Chase is revamping its Sapphire Reserve card. It’ll be more expensive, and the earning and redemption proposition will be different. There are a lot more credits than before. So what’s the next effect on cardmembers – are the changes to Sapphire Reserve good or bad?
- There will no longer be a 1.5 cent per point value floor, with the elimination of elevated flat redemption value for travel bookings made through Chase’s portal.
- Occasionally there will be even greater value – ‘Points Boost’ can give you up to 2 cents per point on The Edit hotel bookings and some airfares. Think of this as being like unicorn saver awards with an airline – no more fixed value points, but redeem occasionally for outsized value. With airlines, most members prefer this model provided that saver awards have reasonably good availability.
Andaz 5th Avenue Bookable Through The Edit - More points-earning where it matters (air/hotel goes up from 3x to 4x, and consider that you can now get 8x even on airfare booking tickets through their portal). Booking premium hotels through Chase’s The Edit offers real stackable value – 8x points plus status credit/benefits double dip using the hotel chain’s loyalty program, along with Edit benefits like breakfast and upgrade… and pay with the card’s $250 x 2 statement credits and potentially 2 cent a point redemptions using Points Boost.
Andaz Scottsdale Bookable Through The Edit - The increased fee is covered many times over by increased credits… but risks Amex Platinum coupon book syndrome.
Chase sees these changes as more profitable for them so it’s probably not more profitable for the rest of the world but it should be more profitable for savvy cardmembers who pay attention.
I’d say that Chase was spending a lot of money on Reserve, but in some ways spending it badly. They’re targeting their spend more now, and those who fall into the target for the product are going to reap some pretty rich rewards. But you have to make sure you’re squarely in that camp because $795 is a lot of money to get the card and not play it strategically.
The “other travel” category goes from 3x points to 1x. That IMHO is a dealbreaker. Cruises, Vacation packages, tours, vacation rentals not to mention Taxis and Ubers go to 1x. I spend thousands of dollars a year on that and I’m sure I’m not the only one. If nothing changes, when my renewal comes up next December, this card is gone from my wallet.
Since you seem to value this Point Boost so highly, please elaborate on the specifics of how we’re to garner outsized value. Lacking your erudition while being the simple rube I am I fail to see much value to be had for myself. I also detest coupon book benefits where I have to act like a trained seal, jumping through hoops in order to get good value because that premise insults me and the value of my time.
This is a complete failure of Chase distinguishing themselves in the marketplace because they “bought” or have “deep relationships” with a bunch of lifestyle companies that they can leverage for pretend “benefits”. The question Chase has to ask itself is not whether it is making money on the card, but what its goals are with the card.
Chase is the largest US bank by far and largest in the world by market-cap. Amex… 16th. Capital One… 11th.
The next largest banks (BofA, Citi, Wells) are not in the lounge game and have second-tier credit cards.
Chase executed a too-brilliant strategy 9 years ago with the Reserve. It was a viral card with KISS (keep it simple stupid) mechanics that became overwhelmingly popular. Some Chase execs didn’t like how much money they lost on the card side with all of the sign up bonuses, etc. and customers that came running through the door to get value from the card. Except… they had so many customers coming through the door, who either a) were new Chase customers that could be targeted or b) were existing Chase customers who could deepen their relationship with Chase. Good problem to have.
They started opening lounges a few years ago, almost a decade after Amex started their lounges, and they are great. And… now what? This?
What are the goals with this card? Enticing people to spend $75,000 so that they can get a $500 Southwest credit? Status with IHG so they can get an upgrade at a Holiday Inn Express?
If they don’t want this card as their premium loss-leader anymore, that’s fine. But they better have something else up their sleeve, because folks initially got this card to feel premium, not to clip coupons. Amex has never lost its premium feel (everyone is just one step away from the Black Card and that hard to get reservation at the Centurion at One Vanderbilt, right?) and Chase just handed Amex a golden (dare I say Platinum) opportunity to poach customers back. Plus, if the “Delta/Amex more premium than the Reserve card” rumors are true, add two more premium points to Amex’s tally board.
