Chase is completely revamping the Sapphire Reserve card.

• They’re raising the annual fee from $550 to $795, but offsetting this with what they say is more than $2,700 in credits.
  
• They’re changing points-earning by replacing 3 points per dollar on all travel with 4 points per dollar on airline and hotel spend. All travel spend through Chase’s portal will earn 8 points per dollar (even airline tickets, and The Edit hotels increase from just 3x!).
  
• And they’re changing redemption by replacing 1.5 points per dollar on spend through Chase’s portal with Points Boost offering up to 2 cents per point on eligible hotel and airline itineraries.

There are a lot of moving pieces here. Frankly I think it’s brilliant as I’ll explain in a follow up post. But suffice to say that, while some members will find reason to be disappointed, overall I think they’ve done a really great job re-engineering the economics of the card both to benefit their own book and to offer more value to cardmembers.

New Points Earning Rates

Chase Sapphire Reserve has earned 3x on travel and dining, plus 10x on hotels and cars and 5x on flights booked through their travel portal. New earn rates are:

• 4x on flights and hotels booked direct
  
• 3x on dining
  
• 8x on all bookings through Chase travel (air, hotels, car rentals, cruises, activities, etc)
  
• 1x on all other eligible spend

They’re trading out 3x on all travel for 4x on flights and hotels booked direct, and shifting to a straight 8 points per dollar through their portal including on airfare.

• For those of you willing to book flights through a travel portal this is incredibly lucrative.
• For those who book direct, 4x makes the card competitive enough with Amex Platinum’s 5x to use it for flight bookings.
• And at 4x I’d honestly use this card for all of my hotel spending, forgoing any hotel’s co-brand products, except where you need spend on that card to contribute towards your hotel status.

While some will lament the loss of 3x earning for things like Uber, car rentals and parking I’d note that you can still get 8x on car rentals through Chase’s portal if you prioritize points-earn over status recognition, and suggest you look at how much you spend on those newly excluded categories versus how much you spend on hotels and airfare. For me, it’s heavily skewed towards hotels and airfare. The only place I lose is that it’s the card I would normally use for Airbnb or Vrbo when I’m stuck with one of those.

A Higher Annual Fee – And Over $2,300 In Credits

Chase Sapphire Reserve’s annual fee goes up from $550 to $795 for new card applicants starting June 23. Existing cardmembers migrate to the new set of benefits October 26, 2025 so will see the new annual fee with their renewals after that date.

Authorized users will go up to $195. There are no changes to authorized user benefits, but of course authorized users receive lounge access, including Priority Pass, on the same basis as primary cardholders.

There is a huge portfolio of credits that will justify this increased annual fee.

• $300 annual Travel Credit: There is no change to this benefit. It continues to apply to all travel spend.
  
• $500 Edit hotel credit: $250 twice semi-annually, applies to two-night minimum stays.
  
• Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / NEXUS credit: No change to this credit, worth up to $120 every 4 years
  
• $300 Annual Dining Credit: $150 twice semi-annually for “Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables” restaurants (bookable on OpenTable, ‘curation by The Infatuation & Visa Dining Collection’) I find that many of the restaurants I actually visit are part of the platform.

  There are a dozen restaurants in Austin eligible so far. There are even restaurants in Milwaukee. But it’s currently just 289 restaurants – Chase says the list is growing. I’ve archived the list, accurate only as of today, here (.xlsx). If you frequent small towns this will be less helpful.
  

• $250 combined Apple TV+ & Apple Music subscription credit: If you spend on these, it’s real money back in your pocket. Otherwise it’s a good reason to sign up.
  
• $300 StubHub/viagogo ticket credit: $150 twice annually
  
• $120 Lyft credits: $10 monthly, plus 5x earn on Lyft through September 30, 2027. This is the current benefit, and in my mind a devaluation from the previous 10x earn rate for Sapphire Reserve cardmembers.
  
• $300 DoorDash credits and one year of DashPass: up to $25 monthly
  
• $120 Peloton Membership credit + 10× on Peloton equipment and accessories over $150 not something I personally value but many of you still have Peleton bikes. The $120 credit is $10 monthly.

