Comments

1. Thx for the thorough write up. Appreciate it. Do you know what the authorized user will have access to? What perks? I haven’t seen that. I believe the price of a AU is going to $195.

2. I’ll ask for a retention offer, but, basically, I’mm’a change a lot of spend, especially non-qualifying travel (like, rental cars, cruises, etc.) use the credits, and otherwise, sock drawer this card. What a loss to the community…

3. I’m confused. What will the cruise amount be if booked through the Chase Travel portal? I’m seeing 3x, 4x, 8x…is there any definitive answer on this?

4. Wow. The loss of 3x points on non air and hotel travel makes the card much less valuable sine much of my spend came from travel via companies such as Backroads and National Geographic..am thinking of downgrading to Preferred, given the higher fees and lower points on the sort of travel I do a lot..maybe a competitor will step into the breach.

5. @boilers – authorized user benefits stay the same, just increased annual fee, the major benefit is lounge access

6. @kimmiea — Who’s gonna book a cruise through Chase Travel, though? I mean, maybe, but usually, it’s direct with the operator, or an agency, not the credit card portal.

7. Hey Gary – what’s the logic behind emphasizing Southwest benefits on a premium travel card? Seems like a mismatch with the target customer.

8. Parking and tolls counted as other travel. In nyc, that’s easily, 1k/ month. Big loss- I guess I need to put all of that on the Amex business gold now. Keeping the card for now- but that was a big part of the value I found in the csr.

9. The elephant in the room here that this article all but glosses over is that the 3x multiplier for “other” travel has been eliminated. This includes cruises, vacation packages, rentals, Ubers and Taxis. Speaking for myself I spend many times more on cruises than I do on airfares.

   Some of the credits are useless if not insulting. IHG status ? Who cares ? Marriott , Hyatt and Hilton have programs that dwarf theirs.

   $500 credit on Southwest for 75K spend ? Is that a joke ? For that kind of spend you should be getting a Polaris round trip.

10. Terrible changes and won’t be keeping the card. A shift toward coupons that force you to manage multiple other outlets is just not worth it especially with minimum night stays and loss of point categories. Also heard today via Bloomberg that Amex will be increasing their fees as well, a sad trend.

11. @Rob 1B “this article all but glosses over is that the 3x multiplier for “other” travel has been eliminated”

    glosses over? it gets a bolded bullet as one of the three major devaluations.

    “Loss of 3x on ‘other travel’: …you lose 3x on cruises and short-term rentals, 3x on online travel agency spend that’s coded as an OTA charge rather than travel provider charge, and 3x on things like Uber, parking and tolls. This is a win for me (my travel spend on the card was largely in the categories going to 4x) but if you were using the card for cruises and Airbnb you’re facing a loss.”

12. @Curious George – Chase certainly had a budget for these benefits, and Southwest is presumably willing to offer these benefits at scale cheaper than United (same with ‘why IHG vs Marriott or Hyatt’).

13. If I currently have a Sapphire preferred, can I cancel or downgrade to a different Chase product, then apply for the Reserve and still get the signup bonus?

14. @1990: Chase has the same cruises available for the same prices as the big cruise agencies. If I were to book a $10K cruise on, say, Viking, through the Chase portal, at 8x points, PLUS the 10K points for using the card, that’s 90K in points – and Chase also offers some freebies on the cruise, like a free shore ex or whatever.

    Those 90K points are worth a lot to me, because they represent 2 (possible) Biz class tix. To me that’s a better trade-off than the “$400 onboard credit and 2 free shore ex” that the agencies offer.

15. @kimmiea — Well then, ironically, these changes may actually be in your favor. Bah! Had no idea Viking partnered with Chase. Well, when it’s time for the Danube, I’ll have to check that out. As to Business Class for 2, just 90K, that really depends where you’re starting. Intra-Europe ‘middle seat blocked,’ sure. Long-haul US-EU, probably not 2 tix.

