Why I’m Keeping the Chase Sapphire Reserve Despite the $795 Annual Fee

Earlier this year, the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® went through some big changes, which have caused many people to wonder if the card is still worth it with its higher $795 annual fee.

Personally, I’m planning to keep the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, and I’m actually excited about many of the new card additions. Here is why I think the card is still worth it, for me, even with a much larger annual fee.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Overview

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Chase Sapphire Reserve^®

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A top player in the high-end premium travel credit card space that earns points on travel and dining while offering top luxury perks.

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Chase Sapphire Reserve^®

A top player in the high-end premium travel credit card space that earns points on travel and dining while offering top luxury perks.

Welcome Offer

Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

125,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$2,500

Annual Fee

$795

APR

19.99% - 28.49% 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

If you’re looking for an all-around excellent travel rewards card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® is one of the best options.

The card combines elite travel benefits and perks like worldwide airport lounge access, with excellent point earning and redemption options. Plus, it offers top-notch travel insurance protections to cover you at home or on the road.

Don’t forget the more than $2,000 in annual credits, which can offset the annual fee!

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 8x points on all Chase Travel purchases
• 5x points on Lyft rides
• 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly

Cons

• $795 annual fee

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Card Highlights

• Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Get more than $2,700 in annual value with Sapphire Reserve.
• Earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, including The Edit℠ and 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct. Plus, earn 3x points on dining worldwide & 1x points on all other purchases
• $300 annual travel credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
• Access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with a complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership, plus every Chase Sapphire Lounge^® by The Club with two guests. Plus, up to $120 towards Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck^® every 4 years
• Get up to $150 in statement credits every six months for a maximum of $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and more.
• Get complimentary Apple TV+, the exclusive streaming home of Apple Originals. Plus Apple Music — all the music you love, across all your devices. Subscriptions run through 6/22/27 — a value of $250 annually
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 28.49% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

$300 Annual Travel Credit

If you travel often enough to be considering a travel credit card with a $795 annual fee, then the $300 annual travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is almost as good as cash. It is extremely easy to offset $300 of expenses on just a single trip.

In fact, unlike travel credits offered on other credit cards, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s $300 travel credit doesn’t only apply to airline incidentals or travel purchases made only through their travel portal. With this $300 credit, it applies to virtually any travel purchase you make using your card, which includes:

• Airfare purchased directly with an airline
• Airline incidental fees
• Bus or train tickets
• Campground fees
• Car rentals
• Cruises
• Hotels
• Timeshares
• Tours
• Travel agencies

When you factor in just how easy this $300 annual travel credit is to use, especially if you would normally spend at least $300 per year on travel-related expenses anyway, the annual fee effectively drops to $495 from the jump.

$500 Annual The Edit Credit

When you travel frequently, you’re naturally going to need to spend some money on hotels, on occasions where you’re not able to book using points of course. In those situations, the $500 annual The Edit credit on your Chase Sapphire Reserve card can really come in handy.

If you’re not familiar, The Edit is similar to Fine Hotels + Resorts from American Express, and is a collection of 1,000+ luxury hotels and resorts worldwide, where you receive additional perks and benefits for booking through Chase.

With your Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you receive up to $250 in statement credits from January to June, and an additional $250 in statement credits from July through December, for a maximum of $500 in credits each calendar year, when you book a stay of at least 2 nights through The Edit.

Better yet, in addition to these statement credits, it is great to receive elite status-like perks at these properties in The Edit collection:

• Daily breakfast for 2
• Room upgrade when available
• Early check-in and late checkout when available
• $100 property credit

Further, I love that when I book through The Edit at a property that is also a member of a loyalty program in which I have status, like Hilton Honors or World of Hyatt, I can input my loyalty number during booking and receive redeemable points, elite status credit, and any other loyalty benefits I’m entitled to thanks to my status level within that program.

$300 Annual StubHub Credit

I love attending live music and sporting events, so it is a big win for me that the Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with a $300 annual StubHub credit, delivered in 2 separate $150 biannual credits.

While I’m not loyal to a specific booking platform, knowing that I’ll receive a $150 statement credit every 6 months through StubHub is enough to help book at least 1 event in that timeframe and score a nice discount, or will allow me to spring for nice seats than I might have otherwise purchased without the statement credit.

Benefits With Lyft

While this benefit won’t be helpful for everyone, since I live in New York City, it is extremely common for me to use a ride-share service at least a few times each month. Given that, getting $10 per month off a Lyft ride through September 2027, in addition to earning 5x points for paying for the ride with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, amounts to a small but worthwhile level of savings for me each year.

Benefits With Apple

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you receive complimentary subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music.

While I use Spotify and don’t currently subscribe to Apple Music, I’ve been a paying subscriber to Apple TV+ for a while at a rate of $12.99 per month. Now that the subscription is complimentary with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, that’s another $155.88 that I won’t have to pay each year just for continuing to hold my Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Airport Lounge Access

For frequent travelers, airport lounge access is a must-have benefit, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers access to Chase Sapphire Lounges and Priority Pass lounges.

I already have Priority Pass access covered via other premium credit cards that I hold, but Chase Sapphire lounges are in another league, in my opinion, thanks to their focus on premium interiors, dining, beverage options, and amenities in select locations like complimentary facials.

Fortunately for me, I have Chase Sapphire lounge locations near me at LaGuardia Airport (LGA), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and a short train ride from me at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). With my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I can access all of these locations and the rest of the Chase Sapphire lounge locations worldwide, and bring 2 guests as well, at no added cost to me beyond the annual fee I pay for my card.

Travel Protections

One of the best benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card has always been its excellent travel protections that help keep you covered when things go wrong, which include:

• Primary rental car insurance
• Trip delay insurance of up to $500 for delays of more than 6 hours
• Baggage delay insurance of up to $100 per day for up to 5 days for delays of more than 6 hours
• Lost luggage reimbursement of up to $3,000 per person per trip for checked or carry-on bags

While you hope that you never need to use these benefits, knowing that they are there and will help keep me covered in case of emergency gives you peace of mind in the event that a hectic travel day takes a turn for the worse.

Final Thoughts

While no one loves having to pay a higher annual fee for their credit cards, for me, when accounting for all of the benefits and perks, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is still well worth it to me.

Based on my travel and lifestyle, it is relatively easy for me to fully offset the cost of the annual fee just with the annual statement credits alone. Then, when you factor in the other perks like the rewards you earn, the lounge access you receive, along with the various travel and purchase protections, the card becomes a great fit for my wallet.

That said, you should run the numbers for yourself when deciding whether or not the card makes sense for you.