Chase Sapphire Reserve Welcome Bonus Increased to 80,000 Points

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Chase has increased the welcome bonus for its top-of-the-line Chase Sapphire Reserve® card to 80,000 points, making one of the best credit cards on the market an even better deal. As Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth at least 1.5 cents each with this card, this offer is worth a whopping $1,200 minimum. Cardholders must spend over $4,000 in the first three months after opening the account in order to receive the new, elevated bonus.

As if the massive sign-up bonus weren’t enough to convince you to sign up for Chase’s premium travel card, the Sapphire Reserve also comes with great spending bonuses and valuable perks that instantly help to offset the $550 annual fee. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has been massively popular since it was released in 2016. In fact, it became such a hot item that Chase temporarily ran out of the metal slabs needed to make the cards. Now, with this increased sign-up bonus, these cards will most likely start flying off the shelves once again. 

Let’s take a look at the perks and bonuses offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and see if it’s really worth paying that $550 annual fee instead of going with Chase’s lower-cost option, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. 

Chase Sapphire Reserve Spending Bonuses

In addition to its new and improved welcome bonus, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card also comes with some great spending bonus categories that can help you quickly build up your Chase Ultimate Rewards points balance. Here are the spending bonuses offered with this card: 

• 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel
• 10X points on dining purchases through Chase Dining
• 5X points on flights purchased through Chase Travel
• 3X points on all other travel (excluding the $300 travel credit) 
• 3X points on all other dining purchases worldwide
• 1X points on everything else

It’s worth noting that you won’t earn any points on the first $300 you spend annually on travel as this spending will automatically trigger the $300 statement credit. However, assuming that you use this credit every year, the annual fee for the Sapphire Reserve is, effectively, $250. 

Also, the opportunity to earn 10X points on certain travel and dining purchases is certainly lucrative if used wisely. Booking hotels and rental cars through Chase Travel is as easy as with any other booking engine. And, while ordering food through Chase Dining is not quite as simple as with a service like GrubHub or DoorDash, it’s still a way to earn a large number of points on certain dining purchases. 

Chase Sapphire Reserve Primary Benefits

As I mentioned before, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card has an annual fee of $550. And, while that may seem pretty steep, this card comes with some great benefits that can quickly offset the hefty annual fee. Here are some of the main perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card: 

Annual Travel Credit

One of the most impressive benefits of the Sapphire Reserve card is the $300 annual travel credit, which is automatically applied to up to $300 in travel purchases each cardmember year. 

Unlike the $200 airline fee credit offered with The Platinum Card® from American Express, which can only be applied to specific qualifying purchases, the Sapphire Reserve card’s $300 annual travel credit can be applied to any purchases from airlines, rental car companies, cruise lines or hotels. In fact, the credit can also be applied to things such as toll plazas, parking lots, buses and taxis as well.

When you make one of these qualifying travel purchases, Chase will automatically post the credit. 

DoorDash DashPass Subscription

Chase Sapphire Reserve card holders qualify for a free DoorDash DashPass subscription through December 31, 2024. DashPass members enjoy zero delivery fees and reduced service fees on all orders over $12. 

On top of that, you’ll receive $5 per month in DoorDash credits that roll over two months before expiring, meaning you can save up to $15 on a single order. 

Lyft Spending Bonus

Chase has extended its partnership with Lyft through March 2025, meaning that Sapphire Reserve cardholders will continue to receive 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on Lyft purchases. 

Since Ultimate Rewards points are valued at a minimum of 1.5 cents apiece, this is equal to a 15% return on all Lyft rides. 

Priority Pass Lounge Access

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, which gives you access to more than 1,200 airport lounges worldwide. 

The Priority Pass network includes some premium lounges in the United States and abroad. They have also added many airport restaurants in the Priority Pass network, meaning that Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can receive food credits at these restaurants, usually around $28. 

Any authorized users of your Chase Sapphire Reserve card can also get their own Priority Pass membership. You can add up to five authorized users to your account; however, you have to pay $75 annually for every authorized user that you add.

It’s also worth noting that Chase has announced that it will be opening its own branded lounges (called “Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club”) in several airports across the United States later in 2022 and beyond. 

Application Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck

Like many other premium travel credit cards, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card will reimburse you for the application fee for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck if you charge it to the card. 

If you’re going to enroll in one of these programs, going with Global Entry is definitely the better move for Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders. Global Entry includes all of the benefits of TSA PreCheck (including TSA PreCheck access) as well as expedited immigration and customs processing. 

The application fee for Global Entry is $15 more than for TSA PreCheck; however, since Chase will cover the entire cost of either application, that shouldn’t factor into your decision. 

Visa Infinite Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is a Visa Infinite card, meaning that cardholders have access to all of the perks that come along with the Visa Infinite program. These include primary rental car insurance, trip cancellation and delay coverage, lost luggage reimbursement, a 24/7 concierge service and access to the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, which offers cardholders elite-like benefits at over 1,000 hotels, resorts, spas and lodges worldwide.

Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Depending on your spending habits and ability to use certain perks, you may want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which has an annual fee of $95. The Sapphire Reserve, on the other hand, has an annual fee of $550. 

If we assume that you use the annual credits offered by either card (the $50 hotel credit with the Sapphire Preferred and the $300 travel credit with the Sapphire Reserve), then the difference in annual fees is $205 ($250 minus $45). 

Since Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1.5 cents apiece, in order for you make up the difference in annual fees, you’ll need to earn about 13,750 more per year with the Sapphire Reserve than you would with the Sapphire Preferred. 