16. @Corey – product changing to a freedom family card, for instance so that you no longer have a sapphire card currently… and if you’ve never had a sapphire reserve bonus… should make you eligible for a bonus if approved for the card

17. The value doesn’t seem there for someone who books longhaul J direct (which includes lounge access and booking direct eliminates travel portal problems) and books hotels direct with a luxury TA (you get elite benefits and the usual perks – F&B credit, free breakfast, etc.). The Autograph Journey gives better multiples and the Autograph gives 3x on “other travel” (thank you for mentioning WF, many travel bloggers ignore it). Plus the large difference in annual fees.

18. I think you gotta be clear that the Apple benefit is not a credit (as stated) toward your payment of Apple TV and Music subscriptions. It’s a free subscription to those that is set up for you. This is important because it means that for people like me, who get Apple TV and Apple Music via Apple One (and value the other components of that bundle too much to cancel it) can’t get any value from this benefit. For people who pay for those standalone, or don’t have them but want them, it’s a good deal. But for a lot of folks, it’s not really usable.

19. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gary furiously wanking so hard over a paid product sponsorship before in his dark corner of the internet. Calm down and be objective! Even OMAAT is clearly getting paid a lot to promote this downgrade.

20. “You’ll see the new, higher annual fee with your next card removal that happens October 26 or later,” seems to be a Freudian slip, but what most of us are thinking about this card.

    The $245 increase in the additional fee wipes out the majority of the $300 annual travel credit. Unless you happen to be an Apple subscriber, the rest is junk in my world. The real question is, what do I downgrade to next Spring when my annual fee comes due? Maybe just cancelling outright. Also, how do I use up a bunch of the credits, and where do I move my points before that?

21. @James – what did I wrote that you think is wrong?

    There are some people who will benefit from these changes and others who won’t. I try to sort out which is which.

22. We were so excited to move up from Chase Preferred to Chase Reserve.
    My annual fee for Chase Preferred came up the 3rd of June. I called and switched over to Reserve. $550 + $75 for the second person on the card = $625. BUT we get the $300 Travel credit and lunge access plus the rental car waiver and the travel insurance. You get extracted that Chase pays for if you can’t be treated where you fell ill on a trip. Did not get any bonus points for upgrading to the next level, the Reserve.

    Got the cards June 4. I AM SO BUMMED. Now in round numbers this same card costs $800 + $200 for the second person on the account. A THOUSAND DOLLARS. We will not be renewing at this cost. The most we will use is the $300 travel voucher and the $300 in dining (2 @ $150). = $600 I’m not paying $400 a year for lounge access as that is the only other benefit we will use.

    I texted our neighbors who are very similar to ourselves, retired Boomers, financially comfortable in retirement. Our neighbors saw the news and said they are not renewing it either at these rates. We will use it for the year since I paid for it but then we will downgrade and not renew at ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. This is a rip off. Sure you get Uber credits but in drips, $10 a month, not $120 which would have paid for my ride to and from the airport. Pft $10 a month in Uber.

23. Is the Amex Green card the new KISS (keep it simple stupid) card? $150 fee. 3x points on all travel, transit and dining. $199 clear credit (which I value at $0-10, but it’s something). No foreign transaction fees and access to Amex Offers. Pair it with a Venture X for $95 (after the acceptable to use portal $300 travel credit) and get 2x on everything else plus access to excellent CapOne lounges + Priority Pass. All for $245/year.

    Or spend $495 ($795 less the easiest in the industry to use $300 travel credit) on a coupon book (YMMV), also with a limited number of excellent lounges. Get 4x on direct hotels/airfare which is better than 3x (although Venture X travel portal is 10x, which beats CSR 8x). Pair with a $0 Freedom Unlimited for 1.5x on everything else of course. Is that really worth $250 more? Only if you value the coupons and the lounge locations (and once CapOne LGA opens, will be equal in NYC). Some will, many will not.

    But beyond the math, I still believe Chase has completely missed the boat here. Made a premium card less appealing and less premium (I don’t care if Southwest and IHG were in the budget, I’d rather offer nothing at all than those “perks” because it completely diminishes the brand). They’re going to lose, not gain, customers with these changes. It’s not about the extra couple hundred dollars, the “feel” is all wrong. When Chase is trying to pitch me the value of Points Boost, they’ve gone way too far off the deep end.

24. To be fair, Venture X travel portal is 10x on hotels/rental cars and 5x on flights/vacation, where Chase is blended 8x. But you have to want to book travel through a portal to get value from either.