Since I spend on travel, the $300 credit is nearly as good as cash (not quite as good, because this spend doesn’t earn points in the new 4x category since you’re getting the money back). I’ll legitimately use the $500 Edit credit, ideally stacked with PointsBoost 2 cent redemptions, hotel points-earning and elite status and The Edit on-property benefits.

Chase also says they’re launching Vacation Homes as part of their travel offerings next month, where you’ll earn 8x. Vrbo just eliminated rewards-earning for those without Expedia elite status, and Airbnb still doesn’t have a loyalty program.

Their $300 annual dining credit is something I’ll use like cash since I eat at these restaurants anyway. In fact, I’m really impressed by the list of restaurants. It doesn’t matter how you make the booking, and there’s no prepayment involved. It’s a rebate on spend at those restaurants.

Combine that with $300 with Stubhub and $300 with DoorDash, along with $120 in Lyft (since I use Lyft many times each month already) I’m getting over $1,800 in credits which is more than double the card’s annual fee. And that’s without valuing AppleTV, Global Entry (I have many cards which offer this) or Peleton.

Another way to think about this, though, is that if you hold Sapphire Reserve today then you’ve capitalized it as being worth $550. Holding the rest of the card’s changes aside, are they providing at least $245 in incremental value with a $500 Edit hotels credit, $300 dining credit, $300 StubHub credit, $250 Apple TV+/Music credit, and much bigger DoorDash credits? That seems like a no brainer, honestly, as much as I chafe at the model generally of ‘higher card annual fees and a series of credits you need to use to make up for it’. I’ll easily get real value from the credits on spend I’m already doing each month.

Points Boost Replaces 1.5x Travel Redemptions

The card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to a number of airline and hotel partners.

• Star Alliance: United MileagePlus, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Air Canada Aeroplan
  
• oneworld: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus
  
• SkyTeam: Air France KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  
• Non-alliance: Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, Aer Lingus AerClub, Emirates Skywards
• Hotels: World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards

Park Hyatt Chicago

One useful feature of the card, though, is that you could spend the points at 1.5 cents apiece in value towards any travel booked through Chase’s online portal. You wouldn’t necessarily get as much value as redeeming for a business class award to Europe, but you wouldn’t have to worry about award availability. You could just buy any flight or hotel for sale, using your points as payment at a reasonable rate.

With the card’s changes, 1.5 cent redemptions will drop to just 1 cent. However the new ‘Points Boost’ benefit gets added where you can redeem at up to 2x on rotating offers for hotels that are part of Chase’s more than 1,100 property The Edit portfolio and airfare. The card also comes with spending credit with The Edit bookings, those reservations don’t preclude hotel loyalty program points and status-earning, and come with extras like free breakfast and a $100 property credit.

Points Boost is also available on Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred and Plus cards. Chase tells me,

The air inventory for Points Boost will include Economy, Premium Economy, Business and First-Class. Points Boost offers for flights are dependent on the cabin classes and offers will range from 1.25x up to 2x based on airline, cabin class and card.

o paint a picture for what cardmembers can expect at launch, they will see airlines including United Airlines, Air Canada, Southwest Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and more.

All hotels in The Edit program (1,100+) will be included in Points Boost with 2x the value, as well as thousands of additional top booked hotels through Chase Travel that will be boosted up to 2x the value.

Existing cardmembers get the best of both worlds. Current Sapphire Reserve cardmembers (and those applying in the next couple of days) keep 1.5× Chase Travel redemptions on points held in their account as of October 26, 2025 until October 26, 2027. Until then the best offer (1.5x or Points Boost) will be auto-applied.

New Benefits For High Spenders

Spending $75,000 per year on the card earns:

• IHG One Rewards Diamond Status: this is IHG’s top tier of status, though it doesn’t come with the benefits that are earned at night thresholds like food and beverage credits or confirmed suite upgrades. Diamond comes with a 100% bonus on base points earned at IHG properties; complimentary upgrades up to suites if available; free breakfast; early check-in and late check-out, if available.