But, with the sign-up bonus for the Sapphire Reserve being upped to 80,000 points (compared to the 60,000 points offered with the Sapphire Preferred’s sign-up bonus), the case for the Sapphire Reserve just got even stronger as that difference alone is worth a minimum of $300 when redeemed for travel.

Here are the differences in annual fees, welcome bonuses and bonus categories for the two cards: 

	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Chase Sapphire Reserve
Annual fee	$95	$550
Sign-up bonus	60,000 after spending $4,000 in three months after account opening.	80,000 after spending $4,000 in three months after account opening.
Earnings rates	• 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel • 5X points on purchases through Lyft • 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide, online grocery purchases and select streaming services • 2X points on all other travel • 1X points on everything else	• 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel • 10X points on dining purchases through Chase Dining • 10X points on purchases through Lyft • 5X points on flights purchased through Chase Travel • 3X points on all other travel (excluding the $300 travel credit) • 3X points on all other dining purchases worldwide • 1X points on everything else
Built-in credits	• $50 annual hotel credit through Ultimate Rewards portal • 10% points boost each anniversary	• $300 annual travel credit • Application fee reimbursement for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck (value of up to $100)
Lounge access	n/a	Priority Pass Select
Authorized user fee	$0	$75 per authorized user
Value when used for Ultimate Rewards travel redemptions	1.25 cents	1.5 cents

In general, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is going to offer a better potential return on the annual fee than the Chase Sapphire Preferred. First of all, at a valuation of 1.5 cents apiece, the welcome bonus for the Sapphire Reserve is worth a whole $450 more than the welcome bonus for the Sapphire Preferred.

You can also quickly make up for the Sapphire Reserve’s $550 annual fee by using the $300 travel credit, the $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement and the $60 annually ($5 monthly) toward DoorDash. And don’t forget about the free food and drinks inside you can get inside Priority Pass lounges. 

The ability to earn 10X points on travel and dining through Chase as well as on Lyft rides with the Sapphire Reserve (which is, essentially, like getting 15% back) can help you quickly rack up Ultimate Rewards points. When it comes time to spend your Ultimate Rewards points, the Sapphire Reserve card offers 50% more value when redeemed for travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal, compared to the 25% bonus on travel redemptions offered by the Sapphire Preferred card. 

In defense of the Sapphire Preferred card, though, if you don’t think you’re going to spend much on travel, you might want to avoid paying the $550 annual fee for the Sapphire Reserve card and go with the $95-annual-fee alternative instead. 

Additionally, if you’re planning on adding authorized users to your card, the fact that you can do so for free with the Sapphire Preferred card (compared to the $75 fee per authorized user) is something to consider. 

All in all, despite the annual fee for the Sapphire Reserve being much higher, the new welcome bonus along with the numerous perks and generous spending bonuses offered by the Sapphire Reserve make it well worth it. 

The Best Ways to Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Regardless of whether you go with the Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred card, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are one of the most valuable rewards currencies out there. However, there are many ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points and not all of them offer the same value per point. 

In order to get the most out of your hard-earned points, it’s important to understand which redemption options offer the best value. Here are some of the best ways to use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points: 

Hotel and Airline Transfer Partners

One of the highest-value ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to one of Chase’s 13 hotel and travel partners (which you can do regardless of whether you have the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve card). All of Chase’s travel partners have a transfer ratio of 1:1. 

World of Hyatt, in particular, offers some incredible value for Sapphire cardholders. Standard award nights can cost between just 5,000 and 40,000 points. Additionally, you can book a night at a luxury resort (such as the Park Hyatt Maldives or Park Hyatt Sydney) for as little as 25,000 points. Cash rates for a stay at either of these locations are usually around $1,000 or more. 

In terms of airlines, there’s a variety of airlines offering great redemption opportunities such as Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines and British Airways. 

Book Travel Through Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal

When you book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, your points are worth 1.25 cents each with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and worth 1.5 cents each with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. 

That means that you can book a $750 flight through Chase Ultimate Rewards for 50,000 points if you have the Sapphire Reserve card or 60,000 points if you have the Sapphire Preferred card. 

And, while you can probably find higher-value redemptions by transferring to one of Chase’s travel partners, using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal to book travel is a simple and easy way to get solid value out of your points. 

Pay Yourself Back

Using Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature, you can use your points as statement credits to cover already-made purchases in select spending categories. The best part is that you still benefit from the 25% or 50% value boost that you get with the Sapphire cards. 

For instance, you can use 50,000 points earned with the Sapphire Reserve card to cover $750 of purchases on your card. If you have the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business card, you would need to use 60,000 points to cover that same $750. 

Chase has announced that it will honor these card-specific value boosts with the Pay Yourself Back feature through the end of 2022. However, it remains to be seen if they will extend it beyond then. 

For now, using Pay Yourself Back is a very practical way to spend your Ultimate Rewards points.

The Bottom Line

Personally, with Chase Ultimate Rewards points being one of the most valuable transferable rewards out there, I think that everyone should have at least one Chase card in their wallet. And, with Chase increasing the sign-up bonus for the Sapphire Reserve card up to 80,000 points (valued at $1,200) on October 18, 2022, their top-of-the-line premium travel card just got that much more attractive. 

And, while the $550 annual fee for the Sapphire Reserve card may seem a bit exorbitant, you can quickly offset it with spending bonuses and the valuable perks that come with this card. Specifically, the $300 annual travel credit makes that annual fee look a whole lot smaller. 

If you were previously deciding whether to go with the Chase Sapphire Reserve or another premium card, or deciding between the Sapphire Reserve or the $95-annual-fee Sapphire Preferred, the new 80,000-point welcome offer just moved the needle in favor of the Sapphire Reserve.