The Chase Sapphire Reserve® has long been one of the most popular top-tier travel rewards cards, thanks to its flexible redemption options and generous suite of benefits. In June 2025, Chase announced some major changes and additions to the program, including an increase in annual fee from $550 to $795.
If you’re considering opening a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, is it worth the annual fee — which now is higher than comparable premium cards? We help you crunch the numbers to determine if the card is a good fit for your wallet.
[Read: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards.]
Can You Offset the Annual Fee?
“The $795 fee is eye-popping and is a meaningful increase even when adjusted for inflation,” says Matthew Goldman, credit card expert and founder and managing member of Totavi, a payment consulting firm. According to Goldman, the original $450 fee when it launched in 2016 would cost $602 today. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the card is overpriced.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® can be appealing and worthwhile for a very specific type of cardholder — someone who spends big on travel and dining. “Between the high earnings rate and a few key credits, I think the card can continue to make sense,” Goldman says.
[Read: Best Rewards Credit Cards.]
6 Most Valuable Benefits on the Chase Sapphire Reserve
A Pumped Up Sign-Up Bonus
To ring in the card’s revamp, Chase is offering its highest sign-up bonus ever. Earn 100,000 bonus points and a $500 Chase Travel? promo credit after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Depending on how you redeem those points, that’s a huge value worth at least $1,500. You’ll only get this in year one if you qualify, but it more than covers your annual fee if you’re on the fence about trying it out.
Generous Statement Credits
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers a number of annual statement credit opportunities. If you use any two or three of them, you’re already earning back most, if not all, of your annual fee.
— Flexible annual travel credit: $300 annual value
— Complimentary subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music: $250 annual value
— StubHub credit on concert and event tickets: $300 annual value
— Annual dining and prime-time reservations credit. $300 annual value
Other statement credits that are applied monthly:
— Lyft in-app credits: $120 annual value
— Complimentary DashPass membership: $120 annual value
— Peloton membership statement credits: $120 in annual value
Airport Lounge Access
Cardholders and up to two guests get free access to Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club locations across the U.S. You’ll also get a Priority Pass Select membership, valued at $469, which has 1,300 lounges.
High Rewards Rate on Travel and Dining
You can earn eight points per dollar on all Chase Travel purchases, four points per dollar on flights and hotels booked directly, and three points per dollar on all dining purchases worldwide.
Value Boost for Big Spenders
For cardholders who reach $75,000 in spending within the year, you’ll also earn the following:
— Southwest Airlines A-List Status and a $500 Southwest Airlines credit when booked through Chase Travel
— Complimentary IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite status (the highest tier level)
— $250 credit to The Shops at Chase, a new online shopping experience for cardholders with rotating promotions
“If you’re spending $75,000 and traveling, the status upgrades are worth it — it’s hard to get to Diamond Elite status, and this is a shortcut,” says Goldman, who finds these kinds of perks more valuable than smaller monthly statement credits.
Reserve Travel Designers
This benefit goes beyond a simple trip planning hotline and could have good value if you take advantage of it, says Dave Grossman, credit card expert and founder of YourBestCreditCards.com. He notes that Chase acquired Valerie Wilson Travel to provide this free travel concierge service planning for cardholders, which Chase values at up to $300 per trip.
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Additional Perks
— Points Boost. With another recent addition to the card, you get up to a two-point multiplier on select hotels and flights through Chase Travel. However, these choices are limited and may not align with your travel plans. “I don’t think I’ll value Points Boost because I doubt it will be available when/where I want to go,” says Goldman. However, some people will appreciate the flexibility to optimize their points with this perk.
— $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus credit every four years. While it’s a nice perk, it’s pretty standard on travel cards that have an annual fee, so you may already have it. But even if it’s your only card with the benefit and you use it every five years, it’s worth about $24 a year, says Grossman.
— Travel insurances and protections. While the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a top-notch suite of benefits when it comes to insurance, the majority of cardholders probably won’t ever need them. It’s still a nice perk, though, since you can’t put a dollar value on peace of mind.
[Read: Best Credit Cards.]
Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Worth the $795 Annual Fee?
Deciding on any high-fee card comes down to assessing your spending style and the value you’ll consistently get. For the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, if you’re a frequent traveler, the elevated sign-up bonus makes the decision much easier for year one. But will the card have lasting value to you?
“There is a total dollar figure of statement credits that you will actually use and a value you can assign to various benefits,” says Grossman. For example, the StubHub credit is worth $300, but if you never go to events, it’s worth $0 to you. Apply that logic to each of the listed card benefits to see what your unique total card value is.
Here’s another example: Everyone should be able to earn the highly flexible annual travel credit of $300. Then, if you can earn the $300 StubHub credit, and you visit a few airport lounges, you’re probably around the break-even point on those perks alone, says Grossman. “Then, add four points on all airfare and hotels, or eight points if you book via Chase Travel, and you are crushing the potential on the card if you are a traveler,” he says.
Of course, don’t expect to get the full $2,700 value that Chase is positioning, says Goldman. That said, there is still probably enough value for some travelers to justify the fee increase.
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Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve Worth its $795 Annual Fee? originally appeared on usnews.com
