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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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I kept the receipts: Here's how much the Sapphire Reserve was actually worth to me this year
Summer Hull has been covering (and using) travel tips, rewards credit cards and loyalty programs for over a decade. She has flown close to a million miles, often on points and miles and with her family in tow.
May 28, 2026 • 10 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
A premium travel rewards card can deliver significant annual value if you regularly use its statement credits and perks.
One user redeemed approximately $2,200 in credits over 12 months, exceeding the card's cost by more than $1,400.
Credits included hotel stays, dining, event tickets, and rideshare and subscription services, though some credits went unused.
Additional value came from airport lounge access and points earned at various merchants, further enhancing the card's overall benefit.
What to consider
Maximizing value requires planning to use credits that may have location or brand restrictions, such as select hotels or dining venues.
Some credits are split biannually or require activation, and certain benefits have expiration dates or are only valid for prepaid bookings.
Not all credits may be relevant or accessible for every cardholder, especially those who travel less frequently or live outside major cities.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of how to stack and redeem multiple travel and lifestyle credits for maximum annual value.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
But even with a generous roster of perks, there’s one number that’s hard to ignore: the card’s $795 annual fee.
Chase says the Sapphire Reserve offers more than $3,000 in annual value through statement credits, perks and travel benefits. That sounds great in theory — but I wanted to know what the card was actually worth in my real life.
The result? About $2,200 in redeemed statement credits alone — before factoring in lounge visits, points earned, travel protections and more.
CHASE
Getting $2,200 in value from Chase Sapphire Reserve credits
If you think it takes some level of effort to get full value out of many of the premium cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you're not wrong.
I have a lot of credit cards (25 to be exact) and a very busy life as a working parent of two active kids, so while I try to maximize the cards in my wallet, I’m also not rearranging my life to chase every obscure credit.
In looking back at the last year, there are a few Sapphire Reserve credits I didn't use — or didn't fully use — which I imagine is probably common for many other cardholders.
But from those I did use, the total is around $2,200 in credits.
Here’s where the value actually came from for me over the last year:
Benefit
Official Value
How I Used It
Approx. Value Used
The Edit by Chase Travel℠ Credit
Up to $500 annually (two up-to-$250 credits)*
Grand Cayman, Germany & Anaheim hotel stays
$750
Chase Travel Credit valid at select IHG Hotels and others
Up to $250 this year**
Grand Cayman IHG stay
$250
Annual Travel Credit
Up to $300 annually
Automatically applied to travel purchases
$300
Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables Dining Credit
Up to $300 annually (two up-to-$150 biannual credits)
Used $150 in Austin + $150 in Hawaii
$300
StubHub / viagogo Credit
Up to $300 annually (split into two up-to-$150 biannual credits; through Dec. 31, 2027; activation required)
Used for & Juliet + Book of Mormon
$300
DoorDash Monthly Promos
Up to $420 annually (Up to $35 in monthly promos plus at least one complimentary year of DashPass; activate by Dec. 31, 2029).
Monthly promos used throughout the year
$180
Lyft Monthly Credit
Up to $120 annually (Up to $10 each month through Sept. 30, 2027, does not apply to Wait & Save, bike or scooter rides)
Partial usage
$60
Peloton Monthly Membership Credit
Up to $120 annually (through Dec. 31, 2027)
Partial usage
$60
Apple TV+ and Apple Music Subscription Benefit
Approximate Total Credits Used: $2,200
Annual Fee: $795
Approximate Net Positive Credit Value: $1,400+
*Must be on prepaid stays of two nights or more.
**A one-time $250 statement credit for eligible prepaid hotel stays booked through Chase Travel in 2026.
Here are a few details on how I'm using some of the larger credits.
Using $750 in Chase The Edit credits
I stacked using a combination of Ultimate Rewards points via Points Boost and one $250 Chase Sapphire Reserve The Edit credit in 2025 to book a two-night stay the J.W. Marriott Bonnet Creek in Orlando near Walt Disney World.
JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa. ANDREA ROTONDO/THE POINTS GUY
I've already booked two stays for 2026, using up the full $500 credit for this year (in $250 increments). On one of the upcoming stays in Grand Cayman, I was also able to use the $250 hotel credit we'll talk more about below.
Using $250 Chase Select Hotel Credit
This year, Sapphire Reserve cardholders can use a one-time $250 statement credit for eligible prepaid hotel stays of two nights or more booked through Chase Travel. This credit is only valid for certain brands, including:
IHG Hotels & Resorts
Minor Hotels
Montage Hotels & Resorts
Omni Hotels & Resorts
Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts
Pendry Hotels & Resorts
Virgin Hotels
Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman IHG
The plan here is to find a hotel where you can use both this $250 credit and one of your $250 The Edit credits to get $500 off a two-night stay, which is exactly what I've done for an IHG property in Grand Cayman.
CHASE
Using $300 in Stubhub credits to see Broadway shows
I used both of my biannual $150 StubHub credits for Broadway shows — first for & Juliet and later for an upcoming showing of The Book of Mormon.
Using the Stubhub credit to see Broadway shows such as &Juliet. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
In both cases, tickets to the shows start under $150, so the credit can often fully cover one ticket or even get you part of the way to two tickets.
I'll be honest, this $300 annual dining credit ($150 available Jan. - June and another $150 July - Dec.) was a tougher one for me at first.
I kept trying to force a way to use it close-ish to home. But the reality is, outside of major cities, there's not a lot of easy ways to put this credit to use, as there aren't a ton of Chase Exclusives Tables outside of major cities.
So, I stopped trying to use it while close to home and now try to find somewhere fun to use it when we hit the road to places like Orlando, New York City, Austin and even Honolulu.
While in Hawaii this spring, we had an excellent meal for three that came in just over $150 at Hau Tree on the beach in Honolulu. We did the same while in Austin for the weekend in fall 2025 at La Condesa.
TPG Tip: I loved the frozen ube pina colada at Hau Tree and the queso flameado appetizer is absolutely not to be missed if you make it to La Condesa in Austin.
Using the Chase Exclusive's Dining Credit while in Hawaii. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
Lounge visits, points and more
On top of the credits, which are pretty easy to quantify, I've also gotten plenty of other value from my Sapphire Reserve.
Since January 2026 alone (when the counter reset), I've earned over 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points that TPG values (as of May 2026) at north of $800. Many of those points were earned at increased multiples, such as 8 points per dollar via Chase Travel, 4 points per dollar on hotel and airfare booked direct with hotels and airlines and 3 points per dollar on dining.
CHASE
I've also had at least six visits to Sapphire Lounges at various airports over the last year, including at New York's LaGuardia, San Diego, Philadelphia and Las Vegas.
Between meals, coffee and drinks, those lounge visits probably saved my family and me another couple of hundred dollars over the course of the year versus if we'd been foraging in the airport instead of enjoying the treats in the lounge.
Chase Sapphire Lounge in Las Vegas. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
But after looking back at my own spending and travel over the last year, it’s clear the Sapphire Reserve math easily works for me.
I redeemed roughly $2,200 in statement credits alone, earned tens of thousands of valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points on my spending and regularly used perks like Sapphire Lounge access while traveling.
If you’re someone who travels regularly and can realistically use several of the card’s credits each year, the Sapphire Reserve can absolutely deliver more value than its annual fee.
If you think the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a winner for your wallet, you can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Up to $324 annual value (one-time activation required for both services, through June 22, 2027)
