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Changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card (See rates and fees) are actually great for me. I know they’re controversial to some of you. And in some ways I wasn’t sure at first how to balance the changes between new benefits and what’s lost.
However, as the past four months have gone by I’ve realized that I am still a few weeks away from October 26th when my card converts to have all of the new benefits and I really want them. In fact, I’ve been tempted several time to call Chase and have them convert me sooner, even though that means paying the higher annual fee up front instead of my seeing it next year.
- I rarely used the 1.5 cent per point redemptions. I would have if my primary points use were domestic coach travel, but it’s not. I aim to get a lot more value than 1.5 cents per point, so really considered redeeming at 1.5 cents to be a waste. It just wasn’t in my redemption path, so losing this doesn’t actually cost me anything.
- Meanwhile, Points Boost is huge. There are times I’d consider 2 cent per point business class redemptions against inexpensive premium fares. And I do transfer points to Hyatt, where I might at times only get 2 cents apiece. Being able to pair Points Boost redemptions with Chase’s The Edit extra benefits like an on-property credit, and not just with Hyatt hotels but others too, is great. And this is far better than transferring points to Marriott or IHG!
- 4x on air and hotel is huge, plus 8x on air through Chase travel. I lose 3x on non-air and hotel direct travel spend, like Airbnb and cruises, but I don’t book through Airbnb much and I don’t take cruises. I will gain more on the points side than I lose and will probably book a bunch of my air through the Chase portal for the extra points-earning, even compared to Amex Platinum.
- The Edit and Dining credits, for me, will not just cover the $200 increase in annual fee, but will cover basically cover the annual fee itself for me – since I’ll use these for stays I’d take anyway and for restaurant meals I’d otherwise pay for. A bunch of my favorite local restaurants are on the Exclusive Tables list. I already eat at Clark’s Oyster Bar, Este, Kemuri Tatsu-Ya, and Emmer & Rye.
I guess I’m losing 3 points per dollar on dining for the restaurant visits I get credited back to my card, so it’s not literally as good as cash (there’s still a tradeoff). But it’s close. And that’s without even the card’s $300 annual travel credit. And it’s without the StubHub credit for tickets I would have purchased anyway. The card was marginal, and not a money-maker, before. It is one after the refresh.
- I’ve already spent over $75,000 on my card this year, and that means I’ll get credits that amount to an additional 1% rebate on card spend plus two new statuses:
- Southwest A-List Status: which means free preferred seat at time of booking, and extra legroom seats within 48 hours; priority boarding; free checked bag; priority check-in.
- IHG One Rewards Diamond Status: (I rarely stay there as Marriott is my primary focus, but this will be nice when I have to stay at an IHG property)
- $500 Southwest credit: for bookings through Chase’s portal. Southwest is 41% of the seats from my home airport in Austin so I’m going to fly them. A $500 credit is real money to me.
- $250 Shops at Chase credit: worst case I buy Aesop products there and save real money I’d otherwise be spending.
- Southwest A-List Status: which means free preferred seat at time of booking, and extra legroom seats within 48 hours; priority boarding; free checked bag; priority check-in.
I’ve booked Southwest trips without the A-List status and that’s probably dumb. I should’ve just called Chase and upgraded early. I haven’t done it, but then I go to dinner at a place like Kemuri Tatsu-Ya and I smack myself on the forehead, “could’ve had a V-8!”
Bottom line for me is that the card was somewhat marginal before, but it’s a no-brainer now. It has great credits and benefits, and unlike Amex Platinum it’s a card I actually use for spending. Which makes it great for me and for Chase I guess. I realize that not everyone loves the card’s changes but for me they’re a huge win.
*slow clap for Gary*
(Amex did far better with Platinum.)
I do wonder if JPM moving a lot of jobs over the last number of years to Texas had something to do with these benefits, because for the coastal elites, they make much less sense. Texas has the most number of IHG properties in the US. People in Texas fly Southwest. So perhaps they think the coastal folks who are HNWIs will just keep paying the fee anyway and not care about it, and the marketing thesis is that they want to capture more people in the middle of the country.
