The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers plenty of potential value, but knowing where to start can be a challenge.
From the sign-up bonus to the travel credits, this card offers a few ways to start earning back your $795 annual fee. But you’ll need to know how to qualify and activate many of the card’s best perks to take full advantage.
- Earn the sign-up bonus
- Earn your $300 travel credit
- Start booking your travel through Chase
- Apply for TSA PreCheck®, Global Entry or NEXUS
- Find the best airport lounge when you fly
- Start using the lifestyle credits and benefits
- Learn the bonus spending categories
- Decide if you can reach the $75,000-spend benefits
1. Earn the sign-up bonus
The best way to maximize the value of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is to earn the sign-up bonus. Currently, the card offers 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months after your account opens.
Those points could be worth $2,012 for typical cardholders according to our estimated point value for the card, but you might get even more value from your bonus if you transfer to one of Chase’s partner programs. Just make sure you check available redemptions and assess Credit Karma’s estimated point values before deciding how to use your rewards.
2. Earn your $300 travel credit
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® features a flexible $300 annual travel credit. The credit covers all qualifying travel purchases, not just what you book through the Chase Travel portal.
Plus, the definition of “travel” is loose enough that you should be able to earn the full value relatively quickly. It includes not only flights and hotels, but also some purchases that you might not think of as travel, like car rentals, cruises, trains, ferries, buses, taxis, tolls, parking garages, and campgrounds.
Just keep in mind that you won’t earn any rewards on purchases that use the travel credit.
3. Start booking your travel through Chase
While the annual travel credit applies to all travel purchases, Chase offers several benefits for booking your travel through the Chase Travel portal.
First, you’ll get eight points for every $1 spent on all purchases made through Chase Travel, compared to just four points per $1 on flights and hotels booked directly (both rates activate only after earning your full $300 travel credit).
When you book hotel stays, it might be smart to seek out properties included in Chase’s The Edit collection. Chase Travel offers $250 in statement credits twice per year (one from January through June and again from July through December) on prepaid bookings made with The Edit hotels and resorts (for a minimum of two nights).
The Edit bookings also come with a $100 property credit that includes dining, spa treatments and other on-site activities. Not every bookable hotel is included in The Edit, but these credits could help you decide between options when you see them pop up in your search.
4. Apply for TSA PreCheck®, Global Entry or NEXUS
Chase Sapphire Reserve® provides a statement credit of up to $120 every four years to cover the application fee for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or NEXUS, three programs that can help you move through airport security faster.
Picking the right option for you is simple. PreCheck helps you get through TSA checks at U.S. airports, but Global Entry does that and helps speed up the security check at U.S. Customs upon entry into the country. Meanwhile, NEXUS includes the ability to gain expedited customs service when entering Canada.
If you don’t already have membership in one of these programs, keep in mind that you’ll need to go through the full application process before you can use these benefits. Your credit card only covers the application fee with a statement credit — it won’t get you through the application any faster.
5. Find the best airport lounge when you fly
Chase Sapphire Reserve® includes access to numerous airport lounges, but you’ll want to do your research to find the best option for your travels.
It’s smart to start your search with the flagship Chase Sapphire Lounges, which are currently available in major U.S. airports near New York City, Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Of course, you’ll also have access to other, non-Chase lounges in other airports around the world with your complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership. But you must enroll with Priority Pass™ Select for access to these lounges.
6. Start using the lifestyle credits and benefits
Chase Sapphire Reserve® stands out for its travel benefits, but you can also access considerable value with the card in your first few months of membership by taking advantage of its spending credits and other perks.
Your card comes with many of these benefits, but some might not be simple to use fully in your first few months of having the card. With that in mind, we’ve singled out a few that seem most likely to help you early on.
Apple TV+ and Apple Music subscriptions
Cardholders receive complimentary subscriptions to both the Apple TV+ and Apple Music (through June 22, 2027), with activation required via Chase’s website or mobile app. These subscriptions are valued at a combined $250 annually.
