Chase Sapphire Reserve Benefits & Perks

When the Chase Sapphire Reserve® was first launched in 2016, it took the credit card world by storm. The card’s initial welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points, the flexible travel credits, the lucrative earning rates and the valuable travel protection benefits raised the bar for other ultra-premium cards.

The welcome bonus isn’t the only reason to get and keep the card. The card’s benefits and perks are still among the best in the business, and its $550 annual fee could be offset with an easy-to-use travel credit and great earning and redemption opportunities.

The card is subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule, and you need to be under 5/24 to be approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Let’s look at some of the best Chase Sapphire Reserve® benefits and perks.

Generous Welcome Bonus

The card comes with a generous welcome bonus that’s always worth 1.5X toward travel when you redeem the points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal (meaning a hypothetical 60,000 point bonus would be worth $900 towards travel), but you can get even more value when you transfer Ultimate Rewards points to one of Chase’s travel partners.

Chase has lots of valuable transfer partners, such as World of Hyatt, Air Canada Aeroplan and United MileagePlus. The welcome bonus alone is enough to book one round-trip flight in economy to Europe or take a family of three to Hawaii.

Hyatt is one of our favorite hotel chains because you can book some amazing properties in the U.S. and all over the world with the World of Hyatt points. The points earned with the welcome bonus alone is enough to book 10 or more nights at Hyatt’s low-end properties. Or you can splurge and book a couple of nights at a beautiful beachfront all-inclusive property.

$300 Travel Credit

You can get reimbursed for up to $300 in travel purchases made with your Chase Sapphire Reserve® each anniversary year. Keep in mind that the first $300 in travel purchases don’t earn rewards points.

The $300 credit is easy to use and doesn’t have to be used up in a single transaction. You can make one purchase of $300 or multiple smaller purchases in eligible travel categories.

Chase has a broad definition of travel, and eligible purchases include the following:

• Airlines
• Campgrounds
• Car rental agencies
• Cruise lines
• Discount travel sites
• Hotels and motels
• Operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines and ferries
• Parking lots and garages
• Timeshares
• Toll bridges and highways
• Travel agencies

Global Entry, Nexus or TSA PreCheck Fee Credit

The card comes with a statement credit of up to $100 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or Nexus.

Just pay for your application with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and receive a $100 statement credit. You can pay for anyone’s application, so if you already have Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, use the card to pay for your renewal fee or pay for a friend’s or a family member’s application.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

Purchases made with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® don’t incur foreign transaction fees.

This applies to purchases made when you’re traveling internationally and to purchases made in a foreign currency from the U.S. when you pay for local train tickets, tours or international online stores.

Foreign transaction fees could be an unpleasant surprise, but when you pay with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you save 1 to 3% of the total purchase amount on fees.

When you use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees outside of the U.S., make sure to pay in local currency. You’ll usually get a more favorable conversion rate from Chase than from the bank that is processing the payment.

Transfer Points to Travel Partners

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are one of our favorite transferable points. You’ll get the most value out of your Ultimate Rewards when you transfer them to one of the travel partners.

Chase’s airline transfer partners include airlines in all major airline alliances, as well as non-alliance airlines like Southwest Airlines and Virgin Atlantic:

• 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

You can travel anywhere in the world if you have a good stash of Ultimate Rewards.

Chase Ultimate Rewards also transfer to three hotel partners:

• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt

Chase Travel Portal Redemption

Another way to redeem points for travel is to use the Ultimate Rewards travel portal. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can redeem points through the portal at a rate of 1.5 cents per point. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,200 toward travel.

You can book some great boutique and non-chain hotels through the travel portal. There are no blackout dates, and you don’t have to rely on hotels making rooms available for award redemptions.

Hotel loyalty programs usually allow you to redeem points for a standard room for two guests. By using the portal, you can book the type of room you want, including larger family rooms or suites that can accommodate families.

If you’re booking flights through the portal, compare the points price on the portal with what the transfer partner would charge for the same flight.

Combine Points

Chase lets you combine points from multiple Ultimate Rewards-earning accounts into one account. You’d want to do this if you have other Ultimate Rewards points-earning cards. So, if you hold the $0 annual fee Chase Freedom Flex℠ or Chase Freedom Unlimited® cards, you’ll need to combine points earned with these cards with points earned with your Sapphire Reserve before you can use them for travel.

The points earned with a business card, including the $0 annual fee cards, such as the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, can also be combined with the points earned with a personal card and used for travel.

You can also combine points among family members who live at the same address.

Priority Pass™ Select membership

It’s no secret that airport lounge access can make the travel experience a lot more enjoyable.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with a complimentary membership to the Priority Pass Select network of airport lounges. This benefit requires activation, so you’ll have to first enroll in Priority Pass Select through the card benefits page.

Priority Pass Select membership gives you free access to more than 1,300 airport lounges in more than 600 cities worldwide. Plus, you can bring up to two travel companions with you to the lounge for free. The card also gives access to select restaurants that are part of the Priority Pass Select. You’ll get a credit of $28 to $32 per person up to the allowed number of guests toward food and drink at restaurants that take Priority Pass.

Rental Car Coverage

One of the most valuable benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is the auto rental collision damage waiver. To take advantage of this benefit, you’ll need to decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card.

The coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. The cardholder and any additional drivers authorized by the rental agreement are covered for up to $75,000 for car rentals up to 31 days.

When you have primary coverage through the credit card, you don’t need to file a claim with your personal auto insurance if you incur damages to the rental car.

Keep in mind that rental car coverage doesn’t apply to specialty vehicles or car sharing platforms like Turo.

Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance

The Sapphire Reserve is a great card to take with you on your travels. But what makes this card really shine is the trip cancellation and interruption insurance. Insurance coverage that comes with the card kicks in if your trip is canceled or interrupted because of sickness, severe weather or other covered situations.

Trip interruption insurance will reimburse you up to $10,000 per person and up to $20,000 per trip for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses. This includes airfares, tours and hotels.

If you need to cancel a trip at the last minute due to an illness (yours or a family member’s), you’ll be eligible to be reimbursed for non-refundable travel expenses.

Trip Delay Reimbursement

If your trip on a common carrier is delayed more than six hours or overnight, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, for up to $500 per person. To take advantage of this benefit, you’ll need to pay for your ticket, or at least a portion of your ticket, with your Sapphire Reserve.

This benefit also works on award tickets booked with points and miles if you pay the taxes and fees with your Sapphire Reserve.

Baggage Delay Insurance and Lost Luggage Reimbursement

If your bags are delayed by more than six hours, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card will cover essential purchases like toiletries and clothing up to $100 per day for five days.

To be eligible for baggage delay insurance, the trip must be paid for with your Chase Sapphire Reserve. This benefit also works on trips booked with points and miles, so just pay the taxes and fees with your card.

The lost luggage benefit provides reimbursement for the difference between the actual cash value (replacement cost minus depreciation) and any reimbursement provided by the common carrier for the costs incurred to repair or replace your checked bag or your carry-on due to loss, damage or theft occurred during a trip up to $3,000 per covered person per trip.

Travel Accident Insurance

When you use the Chase Sapphire Reserve® to pay for at least part of the trip cost, you’re eligible for accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $500,000. The coverage includes loss of speech, sight or hearing experienced on a covered trip. The cardholder and the immediate family members are covered, even if the cardholder isn’t traveling with them.

Emergency Evacuation and Transportation

If the cardholder, cardholder’s spouse or eligible children are injured or become ill while traveling, resulting in emergency evacuation, the emergency evacuation and transportation benefit will cover necessary emergency evacuation and transportation expenses up to $100,000.

The trip must’ve been purchased with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® to be eligible for this coverage, and the coverage will apply in excess of the personal or travel insurance that applies.

Roadside Assistance

Roadside assistance covers the cardholder driving their own vehicle or any other vehicle with the permission of the owner up to a maximum of $50 for each service event, up to four events per year.

The services covered include towing, jump starting the car, tire changing, lockout assistance and fuel delivery if you run out of gas on the road.

Purchase and Return Protection

When you purchase an item with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, it’s protected from theft and damage for the first 120 days up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per account per year.

If you’d like to return something you bought with the card and the retailer wouldn’t allow a return for a refund, exchange or credit within 90 days from the date of purchase, return protection provides reimbursement for the purchase price up to $500 dollars per item with an annual maximum of $1,000 per account.

Extended Warranty Protection

When you purchase something with your card, the card’s extended warranty protection will extend the warranty coverage by one additional year on original eligible warranties of three years or less up to a maximum of $10,000 dollars per claim and a maximum of $50,000 per account.

Some items, such as aircraft, boats, cars or other motorized vehicles, as well as used items or items purchased for resale, aren’t covered.

DoorDash and Caviar Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card holders get complimentary DashPass membership on both DoorDash and Caviar. The DashPass membership includes no delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders for a minimum of one year. You’ll need to activate the offer by Dec. 31, 2024.

DashPass members also get a $5 monthly DoorDash credit, and the discount is applied automatically at checkout.

Instacart Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardmembers get one year of complimentary Instacart+ subscription and earn up to $15 in statement credits each month through July 2024.

Get 50% More Value with Pay Yourself Back

The points earned with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® can be redeemed for statement credits toward purchases made in select rotating categories. All you need to do is choose an eligible purchase made with your Sapphire Reserve from the past 90 days and apply the points for all or part of the eligible purchase to receive a statement credit.

Reserved by Sapphire

Cardmembers have exclusive access to book prepaid reservations at top dining destinations at partner restaurants through specially reserved tables and timeslots with Reserved by Sapphire. Cardmembers can also join acclaimed chefs at some of the country’s most renowned restaurants for private dining events.

Luxury Hotels Benefits

Cardholders can enjoy special benefits at a variety of luxury hotels and resorts worldwide when they book their stay through Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection. The benefits include the following perks:

• Daily breakfast for two
• Special benefit worth up to $100 unique to each property
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Room upgrade if available
• Early check-in and late checkout if available

To enjoy this perk, you have to book your stay through the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection program and pay for your stay with your Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Relais & Châteaux is a collection of upscale properties in more than 60 countries, and cardmembers who book their stay at select properties with Relais & Châteaux through the Visa Infinite concierge get special benefits, such as VIP welcome and complimentary breakfast.

Ennismore is a luxury hotel brand where your Sapphire Reserve card can get you VIP access to benefits at Delano, Hyde, Mondrian, House of Originals and SLS hotels and resorts around the world. Cardmembers get a complimentary fourth night, receive room upgrades and late checkout, priority access to cabana reservations, $30 food and beverage credit and other perks.

To take advantage of these benefits, cardmembers need to book Ennismore stays through the Ennismore Chase Sapphire Reserve card portal.

Final Thoughts

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with a long list of benefits that make travel more comfortable. The card’s travel protection benefits and the rental car coverage are among the best in the business.

All the benefits combined, including various credits, like the $300 yearly travel credit, Global Entry, DoorDash and Instacart credits help offset the $550 annual fee.