[Sticky] Is The Chase Sapphire Reserve Worth The Annual Fee? My Personal Math

Don’t forget the $120/yr ($10/mo) Peloton credit!

Very much on the fence about renewing. As Ben says, the $300 travel credit is a no brainer. I’ve also managed to use the Edit & IHG hotel credits this year but not sure I would in the future. Sapphire lounges are really nice by U.S. standards, but I find they over promise and under deliver. They used to offer free flowing champagne but the last few visits it’s always been out of stock. And there’s always a wait to get in & very crowded once you do make it in.

Isn’t the Edit credit now just 2x per year but at any time (not semiannual)?

End of the day - still making my annual fee back, but boy has this card gotten annoying. If you don't value CSR lounges (and I do because the LGA one is great AND it has the best guest policies that work for families) drop the card ASAP.

It's amazing to me that a card that used to market itself as a 3x travel card 1) still has a $300 travel credit - the whole point of which was to get people to use this card for all things travel because of the former 3x category and 2) has a terrible, terrible program like The Edit which is leaps and bounds worse than FHR with wildly inflated pricing.

I don't think 8x is industry leading when Strata Elite is 12x hotels / 6x air. The idea that you wouldn't book direct on an airline booking with Amex Plat 5x and book through Chase because you may get an extra 3x points... hotels I'm more than willing to book through portals (usually so many hotels if something goes wrong), flights are a completely different story.

I hear you on stubhub with young kids and such, but you get $150 2x a year. I understand you can now pay with Paze with Stubhub - register your Chase cards with Paze (through the digital wallet on the Chase app) and that's an extra 10x Chase miles through 12/31. And stack it with a portal - Rove just had 9x, Rakuten is at 10x once a month. That's ~20x miles or 6,000 miles - throw the tickets away, who cares. At 1.5cpp that's $90 in value for doing absolutely nothing, which I think therefore is a fair value for this credit.

I'm struggling with this one. I also have the Amex Gold and Platinum cards so, like Lucky, I don't value the dining or airfare bonuses on the CSR. Also, I find the Edit credit much less valuable than Amex's FHR credit (which I use every year). I'm probably about breakeven as well or maybe a litte up but also spend $3000-$3500 a year in AFs across almost 20 cards (some no AF and 3-4 more premium cards). Also, looking at Bilt Paladium coupled with a downgrade of CSR to CSP but have another 2 months to decide. Right now may keep another year but will definitely be a year to year decision unlike my Amex Platinum which will likely be a keeper until I'm gone.

Sure, a person can garner $X of the card's credits, but how much of a hassle does it take to do so? Of course, snag the SUB. But, the hassle factor makes it hard to justify as a keeper. And, there are better earn rates for spending. As for its "best in class" travel protections, skilled hobbyists can find close-enough alternatives.

Greedy high fees .

interesting that you didnt even mention the best perk it offers: points boost on luxury hotels. Yes they have nerfed to mostly 1.65cpp which sucks, but being able to burn points at 1.65-2.0cpp on luxury hotels like St Regis/Capella/Four Seasons/etc. is incredible. Literally no other card offers this at more than 1.0cpp. It's an absolute game changer. I get why you specifically don't use it since you book via Ford, but to not mention it in your review is a miss IMO

FYI, the Edit credits are not semi-annual anymore. You can use the credits whenever you want--twice in the first half of the year, twice in the second half, or once per half.

I would strictly want this card for the sign-up bonus. Other than Air Canada and Singapore Air, I don't value the transfer partners enough to accumulate Ultimate Rewards points through spend. Citi, American Express, and Capital One have better airline transfer partners. As for the annual fee, I could justify the travel credit easiest. I would use the Stubhub credit, but not at face value. Mostly resale tickets are sold there, usually at inflated prices. Maybe 60-75% of face value. I get Apple TV discounts through T-Mobile, so Chase would only save me $3 per month. Overall, it would be a challenge to break even on the annual fee; a challenge that I wouldn't want to take.
I will probably get this card for the sign-up bonus. Doubtful this would find a place in my wallet for the long term.

You left out the car rental insurance coverage. Primary coverage. That has value more than DoorDash and similar benefits of meager value.

You mentioned that the CSR has no foreign transaction fees, which is obviously a great feature of the card. Still, how do different banks like Chase, AMEX, etc., treat currency conversions? Is there an industry standard? Have you ever addressed this in an article?

