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Is the new $795 Chase Sapphire Reserve worth it? Chase has revamped the card, which will be available to apply for on June 23, 2025, so the question for those eligible to earn a signup bonus is whether to apply for the current 60K Sapphire Reserve with its $550 annual fee, or wait for a presumably higher signup bonus for the new $795 card.
Here are the changes, followed by our analysis:
Annual Fee: $795 (increase of $245 from current $550)
Staying the Same
- $300 statement credits for all travel spend
- 3X points per dollar on dining
- Travel insurance protection and primary CDW for car rentals
- Access for cardholder and two guests to Chase Sapphire Lounges in BOS, HKG, IAD (shared with Etihad), JFK (shared with Etihad), LGA, PHL, PHX, SAN. New lounges will be in DFW, LAS, LAX
- Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / Nexus credit: up to $120 statement credit once every 4 years
- Lyft: 5X points per dollar spent and $10 ride credit per month, through 9/30/27
- DoorDash DashPass: $0 delivery fee and lower service fee
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New Benefits
- 4X points on airline flights and hotels booked directly (instead of 3X)
- 8X points on bookings through Chase travel portal (instead of 5X for airlines via Chase Travel and 10X for hotels/car rentals via Chase Travel)
- $300 DoorDash Credits: up to $25 credit per month, increase from $5 credit per month
- $250 combined Apple TV+ & Apple Music subscription credit
- $300 Annual Dining Credit = $150 twice, semi-annually for Chase Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Hawaii, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC, and a few places in Canada and Mexico
- $500 Edit hotel credit: $250 twice semi-annually; minimum two-night stay
- $300 StubHub/viagogo ticket credit = $150 twice, semi-annually
- $120 Peloton Membership credit = $10 credit monthly
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New Benefits for Spending $75,000+ per Calendar Year
- IHG One Rewards Diamond Status: 100% bonus on base points earned; complimentary upgrades up to suites if available; daily breakfast for two; early check-in and late check-out, if available. Does *not* include confirmed suite upgrades or dining credits that are earned by members at this status level by minimum night thresholds
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards A-List Status: first checked bag free; priority check-in and boarding; 25% points bonus; same day confirmed changes.
- $500 Southwest credit on bookings made via the Chase travel portal
- $250 Shops at Chase credit
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Removed Benefits
- 3X points on non-airline, non-hotel spend (such as cruises, trains, taxis, subways, ferries, parking, tours, and all other spend in the travel category) is gone
- 1.5X valuation for all travel booked through Chase Portal is gone, replaced by Points Boost (up to 2X on rotating offers for airlines and hotels)
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Analysis
It was only a question of time until Chase copied AMEX by raising the CSR's annual fee and leaning into couponing. It's well known that Chase wasn't making the money it had hoped for with the initial launch of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, not because the card wasn't popular (it was so popular that the bank exceeded its 12-month sales target in two weeks) but because the bank ended up paying out more than anticipated for the initial 100K signup bonus and the category bonuses, while the fewer CSR cardholders were holding balances, which drove less interest income than projected.
We're glad that the $300 statement credit for all travel remains, so that takes the card down to an effective $495 annual fee, for everyone that this card targets. That's when various spend patterns and other credit cards you hold determine whether the card remains worth it. For example, out of all the new credits, the only one my family personally uses is DoorDash. We use it most months, so let's say we're able to use it 10 months, which equates to $250 in value (instead of the current $50 in value). That helps get our effective annual fee down to $245. Then there's the additional point earned for airline and hotel spend (4X instead of 3X). On ~$5000 annual spend, valuing an Ultimate Rewards point at 2 cents per point, that provides an additional $100 in value, bringing the effective annual fee to $145. We do have an Ink Business Preferred such that we can still earn 3X points on all non-airline/non-hotel travel. So on balance the new Chase Sapphire Reserve is still worth it for us, but barely. Other cardholders who don't have a use for any of the new statement credits could come to the opposite conclusion and opt to downgrade their card.
Couponing screams cheap, rather than luxury. We hated AMEX's couponing approach (as well as the decline of the AMEX Centurion lounges) so much that for years, we haven't held AMEX Platinum cards, and don't miss them at all, preferring to earn Membership Rewards points via the AMEX Blue Business Plus, a card that we make money off of, thanks to 2X points on all spend, no annual fee, and AMEX Offers.
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FAQ
When Do Current Chase Sapphire Reserve Cardholders Get Switched to the New CSR Benefits?
All current Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders (including those who sign up before the new CSR launches on 6/23/25) will transition to the new CSR benefits as of October 26, 2025. That only leaves a couple months of the 2025 calendar year to get monthly and semi-annual statement credits.
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If I Have a Chase Sapphire Preferred Can I Earn a Signup Bonus for the New Chase Sapphire Reserve?
Previously, it wasn't possible to get approved for a Chase Sapphire Reserve if you were an active Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholder. The same was true of existing CSR cardholders not being able to be approved for a new Chase Sapphire Preferred. But as of 6/23/25, that will change, per Chase:
Beginning June 23, 2025 you will be able to have both the Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred cards. New account bonus offer eligibility for either card will be based on factors including previously earned bonus offers and the number of cards opened and closed, among others.
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Is There Still a 48 Month Rule on Eligibility for a New Chase Sapphire Card?
Until now, it's been the case that you're ineligible to receive a signup bonus for a new Sapphire card (either Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve) if you previously received a signup bonus within the past 48 months. But as part of the refreshed Chase Sapphire Reserve roll-out, Chase executives have confirmed that signup bonuses for the Sapphire cards will be “based on factors including previously earned bonus offers and the number of cards opened and closed, among others” and that Chase will provide pop-up notification to applicants if they're not eligible for a bonus offer, something that DoC has dubbed “Chase Pop-Up Jail.” That's similar to AMEX, which also provides a pop-up to applicants that AMEX has decided aren't eligible to receive a signup bonus, based on their past opening/closing of accounts.
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What is the New Chase Sapphire Reserve Authorized User Fee?
The new CSR authorized user fee will be $195, an increase of $120 over the current authorized user fee of $75.
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With 3X on All Non-Airline, Non-Hotel Travel Spend Gone, What's My Best Card Option for 3X Points on Cruises, Trains, Tours, and Other Travel?
If you have a business, even a small one, I recommend the Ink Business Preferred, which continues to earn 3X on all travel spend for the first $150,000 spend per year (this is combined across the travel, internet/phone/cable, advertising and shipping categories).
If for some reason you're not approved for an Ink Business Preferred and currently have a Chase Sapphire Reserve, you may want to prepay balance due for cruises before 10/26/25, to earn 3X on that spend.
What are your thoughts on the new Chase Sapphire Reserve?
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