Thoughts on the Refreshed Chase Sapphire Reserve®

We’ve had a couple of days to digest the news about Chase Sapphire Reserve®’s big refresh.

Will Chase’s big-ticket product remain in our wallets? Or will we mail the metal card back to the bank?

The refreshed card debuts on Monday, June 23. Current cardmembers won’t see their annual fees climb — or most of the new features — until October 2025.

Let’s discuss the major changes and a few of the unaffected items.

Higher Annual Fee

This was pretty much an open secret during the past few months. The card’s annual fee will climb to $795 from $550.

Authorized users go from — brace yourself — $75 to $195 a year.

That means a primary carholder and one authorized user will run almost $1,000 in annual fees.

Airport Lounges

This perk remains. Card members and up to two guests may access every Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club.

They can also enroll in a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership.

Cardholders and their authorized users receive complimentary admission for them plus one guest each to Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafés in Canada, the U.S., and Europe (when departing on a Star Alliance member airline flight).

Different Points Earning Structure

There are updated points earning categories:

• 8X Chase Travel hotel and cars (reduced from 10X)
• 8X on flights booked through Chase Travel℠ (increased from 5X)
• 8X on cruises, activities and tours booked through Chase Travel℠ (new?)
• 4X on flights and hotel purchases made directly with the airlines and hotels, respectively (increased from 3X)
• 3X on dining (unchanged)
• 1X on general/other travel (i.e., rideshare, taxi, bus, subway, parking, etc) (reduced from 3X)
  • Ironic, given that Chase boasts the CSR as “the most flexible travel credit available.”
• 1X on all other eligible purchases

I hate that Chase dropped the general/other travel purchases from 3X to 1X. That’s a big, big strike. I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve® all for parking, Lyft, taxis, and trains. I may need to shift those to another Chase card — or somewhere else (American Express, Capital One, etc.)

8X on flights booked through Chase Travel℠ is amazing. That’s 60% higher than The Platinum Card® from American Express, which earns 5X Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year). And Chase’s 8X is uncapped.

8X on cruises, activities, and tours is a new bonus we like. But remember you’re still booking through an online travel agency (OTA) — and I’ve heard some horror stories about activity and tour bookings going sideways. Not many but it’s happened.

4X on direct flight and hotel purchases is certainly nice. And I’m happy 3X on dining is staying.

$300 Travel Credit

This benefit does not change: card members can earn up to $300 each year in eligible travel purchases charged to their cards.

Points Boost

Sapphire Reserve members will no longer be able to redeem points for 1.5 cents each when purchasing trips through Chase Travel℠. Instead, there’s Points Boost: a feature that lets you redeem points at up to two cents each — and for select airfares and hotels.

Cruises and rental cars can be purchased for only one cent per point. That alone might torpedo the card for my colleague René de Lambert.

That’s a disappointment. The flat 1.5X was great because we knew what we were getting — instead of this up to model that’s surely dynamic.

$500 The Edit Statement Credit

To paraphrase Shania Twain: this don’t impress me much.

Cardmembers can earn up to $500 yearly on prepaid stays of two nights or more through Chase’s The Edit collection. (Up to $250 from January through June, and up to $250 from July through December.)

You don’t earn points on these purchases.

The Edit is basically Chase’s version of Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts: a “hand-picked collection of unforgettable hotels and resorts, with complimentary benefits like a $100 property credit, daily breakfast for 2, a room upgrade (if available) and more.”

First, most of these hotels run hundreds of dollars each night. (You might score the occasional deal here and there). To be candid, that’s out of my budget. I love fancy hotels but don’t need them. The two-night minimum is also a non-starter.

This perk is for people with deeper pockets than I have.

Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status

I think most of us rolled our eyes because we already have IHG Platinum status with our IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card or its business counterpart. Or the legacy IHG Select (no longer open for applications). The IHG Platinum cards have $99 annual fees and come with Anniversary Night rewards starting the second year.

But, hey, having status is better than not. So, this perk is fine. But certainly don’t get the card just for this.

By the way, you earn IHG Diamond status — and much more — if you spend $75,000 on your card during a calendar year. We’ll discuss that in a few minutes.

$300 “Annual Dining Credit”

Don’t get too excited about that “Annual Dining Credit” title. You’re not getting $300 each year for every dining purchase. Like, Egg McMuffins and McCafé coffee purchases at the golden arches or wings and beer at B-Dubs aren’t eligible.

Sapphire Reserve members can earn up to $150 in statement credit from January through June and $150 from July through December at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurants.

Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables secures reservations for cardmembers at some of the most sought-after and hardest-to-book restaurants in major cities. This includes held tables at select restaurants through the Visa Dining Collection on OpenTable—a list of over 275 top dining spots across the U.S. curated by The Infatuation.

Great.

Add your Sapphire Reserve to your OpenTable account. Gary Leff notes that you don’t need to pay your tab through OpenTable. Just pay the bill with your Reserve card. It sounds a lot like the Resy statement credit feature on several American Express cards.

There are far more Resy restaurants in my area than there are Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Table locations. And most of the Exclusive Table restaurants are where more affulent (or people who spend like they are — that’s the important part for card issuers) people tend to dine.

That’s me — and I live in Los Angeles. I can’t imagine how worthless this benefit will be for folks in the Fargos, Tulsas, Knoxvilles, and Pelstons of the USA.

