Chase/CNET
The Chase Sapphire Reserve®* has several new annual credits and features, like an Apple Plus and Apple Music membership, valued at $250 a year (ends June 22, 2027). Chase updated the card last week, and all the details sound good on paper (aside from the higher $795 annual fee), but there are some fine-print changes that aren't so great.
Cardholders will now have to do more work to get enough value from the card to cover its cost. That likely means the average credit-cardholder won't even want to consider this as an option. Which is fair -- all the new features put me off from applying for the card, too.
I don't think you should have to redeem dozens of credits, sign up for several complimentary subscriptions, only book flights and hotels when your points are boosted, or feel like you have to buy a Peloton to make sure you're getting enough value to justify a card's annual fee.
There are some important changes to the card's rewards, too. It has a larger welcome offer and new rewards rates, and, less excitingly, Chase is changing how it values the card's points. The card issuer also changed who is eligible for the welcome offer on its Sapphire cards. But we'll get to that.
I'm sure some travel and credit card experts will disagree, and could easily get enough value to justify the higher fee, but for credit cardholders like myself who would rather have a more automated, streamlined experience, it just doesn't seem worth the extra effort.
Here's everything Chase changed with its Sapphire Reserve update.
What does the new Chase Sapphire Reserve look like?
Chase has changed the card's rewards and how much they're worth when it's time to redeem.
New and old rewards compared New rewards Old rewards 8x points for all travel booked through Chase Travel 10x points for booking hotels and rental cars through Chase Travel 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly 5x points on flights booked through Chase 3x points on dining 3x points for all other travel 1x point for everything else 1x point for everything else
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