Just a few days back, I wrote about how the Amex Platinum Card polarizes opinions in the miles and points community, owing to its complex value proposition and high annual fee. A few weeks back, Chase made changes to their co-branded credit cards with United, giving us a possible glimpse into the future. Now, there are fresh rumors that the annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card may also be going up.
Also Read: Massive Marriott Bonvoy welcome bonuses ending soon…
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is Chase’s top of the drawer card when it comes to consumer travel credit cards. As per chatter on Reddit, it seems like Chase may be making changes to the card and mimic some of the things than Amex has been doing lately.
What’s going on?
As per this post on Reddit, this person called Chase after upgrading the Chase Sapphire Preferred card to a Chase Sapphire Reserve. While discussing the annual fee on the card, the Chase rep accidentally may have leaked information about a possible increase in annual fee and upcoming changes to benefits.
I just upgraded my preferred to the reserve over the phone and my representative told me that the annual fee was $550. I heard that they may lower it if you ask so I did and she said that she couldn’t. She then said I was fortunate to have this fee as they are raising the annual fee to $795. When I asked her why it was being raised and what the new benefits would be to offset it she said, “I don’t even know why I told you that, I wasn’t supposed to say”. She would not really elaborate much further except for claiming there would be increased statement credits allegedly valuing $2,700. Has anyone heard of this?
According to another poster on this r/ChaseSapphire thread, the following changes could come into effect with a higher fee of $795.
Annual Fee
• $795 (AU $195)
Points
8x Chase Travel • 4x Flights and Hotels Booked Direct • 3x Dining • 1x All Else • 1:1 Redemption, Points Boost Travel Program
Travel Credits • $300 Travel Credit • TSA/Global Entry (up to $120 every 4 years) • $500 Edit Credit ($250 2X/Year)
Lifestyle Credits • $300 Dining Credit (Sapphire Reserve Tables, 2 x $150) • $300 StubHub (2 x $150) • $300 DoorDash credits (12 x $25) + $120 DashPass membership • $250 annually towards complimentary Apple TV+ and Apple Music subscriptions • $120 Lyft + 5% (12 x $10) • $120 Peloton + 10x Equipment (12 x $10)
$75k Spend tier benefit Benefit details
$75k spend tier benefits include: • $500 Southwest Airlines Statement Credit on Chase Travel: Get up to $500 in statement credits when you book Southwest Flights through Chase Travel. • Southwest Airlines A-List status. • IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite Status. • $250 The Shops at Chase Statement Credit
The Pundit’s Mantra
In the past, we’ve seen some rumors turn out to be true while other have simply frizzled out. Nevertheless, I won’t be surprised if this really turns out to be true. Why? We’re already seeing a precedent set with the way Chase has recently refreshed their United credit cards. They’ve largely followed the same templates as Amex: higher annual fee, lots of credits with their partners and benefits while booking via their own portals.
In contrast, I’m glad that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card still only charges an annual fee of $95. I have carried this card in my wallet for a decade and continue to do so. At the moment the Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering a limited time welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points. This offer will end soon on May 15, 2025.
If you’re currently a Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholder, will you keep or cancel if these changes go into effect? Tell us in the comments section.
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I would gladly pay $800 for that list of credits. (Except I don’t know what the Edit Credit is
I will gladly keep my CSR (along with my Amex Platinum and Gold cards plus a dozen or so hotel/airline cards). Sure it takes effort and I have a spreadsheet to keep up with all the various credits but I get more value than the AF out of all my cards and will also get it with the reported changes to the CSR. Also, you didn’t mention the Sapphire Lounge access, insurance and other benefits of the card.
Chase’s model does feel stale, but I don’t see Chase beating Amex at their own game. Chase should double-down on its advantages; increasing the Reserve’s annual fee and offering 4x on dining would give the card some newfound buzz (and also undermine the Amex Gold Card). It would also help separate the CSR from the CSP.