Several months ago, it was revealed that a popular premium credit card would lose credits at restaurants for its Priority Pass members. I wanted to post a reminder of this, as the change kicks in as of today.
Continue reading: Chase Sapphire Reserve Cuts Priority Pass Restaurants
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Figured this was coming with Chase lounges. What about the Ritz Chase/JPM card?
The Citi Prestige also offers the credit. (I'm know is not open to new applicants, but still should be mentioned)
Not good. The restaurants are usually not in terminals (DEN, ORD) or airports (TUS) where there is competition with PP lounges. A few airports will now have no PP coverage.
At this point, are Priority Pass restaurants even Priority Pass anymore? There's barely any cards left that will be able to access them.
The restaurants always seemed a bit of a stop-gap. With Chase (& CapOne) now running their own lounge spaces in several airports (plus Citi turning non-premium focused) and food inflation may be making the prices v. reimbursement not economical for PP anymore.
I know people didn't think many of the restaurants were all that good, but this is a big loss. Take ATL or DCA. The ATL Club lounge is a disaster and there are no priority pass lounges at DCA for Chase Sapphire Reserve members. The restaurant access went a long way at both airports and this is going to make the card a lot less compelling.
Just used it at DEN and we were very grateful to have that option since it was quite a long layover. Definitely saved us $$. This is a big loss for those outlier options with no other PP lounges.
I’m suspecting the same thing on my legacy Citi Prestige account but will wait for the next statement. Fingers crossed though
Mixed opinions on this one. On the one hand, you've got a lot less crowding in these restaurants, so the people who are actually paying for their food are gonna be happy and get their food in a timely manner. On the other hand, I've seen Priority Pass get treated worse than a second-class citizen at Kafe Kalik (who charge a service fee in lieu of tip). Not to mention at Drew Pearson’s Sport 88 in DFW they inflated my $22 meal to $32 (HOW CAN THEY DO THIS?!). I'm gonna sound like a corpo shill but the consumer experience of these truly horrible restaurants that are being subsidized by these guys, they're gonna have to actually provide a decent service without that lifeline.
I totally agree on Kafe Kalik at FLL! Had "ok" service once, and the 2nd time I ended up walking out after sitting at my table for what felt like decades without being served.
So Venture X Business is the only one left? Makes dumping the sapphire easier.
While none of the restaurant were particularly great, they provided a "free" benefit to fill the stomach. This is unfortunate.
I can name several restaurants at various airports that will see a severe drop in customers, particularly ones that inflated prices above same-airport competitors because of the PP benefit.
People who have the legacy Citi Prestige card still have it. US Bank Altitude Go/Connect also have a limited number of visits, which can be used for restaurants.
The restaurant PP feature was the one remaining real differentiator for the CSR. You can get most of the Chase benefits of the CSR with the CSP, at a much lower price point. CSR is not worth it anymore (I had it for years). I'll stick with the Venture X for PP access.
For once, timing works out for me. Would've hated to upgrade (was planning to in May) only to have this change. Now I can avoid it.
Lest there's some other developments, don't need to consider this card in the future, either.
A different world from the first day they offered this card and I went in-branch to get mine.
This is a massive loss at most airports I fly: PDX and DEN are wiped off the Priority Pass map entirely, SEA loses the most convenient options, and Chase is too busy focusing on the east coast to make up for it out here. This is a no-brainer downgrade to the Preferred for me.
CSR needs a complete overhaul. What compelling reason is there for anyone to hold on to this card with a $550 or so annual fee? The earnings aren't competitive anymore and the benefits are weak. Sad because when it was launched, it was the best premium card on the market.
If they're pulling this benefit, what are they replacing it with?
Surely they're going to replace it with *something* vs. just reducing the value prop. of the card...
One thing to note is that it only impacts restaurants, markets, and cafes, but not places like MinuteSuites or Be Relax Spas, etc. Lucky, can you confirm that's indeed the case? I think that would still be a point of differentiation between the CSR and VX/PLAT
"I'll stick with the Venture X for PP access."
Good strategy. That's what I use for PP, and I'm perfectly fine with the CSP. I was seriously considering getting the CSR just for the restaurant benefit (seriously, no fake drama here), but in the absence of any other compelling benefit, I'll be fine with the CSP and the COVX.
