Joseph Hostetler is a credit cards writer who also covers helpful miles and points tricks. He previously authored and edited for Million Mile Secrets. He most enjoys a vagabonding approach to travel and loves to share any tips he finds along the way to save both points and money. He generally gravitates toward more nature-oriented activities, like climbing the Haiku Stairs in Hawaii, hiking the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, and swimming in Mexican cenotes. You can follow him on Instagram @johostetler.
Favorite city: Jerusalem
Where to next: Seattle
October 27, 2021 • 8 min read
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Quick summary
A popular travel rewards card has seen limited updates despite a recent increase in its annual fee, prompting comparisons to evolving competitors.
Key benefits include elevated redemption rates for travel bookings, airport lounge access, annual travel credits, and statement credits for expedited security programs.
The article suggests improvements such as more frequent transfer bonuses to travel partners, higher redemption values through the travel portal, expanded lounge access, and complimentary expedited security memberships.
Some offers and benefits discussed may no longer be available, as noted in the article.
What to consider
Transfer bonuses to airline and hotel partners are currently less frequent compared to competitors, limiting potential value.
Redemption rates and eligible categories for statement credit redemptions may change periodically and are not guaranteed to remain permanent.
Airport lounge access is currently limited to a few announced locations, with future expansion plans still in development.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed analysis of how proposed benefit enhancements could increase the card's value relative to other premium travel rewards products.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a well-rounded and respectable travel credit card. It's been a TPG reader favorite since its launch in 2016.
But not a whole lot has changed with the card since then. The card's fee recently increased to $550 (previously $450), with only the addition of a few niche perks to show for it (Lyft Pink membership comes to mind). Otherwise, the card has been stagnant since its inception.
A $550 price tag is on the high end of the travel rewards card spectrum. And competitors, notably The Platinum Card® from American Express, have been busily evolving their suites of benefits.
It got us thinking, what are some things the Chase Sapphire Reserve could do to maintain relevance?
How Chase can improve the Chase Sapphire Reserve
(Photo by Wyatt Smith/The Points Guy.)
Don't get me wrong — the Chase Sapphire Reserve is still a winner. Here's a list of its most notable benefits:
10 points per dollar on hotels and car rentals through the Chase travel portal
5 points per dollar on airfare through the Chase travel portal
3 points per dollar on other travel and dining
1 point per dollar on all other purchases
$300 annual travel credit that automatically triggers to reimburse your travel expenses after each cardmember anniversary
Still, Chase could do a lot to take the Sapphire Reserve to the next level. Here are a few ideas:
Exclusive transfer bonuses
We'd love for Chase to improve transfer ratios to travel partners for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but that's not likely. A willingness Chase has exhibited in the past is to occasionally offer transfer bonuses to select airline and hotel partners like British Airways and Marriott. However, competing flexible points currencies offer transfer bonuses more regularly than Chase. American Express conducted 12 transfer bonuses at once in September!
A sizable carrot Chase could attach to the end of this $550 stick could be exclusive (and frequent) transfer bonuses to various partners such as Hyatt, Southwest, United Airlines, and Aeroplan. Partners such as these tend to provide outsized value per point.
For example, the Andaz Maui costs 30,000 Hyatt points, or $700+, per night. If Chase offered a modest 25% transfer bonus to Hyatt, you could reserve a night for just 24,000 Chase points (a value of 2.9 cents per point). This bonus would increase the value of your points by 0.58 cents. That's significant.
Andaz Maui (Photo by Joseph Hostetler/The Points Guy)
Or, if Southwest received a similar 25% transfer ratio, Chase points would increase in value by 0.375 cents. Southwest points are worth 1.5 cents each, per TPG valuations.
Increase redemption value via Chase Travel Portal
One of the simplest and most popular ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points is through the Chase Travel Portal. You can redeem your points for a flat rate for things like airfare, hotels, and rental cars without having to worry about transfer partners, blackout dates, available award seats, and other concerns.
However, the value you'll receive from your points depends on the card you hold:
Chase Sapphire Reserve: 1.5 cents each
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: 1.25 cents each
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: 1.25 cents each
The Chase Sapphire Reserve already offers the highest value proposition when redeeming your points this way, but a 20% advantage isn't enough to warrant a higher fee for many of us. If the Sapphire Reserve offered a value of 1.75 cents per point toward travel via the Chase Travel Portal, this benefit would garner more attention.
Improve Chase Pay Yourself Back
Perhaps the most successful credit card benefit Chase has debuted in recent memory is Chase Pay Yourself Back. This allows you to redeem your Chase points through the Ultimate Rewards portal at the same flat rate as booking travel but for more common everyday spending categories. This makes Ultimate Rewards-earning cards more valuable for those who don't travel quite as often.
Currently, Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem points at 1.5 cents each to offset:
Airbnb
Away (through awaytravel.com)
Dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services)
Select charities
Chase shuffles these categories periodically. The current categories are scheduled to disappear on March 31, 2022.
Previously, eligible Pay Yourself Back categories have included grocery stores and home improvement stores. Chase could improve the Sapphire Reserve by broadening the card's categories – and making those categories dependably permanent. Chase could also improve the Pay Yourself Back redemption rate to 1.75 cents, similar to the above proposed increased redemption value through the Chase Travel Portal.
Expand Chase lounge access
One of the most popular benefits of The Platinum Card® from American Express is its exclusive access to Centurion Lounges. They're high-quality airport lounges serving free hot meals and mixed drinks. Amex has steadily increased its Centurion Lounge locations, aggressively pursuing luxury travelers. And Capital One has recently announced its own collection of similar lounges.
Far from ubiquitous — but if Chase manages to increase their lounge locations rapidly, this could be a needle-mover for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Offer complimentary Clear membership
Clear is a membership that offers you expedited security through the TSA security lines at many domestic airports. It offers an exclusive security lane that uses biometric data like fingerprint and iris scanning and gives you the ability to cut the long lines. You won't even need to present your identification to a TSA agent.
While still rare, we're beginning to see other travel rewards cards offer some form of a statement credit to offset Clear's $189 annual membership:
The Platinum Card® from American Express: Up to $189 in annual statement credits toward Clear Plus membership
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Up to $189 in annual statement credits toward Clear Plus membership
American Express® Green Card: $189 in annual statement credits toward Clear Plus membership
Enter designated Clear lane and enter your biometric data
A Clear agent will escort you to the front of the TSA line and send you into the TSA PreCheck area
Set your carry-on luggage on the conveyor belt without removing your laptop or approved toiletries
Pass through the metal detector without removing your belt, shoes or light jacket
I have both of these memberships, and I consistently save between 15 and 30 minutes each time I pass the security checkpoint.
Bottom line
Implementing one or two of these benefits could be a game-changer for cardholders and even prompt those content with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (like me) to shell out an extra $455 per year for an upgrade. Implementing transfer bonuses regularly and generously with valuable partners like Hyatt and United Airlines could give the card a considerable edge, as transferring points is the preferred redemption method for many of us.
And with the ability to effectively "cash out" my points at a favorable rate via Pay Yourself Back for purchases outside of travel, the card is a worthwhile investment even if there are no immediate travel plans in our future.
Let us know what you'd like to see from the Chase Sapphire Reserve – and if you're being drawn to a competitor card instead.
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.
