Chase Sapphire Reserve® review: One of the most valuable travel rewards cards
Editors’ take: Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a top-tier travel rewards card offering extensive perks like a generous travel credit and complimentary subscriptions. But the high annual fee requires you to plan how you’ll find value.
Great for maximizing flexible travel
Annual Fee: $795
The average credit score for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is 714
The average credit limit for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is $17,500
Explore more about this card:
Here’s the average credit limit of members who matched their Chase Sapphire Reserve® or similar cards.
% of members by credit limit range
The average credit limit for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is $17,500, with $5,000 being the most common.
Here’s the average credit score of members who matched their Chase Sapphire Reserve® or similar cards.
% of members by credit score range
The average credit score for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is 714, with 810 being the most common. Note this is just one of the deciding factors when it comes to getting approved.
This content is curated by Intuit Credit Karma’s Editorial team using data from members who were approved for this card or similar cards, or who self-matched this card or similar cards. Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse this content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.
Member stats
Updated daily
25.4%
Average credit utilization (or what percent of the card’s credit limit is being used) of members who matched with this card or similar cards.
41 years
Average age of members who matched this card or similar cards.
$123,484
Average annual income of members who matched this card or similar cards. Note: Income may be estimated for some members by Credit Karma and may differ from members’ actual incomes.
Pros and cons
Image: yesBig sign-up bonus
Image: yesFlexible travel credit
Image: yesCompetitive travel and dining rewards
Image: ConHigh annual fee
Image: ConBonus rewards rate on travel only kicks in after travel credit has been used
Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® worth it?
Updated November 13, 2026
This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.
Written by: Ben Luthi
Edited by: Liza Carrasquillo, Editor, Credit Cards
Key Takeaway: Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a top-tier travel rewards card offering extensive perks like a generous travel credit and complimentary subscriptions. But the high annual fee requires you to plan how you’ll find value.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is geared toward frequent travelers who want to be pampered with points and perks that make trips more rewarding.
But the high annual fee means you’ll want to consider just how much value you’ll get from all its perks.
If you’re able to take advantage of the travel and lifestyle perks, like the annual travel and OpenTable credits and Priority Pass™ Select membership, then you’ll likely find a lot of value in carrying the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. If you don’t use these perks, you can still find other ways to get value out of the card, but it may be more difficult to justify the annual fee.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® at a glance
- Annual fee: $795
- Sign-up bonus: 100,000 bonus points when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Editors’ estimated welcome bonus value: $1,150
- Standout benefit: $300 annual travel credit
- Standout rewards rates: 4 points per $1 spent on flights booked direct and 4 points per $1 spent on hotels booked direct
- Foreign transaction fee: $0
Pros
- Impressive sign-up bonus and travel rewards rates
- Valuable travel credits and trip protections
- Expansive lifestyle credits
Cons
- High annual fee
- Low base rewards rate
- Can be difficult to take advantage of all perks
Chase Sapphire Reserve® best perks and features
High-value sign-up bonus and rewards rates
As a new cardholder, you’ll earn 100,000 bonus points when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth about $1,150, according to Credit Karma’s estimated standard point valuations.
After you earn the card’s travel credit you’ll also earn …
- 8 points per $1 spent on purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4 points per $1 spent on flights booked directly with airlines
- 4 points per $1 spent on hotels booked directly with the brands
- 3 points per $1 spent on dining worldwide
- 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
Being rewarded for booking directly with airlines and hotel brands means you’ll earn points in both the Chase Ultimate Rewards program and your loyalty program of choice.
For a limited time, you’ll also earn bonus points in a couple of other unique categories: Cardholders earn 10 points per $1 on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through Dec. 31, 2027, and five points per $1 on Lyft rides through Sept. 30, 2027.
Impressive array of travel benefits
As a premium travel credit card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® doesn’t disappoint with its deluxe perks. It offers $300 in annual travel credits, which is an easy way to help offset the $795 annual fee.
You can also enjoy:
- Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status through Dec. 31, 2027
- Up to $500 in hotel credits on stays of two nights or more with The Edit (up to $250 per prepaid booking), plus additional on-property perks
- Complimentary access to Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club and Priority Pass lounges
- Statement credit of up to $120 every four years toward an application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus
A variety of trip protections and travel insurance policies
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® also has some of the strongest trip protections available to credit card holders, like primary auto rental damage coverage.
