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Travel Credits Post Instantly With Chase Sapphire Reserve

Sept. 01, 2016
2 min read
united polaris business featured
Travel Credits Post Instantly With Chase Sapphire Reserve
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Last week, Chase introduced the much-anticipated Sapphire Reserve Card, and I was fortunate enough to receive my card a couple days later. The perks are absolutely fantastic (we detail them here), and include a $300 travel credit issued each calendar year.

Unlike with competing premium travel rewards cards, however, the Reserve card's $300 credit applies to any travel purchase, so I decided to take it for a spin with United's "award accelerator" option. I ended up purchasing 45,000 United miles for $900 (a reasonable 2 cents per mile), which I could end up using toward a redemption in United's soon-to-be-released Polaris business class (pictured above).

Screen Shot 2016-09-01 at 10.01.18 AM

Much to my surprise, the credit posted instantly — as in, it hit my account the very same day the $900 purchase posted. That means you won't need to make an eligible purchase and pay it off only to get the credit a few weeks later. And while a potential delay wouldn't be a "make it or break it" detail, it's certainly better to have your credit sooner than later.

Have a question about the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card? Check out our Q&A. See these posts for more:

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How have you used your $300 annual travel credit?

Featured image by Those upgrades to United's new Polaris service might just make qualification worth it.