    And I think your article correctly highlights Venture X as the next best option. I just don’t think the Wells Fargo card is competitive yet given the lack of many transfer partners. If Wells added Aeroplan, I’d consider it I guess – feels like they need that one at a bare minimum. Amex Green therefore I think is the better value.

25. @Peter — You’re onto something about Amex Green’s 3x Travel (in-general); honestly, I’d almost forgotten about it, namely because I’d become so accustomed to CSR as the go-to instead. When redeeming UR, that 1.5x multiplier, became 4.5 cents per dollar at breakeven. Alas, it will be no-more after late October this year. As an alternative, the only draw-back with the Green card is that Amex doesn’t have transfers to Hyatt (or United), and does charge excise fees for US-carriers (super lame), but there are other decent options for MR points (Emirates, Singapore, Etihad, etc., and occasionally when there are transfer bonuses, Flying Blue, Marriott, Hilton, etc.) I’ve been considering Venture X, if they’ll even approve me, for the new lounges at JFK/LGA and elsewhere, but now also with the 2x everything. Anyway, it’s gonna get interesting.

26. I’ll switch from Sapphire Reserve to Preferred before my Reserve expires next spring. I got the Reserve for its insurance features – I book a couple of expensive guided tours each year (Backroads, Wilderness Travel, Road Scholar). The Reserve’s cancellation insurance was the best, and 3X points on those large purchases was generous. But I won’t use any of their special benefits, and after booking one airline ticket through the portal and having to make a change, requiring a full hour on the telephone and significant extra expense — I will never repeat that painful process. The portal doesn’t offer access to even basic hotel discounts (e.g. senior).

    Time to move on.

27. Are the new benefits/credits live for current card holders?

28. @JL – only Points Boost, everything else changes in October

29. I’ve had the Reserve card for seven years. I will not come close to getting the $2700 annual value, but I’m most interested in whether the tangible benefits will cover the new cost of the card. I will easily “earn” the $300 travel credit and the $300 StubHub credit. The complimentary Apple TV/Music subscription saves me $120, and the Global Entry benefit saves $30. Mission Accomplished! I’ll think about the points, travel insurance, rental insurance, and other intangibles while I’m at the lounge buffet.

30. Total rip off. Canceling mine. Not worth the price.

31. Way too complicated. I will stay with my CSP. and AXP..

    Now that Barclays is losing AA, when will Citi up their offer?

32. @Wiley Dog — While they’re at it, wouldn’t it be nice if Citi actually added AA as a transfer partner for Strata, etc. One can dream…

33. I think this article is quite biased towards the card. First, there’s a lot of “it depends” for being a “Definitive Verdict…” The language used consistently downplays the negatives. For example, the loss of 3X on other travel was written as good for some bad for others. (I suspect it’s going to be bad for a LOT.) Also, it tries to sort of equalize the number of people who might benefit from big city benefits like Edit and whatever the restaurant program is called, and those who will see limited value in this. I think many more people will lose out.

    And there were several examples of where you reference your own spending habits as a positive use case for the card. How does that benefit anyone else? Do you have any hard numbers from Chase that reference “average/typical” use, or regional trends? I mean, not intended to be harsh but everyone is self interested in matters like this, so with respect, no one cares about how “you” use the card.

    Also, we all know Chase needs to make money. Lord knows if you’re a retail banking customer with them, they’re making a killing off of you. (And by the way, I believe banking is their main source of revenue.) So giving them a philosophical out by stating they “need” to make money seems like a tainted view.

    Clearly, many, many, many people don’t like the changes. I haven’t seen this much press from bloggers and comments on the press from the rest of us on a travel card in a very long time. So if you’re going to write an article, at least share something unique or insightful, and unbiased. I don’t think a hype article is changing anyone’s mind. I suspect the people who hold CSRs are pretty intelligent.

34. For existing sapphire reserve credit card holders. Does the 3X on cruises end effective immediately or does that 3X on cruises extend until October 26?

35. @Ed — Existing is good (same as before) 3x general Travel including cruises, until October 26, then 1x, unless via their UR portal. I know, it’s lame.