Most credit cards offer secondary coverage, which means your personal or rental insurance would have to kick in first before you could use your card’s coverage. With the primary coverage of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you won’t have to purchase additional coverage through your rental company or risk using your own insurance.
Other protections include:
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Baggage delay insurance
- Emergency evacuation and transportation
- Emergency medical and dental
- Travel accident insurance
- Roadside assistance
Expansive dining and lifestyle credits
If the card’s premium travel perks aren’t enough, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® also comes with a slew of other valuable benefits to help you make the most of your lifestyle. Here’s what you can expect.
- Up to $300 in annual dining credits with restaurants that participate in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program at OpenTable (up to $150 semi-annually)
- Complimentary Apple TV and Apple Music subscriptions through June 22, 2027
- Complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership for 12 months when you activate by Dec. 31, 2029
- Up to $35 in DoorDash promotions each month through Dec. 31, 2029 ($15 promotion for any qualifying DoorDash order and two $10 promotions for groceries, essentials and more)
- Up to $300 in annual credits toward StubHub and viagogo purchases through Dec. 31, 2027, when you activate (up to $150 semi-annually)
- Up to $120 in annual in-app Lyft credits (up to $10 monthly) through June 22, 2027
- Up to $120 in annual credits on eligible Peloton memberships (up to $10 monthly) through Dec. 31, 2027, when you activate
The complimentary Apple TV and Apple Music subscriptions are especially beneficial at a value of $324 annually. Plus, unlike some other perks on this list, the statement credits will cover the cost of the subscriptions in their entirety — not just a part of the purchase.
What are the drawbacks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®?
High annual fee
The Chase Sapphire Reserve®’s $795 annual fee can be hard to stomach, even if you’re a frequent traveler. The card’s perks can more than make up for that cost, but only if your spending is already aligned with what you’re getting — and only if you’re willing to put in some extra work to maximize your value.
If you won’t take advantage of the card’s premium perks, or if you don’t want to track your points, credits and redemption value that closely, you might be better off getting a card with a lower annual fee.
Low base rewards rate
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers great rewards on travel and dining, but purchases outside of the bonus categories will net you just one point per $1 spent. If you don’t spend much in the card’s bonus categories, consider looking at a card that better aligns with your spending habits.
Even if you do spend a lot on travel and dining, you may be able to pair this travel credit card with another card that offers a higher rewards rate on other spending.
Check out other Chase credit cards to see which one might be best to use alongside your Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
Restrictive statement credit redemptions and limited-time promotions
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® features an impressive suite of travel, dining and lifestyle features, but many of those features have restrictions on how you can use them.
For example, the $300 annual dining credit through OpenTable is only available in increments of up to $150 during each half of the year — and only for select restaurants. Another example: You can get up to $120 in Lyft credits, but only at a rate of up to $10 a month.
The restrictive, coupon-like nature of these perks may push some cardholders to spend more than they otherwise would to justify the card’s value.
These types of benefits are usually extended past their promotional periods, but there’s no guarantee of that happening. So if you’re considering this card specifically for a limited-time perk, make sure you can get enough value from the rest of its features in the event that it does go away.
How to redeem points for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth an average of 1.15 cents apiece, according to Credit Karma’s estimated standard valuations. If you’re someone who’s willing to maximize the value you get from a credit card, you could earn an estimated average of 1.68 cents per point.
Chase offers a variety of redemption options, giving you a lot of flexibility with your rewards. For the most value, consider using your rewards to book travel. You can do this in the following two ways:
- By using the Chase Travel portal — Redemptions are generally worth 1 cent per point, but with Points Boost, Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can get up to 2 cents per point on select bookings.
- By transferring your points to transfer partners — Chase has 10 frequent flyer programs and four hotel loyalty programs. You can typically make these transfers at a 1:1 ratio.
You can also redeem points in other, less valuable ways, including for cash back, statement credits to cover individual purchases, gift cards and select merchandise.
