Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Worth the $550 Annual Fee?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is Chase's premier travel card. It has a long list of benefits -- along with one of the most expensive annual fees. This card costs $550 per year. Authorized users cost another $75 each.

If spending that much money on a credit card is out of the question, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a much more affordable option with a $95 annual fee. But frequent travelers may find that the Chase Sapphire Reserve® more than pays for itself through the value of all its perks. Before you decide, check out what it has to offer to see if the annual fee makes sense for you.

Sign-up bonus points

You'll earn a sign-up bonus of 75,000 bonus points by spending at least $4,000 on purchases within 3 months of opening the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Since points are worth $0.015 each on Ultimate Rewards travel purchases, this bonus can be worth $1,125. It's also possible to get an even higher value by transferring points to Chase travel partners.

If you don't need the superior benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® just yet, another option is starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. After 13 months, you could upgrade your credit card to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

$300 annual travel credit

You can get over half of the annual fee back through the Chase Sapphire Reserve®'s $300 annual travel credit. This is one of the biggest spending credits you'll find among the premium travel rewards cards.

To make it even better, it's also one of the easiest credits to use. Because it applies to any purchase that fits into Chase's broad travel category, frequent travelers have no trouble getting their full $300 back.

Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit

If you sign up for either the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck program and pay the application fee with your Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you'll get a statement credit that covers the cost. That's a $100 credit for Global Entry or an $85 credit for TSA PreCheck. You can get either one every four years, so your Chase credit card also covers every renewal fee.

Both programs can help you get through airport security faster. Global Entry offers expedited entry to the United States after international travel, while TSA PreCheck offers an expedited security screening process before flights. Global Entry is by far the better deal, though, because it includes a TSA PreCheck membership. If you sign up for Global Entry, you get the benefits of both programs.

Airport lounge access

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® includes a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership with access to over 1,300 airport lounges. This airport lounge access lets you bring up to two guests free of charge. Lounge access is nice to have while you wait for your flight to start boarding. Airport lounges are generally more comfortable than boarding areas, and they usually offer free food and drinks.

At select airports, Priority Pass also has partnerships with specific restaurants, which entitles members to spending credits on their meals.

Rewards of up to 10x points per $1

This card offers plenty of bonus opportunities that help you maximize credit card rewards. Here's how much the Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns by spending category:

• 10x total points per $1 on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
• 5x total points per $1 on air travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
• 3x points per $1 on travel and other dining
• 1x points per $1 on all other purchases

Flexible rewards points

The Chase Ultimate Rewards program is one of the card issuer's best perks.

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. These points are extremely useful because of all the redemptions Chase offers.

There are two popular ways to book travel using the Chase Sapphire Reserve®'s points:

• Use your points as cash through the Chase Travel portal. You get a 50% bonus on the standard cash back value of $0.01 per point this way, meaning points are worth $0.015 each. For example, 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points could get you a $150 plane ticket.
• Transfer points to a Chase travel partner. Chase has a large roster of airline and hotel partners. You can transfer points to any travel partner to book airfare or a hotel stay through that partner's loyalty program.

Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve®'s annual fee worth it?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve®'s annual fee is worth it if you use the card often and take advantage of its benefits.

With the $300 travel credit, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® actually costs you $250 per year after the annual fee. You could recoup that $250 by earning at least 16,667 points per year and redeeming them for at least $0.015 per point. It's easy enough to get that much value per point through the Chase Travel portal or transfers.

That's before we add the value of all the other perks. You also get a membership fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and you have at least one year of DashPass. Plus, you get unlimited access to Priority Pass airport lounges. These are all great features, assuming you use them. If so, this is among the best credit cards we've come across.

Still have questions?

Some other questions we've answered:

• Should I get chase sapphire reserved or chase sapphire preferred?
• What are the best chase credit cards?
• How do I redeem points on my chase card?