Hope it works for them, but given leadership’s recent tepid comments on the refresh, have to imagine this is all just a complete failure. No question that Amex is currently rubbing salt in Chase’s self-inflicted wound on a daily basis.
End of the day this is a lounge access and travel insurance card, and thought your comparison post the other week was excellent. Would recommend it to all. For those that travel frequently, CSR may still have a place in the wallet, but at a greater cost. And much less reason to put spend on it after October 26 versus a Citi ThankYou point strategy with Strata Premier/Regular and DoubleCash or C1 strategy with VX/Savor.
@Peter gets it, once again. I do enjoy the Sapphire at LGA Terminal B, but that terminal already has so many alternatives, I can probably let it go. For now, I’ll keep my CSR to try these new credits, but come next year when that new AF hits, I may just downgrade to CSP or cancel altogether. Mainly, I’m upset by the changes to the general Travel category (3x to 1x for non-UR portal rental cars, cruises, agents, etc.); if they hadn’t done that, I’d keep CSR.
The Edit sucks. Forcing two nights means the only way this is a viable option is out of the US
For me, the loss of 3x on general travel is devastating. CSR has been my go-to card for tolls, parking, car rentals (very strange that car rentals not included with hotels and airfare as 4x categories, especially given the premium rental car coverage), ferries, and everything else that could conceivably fall under Chase’s generous definition of “travel.” To the point that travel is the biggest source of points on my card.
My annual fee comes due in February. Guess I’ll see how the new benefits work out and if it’s not worth it downgrade to the CSP.
@Andrew — Yup. This is the main issue. I would spend tens of thousands of dollars using this card for 3x travel. No more starting October 26. Very disappointing. Boo… Chase… Boo….
Jeez, Gary, after reading this I had to double check to make sure I wasn’t reading a typical shill post from TPG. Peter and Andrew hit the nail square on the head.
Gary, how does the Edit rates on Hyatt hotels compare to either the member discount, Senior discount or AAA fee.
Given that I’m globalist, I already get breakfast and late checkout.
If you have any rate comparisons, that would be great.
@1990/Andrew – I don’t think Chase realizes how much people hate the fact that they completely changed the fundamentals of the card. The loss of all 3x travel is brutal. The whole point of the card was “hi, we’re a travel card, put all travel spend on this card, and we’ll give you 3x and your first $300 off”. Now it’s “put your first $300 of air / hotel spend on this card”. But people have a lot of different ways of paying for air/hotel spend, and Chase clearly knows that, which is why it is being more “generous” with the 4x. If it works for you, great! But it clearly is a loss in value for many.
But, here comes Citi to the rescue. Strata Premier for $95 (or $0 if you use the $100 hotel credit) is 3x on airlines, hotels, and travel agencies. Strata Regular for $0 is 3x on select transit: car rentals, ferries, commuter railways, subways, taxis/limousines/car services, passenger railways, bridge and road tolls, parking lots/garages, bus lines, and motor home and recreational vehicle rentals. Get them both together with a $0 DoubleCash for 2x all non-bonused spend and watch the ThankYou points roll in.
@BeatNavy – Yep. FHR is a much better program than the Edit, and Amex gives you flexibility with one-night FHR stays for its credit versus two nights with Chase. If you were looking at these two programs and had to choose one, it’s not even a contest – Amex wins hands down.
@Peter — 100% agree on CSR changes, on Strata Premier, and on FHR. You speak my language, good sir!
@postnobills — VFTW (and DoC, OMAAT, LALF, and others) are still superior to TPG, because at TPG couldn’t handle comments…
@peter you nailed all of it. The CSR change was ho hum at best, but compared to Amex there’s no contest. I won’t be keeping it and won’t be regretting it. Something in Chase world is different. They aren’t interested in my demographic anymore so I will bless and release them to pursue the ATX hipsters they desire.