If you already pay for these subscriptions, that’s a meaningful cost now covered by your card. If you don’t currently subscribe, it won’t cost you anything to add them, and it might even allow you to save by canceling another streaming service.
Several DoorDash perks and credits
DoorDash users stand to benefit considerably from the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. When you use your card as default payment for a DashPass membership, you’ll get …
- A complimentary DashPass membership for a minimum of 12 months (when activated prior to the end of 2027). That membership is valued at $120 for 12 months.
- $5 per calendar month in credits on DoorDash restaurant orders, for as long as you have your DashPass membership through your card. Credits don’t carry over from month to month, but that’s still a $60 annual value if you always use the credit.
- $10 in credits on two DoorDash non-restaurant orders per month, for as long as you have your DashPass membership through your card. This credit can be applied to orders from convenience stores and grocery stores and adds up to $120 in value if you always use the credit.
Keep in mind that these credits are likely to be most valuable if you already use DoorDash regularly. While they offer nice recurring value, most DoorDash orders are likely to exceed the value of the credit.
$10 monthly Lyft credits
You’ll get up to $10 in monthly in-app credits for Lyft rides when you use your card as your payment method (available through September 2027). That’s an annual value of $120 for everyone who uses this benefit every month.
As with the DoorDash benefits, this credit is likely to work best for those who already use Lyft regularly because ride costs can regularly exceed $10. Still, $10 might be a significant discount on the cost of a single ride — and you’ll also get five points per $1 on qualifying Lyft rides (through September 2027) for extra value.
$300 in dining statement credits
Chase Sapphire Reserve® also comes with a combined $300 in statement credits for dining at restaurants included in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program at OpenTable. You’ll get one $150 statement credit to cover eligible purchases from January through June and another to cover July through December, with no carryover between credit periods.
While Chase has partnered with OpenTable for this benefit, you don’t need to book a reservation through OpenTable to take advantage. The credit applies on eligible purchases at participating restaurants, regardless of how you got your table.
These credits will be most attractive to those who live in a city with several Exclusive Tables options, but others can still take advantage by searching out one of these restaurants when traveling. (Available restaurants are listed on OpenTable’s website.)
7. Learn the bonus spending categories
While perks and credits are great ways to get value from your Chase Sapphire Reserve® early in your card membership, maximizing value over time will require you to have enough points on hand to redeem for travel.
And the best way to earn points to do that is by building your rewards balance with purchases in your card’s bonus spending categories. You’ll earn:
- 8 points per $1 on on all Chase Travel purchases (after earning your $300 travel credit)
- 5 points on qualifying Lyft rides through September 2027
- 4 points per $1 on flights and hotels booked direct (after earning your $300 travel credit)
- 3 points per $1 dining (including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out)
- 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
It’s possible that you have another card that gets you more value in one of these categories, and it won’t be right for everyone to shift all their spending to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
8. Decide if you can reach the $75,000-spend benefits
Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers considerable potential value to all cardholders, but people who spend at least $75,000 on the card annually stand to unlock a new level of perks.
If you already spend that much on your credit cards annually, it might be worth shifting all your spending to your new card to qualify for those additional benefits.
Card members who reach the $75,000 threshold get access to the following benefits for the remainder of that calendar year and the following calendar year:
- $500 credit for Southwest Airlines bookings on Chase Travel
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards A-List status
- IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite status (Note: All cardholders can activate IHG’s Platinum Elite status)
- $250 in statement credits for purchases at The Shops at Chase, an e-commerce platform
These extra benefits might not appeal to everyone, and there are many other budgeting and card-value considerations that should inform your decision to pursue the $75,000-spend benefits. Still, if you plan to get there, you’ll likely need to shift your spending to your Chase Sapphire Reserve® right away.
Next steps
Your Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with other benefits, like $150 in StubHub statement credits twice per year, but the perks we’ve called out above are most likely to help you find value early in your card membership.
Once you start using your card more, you might find it has some gaps you’d like to fill. For instance, if you’re looking to maximize your rewards balance for redemptions, you may want to apply for another Chase card to add some bonus spending categories not available on this card.