years or less when you pay with your card.

Purchase protection

If an eligible item you’ve bought with the Sapphire Reserve is damaged or stolen within 120 days of purchase, you could be eligible for up to $10,000 in reimbursement per claim, and up to $50,000 per account.

Travel and emergency assistance services

If you’re traveling away from home and run into problems, you can get help with medical and legal referrals or other emergency assistance. This service is free, but any third-party costs are your responsibility.

Travel accident insurance

When you pay for your air, bus, cruise, or train transportation with the Sapphire Reserve, you’re eligible for accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $1,000,000.

Roadside assistance

Sapphire Reserve cardholders can contact the roadside assistance hotline for help with a tow, jumpstart, tire change, locksmith, or gas. Coverage is for up to $50 per incident, up to four times per year.

Emergency evacuation and transportation

It offers up to $100,000 in coverage if you’re injured or become critically ill during a covered trip of between five and 60 days, as long as you’ve charged a portion of the cost, or the entire cost of a covered trip to your account. The evacuation also has to be approved by Chase’s benefits administrator in consultation with a licensed physician.

If you’re hospitalized for more than eight days, this benefit will even pay the cost of an economy-class ticket to bring a friend or relative to your bedside.

Emergency medical and dental benefit

Another unique benefit of the Sapphire Reserve is an emergency medical and dental benefit, which supplements any existing medical coverage you have if you are injured or become ill during a trip of five to 60 days. There’s a maximum benefit of $2,500 with a $50 deductible.

If you need to recover in a hotel, you can be covered for costs up to $75 per day, for up to five days. 

Reserved by Sapphire restaurant benefit

Later this year, Sapphire Reserve cardholders will have access to Reserved by Sapphire, a new opportunity to book hard-to-get reservations at some of the country’s top restaurants.

These include Canlis in Seattle, Redbird in Los Angeles, SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg, California, Reverence in New York City, and One Off Hospitality in Chicago.

Gopuff credits

Chase has partnered with Gopuff to provide $10 per month in credits on select cards, including the Sapphire Reserve. When you add your card as the default payment method of your Gopuff app and make a qualifying purchase, you’ll receive the credit on your statement a few days after the transaction.

Gopuff is a rapid delivery service that provides essentials like snacks, drinks, cleaning supplies, and personal care items. To trigger the Gopuff credit, there’s a minimum order of $10 and a $2.95 fee per delivery. You can take advantage of the monthly credit through December 31, 2023.

Fees and costs

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a premium credit card, and the $550 annual fee reflects that. It’s worth it if you can take advantage of the $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass lounge access, and other benefits like Gopuff, Instacart, and DoorDash credits. Like virtually every other premium travel card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. 

You’ll want to make sure you can pay your balance in full each month to avoid interest charges (currently a 19.99% – 26.99% Variable APR on purchases). As with most other cards, there are fees for balance transfers, cash advances, and late or returned payments.

Comparison: Chase Sapphire Reserve vs other Chase credit cards

The Sapphire Reserve is an extremely valuable card for travel, thanks to the flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards points it earns and benefits like Priority Pass airport lounge access and up to a $300 annual travel credit. It does charge a $550 annual fee, but if you can put its benefits to use, it could be the best premium credit card for you.

Chase Sapphire Reserve vs other premium cards

Chase Sapphire Reserve frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Top Offers From Our Partners