The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) is back in the spotlight thanks to its highest-ever publicly available welcome bonus: Earn 150,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
But even with a massive bonus on the table, there’s one number that’s hard to ignore: the card’s $795 annual fee.
Chase says the Sapphire Reserve offers more than $3,000 in annual value through statement credits, perks and travel benefits. That sounds great in theory — but I wanted to know what the card was actually worth in my real life.
So I looked back at the nearly 12 months since the card’s June 2025 overhaul and added up every credit and perk I actually used.
The result? About $2,200 in redeemed statement credits alone — before factoring in lounge visits, points earned, travel protections and more.
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Getting $2,200 in value from Chase Sapphire Reserve credits
If you think it takes some level of effort to get full value out of many of the premium cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’re not wrong.
I have a lot of credit cards (25 to be exact) and a very busy life as a working parent of two active kids, so while I try to maximize the cards in my wallet, I’m also not rearranging my life to chase every obscure credit.
In looking back at the last year, there are a few Sapphire Reserve credits I didn’t use — or didn’t fully use — which I imagine is probably common for many other cardholders.
But from those I did use, the total is around $2,200 in credits.
Here’s where the value actually came from for me over the last year:
Benefit
Official Value
How I Used It
Approx. Value Used
<strong>The Edit by Chase Travel℠ Credit</strong>
Up to $500 annually (two up-to-$250 credits)*
Grand Cayman, Germany & Anaheim hotel stays
<strong>$750</strong>
<strong>Chase Travel Credit valid at select IHG Hotels and others</strong>
Up to $250 this year**
Grand Cayman IHG stay
<strong>$250</strong>
<strong>Annual Travel Credit</strong>
Up to $300 annually
Automatically applied to travel purchases
<strong>$300</strong>
<strong>Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables Dining Credit</strong>
Up to $300 annually (two up-to-$150 biannual credits)
Used $150 in Austin + $150 in Hawaii
<strong>$300</strong>
<strong>StubHub / viagogo Credit</strong>
Up to $300 annually (split into two up-to-$150 biannual credits; through Dec. 31, 2027; activation required)
Used for <em>& Juliet</em> + <em>Book of Mormon</em>
<strong>$300</strong>
<strong>DoorDash Monthly Promos</strong>
Up to $300 annually (Up to $25 in monthly promos plus at least one complimentary year of DashPass; activate by Dec. 31, 2027).
Monthly promos used throughout the year
<strong>$180</strong>
<strong>Lyft Monthly Credit</strong>
Up to $120 annually (Up to $10 each month through Sept. 30, 2027, does not apply to Wait & Save, bike or scooter rides)
Partial usage
<strong>$60</strong>
<strong>Peloton Monthly Membership Credit</strong>
Up to $120 annually (through Dec. 31, 2027)
Partial usage
<strong>$60</strong>
<strong>Apple TV+ and Apple Music Subscription Benefit</strong>
Up to $288 annual value (one-time activation required for both services, through June 22, 2027)
Didn’t use so far
<strong>$0</strong>
<strong>Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / NEXUS Credit</strong>
Up to $120 every 4 years
Didn’t use this year
<strong>$0</strong>
Approximate Total Credits Used: $2,200
Annual Fee: $795
Approximate Net Positive Credit Value: $1,400+
*Must be on prepaid stays of two nights or more.**A one-time $250 statement credit for eligible prepaid hotel stays booked through Chase Travel in 2026.
Here are a few details on how I’m using some of the larger credits.
Using $750 in Chase The Edit credits
I stacked using a combination of Ultimate Rewards points via Points Boost and one $250 Chase Sapphire Reserve The Edit credit in 2025 to book a two-night stay the J.W. Marriott Bonnet Creek in Orlando near Walt Disney World.
JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa. ANDREA ROTONDO/THE POINTS GUY
I’ve already booked two stays for 2026, using up the full $500 credit for this year (in $250 increments). On one of the upcoming stays in Grand Cayman, I was also able to use the $250 hotel credit we’ll talk more about below.
Using $250 Chase Select Hotel Credit
This year, Sapphire Reserve cardholders can use a one-time $250 statement credit for eligible prepaid hotel stays of two nights or more booked through Chase Travel. This credit is only valid for certain brands, including:
IHG Hotels & Resorts
Minor Hotels
Montage Hotels & Resorts
Omni Hotels & Resorts
Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts
Pendry Hotels & Resorts
Virgin Hotels
Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman IHG
The plan here is to find a hotel where you can use both this $250 credit and one of your $250 The Edit credits to get $500 off a two-night stay, which is exactly what I’ve done for an IHG property in Grand Cayman.
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Using $300 in Stubhub credits to see Broadway shows
I used both of my biannual $150 StubHub credits for Broadway shows — first for & Juliet and later for an upcoming showing of The Book of Mormon.
Using the Stubhub credit to see Broadway shows such as &Juliet. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
In both cases, tickets to the shows start under $150, so the credit can often fully cover one ticket or even get you part of the way to two tickets.
Using $300 in Exclusive Tables dining credit
I’ll be honest, this $300 annual dining credit ($150 available Jan. – June and another $150 July – Dec.) was a tougher one for me at first.
I kept trying to force a way to use it close-ish to home. But the reality is, outside of major cities, there’s not a lot of easy ways to put this credit to use, as there aren’t a ton of Chase Exclusives Tables outside of major cities.
So, I stopped trying to use it while close to home and now try to find somewhere fun to use it when we hit the road to places like Orlando, New York City, Austin and even Honolulu.
While in Hawaii this spring, we had an excellent meal for three that came in just over $150 at Hau Tree on the beach in Honolulu. We did the same while in Austin for the weekend in fall 2025 at La Condesa.
TPG Tip: I loved the frozen ube pina colada at Hau Tree and the queso flameado appetizer is absolutely not to be missed if you make it to La Condesa in Austin.
Using the Chase Exclusive’s Dining Credit while in Hawaii. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
Lounge visits, points and more
On top of the credits, which are pretty easy to quantify, I’ve also gotten plenty of other value from my Sapphire Reserve.
Since January 2026 alone (when the counter reset), I’ve earned over 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points that TPG values (as of May 2026) at north of $800. Many of those points were earned at increased multiples, such as 8 points per dollar via Chase Travel, 4 points per dollar on hotel and airfare booked direct with hotels and airlines and 3 points per dollar on dining.
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I’ve also had at least six visits to Sapphire Lounges at various airports over the last year, including at New York’s LaGuardia, San Diego, Philadelphia and Las Vegas.
Between meals, coffee and drinks, those lounge visits probably saved my family and me another couple of hundred dollars over the course of the year versus if we’d been foraging in the airport instead of enjoying the treats in the lounge.
Chase Sapphire Lounge in Las Vegas. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
Bottom line
The Chase Sapphire Reserve isn’t a card everyone should pay $795 a year to carry. It’s $95 per year sister, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) is likely a better match for some who don’t travel as much or simply don’t want to bother with using up as many of the credits.
But after looking back at my own spending and travel over the last year, it’s clear the Sapphire Reserve math easily works for me.
I redeemed roughly $2,200 in statement credits alone, earned tens of thousands of valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points on my spending and regularly used perks like Sapphire Lounge access while traveling.
If you’re someone who travels regularly and can realistically use several of the card’s credits each year, the Sapphire Reserve can absolutely deliver more value than its annual fee.
And with the card currently offering its highest-ever public welcome bonus, now may be the best time to apply if you’ve decided to add it to your wallet.
If you think the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a winner for your wallet, I’d recommend getting the card while it has its highest-ever public offer of 150,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points, earned after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
