Bottom Line
If you don't already have the Chase Sapphire card, it's probably in the top 2-3 of your personal rankings. If you have a spouse or partner helping you, one of you should get the Sapphire Reserve while the other gets the Sapphire Preferred. But if you can only pick one of the Sapphire cards, which should you choose? Many sites rank the Sapphire Preferred above the Reserve. We disagree. And we believe the reason those sites try to steer you away from the Reserve card is simple: they get paid on the Preferred card referrals and not the Reserve card referrals. Here is an article that breaks down which is best for you and why >
Why You Might Want This Card
Best Overall Personal Card You Should Get
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is, arguably, the best travel card you'll find. The benefits include (but are certainly not limited to): 1:1 point transfer to some of the most popular airlines and hotels; access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide; access to luxury hotel and resort collections; primary car rental insurance; travel insurance -- and so much more. Want more points? Get 3x points on all travel and dining purchases. When it's time to book your trip, go through the Chase Travel Portal to redeem your points for 50% more. You can even transfer your Chase Reward points from some other Chase cards and still get the 50% point bonus. This means every point you earn from Chase Freedom or Ink cards are also worth 50% more.
This card falls under the 5/24 Chase rule, so if you're maxed out with the number of credit cards, wait before applying. Also, you'll need excellent credit to get this card. But don't worry, you can talk with the reconsideration line if you have any issues. Don't let the $550 annual fee scare you -- since you'll get an annual travel credit for $300 every year. This perk lowers the actual cost of annual fee to $250. And, using the other perks of this card, such as the $100 credit toward Global Entry, lowers even the cost of its annual fee.
Check out our Chase Ultimate Rewards page for more details on how to best use Chase Points.
Exceptions To The Rule
About Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards are aptly named -- as they are the “gold standard” of points. But most people barely scratch the surface in redeeming these points. Here’s what makes them so valuable:
- Accumulating points is relatively easy with the variety of cards Chase offers, especially their business cards.
- The points are worth a lot... if you have the Reserve Card (why you should). Your points are worth a minimum of 1.5 cents each, and often more with transfer partners.
- Chase has the best values in transfer partners, with Hyatt, United, and Southwest being the top three.
- Chase points are easy to use. The Ultimate Rewards portal is intuitively built for booking travel directly through their portal with points. Or easily transferring those points to partners.
- You can transfer your points with your partner, so long as you share the same address.
The key to maximizing value, though, is how you use those points. Think of Chase Ultimate Rewards as your most easily convertible points. And all other point systems are great, but not nearly as flexible.
How does that affect you in practical terms? If Chase is your hub, you and your partner should also get the Hyatt card, United card, and Southwest card(s) over a year. Let’s say you and your partner have two Chase cards, plus one of each of the other cards. Here is an example of how you can use them:
- Trip One:
- On Hyatt’s site, use 60,000 Hyatt points topped off with a 20,000 Chase point transfer for 4 nights at the all-inclusive at Zilarra Cancun.
- On Southwest’s site, book two flights to Cancun free using your Southwest Points (topped of with a Chase points transfer as needed)
- Trip Two:
- On United’s site, book two round trip tickets to any European city for 60,000 United miles each, top off with Chase Points as needed
- Book hotels on Hyatt’s site using additional Chase transfers as needed. Since you can transfer between Partners, they can be either person’s account to start.
That is just a pair of examples, but it’s a very real scenario. Most people are happy to just use the points to book a free flight or two through the portal. The reality is you can make entire vacations nearly free.
Amex and Citi have similar systems, but the points are more limited in how many you can earn. Also, the value of the transfer partners and the quality of their portals isn’t as good. That’s not to say you shouldn’t be happy when you find those points. We’re just saying all else being equal, we’ll take (or save on using) Chase Ultimate Rewards Points over any other point system.
It’s also worth noting you can’t transfer points back from partners, so never transfer until the actual time of booking. The transfers are usually instantaneous (you might have to log out and log back in to the partner site).
Where Chase Sapphire Reserve Fits In This Point Ecosystem
Personal Experience