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Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred Credit Card Cross-Referrals are now allowed. Previously, it was only possible for Sapphire Reserve members to refer others to the Sapphire Reserve, and Sapphire Preferred members to refer others to the Sapphire Preferred card. Each Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred referral to a person who's approved for a card earns a referral bonus of 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points, up to 5 referrals a year, for a maximum of 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve remains our primary travel credit card for three reasons:
1. Effectively a $250 per year credit card
We greatly prefer the $550 per year Sapphire Reserve over the $695 per year AMEX Platinum, because the Sapphire Reserve has a $300 travel credit that's so easy to use (any airline, hotel, train, etc. in the travel category qualifies) that the card is effectively a $250 per year card. The AMEX Platinum's various fee credits are much harder to use, at least for our family. The airline incidental fee credit isn't valid on tickets and must be for an airline that you pre-select, and we have no use for the Equinox, SoulCycle, digital entertainment, prepaid hotel, CLEAR, Uber, or Saks credits. So even if we somehow manage to use the Platinum's airline incidental credit, it's effectively a $495 per year card for us vs. $250 for the Sapphire Reserve, and for worse points earning.
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2. 3X Points Earning On All Travel and Dining
Many cards offer 2X points, but the Sapphire Reserve earns 3X points on all travel and dining, which are our biggest discretionary spending categories. The AMEX Platinum earns 5X on airfare, but only earns one point per dollar spent in other travel categories such as hotels and resorts, cruises, trains, taxis, etc.
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3. Superior Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Maximum Limit
As we wrote in AMEX Platinum Trip Cancellation Insurance: Chase Sapphire Reserve Still Better, the AMEX Platinum's annual maximum trip cancellation coverage amount is $20,000, half that of the CSR's, which is $40,000. Both will reimburse up to $10,000 per covered person and up to $20,000 per covered trip, but the Platinum will only pay out up to $20K per year vs. $40K for the CSR. Additionally, to receive coverage (including medical evacuation coverage), AMEX requires the entire trip to be paid for with the AMEX Platinum, while Chase only requires some portion of the trip to be paid for with the Sapphire Reserve.
Do you plan to refer friends or family using your Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred card?
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