I'm about the same as you for now. We have plenty of restaurants in San Diego and where I typically travel. I've managed to use The Edit 3 times for some pretty nice stays. There is also a Chase lounge at SAN and other airports I use frequently.

That being said, it's a bit of a PIA to use the coupons and it will be on the chopping block each year whether to keep or quit. It's not a "no brainer" any longer.

I agree that a great summary for this card is "fatigue". If I'm paying $800, they should be working for me, not making me have to sit down and do the math to claim $5 here and there.

The prestige used to have a feature where if you found a lower price on something they would refund you the difference. That was a great value add to the fee.

I also agree with the comment that rental insurance is valuable for many and shouldn't be discounted.

I kept it this year because the timing of the change meant I could double dip on the dining and stubhub credit, but I think it's my last year.

That is definitely the best CSR perk if you earn a lot of UR across Chase cards as compared to other travel cards- so long as the price is reasonably comparable to other booking channels (after factoring in the value of any benefits/perks), it's definitely the best card if you want to redeem for high-end hotels but would not pay actual cash for those stays (since FHR is only 1 CPP).

@Lucky are there portions of this post that are generated?

thank you, was about to say this

yes

I have to say that the card barely makes sense when accounting for the AF. The Platinum offers so much more value for the annual fee. The edit would be better if it didn't require a 2-night reservation, like it does with the Platinum FHR. I'll probably get rid of this card next annual fee, its very underwhelming

@Ben, I think you should discount the $300 travel credit value to account for the zero points. Non-bonused travel = 300 points ($4.5). Airfare/hotel = 900 ($13.5). Travel portal = 2400 ($36).

Chase could easily change this so that you earn full points, since they do so on all the other purchases that get offset by the new credits (Stubhub, dining, etc.).

Oops. Forgot they increased direct airfare and hotel, so it's 1200 points ($18).

This week I used the $300 travel credit, $250 IHG credit, $250 Edit credit and $150 dining credit. I earned the 150,000-point bonus earlier this month. That will get me 12 nights @HR Bangkok which is worth $2400 to $2600. Great card for me.

I definitely get the value back and then some on this card but agree it can be cumbersome at times. Another benefit I use a lot is the ability to be able to transfer points directly to both Flying Blue and Qatar, especially at times when there is a decent bonus. I do this a lot to take advantage of booking their business class award travel 350 days out when the best availability and best value is there as I use both airlines for select trips at the same time of year repeatedly!

You don't mention the annual fee for additional users which is steep. I agree that the coupon book in unappealing and only works if you use what's on the list.

Chase could make it a bit more flexible. As far as coupon books go, although I am not a fan Amex's is a bit more flexible. The Amex Marriott card offers a $300 restaurant credit divided monthly but any restaurant is acceptable. The Apple money could be a news and digitial subscription for example.

FWIW my husband got the Chase reserve when it first came out many years ago. He just got approved again, but Chase reached out to him and he had to call in, although it seemed mostly an identity verification issue.

Dropped CSR last year as the new coupon book model was a fight to break even without adapting my life to fit the card, which is the antithesis of what it should be. I was a proud evangelist since day 1, but with the changes, I've moved to United Quest and CSP that fit my life (and home airport) better. No frustration with CSR, but Chase made it clear that the card wasn't for me.

You did not mention the car rental Insurance or the travel delay and cancelation insurance. I cruise twice yearly. I do not purchase the insurance offered by the cruise lines. The coverage cost savings is at least $700.00!

I have CSR, Amex Plat and UA Club card, so lots of fees to get some value out of each program.

The CSR is withering in my view. The UA Club card also shares many features that the CSR offers. The Amex Plat has Priority Pass, which I do like and use around the world. I've never seen a Chase lounge (EWR based) so don't really care. Use United/Star clubs in most places if I actually have time to go to a club or there's one in the terminal I'm using. Never seen a Centurion club either, although they are threatening to open on in EWR Terminal A, but will believe it when I see it.

Both the Amex Plat and CSR are a chore to maximize "value" at these fee levels. And they do feel somewhat redundant to me. The "dining" programs I find generally useless as well, as they are heavily giant city centric, which limits real world value. Unless you're in a huge city, good luck using either dining program.

Basically, if you're a regular suburban half business half leisure traveler, and don't live in NYC or near a Delta hub, then Amex plat is challenging, and CSR is mostly useless.

I used to love the 1.5x spend on Chase Travel. But now they have this point boost system I frankly don't understand. Do you think Chase Reserve travel point boost system is worth it? Do any other Chase cards have point boost booking?