The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is widely regarded as the best premium travel credit card on the market thanks to its generous welcome offer and incredible perks. It’s got a lot of moving parts though so let’s take a look at how they work.

Let’s start with the bad news. It has a $795 annual fee that is not waived for the first year. Plan on it being charged to your card in the first month or so. Most people don’t get past that fee. But read on … that fee gets you a ton of amazing perks.

Transfer your points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs at 1 to 1 value. That means 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points equal 1,000 partner miles/points.

Next, you get a $300 annual travel credit that is good for any sort of travel expense. Even paid tickets. So unless you are spending less than $300 on travel per year, the annual fee becomes more manageable.

Finally, your Sapphire Reserves comes with complimentary membership to Priority Pass, allowing you to access more than 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® also gives you up to $120 credit every four years to cover your application fees for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, as well as some of the best trip interruption and rental car insurance coverage on the market.

The fee is certainly not cheap but in this case it is absolutely worth it.

One of our 10xT writers wrote a fantastic review of all things Chase Sapphire Reserve®, check it out here.

Welcome Offer Eligibility Requirements

Chase has implemented new eligibility rules for Sapphire card bonuses.

Key Eligibility Points

Current Sapphire cardholders (those who hold either the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Reserve) are not eligible for welcome bonuses on the alternate Sapphire product
Former Sapphire cardholders who have downgraded their cards may be eligible for bonuses on Sapphire products they have never held previously
There is no specific waiting period required between downgrading one Sapphire card and applying for another, though Chase’s systems may take up to two weeks to update account status

Examples

If I had the Chase Sapphire Reserve and wanted the Chase Sapphire Preferred (and had never had it), I could downgrade my Chase Sapphire Reserve and be eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome offer.
If I had the Chase Sapphire Preferred and wanted the Chase Sapphire Reserve (and had never had it), I could downgrade my Chase Sapphire Preferred and be eligible for the Chase Sapphire Reserve welcome offer.

Important Considerations

Before you submit your application for a Sapphire card, Chase will let you know in a pop-up message whether or not you’re eligible for the bonus before doing a hard or soft pull of your credit, allowing you to decide whether you want to proceed with your application.

Policy Implications

These changes effectively limit cardholders to one signup bonus per Sapphire product per lifetime, representing a significant shift from the previous 48-month eligibility cycle.

Bryce Conway's trip

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Portugal

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