Points, Miles & Credit Cards

Review: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Matt Ortile

Matt Ortile

September 6, 2023

9 min read

Going has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Going and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses, and recommendations are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of all of the card offers that appear on this page are from advertisers; compensation may affect how and where the cards appear on the site; and Going does not include all card companies are all available card offers.

Table of Contents

Who is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card for?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a great option for those who want the perks that come with a luxury travel rewards card.

Quick Facts about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card 

card_name

card_name

Annual fee: annual_fees


Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee


Earning rate:

  • Earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel(SM), including The Edit(SM)
  • Earn 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct
  • Earn 3x points on dining worldwide
  • 1x points on all other purchases

Welcome offer: bonus_miles_full


Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Card gets you complimentary access to  Chase Sapphire Lounge(R) by The Club network and Priority Pass Select™ airport lounges (enrollment required)
  • Generous, very flexible annual $300 travel credit
  • Highly valuable points currency with great range of airline and hotel transfer partners

Cons:

  • It can be hard to keep track of all the statement credits this card offers
  • High annual fee may be hard for occasional travelers to justify
Our take

The annual fee may be eye-popping, but if you travel regularly, you can easily maximize its value.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® review

I recommend the card_name for travelers looking for a card that grants them plenty of benefits like lounge access, increased points-earning rates for travel spending, an easy to use travel credit, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck(R) credit, and plenty of memberships they can use on the road and at home.

Earning  points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card

Given that it’s a premium-tier travel rewards card, the card_name offers higher points-earning rates in spending categories related to travel.

Redeeming points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card

Although you'll see plenty of marketing material about the value of your points in the Chase Travel portal, the way to maximize the value of your points is by transferring them to airline partners.

Airline transfer partners with Chase Sapphire Reserve

You can transfer Chase points to these airlines. 

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

All points transfer at a one-to-one (1:1) ratio, which means that once transferred, one Chase point is equivalent to one mile or point with all of these loyalty programs.

 Anecdotally, transfers to all these partners are relatively instantaneous, with one exception: transfers to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer usually take 24 hours to process. 

Hotel transfer partners with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card

The following are Chase’s current hotel partners. 

  • IHG One Rewards
  • Marriott Bonvoy
  • World of Hyatt

All points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to these programs. 

On the whole, transferring points to hotels rarely maximizes the value of your points, except for transfers to World of Hyatt. 

Welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card

The current welcome offer is: bonus_miles_full.

This can get you a lot in free travel! Here are some ideas of what to do with them (based on past Going with Points deals):

  • One roundtrip, business class ticket to Amsterdam or Paris on KLM or Flying Blue. (Or, two roundtrip economy tickets for the same price!)
  • Four roundtrip, economy tickets to the Bahamas on JetBlue or United (family trip, anyone?)
  • Two or three roundtrip, economy tickets to Hawai’i on United (honeymoon idea?)
  • One roundtrip, economy ticket to Beijing on Air France
  • Three nights stay at a Hyatt all-inclusive resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Additional card benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card

Like many credit cards in this tier or price range, the card_name comes with a variety of yearly credits and memberships that help offset its high annual fee.

  • $300 annual travel credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year
  • $500 annual credit for The Edit– a Chase Travel collection of over 1,100 hand-picked hotels and resorts (split into two $250 biannual credits)
  • $300 annual dining credit and primetime reservations at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables (split into two $150 biannual credits)
  • Points Boost redemption program, which lets users redeem points for 2X for select flights and hotel stays
  • Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status
  • Application credit up to $120 for Global Entry, TSA Precheck® or Nexus credit every four years
  • Airport lounge access: Access to the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club network of airport lounges
  • Airport lounge access:Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership
  • Complimentary access to Reserve Travel Designers for help with travel planning
  • $250 in credits annually for subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music
  • $300 annual StubHub credit (split into two $150 biannual credits; activation required)
  • $120 in annual Lyft in-app credits, up to $10 monthly, plus 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides
  • $300 annually in monthly DoorDash promos and complimentary DashPass membership
  • Up to $120 in annual statement credits toward Peloton memberships
  • Comprehensive travel insurance benefits, including:
    • Auto rental collision damage waiver: Primary coverage when you charge the entire cost of your rental car to your card.
    • Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance: If your trip is canceled or cut short from illness, severe weather or other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person.
    • Trip delay reimbursement: Up to $500 per ticket, when you trip is delayed more than 6 hours or requires an overnight stay. 
    • Lost luggage reimbursement: If your luggage is lost or damaged, you're covered up to $3,000 per passenger.
    • Baggage delay insurance: Reimbursed for essential purchases (e.g. toiletries and clothing) up to $100 a day for up to 5 days when your luggage is delayed more than 6 hours.
  • No foreign transaction fees.

Alternatives to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card

 

How the cards compare

card_name
card_name
Annual fee
annual_fees
Foreign transaction fees
foreign_transaction_fee
Earning rate
  • Earn 5X points per dollar spent on travel purchased through Chase Travel(SM).
  • Earn 3X points per dollar on dining, select streaming services and online groceries
  • Earn 2X points per dollar on all other travel purchases 
  • Earn 1X points on all other purchases
Welcome offer
bonus_miles_full
Our take

A cheaper option to carry in your wallet, but it is lighter on the perks and credits.

Card benefits
  • Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel(SM), 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
  • Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel(SM)
  • 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
  • Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
  • Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
  • Member FDIC

Going has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Going and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses, and recommendations are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of all of the card offers that appear on this page are from advertisers; compensation may affect how and where the cards appear on the site; and Going does not include all card companies are all available card offers.

Matt Ortile

Matt Ortile

Marketing

Matt Ortile writes the Going With Points newsletter at Going. He is the author of the essay collection The Groom Will Keep His Name, a columnist at Condé Nast Traveler, and working on a novel about a flight attendant. He lives in Brooklyn.

Published September 6, 2023

Last updated June 23, 2025

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