The  Chase Sapphire Reserve® is the ultimate card for the frequent traveler. It comes with a $300 travel credit, up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® credit, airport lounge access via Priority Pass Select, and much more.

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Intro Bonus and Eligibility

Chase Sapphire cards have a few application rules to be aware of:

• The  Chase Sapphire cards are affected by the  Chase 5/24 rule.
• If you have opened more than 5 accounts from any credit card issuer in the past 24 months, you don’t qualify for the intro bonus.
• You can earn a  Chase Sapphire (Preferred or Reserve) welcome offer once every 48 months = 4 years.
• You can only hold have one Sapphire card at a time (unless you’re grandfathered with an old card before the rule was implemented).
• Since the  Chase Sapphire Reserve is a Visa Infinite card, the minimum credit limit is $10,000; be sure your income is enough to qualify.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®  Card Calculator

Ask Sebby crunches the numbers for you to calculate the Expected Value of the  Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. For the expected value of points, we derive the approximate dollar value based on the numbers you enter in the calculator. Scroll down to the end of the post to see our methodology.

The calculator below contains default figures and serve as an example only. Users should insert their own data for the most accurate results.    

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Calculation Methodology

The results from the above calculator are based on your ability to reach the minimum spend requirement to earn the welcome offer, your amount of spend on different categories, how you plan to redeem  Chase Ultimate Rewards®, and how much relative value you assign to the other benefits.  

The “Years” referenced in the calculator refer to the cardmember year, based on when you are approved for the card.

• Year 1 = first 12 months of card membership
• Year 2 = the following 12 months afterward

Key features

• Spending Multipliers:
• 5X total points on air travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through  Chase Travel℠ Immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually.
• 3X on travel (after you earn $300 in travel credit)
• 3X on dining
• 1X on all other purchases
• Foreign transaction fees: 0%
• $300 Travel credit that works on booking flights, hotels, and rideshare
• $100 Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check credit
• Access airport lounges via Priority Pass
• Primary collision damage waiver (CDW)
• One Year Complimentary Lyft Pink membership ($199 minimum value)
• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription after activating by 3/31/22
• Redeem Ultimate Rewards for 1.5x using the  Chase Travel℠ Portal

Welcome bonus

If you sign up for a new card and spend $4,000 in the first 3 months, you’ll receive an intro bonus. Depending on the offer you get, and how you redeem the points, the value of these points can range from $500 to $1000+. You don't receive a signup bonus when you product change a card to the  Chase Sapphire Reserve.

If you chose to redeem the UR points for cash, you’ll get 1 cents per point (CPP). This is useful if you’re worried about paying off the annual fee or need the money for other expenses.

When you chose to redeem the UR points for travel on  Chase’s portal, you’ll get 1.5 CPP. This includes flights, hotels, cruises, and vacation packages. The cost on  Chase’s travel portal is comparable to other deal sites from my experience.

The  Chase Sapphire Reserve also lets you transfer your points on a 1 to 1 basis to their transfer partners. This method typically yields you 2 CPP.

3X on Travel and Dining

For transactions that code as travel or dining, you’ll get 3X points (after you earn $300 in travel credits). Again, depending on how you value your points, this means that you’re getting 3% to 6.2% back from your travel and dining transactions.

The only cards that give you a similar cashback are the  Chase Freedom which gives 5% cash back to specific categories, depending on the quarter, the Discover It which has a similar 5% bonus system (which doubles to 10% in your first year!), and the Citi Prestige (one of its main competitors for premium travel credit card).

$300 Travel Credit

Chase will automatically refund you for transactions that code as travel, up to $300 per cardmember year.

The  Chase Sapphire Reserve's travel credit is the easiest to use compared to its competitors. Any transactions that code as travel including airline tickets, hotels, and ride shares will count towards the $300 travel credit. With other cards, only travel incidental fees can be applied towards the travel credit.

Up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® Credit

The  Chase Sapphire Reserve provides you with up to $100 credit to cover your Global Entry costs every 4 years. Depending on if you value Global Entry, this can easily save you $100.

The $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® credit can be applied to anyone, as long as you pay for the application with your credit card. If you have multiple cards that offer a Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit, then you can use the credits on family and friends by paying for the application.

Once you pay for the application, up to a $100 statement credit will be issued.

Who should get the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

You should get the  Chase Sapphire Reserve if...

• You travel more than 2-3 times per year
• You can fully utilize the $300 travel credit
• You want access to select airport lounges

How Much Are  Chase Ultimate Reward Points Worth?