USB Altitude Reserve still gets you 8 Priority Pass visits per year, including restaurants, spas, etc. Seems like it's the only card other than Citi that will offer this, though none of the bloggers discuss this card because USB doesn't pay commissions. It's such a great value, with great benefits and great earning.
I was thinking of upgrading my CSP to a CSR this year cause Portland is my primary airport and they only have Priority Pass restaurants -- no lounges. Now, I don't think there's a reason for me to upgrade.
As a PDX-based traveler I’ve hung on to this card for years just for this specific benefit. Incredibly niche but incredibly valuable getting free meals, free drinks, etc… even landing I can go to Capers and take $28 worth of stuff home with me.
Have been thinking of cancelling my sapphire reserve for a long time but this might just be what breaks the camels back. Not enough benefits left that make the card worth the price tag relative to other options. At the end of the day CASH is KING, and there’s lots of very lucrative cards with $0 annual fee or with other waived expenses (such as Costco Visa)
1) As said before, the restaurant access thing was always a bit of a stop gap for locations where there weren't lounge options. The implementation always seemed a bit haphazard to me
2) Increasingly, Priority Pass itself is a stop gap for these cards, particularly in the US
If you want US lounge access, you need to pair a credit card lounge of your choice (Amex Centurion, Chase Sapphire, even Capital One) with a real airline lounge network (United, American, Delta, etc). It's been going in that direction for years. The introduction of real Chase Sapphire lounges has made the CSR actually more compelling, not less.
The consolation prize is that PDX has a lot of other great options for food. In fact, it almost doesn’t even seem worth it to eat at Capers, albeit for free, when there much better food nearby.
Agree. And only the best will even admit that their affinity links may not be the best deal even when they try to shill.
Ben- IAD Etihad lounge is effectively a Chase lounge if you read the access rules on priority pass website/app.
This is a big devaluation for CSR and will cause me to re-evaluate my CC strategy. Chase lounges look nice but there are very few of them. This is a huge loss for DCA. Big loss for IAH as well.
No doubt, but this cards value prop was a 100k point sign up bonus. Nobody gave a shit about the benefits outside of the $300 annual travel credit.
I have PP from several different credit cards. Anyone know how I can tell which one is linked to my Citi Prestige?
Well that sucks. With the Delta Sky Club restrictions starting next year, I anticipate Centurion crowding at my home airport (SEA). Was thinking of upgrading to the Ritz as a backup, but not worth it now.
The Altitude Connect will be going to a no annual fee card later this year. That comes with 4 Priority Pass visits, which can be used at restaurants. Might be something to consider for some people.
3x on travel (including Uber, transit, etc) continues to be very compelling (even if matched by Amex Green). And 1.5x redemptions in the portal are are useful in many situations. But that's about it, unless you can really use the Chase lounges.
These PP restaurants were so useful for those of us that spent a lot of time in smaller airports. Chase needs to realize that not all of us live in NY, DC or LA. These PP restaurants were a great option in other places where there was no PP lounge (or if there was it was a less than stellar "The Club at...").
With the consistent downgrades these premium cards are getting easier and easier to drop.
At SFO right now, I was just going to grab a quick bite at the United Club but now I think I'll go eat at a PP restaurant with my CSR PP
This has also been a valuable benefit for me based in SEA that has 3 pretty solid restaurants that I visit almost every time I'm in the airport. I don't consider it niche at all, it's a primary means of justifying the CSR annual fee for me. This change is disappointing.
You’ll have to confirm, but I think the obscure US Bank Amex product continues to provide this benefit
This is the CSR died for me. I will cancel it when the next AF comes due. It essentially wipes out DEN from the PP map.
I am sure there are multiple such airports that are in the same boat.
Are there any cards left that offer the PP restaurants benefit ?
Even though JFK has a new PP club, it's great for travelers out of T4, not so much for those out of T8. Was nice to be able to grab a bite from Bobby Van's.
I’m with you. HUGE benefit at PDx. No reason to hold CSR over VentureX now, so probably going to close.
SEA was always about the Amex tho. Centurion/SkyClub are the two best lounges, Alaska lounges are ok for domestic, but no real food there. All those PP "The Clubs" are well below average.
Nothing on either my Ritz or JP Morgan March statements. Seems like if they are going to cut PP Restaurants in July they are going to have to give some advance notice and also make accommodations for anyone who paid their annual fee after July 2023.
