Tl;dr – Chase overhauled its Sapphire Reserve card line. Here’s a rundown of the basics of the new Sapphire Reserve and my thoughts on whether they are worth it.
The big news out of Chase this week was a shakeup to its Sapphire Reserve card line. Chase overhauled the consumer Sapphire Reserve and launched the first-ever Chase Reserve Business Card. I’d like to quickly review the benefits of each of these cards and share some initial thoughts.
First some logistics. These cards are rumored to drop next week, on June 23. Both cards will come with an annual fee of $795. Chase is also allegedly eliminating the 5/24 rule for new card applications for these cards, likely to help streamline the momentum surrounding this launch.
The New Chase Sapphire Reserve Business Card
This will be Chase’s first-ever Reserve Business Card.
Here’s a look at the cards earning structure:
- 8x points on all Chase Travel purchases
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly with the airline or hotel
- 3x points on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
- Points Boost: A new feature that can boost the value of points up to 2x (or 2 cents per point) for redemptions on thousands of select hotels and flights through Chase Travel.
- 5× points on Lyft rides
- 1× points on all other spend
Benefits:
- $ 500 annual credit for stays at participating luxury hotels through The Edit by Chase Travel
- Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status
- Access to Chase Sapphire and Priority Pass lounges with guest privileges.
- $300 annual travel credit
- $120 credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS every four years
- $300 DoorDash Credit (broken down to $25/month)
- Complimentary DashPass membership 1-year DashPass
- $120 Lyft (delivered as $10/month)
New Business-Specific Credits:
- Annual credits are available for ZipRecruiter ($400, delivered biannually)
- Google Workspace ($200 towards AI tools)
- Giftcards.com ($100, delivered biannually).
High Annual Spend Benefits – By spending $120,000 in a calendar year, cardholders earn:
- IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite Status
- Southwest Airlines A-List Status
- $500 Southwest Airlines credit (when booking through Chase Travel)
- $500 credit for The Shops at Chase.
The renewed Chase Sapphire Reserve (Consumer) Card
This is a refresh of the current Chase Sapphire Reserve consumer card. It will offer many of the same benefits as the all-new Business Sapphire Reserve above, as well as some more consumer-focused features.
Earning Structure:
- 8x on Chase Travel purchases
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly with the travel provider
- 3x points on dining at restaurants
- 1x points on everything else
- Points Boost: 2x redemption rate for points at The Edit and Premium cabin airfare
The Consumer Sapphire Reserve also comes with an arsenal of card benefits:
- $500 annual credit for The Edit – This is broken down biannually ($250 each half year) and requires a two-night stay.
- $300 Travel Credit
- $300 in credit at restaurants in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables ($150 each half-year)
- $250 Apple TV and Music Credit (Doesn’t work for Apple One)
- $300 Stubhub credits ($150 each half year)
- $120 Peleton ($10/month)
- $120 Lyft credit ($10/month)
- $300 Doordash Credit ($25/month)
- Complimentary Doordash Dashpass subscription for 1-year
- Global Entry Fee credit
You’ll also receive:
- IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status
- Priority Pass Membership
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge access (When traveling on a Star Alliance carrier)
High Annual Spend Benefits – By spending $75,000 in a calendar year, cardholders receive:
- IHG Diamond Elite Status
- $500 Southwest Credit via Chase Travel
- A list Status with Southwest
- $250 Shops at Chase credit
Both cards, the business and personal cards, would presumably offer rental car coverage and trip cancellation/insurance, similar to the offerings available on the existing Chase Sapphire Reserve.
My Thoughts – Am I Diving In?
I’ll start by being objective and answering the question of ‘Who is the ideal fit for these new Sapphire Reserve cards?’
Answer: Anyone who is in the market for their first ultra-premium credit card. Chase has put forth a two solid offerings here and if you don’t already have a credit card (or a suite of cards) that offers overlapping benefits, this one card can take you very far. There’s simplicity and neatness to the one-card-to-do-it-all (or at least most of it), and if you’re starting out, searching for a premium rewards card, and know you’re the type of person who ‘likes things easy’ – this could be the move.
Who else? Well, naturally, folks who have been in the points/credit card game for a while and want to simplify things. My strategy has been coverage – I want just a little skin in the game with all the major points currencies. But, for someone who wanted just one Ultimate Rewards card, this could be a savvy switch (particularly if you can move your credit line over to lose access to it now.)
Okay, now I’m going to be subjective and bring my own situation into the discussion. There is at least $500 worth of credits on both of these cards that I’ll never use whether that be in the first year or afterwards: I already have Global Entry and a Priority Pass (at least 2 of them as it stands); I don’t use Apple Music or TV: I’m not #TeamPeloton. I don’t currently live in a place where DoorDash operates, so short of ordering dinner for folks as a gift or relying on it for months when I am in a DoorDash region, this isn’t too useful to me.
The card’s earning structure is a notable improvement, particularly the 4X on flights. However, when I compare it to my trusty American Express Gold card, which isn’t $800 (though it also doesn’t offer 4X on hotels, but does grant 3X on supermarket spend), I can’t help but notice the partial overlap.
The Chase Sapphire Lounge Access is a solid draw, though the lionshare of my travel these days is outside the US. Thus, if these new lounges had a better footprint in other countries, that would be more attractive. Additionally, I’m a long-term holder of the Ritz-Carlton Card, which already grants me access to these lounges.
Canada, I don’t hit that much either, but I’m more excited about the Maple Leaf Lounge access than the Sapphire Lounge Access. There are Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge lounges at both Heathrow (LHR) and Frankfurt (FRA), two airports where you have a solid roster of first and business-class lounges already.
So factoring the remaining credits – the $500 Edit, $300 general-purpose travel credit, and the $300 Chase Exclusive dining credit – I’m looking at $1000 of value for $800 in a situation where I have to use those credits in half-year increments, and in the case of the Edit and dining credit, through Chase’s portal which likely comes with an upcharge.
This brings me to the most important question (which perhaps alongside many of you are itching to know as well). What will the welcome bonus on this card look like? Given my situation of coverage on other cards, the value of the welcome bonus will be the deciding factor. I have a huge suspicion that the move here might be to be patient. I could totally see these cards having elevated signup bonuses 7-11 months after their launch, particularly if economy, or consumer credit segment starts to edge.
The verdict: The benefits aren’t a winner by themself for my situation, so for me the welcome bonus on these cards will be the determing factor. I’m happy to be patient and wait things out for what I believe to be a compelling welcome bonus offer. When a good enough one comes along I’ll happily take (one or both of) these cards for a spin.
