There’s a significant update happening with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, and there’s buzz about new features and a possible hefty welcome offer. I’ve started preparing to make the most of these changes. According to some “Reliable Anonymous Sources,” the official announcement is set for June 17th, with details to follow on June 21st.
Background
About a month back, some info from Reddit users hinted at potential changes to the Sapphire Reserve card. Just this week, Chase rolled out a marketing campaign focusing on a refreshed Sapphire Reserve for the summer, alongside a reveal of potential new business card versions. So, what are the anticipated changes?
- Annual Fees: Increasing from $550 to $795
- Rewards Categories:
- 8x points on Chase travel bookings (previously 10x for hotels and cars, 5x for flights)
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly (up from 3x on all travel now)
- 3x points for dining (unchanged)
- 1x points for everything else (same as before)
- New Benefits:
- $25 monthly DoorDash credit
- $120 annual DoorDash DashPass credit
- $10 monthly Lyft credit
- Monthly Peloton credits
- $250 Editorial Credit (similar to Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, totaling $500 annually)
- Two $150 dining credits (totaling $300 annually) through the Sapphire Reserve Table
- $150 in StubHub credits (again, $300 annually)
- $250 in Apple TV+ & Apple Music credits
- Annual Spend Bonus:
- Spend $75,000 a year for:
- $500 in Southwest credits
- Southwest A-List status
- IHG Diamond status
- $250 shop credit
Along with the substantial fee hike, we’re also expecting a generous welcome bonus. Here’s a bit of what I did to prepare…
Consumer Sapphire Reserve Annual Membership Fees
The Consumer Sapphire Reserve Card’s fee is about to jump to $795. Current cardholders won’t see this new fee until their account anniversary. However, they’ll gain immediate access to many of the new benefits. If you’re considering a new card, especially if you’ve recently celebrated an anniversary, upgrading from the Sapphire Preferred or Free Card might be worth it. For instance, if your card’s anniversary is in May, you’ll likely avoid the increased fee until May 2026.
Interestingly, I recently downgraded from the Sapphire Reserve to a Freedom Card. This morning, I checked to ensure I received my 100,000 bonus on the Sapphire Preferred (which I did). Following that, I had Chase reverse my downgrade, so now I hold both a Sapphire Priority and a Sapphire Reserve Card.
Consumer Sapphire Reserve Welcome Bonus
I suspect the Consumer Sapphire Reserve will launch with at least a 100,000 points offer, although current rules might still apply. If you already possess either a Sapphire Priority or Reserve Card, you’ll be ineligible for the bonus, particularly if you received one in the last 48 months.
Personally, I was fortunate enough to snag a welcome bonus on the refreshed Sapphire card about a week ago. My wife, however, could be eligible since she last applied for the Sapphire Priority Card in 2021. I checked her old records; she signed up in June 2021, which puts her over the 48-month threshold for eligibility.
To optimize her chances for the new offer, we took the following steps:
- Transferred her Chase Ultimate Reward points from the Sapphire Priority to one of her Ink business cards.
- Shifted most of her Sapphire credit line to another personal card she has (this was surprisingly straightforward online).
- Sent a secure message to Chase requesting the cancellation of her Sapphire Priority account.
- Adjusted the autopayment for her streaming service from Sapphire to her Preferred Card (since it earns three times more points for streaming).
Business Sapphire Welcome Bonus
There’s not much preparation necessary for the upcoming business card welcome bonus. I doubt having an Ink or personal Sapphire card will hinder obtaining this new card, but applicants might need to be under the 5/24 rule to qualify.
Currently, I’m over the 5/24 threshold until September, but my wife and son are below it. This scenario means they might both qualify for a refreshed Sapphire Reserve card and a new business card!
Are These Cards Keepers?
The upcoming welcome bonus seems promising enough to justify the high annual fee for the first year. The real question, though, is whether these cards are worth keeping long-term. Fortunately, we have time to figure it out. Once you sign up, there’s usually no rush to cancel until you pay your second annual fee.
While we don’t have enough details about the business cards to gauge their long-term viability, we can make some educated guesses about the consumer cards based on the leaked information. Here’s my take:
- Initially, I was a bit let down by the loss of the “all travel” category for 3x earnings, but when I think about it, a large chunk of travel expenses is directed towards airfare and hotels. So, earning 4x on direct bookings for flights and hotels could be beneficial. Then again, I’m still weighing whether to book through the Chase portal or directly.
- If the current $300 annual travel credits disappear, that’s frustrating—it’s one of the few credits I reliably use each year without second thoughts.
- New merchant-specific credits (like DoorDash, StubHub, Lyft, Apple TV) could make the card worthwhile if you regularly use those services. Though, I imagine not many households will need multiple cards for those perks.
- I’m not particularly interested in the editorial luxury hotel credits, as I already struggle with making use of Amex Platinum’s similar offerings.
- I am eager about the $150 credits for restaurants through the Sapphire Reserve Table. I discovered several that I wanted to try from the list, so I’m optimistic about that.
- I’m not a regular StubHub user, but the $150 annual credit might change that for me.
- Using the $25 monthly DoorDash credits seems feasible, which is nice.
- Since we are already subscribed to Apple TV, the credits will feel like a bonus; we might even give Apple Music a try.
- Utilizing the $10 monthly Lyft credits seems realistic, allowing for several uses throughout the year.
- However, I’m not a Peloton user, so those credits won’t help me.
In summary, I think the potential annual savings could exceed $1,000 from these credits with a bit of effort, which outweighs the annual fee. My gut feeling suggests we will keep at least one of the cards in the family. But if several people are holding these cards, the potential benefits may diminish, making it less likely that multiple cards will be kept.
If the business cards offer similar benefits but target different perks, it could make sense to hold both kinds in the family, but we’ll just have to see how that plays out!