We're PDX based too and Chase has been great. We get to the airport a little early so we don't feel rushed, have a leisurely meal at Capers and then head to the gate.
I've got the JP Morgan and Ritz but also the Citi Prestige so glad I kept that.
Agree!! For those who travel for business, those routine restaurants stops were an amazing benefit!!
That is sad news. With lounge crowding and waitlists so common I would sometimes use a restaurant instead. With all these changes, having a hard time justifying the fees on my premium
20 flights/year x $56 is still a thousand bucks. Capers isn't quite what it used to be (I miss the fresh oysters) but the breakfasts are decent and when they have the sushi bowls even though they're overpriced they make a really sweet onboard meal.
Can someone justify the CSR AF of $550 after this downgrade ? After the $300 travel credit you are left with $250 gap. How is this card worth the net $250 annual fee ?
Can someone justify this.
For all practical purposes this card died on this day.
How ?
I don't think he is. Can you justify the $550 AF after this benefit is cut ?
Their offerings have been either pitiful or nonexistent for years. Alaska was the lone pp that they have had for years and it was pitiful. Last few years, nada.
Seems to me that right thing to do would be let people who PAID their exorbitant annual fee to continue using the benefit until their renewal. Feels kinda fraudish. They're all just begging the govt to move forward with cc points regulation.
I noticed quite a few pp restaurants have menu prices that basically matches the $28 so I wonder how this changes the prices besides the fact that like bridge tolls there is not a chance in heck it will ever go down.
Instacart and DoorDash status/credits are worthwhile. Net cost is $250/yr (anyone can use the $300 travel credit) and frankly I don’t sweat that small amount. Also have Amex Platinum and get value from both cards. BTW I can afford to buy what I want to eat so eating cheap food in a lounge or PP restaurant is a non favor for me with respect to keeping the card
Very good comment about the decline of service at PP restaurants. It is probably better for these restaurants to not have any more revenue from PP. Hopefully, there would be better service provided.
At Tap and Go at the South Satellite of Seattle-Tacoma Airport, they really treated the PP customers like second class citizens. They give you an arrogant, bad attitude with an eye roll.
At Bobby Van’s at terminal 8 of JFK, I ordered a meal in the morning for less than $28, but the waitress ended up with a bill of $56 because she put two customers where there was only me as the customer. These type of restaurants took advantage and now there are cuts from CC companies.
I had a much better lunch at Greedy Cow Burger at Seattle Airport and it cost less even if paying out of my own pocket. Service can make or break a meal. I rather pay for my own meal than be treated as a lowly second class citizen at Tap and Go-Just got up from my chair and walked straight out.
Feeling fortunate I dropped the CSR to CSP when they increased the annual fee and picked up the citi prestige before they closed to new applicants. prestige [still, but for how long] supports PP restaurants which I find more compelling than some mediocre/overcrowded lounge with a bad buffet.
3x on dining was huge back in 2016. Amex Gold PRG only got 2x. Thanks to the CSR, Amex bumped the Gold to 4x on dining and Citi bumped the Prestige to 5x on dining both in 2018.
Enjoy while you can. US Bank will remove PP restaurants by early 2025 for Altitude cards (perhaps sooner for connect),
Of course the ritz will lose access to PP restaurants. The card will be refreshed and made public again within next 6-12 months or so.
CSR holder from day one.
Generous benefits initially, slowly whittled away.
Increased annual fee.
Restaurant benefit has/had value for me in lieu of lounge access—lounges getting harder and harder to access with PP.
I might not be renewing this time.
I think that you can tell based on the digits that your membership number starts with. I don't know the numbers for the Citi Prestige though. I'll leave that for anyone here who has a PP membership from holding that card.
Another idea is that you could call Priority Pass and ask them which one comes from your Prestige card by telling them all of the membership numbers you have.
I far prefer to bring a sandwich from home than eat the fantastically overpriced, mediocre food offered at airport restaurants. Wherever you are flying, I assure you that better options await once you get to your destination.
