You Might Want to Pay $550 for This Credit Card

The luxury benefits offered by premium travel credit cards come with a price to match. One of the options for frequent travelers is Chase Sapphire Reserve. Cardholders can earn three points per dollar on dining and travel, plus more for travel booked through Chase. Learn more about Chase Sapphire Reserve to find out if it’s worth the $550 annual fee.

Here are some of the valuable benefits that come with Chase Sapphire Reserve:

As a new cardholder, you can earn a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 within the first three months with the card. This translates to $900 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

There are multiple ways to earn bonus points on your travel purchases with this card. When you book travel through Chase, you’ll earn 10 points per dollar on hotels and car rentals and five points per dollar on flights. Chase Dining purchases also earn 10 points per dollar. Other travel purchases (after the $300 annual travel credit) and dining earn three points. Most everything else earns one point per dollar.

When you book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, your points are worth 50% more. You’ll get 1.5 cents per point toward flights, hotels, rental cars and more. This means a $450 flight is 30,000 points.

Chase has 14 airline and hotel partners with whom you can transfer points on a 1:1 basis. The transferred points combine with your existing loyalty program balance so you can book award flights and hotel rooms faster.

Each year, you’ll get a statement credit of up to $300 accumulated by spending on travel.

When you activate this benefit, you’ll receive a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership. It provides access to more than 1,300 airport lounges around the world for you and up to two guests. If you had to pay for Priority Pass membership and a visit to a lounge with two guests, it would cost more than $200 at least.

Lisa Kulpa, the co-founder of BasicTravelCouple.com, says that “one of its top benefits for me is restaurant Priority Pass access.” The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the few premium travel credit cards that still includes the Priority Pass restaurant dining credit benefits.

Speed up your airport experience by applying for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Chase reimburses up to $100 up to once every four years when you use your Chase Sapphire Reserve card to pay your application fee.

Travel benefits cover you in case your trip is delayed, canceled or interrupted, if the airline loses your luggage or if your rental car is damaged. Additionally, travel protections include emergency evacuation insurance if you become sick or injured during your trip. Purchase protections cover eligible items for damage, theft or returns plus they offer an extended warranty of an additional year.

Adam Sterling, a travel expert at TheSterlingTraveler.com, says that the Reserve card has some of the best travel protections available. For example, “The insurance kicks in when a trip is delayed as little as six hours or requires an overnight stay.” By comparison, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card requires a delay of 12 or more hours. “It is good for those who have strict travel dates as it can get people to where they need to be when a moderate delay occurs.”

If you’re interested in getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you need to be aware of some hurdles that may prevent you from qualifying for the card.

You need to have excellent credit to qualify. If your FICO score is below 740, take steps to improve your credit score before applying. Make all payments on time, keep credit inquiries to a minimum and pay down credit card balances to reduce utilization.

Chase also has eligibility rules for its credit cards. Its 5/24 Rule says that you cannot get a new Chase card if you’ve opened five or more new credit cards from any bank in the last 24 months.

Additionally, you’re ineligible for this card if you’ve received a sign-up bonus from Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred in the previous 48 months.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers numerous useful benefits for frequent travelers that help to justify its annual fee. Cardholders receive an annual $300 travel credit that automatically reimburses travel purchases charged to the card. The card includes airport lounge access, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck reimbursement and access to Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection program benefits. Travel protections cover you while traveling.

This card does have a $550 annual fee, which can be hard for some people to justify. However, if you travel frequently and use its benefits, you’ll receive far more value than the fees you pay. The value of just the travel credit and lounge access are nearly equal to the annual fee.

While this premium travel credit card includes numerous valuable benefits, it isn’t the best card for everyone. You may also consider these travel credit cards:

For consumers seeking a travel credit card without an annual fee, Chase Freedom Unlimited is a solid choice. It includes trip cancellation and interruption insurance and rental car protection. The card earns 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase, 3% on dining and drugstore purchases and 1.5% on everything else. Plus, new cardholders can take advantage of a 0% intro annual percentage rate on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months.

The Platinum Card from American Express is a high-end alternative to the Reserve card. While it charges a $695 annual fee, it includes over $1,500 in travel, entertainment and dining benefits. Perks include airport lounge access, Hilton and Marriott Gold elite status and complimentary travel protections. It earns five points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels through AmEx Travel or five points when booking flights directly with the airlines. Membership rewards points can be redeemed for statement credits, gift cards, travel and more, including transferring to 21 airline and hotel partners.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.

Capital One Venture X offers premium travel benefits without the normal luxury price tag. It charges a $395 annual fee, but the value of the $300 annual travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles effectively cover that fee. Cardholders receive airport lounge access, free authorized user cards, cellphone protection, premium travel protections and complimentary Hertz President Circle status. Booking through Capital One Travel earns 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars and 5 miles per dollar on flights, plus all other purchases earn an unlimited 2 miles per dollar. Miles can be used for cash back, gift cards and travel, including transferring to more than 15 airline and hotel partners.

In the under-$100 range, it’s hard to beat the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. It earns an unlimited 2 miles per dollar on all purchases or up to 5 miles per dollar when booking hotels and rental cars through Capital One Travel. Miles earned can be used to book travel, get statement credits, transfer to airline and hotel partners, buy gift cards and more. The card also includes two free airport lounge visits per year, Hertz Five Star status and reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every four years.