$250 Apple Music and Apple TV+ Credit

First things first: calm down, Android people! We know you think your devices are vastly superior to those we Apple consumers enjoy. (Because you tell us all the time — or complain about the iPhone that your husband bought you and how “Android is better because this $%&#ing iPhone is so confusing and…”)

CSR members can get up to $250 in statement credit each year for Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscriptions. You must opt in through the Chase app. Your existing Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscriptions will be canceled.

Apple TV+ is available on most smart televisions, Roku, and Fire TV Stick. It’s also available on Android, as is Apple Music. So, yes, Android people, you can enjoy this benefit. (I’m sure it’s not as great as Android Music or Android TV+.)

An individual Apple Music subscription costs $10.99/month. Apple TV+ IS $9.99/month. That’s $20.98 a month or $251.76 a year. You basically get Apple Music and Apple TV+ for $1.76 a year. If you already have those specific subscriptions, this is a fantastic new feature.

I have a family subscription to something called Apple One, which includes iCloud storage, Apple News, and more Apple stuff I use. So, this credit does nothing for me. If it could somehow be applied toward my Apple One subscription, this would be a no-brainer. I’d keep the card, no questions asked.

René is a big Android person. Knowing his entertainment tastes and preferences, I don’t see him getting Apple TV+. He’s already set up with his tunes, so Apple Music is a no-go.

$420 DoorDash Benefits

Nope. It’s not $35 a month in restaurant deliveries.

Get up to $25 each month to spend on DoorDash, which includes a $5 monthly promo to spend on restaurant orders* and two $10 promos each month to save on groceries, retail orders and more.

Mmmkay.

(Complimentary) DashPass membership, worth $120 annually, includes $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible DoorDash orders for a minimum of one year. Activate by Dec 31, 2027.*

This is one of those benefits that you don’t really need until you do. Know what I mean?

Look, $5 on restaurant orders and a pair of $10 promos for groceries and whatever is fine. I rarely get groceries from DoorDash, so maybe this would encourage me to get some of the “smaller stuff” from them. I occasionally use DoorDash but I’m more of a GrubHub and Uber Eats guy.

This benefit doesn’t give me the tingles.

$120 Lyft Benefit

Card members will earn 5X total points on Lyft purchases through September 30, 2027. That’s great! I find Lyft often has better prices, too, than Uber.

Plus, card members can earn up to $10 a month in credits (up to $120 each year) for Lyft rides through September 30, 2027.

As I mentioned, I live in Los Angeles. Everyone drives themselves everywhere in their own cars. My eight-year-old has her own car and drives herself to school. (You should see what the kindergarteners are driving these days! 🙂 )

I traveled a decent amount this year up until recently (I sustained an injury that’s keeping me at home). I wasn’t using Lyft every month — but I’d probably get about $60-$80 worth of credit out of this perk.

$300 StubHub and viagogo Credit

Cardmembers can earn up to $150 from January through June, and up to $150 from July through December for eligible purchases made with StubHub and viagogo. (Enrollment is required.)

This is another you don’t need it until you do credit. At least, for me. I don’t want to pressure myself into finding some concert or sports event just to drop (at least) $150 on tickets. Then I’ll spend another $150 on gas, parking, food, and beverages attending a show or game I otherwise wouldn’t have.

For me, it’s sort of like The Edit benefit. Am I going to drop $800 on a football ticket? Oh, hell no. (Unless it’s the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl. Then I’m in.) I’m not going to spend $650 on a ticket. Nor would I spend that seeing Def Leppard — and I love Def Leppard — at one of those Vegas residencies.

Again, Chase is pricing me out here.

(Cut to: I spend gobs of money on Disney on Ice or Olivia Rodrigo tickets for my daughter and wish I had a StubHub benefit!)

For the Big Spenders: The $75,000 Perks

I’m pretty intrigued by this value proposition. It’s almost like a fun spending challenge.

Cardmembers who spend $75,000 on eligible purchases during a calendar year earn:

• IHG One Rewards Diamond elite status
• A-List Status on Southwest Airlines
• $500 Southwest Airlines Credit
• $250 Shops at Chase Credit

The two elite status benefits are valid for the rest of the calendar year during which you spend your $75,000 and all of the following year. Let’s say you spend $75,000 on your Sapphire Reserve between January and March 2026. You’d have IHG Diamond and Southwest A-List status for the rest of 2026 and all of 2027.

There’s a dark, sick part of me that wants to get creative and try to make that happen.

If the card’s points earnings were just a little better, I could figure out a way. Plus, I don’t fly Southwest enough and most of the IHG properties where we stay aren’t that chic (“Thanks for your Diamond status, Mr. Carley, but this Holiday Inn doesn’t have a Presidential Suite. But I’m sure your daughter will love the pool!”)

Final Approach

For us, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® doesn’t make much sense. We’ll monitor our card usage during the next few months and make a decision when our annual fee hits in 2026. I understand some people can easily earn back the $2,000+ in statement credits. I’m not one of them. Just by eyeballing the credits, I think I can earn back about $600 without too much work. That’s almost $200 shy of the new annual fee.

We keep hearing about Chase lounges at Los Angeles International (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAX), two airports we regularly use. We’ll believe them when we see them. So, we don’t really need a card for those right now (nor do we truly need airport lounge access). Especially when we have it through other cards.

Losing the 1.5% redemption to maybe getting 2% on airline purchases is actually disappointing. I’m sure those 2 cents per point flight will early morning or late evening departures no one else wants. I’d love to be proven wrong.

What do you make of the changes?