Maybe its time for a post on the economics of reward cards? The annual fee has to cover the cost of the benefits. Chase loses money on spend: at best, interchange gets them 2%, but they award a minimum of 1.5% (and a max of 4.5%). Bonused spend fraction would have to be less than 20% for this exceptionally generous math to work (they net less than 2%). We already know that too few people are carrying a balance on the card, so interest charges cannot be a source of profit to cover the cost of rewards -- unlike cards with a broader customer target. That af is paying for the benefits AND your points. I'd be shocked if Chase isn't paying per visit, so obviously cutting out these restaurants will reduce the bleed. If this change leads you to cancel your card, you were not a profitable customer and Chase is content to see you go.
Readers touch upon more generalized issues. First, certain airports have no PP lounge at all -- you'd be surprised. Second, at some airports that do, not all terminals are connected on the air side. Third, where terminals are connected, a lounge's distance from one's gate makes it impractical. The loss of this benefit has no effect on me. But, the evolution of premium travel cards as a whole makes me now question the value of the CSR.
No such issues at Bar Symon in CLE or The Merc Mart in DEN. The server in CLE even asked if we wanted some bottled water since there was room on the bill.
I used to live in SEA and frequently connect there flying AS now anyways. When I first got CSR you could use it at multiple restaurants at PDX and the Alaska Lounge, now nothing. At the time that was a massive differentiator and now it’s just completely gone 🙁
The Club at SEA is not very good and it’s on the complete opposite side of the airport from any of the Alaska gates.
Just really hard to justify compared to new offerings even the RobinHood card with 3% unlimited cash back.
What is now the best CC option for restaurant access that won't immediately take this benefit away? I use the these restaurants several times a month...
3x on dining, all travel, and 50% more value from all Chase Ultimate Rewards points from other Chase cards (meaning 7.5% on Freedom 5% categories) - it's still my favorite premium card. I get a lot of value out of Ultimate Rewards points.
"investing in its exceptional lounge network" - if it's only 4 lounges, calling it exceptional seems like a crazy stretch.
Definitely doesn't make up for this loss.
I will say: only Amex has their eye on value for customers here. For the west coast: LAX, SFO, SEA, LAS. Tons on the east coast, too.
Compare that to CapOne and Chase, looking for the belly-scraper airports so that they can offer a paper benefit.
Not happy about this change at all. Not impressed with Sapphire Lounge. Tried to visit for the first time in JFK on a quiet Sunday afternoon. They had a waitlist that they did not seem too interested in moving. I am embarrassed that I waited 40 minutes before giving up. I was told it would just be 10 more minutes. 50 minutes wait for an airport lounge is not accessible. CSR has only been raising fee while subtracting benefits. Will not be renewing and signed up at launch.
As reported by the FED, the average credit card balance in the USA is $6,500 and growing. Financial institutions like Chase are making a handsome profit with their credit card interest rates.
"We already know that too few people are carrying a balance on the card, so interest charges cannot be a source of profit to cover the cost of rewards". Really? In the third quarter of 2023 consumer credit card debt hit a record $1 trillion. The fourth quarter 2023 it was $1.129 trillion. With interest rates where they are, they are making A LOT of money to cover their costs.
I agree with you. This was the last killer feature of the card. The 1.5x redemption is not unique. US Bank offers it on the Altitude Reserve card, with a lower AF, visa infinite and a travel credit and it's 3x on everything if you use Apple Pay / Google Wallet.
Agreed with Bob and Luis. Nothing in LAX. That's why I caved and went with Amex + AA Exec. At least I'm set for terminals B - 6 now.
Luis, you're going to see people whose entire income is dedicated signups pumping this card until time ends. (I'm sure Sebby will have a long exposé about "how he still finds value despite changes" for 15 minutes, plz leave a breadloaf emoji.)
@Will: Why? When I'm traveling for business, I'm getting reimbursed for meals anyway.
You forgot to mention that even if they're is an accessible Priority Pass lounge, they are often closed to Priority Pass users for capacity issues.
Several times I have used these restaurants after being turned away at lounges.
Was just at two of the SEA PP restaurants and the Centurion, and it's absolutely a subjective thing. Didn't like waiting 25 mins to eat that CL's take on chicken thighs, knowing there's a pretty darn good brewpub right across the center terminal.
We'll just all have to reminisce about wine to-go at Capers PDX, PF Chang's at TBT LAX, and a host of other reasons why this card used to be a winner.
I will probably drop the Ritz card after this. It was the last thing keeping me going with it.
With this downgrade, Chase takes away the single card benefit that has kept me using CSR as my primary card these past few years.