  

• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards A-List Status: including first checked bag free; priority check-in and boarding; 25% points bonus; same day confirmed changes. And when Southwest moves to assigned seating, A-List members get preferred seats at booking and extra-legroom seats within 48 hours of travel. Spending on this card is a workaround for Southwest’s recent program changes.

  

• $500 Southwest credit: on bookings made via Chase Travel.

  

• $250 Shops at Chase credit: pay with card or points at brands including Baccarat, Bang & Olufsen, Breitling, Callaway, CALPAK, Cuisinart, Dyson, Samsonite, SMEG, Solo Stove, SONY, Therabody, Tory Burch, and TUMI. The shop is also available to Ultimate Rewards customers with Freedom, Sapphire and Ink cards.

Now there’s a reason to put additional spend on the card, potentially even outside of accelerator categories of air, hotel and dining.

Additional Benefits

While cardmembers spending $75,000 earn IHG Diamond status, all Reserve cardmembers will receive IHG Platinum through December 31, 2027.

The card continues to offer some of the best travel protections, like trip delay and cancellation and primary collision damage waiver on car rentals.

And Chase’s acquisition of Frosch International Travel finally has an integration, branded as ‘Reserve Travel Designers concierge,’ cardmembers gain access to dedicate travel agents.

No Changes To Airport Lounge Access

When I met with Chase about these changes there was a bit of smirk in the air over changes being made to a rival’s lounge network. They emphasized that there is no plan to change lounge access provided by this card – it continues to offer access to Chase Sapphire Lounges for the cardmember and two guests, and they aren’t making cuts to their Priority Pass Select which currently includes two guests.

Chase airport lounges:

Airport	Size (sq ft)	Opened	Key notes
New York–LaGuardia (LGA)	21,800	Jan 2024	Two-story design; Reserve Suites; Face Haus spa; arcade; broad a-la-carte & buffet program
Boston Logan (BOS)	11,500	May 2023	Tap-room with local beer; massage chairs; showers; kids’ playroom
New York–JFK (JFK)	7,600	Jan 2024	Shared Etihad space; full cocktail & dining menu; showers
Washington Dulles (IAD)	5,200	Mar 2024	Shared Etihad space; compact but full service offering
Philadelphia (PHL)	20,000	Feb 2025	Beer-garden zone, shuffleboard, retro arcade, rest pods, Face Haus facials
San Diego (SAN)	10,000	Dec 2024	Wellness area with private pods & meditation; full F&B
Phoenix (PHX)	3,500	Nov 2024	Small and overrun, limited amenities
Hong Kong (HKG)	12,000	Oct 2022	Extensive buffet + small menu

Known lounge pipeline:

• Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): ~ 18,000 sq ft in terminal D
  
• Las Vegas (LAS): ~ 4,500 sq ft in terminal C
  
• Los Angeles (LAX): ~9,200 sq ft in the Tom Bradley International Terminal

Bar at Chase Sapphire Lounge Philadelphia Airport

New Card Design

Starting June 23, cards will be issued with a new design. This was teased last week through Chase’s social channels. Chase tells me that the new card is heavier, at 19.6 grams.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chase Sapphire (@chasesapphire)

How To Play These Changes To Your Advantage

I expect that there will be big bonus offers coming to support such a big product refresh. You might want to hold off applying for a few days to take advantage of those.

On the other hand, you may want to just on the card immediately even accepting that you might be forgoing a larger bonus.

New cardmembers get benefits starting June 23rd, existing cardmembers transition to the new system October 26 but have access to Points Boost right away.

Chase Sapphire Preferred will be losing 1.25x through the Chase travel portal, and gaining access to Points Boost. Sapphire Preferred doesn’t lose its broad travel category for accelerator spend.

You can still lock in the current $550 Sapphire Reserve annual fee for the first year applying before June 23, and more importantly you lock in the grandfathering of 1.5x redemption through Chase’s portal for two years on points in your account. In the meantime, you’ll gain access to the new set of statement credits this fall.

Similarly, if you have a Sapphire Preferred that’s more than a year old you might consider product changing to Sapphire Reserve in the next couple of days to get in on the ‘old’ version of the card as well (this would forgo a Sapphire Reserve initial bonus altogether, however).