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The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the credit card we use most, thanks to its reasonable $250 annual fee (the $550 annual fee is offset by the easy to use $300 annual travel credit), 3X points earning on all travel and dining, no foreign exchange fee, and travel insurance protections. For both the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Sapphire Preferred, applicants are only eligible for the signup bonus if they haven't received one for any Sapphire product within the past 48 months. Hence, for some spouses and partners where one has the CSR and the other doesn't, the question becomes: is it worth adding the other person as an authorized user? Assuming the main Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholder is responsible (pays full balance promptly, no credit card debt), it can be. Here are reasons to be added as a Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized user for the $75 annual fee; be sure to review the Chase Sapphire Reserve card benefits guide for full details.
1. Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance Protection
Many younger cardholders don't think much about travel insurance, but it's a wise investment. While one hopes never to need it, should you become ill or injured enough to not be able to go on or continue your trip, this insurance can reimburse you up to $10,000 per covered person (up to a maximum of $20,000 per trip) of prepaid non-refundable travel expenses.
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2. Primary Car Rental Insurance
Most working age Americans outside of residents in NYC and places with good public transportation have a car and car insurance. That makes a credit card with primary car rental insurance valuable, since the credit card's CDW will be billed as primary, rather than be secondary to your own car insurance (which tends to see your premium increase if you have a claim).
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3. Earn 3X Points on All Travel and Dining
All our travel and dining spend goes the Chase Sapphire Reserve (unless there's a 5X bonus on one of our Chase Freedom cards), thanks to 3X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent. Since spouses and partners often have some of their own travel or dining spend independent of the other person, an authorized user card gives both a chance to earn 3X points on all this spend, without incurring the $550 annual fee of another card.
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4. Access Chase Sapphire Lounges
Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers and authorized users enjoy complimentary access to Chase Sapphire Lounges in Boston (BOS), Hong Kong (HKG), New York LaGuardia (LGA Terminal B), and New York JFK (Terminal 4), with new lounges expected to open in Las Vegas (LAS), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX) and San Diego (SAN).
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5. Priority Pass Select Lounge Membership
The Chase Sapphire Reserve provides Priority Pass Select membership, which grants access to Priority Pass lounges. Note that action is required on the original Chase Sapphire Reserve member's part: after s/he requests your Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized user card, s/he needs to call the number on the back of the card to activate your Priority Pass Select membership and have your card sent to you. It's good to take this card with you when traveling even if you have the Priority Pass app with the digital card, because a few lounges still want to see the physical card.
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6. Transfer Points to Authorized User's Frequent Flyer Programs
Even if the authorized user doesn't have another Ultimate Rewards card (such as the Ink Business Preferred) that enables him/her to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to frequent flyer program accounts, the primary Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmember can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to the authorized user's frequent flyer accounts. This is helpful for making the most of “orphaned” frequent flyer miles and points where the authorized user may not have another good way of earning enough miles or points to redeem for an award ticket.
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7. Trip Delay Reimbursement
Everyone hates flight delays. While U.S. airlines could owe passengers cash compensation for flight delays and cancellations as early as January 2025, given a rule proposed by the Biden Administration, no U.S. airline currently provides any cash compensation for controllable delays of 3+ hours, and only Alaska, JetBlue, and Southwest provide a nominal credit or travel voucher for delays of 3+ hours (see the DoT Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard). For flight delays of 6+ hours or delays that require an overnight stay, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card provides cardmembers and authorized users up to $500 per ticket in reimbursement for “reasonable expenses incurred during your delay not otherwise covered by your Common Carrier, another party, or your primary travel insurance policy.” See the complete terms in the Chase benefits guide.
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