I live in San Francisco so their east coast lounges are of little benefit. Now that Amex seems to have solved their lounge overcrowding problem by limiting guests and families (THANK YOU, Amex!) I will probably switch back to Amex Platinum. I don’t need multiple cards with $550+ annual fees.
I’m disappointed in Chase.
Speaking from an SFO perspective, all I can say is Yankee Pier, Giant’s Clubhouse, Lark Creek, and Mustard’s are going to turn into ghost towns. The average passenger would have to be out of their mind to pay “list price” for the quality of food served. My usual breakfast at these places (all run by the same airport vendor, BTW) was Sysco eggs and frozen potato cubes which rang up to very near the $28 benefit. I would have paid about $12 in “real life” had I not used PP. It’s truly “bar food” quality with lots of carbs and fat. I believe the whole business model was to make just a few bucks from PP for each visit (lots of volume) while making the lion’s share raping the few “full price” customers oblivious enough to pay the 1000% profit margins from the menu prices.
In essence, the CSR is the Amex Green Card with 1) Priority Pass and 2) superior travel insurance. In two-player mode, the CSR's annual fee is $625 and the Amex Green's annual fee is $150. How many readers have Priority Pass via another card? And, for the $475 annual fee differential, one could EASILY buy a superior standalone travel insurance policy . . . thus, affording coverage when using ANY card.
If they are targeting NYC families, doing a great job from my perspective. The new NYC lounges are terrific. Even the smaller Ethiad one in JFK is pretty great - yes there can be a wait, but once inside, an actual concierge shows you to a table, staff is incredibly friendly, the champagne is good, the food is good, the kids enjoyed, plus I didn’t have to pay $30 a kid to get into Amex (or $50 a kid to get into the sky club). Between the drinks and food alone that my family of 4 consumed at the T4 JFK lounge last week, easily justified the fee for this year.
It's not about average or aggregate balances. This particular card has attracted (deliberately) a much wealthier client base who are much less likely to carry a balance. This is something that Chase has disclosed and talked about in the context of explaining their disappointing profits from the CSR, specifically. The fact that they are making a huge spread on other products, doesn't impact how they design costly benefits for this one.
Yessir I got the altitude reserve...still 8 "visits" a year (visit= 1 guest). 4 with the connect. Not too bad
+1
8 individual PP visits/year that can (still) be used at restaurants
3x points on all travel, dining and mobile pay spending and the points are worth 1.5 cents each toward travel. Be sure to activate "real time rewards" and then only enable travel redemption options because that category is where you get 1.5 cents instead of 1 cent. Real time rewards will text you when you purchase something in your active category (travel) and you approve the point redemption via text.
Yes, other cards you may do better than 1.5 cents/point if you transfer to airline miles, but 4.5% rebate on all mobile pay is pretty good.
From IAH POV, same with Cadillacs and Lawrys seafood. Cadillacs actually has good food but my god have their prices gone up so much. Sure inflation, but even compared to 2-3 years ago wow. Enhanced with priority pass inflation and I dont think the prices are going to come back down.
I think it should be read as "network of exceptional lounges" rather than "exceptional network of lounges".
I visited the one in BOS and it was certainly a cut above other airport lounges. Probably just about on par with the United Polaris lounges. Certainly heads and shoulders above even "good" PP lounges.
I think you need to look at the other side. It was probably not good for the restaurant for having the deal too. The restaurants probably complained to priority pass. If the restaurants are still on for priority pass membership issued cards then it would be a perk of having that type of card.
Huh? If this wasn't good for the restaurants, then they wouldn't have signed up to participate in the program
They still list restaurant credits here. https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/education/rewards-benefits/priority-pass-benefits
Lame! I regret choosing the reserve card. Did it for the restaurant benefit at airports without lounges - that’s gone - and the lounges that have never opened. What an awful card. Not worth the high fee. Other cards are better with lower fees.
Agreed. The days of being a CSR customer are limited for me. Customer service sucks and perks are worsening.
I wonder if Chase has added restaurants back because as of Aug 13, 2024 I am seeing restaurants again in Priority Pass app. If so that be great news (as opposed to a glitch). The Chase website also still references restaurants.
For those of us with PDX as our home airport this is very disappointing. The only lounges on program were capers and westward whiskey.