Between mortgages, car loans, other credit cards and… you know… wealth management, the goal of the premium Chase card should be to attract people into its ecosystem and deepen relationships. I’ve always been shocked that there are not bankers from Chase Private Bank sitting at every Chase lounge. There should be. That’s something that Amex, Capital One, etc. can’t offer at their lounges. Keep bringing people into the fold and make them feel premium, and stop pushing them away with coupon books.
This is pathetic. Any credit card that requires an excel spreadsheet to track coupons; coupled with travel portal requirements is not worth it.
As it now stands, we will be dropping Sapphire Reserve.
Tell your readers what you really think of them Gary! I’m sure “my readers are idiots” will do wonders for your relationship with affiliates.
I’ve realized over time the Amex Uber benefit actually has negative value.
@Peter – 100% agree on the critiques.
However, I have a bone to pick about the AmEx positioning. They’re a coupon book, like my grandparents had at Myrtle Beach. Too much effort for too little savings at places that are already a rip-off. The #1 reason I used to like the Centurion lounges was the food, and that’s not great these days.
I canceled my Platinum card this year and kept the Reserve and Venture X cards because Platinum’s value is in the toilet. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone beyond the sign-up bonus.
$200 off FHR with a 2 night minimum on hotels I otherwise would never stay at and that will cost at least $500? No thanks. Flight credits that are getting harder to use every year? Nah. Uber credits? Uber adds a 30% markup to begin with, so while useful, it has very limited value. Digital entertainment credit? OK, I use this one… for now. Walmart+? DYKWIA? I don’t futz around with the proles at Walmart. Clear PLUS? In 10+ years of having the option, I’ve just never seen the value over Pre-check. Saks credit? Not super useful to start with, but completely useless since they upped order minimums for free shipping.
No, thank you. FWIW, I do also mark down the value of Venture X credits by like 25% because pricing is always too high through their portal. What makes up for is that sweet 2 points per dollar on unbonused spend. Wife keeps that card, I keep Reserve, and we swap points as needed for redemptions. AmEx just doesn’t fit into the equation unless you’re buying a TONNNN of 5x travel with the card and don’t mind the fee or comparatively poor lounges.
Air/Hotel going up from 3x to 4x is a degradation when redemption goes from 1.5x to 1.0x.
And what kind of premium customer is flying Southwest and staying at IHGs?
Christopher Raehl – Chase had a budget. IHG sells cheap and Southwest is desperate.
@Christopher Raehl – as I say, if you redeemed at 1.5x through the portal, this is not good, if you only transferred to travel programs the changes may be net positive
@Andy – my readers are mostly the high-IQ ones who if they hold this card will win. chase will do well against many folks who pay far less attention, pay the fee and don’t maximize the value proposition.
I think the winning combo is downgrade the CSR, I will be getting the Ritz which will cover lounge access and still have Ink Preferred for 3x travel or use the AMEX for 5x on airfare. I never book hotels with cash as it’s a transfer from UR or I just use the points that I get from chasing Globalist to book. Funny enough Ritz + Ink Preferred annual fee is $545 which is about what the reserve currently is.
@Peter, what great points, but I have to partially side with @jamesb2147 on one- the Amex has certainly lost its premium feel, especially now that every wannabe DB poser has one … And that it really gets you no vastly better or special treatment.
I also dumped the Amex ecosystem recently. Even with a net positive “coupon buck” value, the return is only a few hundred lousy bucks, and the benefits were no longer good enough to miss….
I have some old “Green Stamps” books. Can I use then at the Andaz?
“High IQ”?? Oh dear. More like scroungers who have nothing better to do but track coupons on a credit card… wouldn’t anyone with a High IQ be smart enough to not need to optimize a restaurant credit, or spend their lives screwing around on various “deal” websites?
Anyone who values their time would get 2% cash back, forget about credit cards, and focus on the things that matter.
“My readers are mostly high-IQ” *Takes a bow* (no follow-ups, please!)
Thanks Gary in general for being very responsive to all the questions and comments on all the threads today. I don’t have a CSR but have been able to relay a lot of information to my friends and family that do. And being a fan of the credit card game, no doubt it’s a watershed day in the industry.
Anyone else finding making a spreadsheet tracking all the perks, dare I say, fun? I do that with all my cards already, although it’s a bit overkill because there aren’t nearly as many things to keep track of as this.