You can use Credit Karma’s Cards Optimizer tool to help make sure you’re getting the most out of your Chase Sapphire Reserve® and other cards.
Other cards to consider
- American Express Platinum Card®: Consider this card if you want a premium option that’s even heavier on luxury travel benefits and lifestyle perks.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: This card could be a good fit for travelers who want a simpler travel rewards program and a lower annual fee.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: This popular travel credit card could be a better option if you’d prefer to pay a lower annual fee while staying within the Chase ecosystem.
Credit Karma’s methodology
Credit Karma uses qualitative and quantitative measures to review travel and premium credit cards. Our goal is to help you understand a card’s most useful features — and where it may fall short compared to other options.
We take into account factors such as unique rewards and benefits, ease of redeeming rewards, fees and rates, transfer partners, lounge access and rewards rates.
Credit Karma editors have also built some proprietary metrics to measure the value of rewards credit cards.
Our point valuations estimate how much rewards programs are worth. We look at both the value you could get by redeeming your points directly through a credit card issuer, as well as the value you could get by transferring your points and miles to an airline or hotel rewards program.
Instead of just telling you how many miles you could earn, the editors’ estimated bonus value multiplies the sign-up bonus by the reward program’s point valuations to tell you how much we believe they’re worth.
Our goal is that these metrics will help you decide whether the card’s rewards and benefits are worth it for you.
FAQs about the Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Chase doesn’t list specific credit score requirements for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. We’ve found that Credit Karma members who have matched with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or similar cards typically have good or excellent credit. Keep in mind, though, that Chase may also consider other factors, such as your credit history and income, to determine your eligibility.
Chase doesn’t publicly state the available credit limit for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. On average, Credit Karma members who have matched with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or similar cards have a credit limit of $17,500. Your credit limit will be determined based on the strength of your credit profile and other factors.
The main differences between the two cards are cost and benefits. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a $795 annual fee and comes with higher rewards rates. It also has premium travel perks like lounge access and travel statement credits. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a $95 annual fee and fewer perks, which may suit casual travelers.
No, you don’t need an existing Chase account to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® may be worth its $795 annual fee if you travel often and use enough of its credits and perks to offset the cost. If you travel only occasionally or won’t take advantage of the card’s premium perks, like lounge access, then a lower-fee card may make more sense.
Rewards and benefits are worth it when their total value to you offsets what the card costs to carry. Add up the rewards you’d earn on your usual spending, the perks you’d actually use and any welcome bonus, then subtract the annual fee and other costs.
Member reviews
Most helpful positive review
December 24, 2024
Excellent card
— Credit Karma Member
Excellent approval odds via KC, applied and was approved with a 65k credit limit, I make nearly 200k/yr. My credit is the 700’s. Overall great card, the $550 is a little steep but I have been flying to JFK to take advantage of the Chase Lounge it’s great! Recommend the card
Most helpful negative review
January 28, 2025
Exploitative. Customer Service Zero.
— Credit Karma Member
This is the first fancy credit card I ever purchased, and I was looking forward to excellent customer service. Instead, I was ripped off multiple times by Chase. First, it was Chase Travel. I booked a trip. I went to the vendor's website to see that they sell the trip for $100 less. I called up Chase Travel immediately and asked them to price match. They refused to do so. They also refused to refund my purchase so that I could purchase from the vendor directly. I was appalled that they would so blatantly rip me off. Then, I went to one of the airport lounges that the Chase app indicates is part of the Priority Pass network. The lounge told me they did not accept Priority Pass. I called up Chase, but rather than wait on hold forever, I went ahead and paid for the lounge with my card, certain that they would refund the charge later. Later - when I called up Customer Service, they said that the lounge is not part of the network - EVEN THOUGH IT IS LISTED IN THEIR APP - and that I should've checked the Priority Pass app for up-to-date information. Again, I was appalled that Chase wouldn't take accountability for their own error. So that's another $87 they ripped me off. All in all, I would say this card is NOT WORTH IT, when I calculate the savings against the multiple instances in which they've ripped me off. By the way, I am a NEW CARD HOLDER. This all happened within 3 months of getting the card. And yes I escalated the situation(s) several times and there was not one supervisor who would reimburse me. What a way to welcome a new customer........