Is It Worth Getting or Keeping the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

Between the 10x total points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Chase, access to the latest chain of airport lounges — dubbed Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club — and plenty more bonus points opportunities, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the best credit cards to pay for travel.

Yet the $550 annual fee is hefty, so the decision of whether or not to keep the Chase Sapphire Reserve® should not be taken lightly. For some, the big annual fee can be easy to justify given the bonus points on travel spending, particularly if you have a big trip planned this year to make up for lost travel during the pandemic. But for frugal travelers, or those who simply don't have solid travel plans, it might not actually be worth it.

Especially when it comes to renewing the Chase Sapphire Reserve® , you don't get to factor in the card's introductory offer — a delightful benefit that new customers can factor into their decision of whether to apply. The card's current introductory offer is this: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Is it worth keeping the Chase Sapphire Reserve® this year? Here’s what you need to consider:

10x total points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Chase

You’ll earn 10x total points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Chase, which is one of the highest rates you’ll find. That’s up from the previous earnings rate of just 3x points.

That means $1,000 spent on hotels would earn you 10,000 points, which you can turn around and redeem for $150 on travel in Chase's travel portal (that’s because points earned on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® are worth 1.5 cents each toward travel redemptions through the portal).

Or, transfer those points to one of the Chase transfer partners, which includes United Airlines and Hyatt, for a potentially even higher return.

A 15% return (or more) in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points from your travel spending is a pretty swell deal.

10x total points on Chase Dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards®

You’ll also earn 10x points (a 15% return) on Chase Dining purchases through Ultimate Rewards®. Chase Dining is a program where you can browse and book reservations at participating restaurants; the restaurants tend to be pretty upscale, so this is likely not the spot to come for a sweet deal on food.

Though, because most of the restaurants are pricey (expect to see names like The French Laundry in California or New York’s Per Se up for grabs), you’ll likely earn a pretty pile of points, especially given the high 10x points return.

» Learn more: Comparing AmEx vs. Chase points

5x total points on air travel purchased through Chase

You’ll now earn 5x total points on air travel purchased through Chase, up from just 3x previously. That makes this card one of the best you can use for booking airfare.

A thousand dollars spent on air travel translates to 5,000 points, which are worth $75 when redeemed for travel through Chase's travel portal. A 7.5% return on airfare in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points is among the best you’ll find.

Access to new airport lounges

Existing Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders already had access to Priority Pass lounges, which is a network of more than 1,300 airport lounges serving up free snacks (and sometimes full meals), power outlets and a calmer ambiance than your standard terminal. And the number of lounges you can access will soon grow.

Chase announced the locations of several new lounges that are set to open this year, all of which will be accessible on the Priority Pass network. Dubbed Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club, lounges will be located at the following airports:

• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) — now open.

• Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) — now open.

• Las Vegas (LAS).

• New York-LaGuardia Airport (LGA).

• Phoenix (PHX).

• San Diego (SAN).

Open dates for the New York, Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Diego lounges are forthcoming.

DoorDash perks

Cardmembers receive at least one-year of complimentary DashPass, a service offered by DoorDash. This service gives members access to $0 delivery fees on qualifying orders as well as other incentives like occasional discounts.

You must activate your subscription by Dec. 31, 2027, to take advantage of this perk. Cardholders will get $5 of DoorDash credit every month through the end of 2027. You can accrue $15 (three months) worth of credit before it expires.

» Learn more: How to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® between cards

Lyft benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® also offers cardmembers a complimentary Lyft Pink subscription. This membership provides 15% off car rides, priority airport pickups and other incentives once you activate the complimentary offer. Cardmembers can also earn 10 points per $1 on Lyft purchases through March 2025.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® improved dramatically with this latest announcement. The 10x points on hotels and car rentals, plus 5x points on air travel purchased through Chase is nearly unbeatable.

But this card is still primarily a travel card, and if you’re just not traveling like you used to, then it may be time to break up.

Maybe your road trips start from your own home, so you use your own car. Maybe your preferred lodging these days is a camping tent or staying with friends and family. If that’s you, you won’t be able to take advantage of the big 10x points.

If you’ve cut back on air travel, then you also won’t benefit from the 5x points there. Plus, you won’t have an opportunity to take advantage of existing airport perks, like TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, NEXUS card reimbursement or Priority Pass Select lounge access.

Downgrade to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card instead

In August 2021, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® got an upgrade, but its little sibling card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, got an upgrade too, with elevated earning rates on categories that might be more appealing amidst a pandemic.

Here are the current bonus categories on that card:

• 5x total points on all travel purchased through Chase.

• 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out (previously 2x).

• 3x points on select streaming services.

• 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).

• 2x on travel purchases.

You earn 1 point per $1 spent on everything else — but it doesn’t stop there. You earn a 10% bonus each account anniversary where Chase will award you bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year.

That means every $500 in spend earns an additional 50 bonus points. That’s not huge, but it’s enough of a little bonus to encourage using the card for non-bonus category purchases too.

Both cards are valuable to travelers given that they unlock redemptions in Chase's travel portal (though the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card only gets you a value of 1.25 cents per point versus the 1.5 cents per point on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®).

But some travelers perceive the cards as even more valuable when you take advantage of Chase’s transfer partners, which include Southwest and Hyatt. The exact value you get per point depends on which program you transfer to and how you redeem the points within that program, but NerdWallet estimates the overall transfer value at 2.1 cents per point.

Given that both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® transfer points at the same rate, it might make sense to simply hold the lower-annual-fee card if your primary reason for card ownership is access to high-value point transfers.

» Learn more: A deep dive comparison of Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Reserve

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card has a $550 annual fee, but its benefits can outweigh this yearly fee if you use them all strategically.

If you travel often, then the high earnings rate on travel spending can easily justify the annual fee. But even if you’re staying at home this year, holding the card can make sense for some people. If you’re a lover of takeout willing to order through DoorDash or Chase Dining and you still hop in Lyft rides around town, you’ll likely find outsized value in the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.