This is an excerpt. Full article originally posted on Dec 13, 2024 on WalletHub.
Do you think the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s benefits are worth the price?
When selecting a credit card, it is essential that a person evaluate the fees verses the benefits (rewards) and assess if the credit card holder will maximize the benefits to make the most from the rewards.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is worth purchasing if you are a high spender, with excellent credit score 750+ and spend a great deal of time in airport lounges. After spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, you receive 60,000 points for spending, which is an outstanding reward. An unfavorable factor of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is the high annual fee, currently $550 in addition to high APR of 21.49% -28.49%, while the avg credit card APR is 17.9%
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is marketed toward frequent travelers and one of the top perks or benefits listed is access to the airport lounge. If the consumer is a frequent flyer and spends time in airports the benefits or rewards of gaining access to the “Sapphire Lounge by The Club” as well as “the Priority Pass airport lounge” by having a Chase Sapphire Reserve card will be beneficial. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is particularly beneficial for frequent travelers, especially those flying often in Asia and Europe. According to the Priority Pass Lounge website, the majority of its 1,700 airport lounges are located in the Asia-Pacific region (440+) and Europe (370+), with significantly fewer in the U.S. and Canada (a combined 150+). According to a number of the online reviews, one of the challenges of the Priority Pass airport lounges in the US is that the lounges are extremely busy and sometimes filled to capacity where Chase Sapphire Reserve card holder cannot enter the facility, frustrating travelers.
Other positive benefits for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card are $300 annual travel credit and triple (3 x times) the points on travel and dining purchases. For those that travel and maximize the benefits, the high yearly fee may be worth the cost.
Do you have any advice for people trying to figure out whether a card like Chase Sapphire Reserve is right for them?
My advice would be to evaluate the benefits (rewards) and see if the person will make use of these rewards. If you only travel by plane once every other year and are not dining out a great deal the benefits or rewards of gaining “access to the airport lounge” and “earning 3 x (times) the points on travel and dining purchases” may not offset the high annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
The rewards for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card may seem enticing when reviewing them, but if a person does not capitalize on the benefits (rewards) because of the persons spending habits “not traveling often” or “not dining out regularly” the benefits may not be utilized to capacity and therefore have minimum value to the card holder.