What To Know About Adding Authorized Users to the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business Card

The newly launched Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ offers extremely lucrative perks and can provide immense value for business owners. But what about authorized users?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card allows cardholders to add employee cardholders to their account for no additional cost, but the perks are limited.

If you’re wondering precisely what benefits and options authorized users get (and don’t get) with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card and what you should know about adding them as authorized users, read on, as this article will cover it all.

Card Overview

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Sapphire Reserve for Business℠

U.P. Rating 

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The Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business card is perfect for frequent traveler business owners who want premium perks.

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Sapphire Reserve for Business℠

The Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business card is perfect for frequent traveler business owners who want premium perks.

Welcome Offer

Earn 200,000 bonus points after you spend $30,000 on purchases in your first 6 months from account opening.

200,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$4,000

Annual Fee

$795

APR

18.24% - 26.24% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card is a great pick for business owners who can easily make use of the annual credits for travel, Google Workspace, ZipRecruiter, and more. Plus, it offers helpful bonus categories such as ad spend and offers access to over 1,300 airport lounges — including Chase Sapphire Lounges.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 8x points on Chase Travel purchases
• 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
• 3x points on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines (uncapped)

Cons

• $795 annual fee

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Card Highlights

• Earn 200,000 bonus points after you spend $30,000 on purchases in your first 6 months from account opening and with more than $2,500 in annual value, there's no competition.
• Earn 8x points on Chase Travel℠ for airline tickets, hotels, including The Edit℠, car rentals, cruises, activities and tours.
• Earn 5x total points on Lyft rides through 9/30/27.
• Earn 4x points on flights & hotels booked direct.
• Earn 3x points on social media & search engine advertising.
• Get the most flexible travel credit compared to any other card, with up to $300 in statement credits each anniversary year on travel purchases.
• Enjoy complimentary access to the Chase Sapphire Lounge^® by The Club network and Priority Pass™ Select membership. Two guests may accompany the Primary Cardmember to the lounges free of charge.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 18.24% - 26.24% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business Card: Authorized User vs. Employee Card

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card is exactly what its name suggests: a business credit card. This means that if you add authorized users to the card, they should be employees. In the case of this particular card, Chase uses the terms “employee card” and “authorized user” interchangeably to mean the same thing.

In terms of the vocabulary associated with this credit card, an authorized user is an employee, and an employee card is a card issued by the authorizing officer (main cardholder or business owner) for their employee, aka authorized user, to use for business expenses.

When adding an employee card, Chase states: “If any employees are allowed to use the account, they will be authorized users and will have equal charging privileges unless individual spending limits are established for them. You, as the Authorizing Officer, together with the business are responsible for any use of the account by you, an authorized user or anyone else permitted to use the account. You, together with the business, are responsible for repaying all balances on the account.”

Essentially, this means that you’re responsible for paying off the bill for your Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card, regardless of whether you or your employee makes the purchases.

Why Add Authorized Users to the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business Card?

When you have a personal credit card, authorized users are usually trusted friends or family members who you want to have access to your card.

However, with business cards, authorized users are typically employees, and you issue employee cards for convenience. This way, employees can make purchases as needed, and you won’t always have to whip out your card for a business expense. Additionally, consolidating all business expenses onto 1 bill can make accounting and expense tracking much easier.

Authorized user spending can contribute to a solid balance of rewards and can help you reach spend thresholds for welcome bonuses or additional perks.

Just remember that you’ll be responsible for paying any charges an employee makes, so setting ground rules with them for charges and receipts is key.

6 Things To Know About Adding Authorized Users to the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business Card

Make sure you’re aware of the following before adding any employee cards to your Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card.

1. Employee Cards Are at No Additional Cost

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business employee cards cost $0 to add. Just remember that you have to pay off any charges that employee cards incur, so be sure to add only authorized users you trust to be responsible with the card.

2. You Can Add up to 99 Employee Cards

Add up to 99 of your employees as authorized users on your Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card.

3. Authorized Users Get a Few Perks

Authorized users on the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card receive fewer perks than authorized users of its Chase Sapphire Reserve^® counterpart, but it’s important to remember that this is a business card, after all, and that employee cards are complimentary.

These are the benefits authorized users get on the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card:

• The same level of purchase protections and travel protections as your primary card
• At least 12 months of complimentary DashPass for use on both the DoorDash and Caviar applications through December 31, 2027
• No foreign transaction fees
• Bonus categories for earning points

4. There Are Many Perks Authorized Users Don’t Get

Because authorized users are employees, there are many benefits that employee cards don’t get. For example, authorized users don’t receive lounge access (Priority Pass Select or Chase Sapphire Lounges), statement credits and program benefits for hotels in The Edit by Chase Travel or other Chase Travel properties, or IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status.

5. Expect Gray Areas

In some cases, authorized users can use the benefits of the main card, but not get their own.

For example, authorized users can utilize the following card benefits:

• $300 annual travel credit
• Up to $500 credit with The Edit (2 separate $250 biannual credits, 2-night minimum stay required)
• Up to $120 annual in-app Lyft credits through September 30, 2027 (up to $10 monthly)
• Up to $120 in Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit every 4 years
• Up to $400 annual ZipRecruiter credit
• Up to $200 Google Workspace credit
• Up to $100 Giftcards.com credit (2 biannual $50 credits)

Once these credits are used up, that’s it. The main cardholder won’t be able to use them if an authorized user has already used them.

Further gray areas concern the $120,000 spending threshold. If you spent $120,000 on the card in a year, only the main cardholder could get additional benefits like IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite status, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards A-list status, a $500 credit for The Shops at Chase, and a $500 Southwest Airlines Chase Travel credit.

6. Remember, You Must Pay in Full

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card is a pay-in-full card, which means you must pay off your bill completely each month. There are Flex for Business payment options, but these incur interest, so we don’t recommend them.

Because you must pay your card off entirely in full each month, take special care when requesting employee cards to avoid unexpected charges.

Final Thoughts

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card is a business credit card, which means the authorized users you add are supposed to be employees. Employee Chase Sapphire Reserve Business cards don’t come with a lot of perks, but they cost you $0, and you can add up to 99 of them.

Authorized user cards offer employees a few key benefits (for example, travel protections on a business trip if the employee used the card to pay for it) and help the main cardholder build rewards and hit spend thresholds. If you’re the authorizing card officer, just make sure you’re ready to pay everyone’s balance off in full.