Chase Sapphire Reserve Ending 80k Sign Up Bonus Wednesday
As reported by multiple sources (1, 2, 3) the highest-ever offer since the initial offer when the card came out over 5 years ago on the Chase Sapphire Reserve ends at 6 PM EST on Wednesday. I've had this card since that initial offer years ago, and it helped me get here (more on that later):
Earn 80,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire Reserve. I can be rewarded, learn more.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19p/9TPMRFY7N8 80k points have a TPG valuation of $1600, but the pay with points feature is one of the top reasons why I hold onto the card long after I acquired it. If you're ever going to get it, it's best to do it during a sign-up bonus.
Top Feature: Pay with Points for 1.5 Cents Per Ultimate Reward
I Transfer Points from Other Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards to my Reserve
Not counting the cards of player 2 or player 3, out of my 12 Chase cards, I have 7 Chase Ultimate Rewards earning credit cards, each of which has purchase niches: Chase Freedom x2 (rotating 5x categories) Chase Sapphire Reserve (uncapped 3x categories) Chase Freedom Unlimited (unlimited 1.5x) Chase Ink Preferred (capped 3x categories) Chase Ink Cash (capped 5x categories) Chase Ink Unlimited (unlimited 1.5x for business)
I tend to transfer all points to my Chase Sapphire Reserve so that the points can have the ability to be used for pay with points there at a 1.5 cents per point rate & be transferred to partners.
Best Transfer Partners
Like my Chase Ink Preferred card, the Sapphire Reserve also gives me the ability to convert to partners from typically cashback only cards, my favorite partners of which are Hyatt & United for Chase Ultimate Rewards, in part because I don't have any other cards that convert to those points currencies at a 1:1 ratio.
Because I'm a Hyatt Globalist with the Hyatt Business card & unlock the 10% points rebate with it, and because I have a United business card which unlocks access to certain flights not available to the general public on miles, it makes those points worth even more than they would be otherwise. Even if I didn't do those things, I'd still want access to United miles & Hyatt miles in a way more effective than the proprietary cards offer.
Pay with Points Options
The pay with points option, despite having a lower value than TPG's valuation on 80k points of $1600 ($1200 in value via pay with points), offers higher flexibility than any other similar value points readily available on credit cards. If you'd like to keep a low travel $ budget, it's solid. One of the nicest things about this card is the flexibility of "Pay with Points" on it & how that can be carried over to your other cards.
Options for 1.5 cents per point:
Travel, including cruises, hotels, rental cars, & airfare booked via the Chase Travel Portal
Activities Booked via the Chase Travel Portal. My favorites are within their water sports and air, helicopter and balloon tour categories include options that I've seen in the past like transfers from airports, submarines, jet skis, boat charters, skydiving, helicopter tours, parasailing, plane tours, and speedboat tours.
Dining & AirBNB through 12/31/22 (extended from previous deadline, so hopefully extended again)
Image courtesy Chase.com
How I've Used Pay with Points
My Engagement:
It's how I booked my Disney World engagement. I flew using a more typical version of miles, while the theme park tickets, most of the food (including Cinderella's Castle), & the Disney-branded hotel (French Quarter) were all covered (not including tips) using pay with points on the Chase Sapphire Reserve via a call to the cruise and tour department. These options can change over the years, so be sure to check the current options directly with Chase rather than banking on it since it was over 5 years ago when we got engaged. I also used the Reserve to gain access to lounges on the journey since I didn't have another premium card at the time granting lounge access.
My Honeymoon:
It's also how I paid for the cheaper 5 nights of the 12 nights I spent at the Marriott Mountain Lodge in Vail, CO on my honeymoon. The more expensive cash rate of 7 nights was strategically booked via a 7-night nights & flights Marriott package, which used to be phenomenal, but is no longer nearly what it was today. At the time, that hotel was the highest category Marriott, with different (higher) pricing for various tiers of other brands like Ritz Carlton.
It's also how I booked the rental car for my honeymoon in Vail on the day that I went skiing. I totaled the car, and the primary insurance coverage was key for me to pay nothing for the damage to the car. My insurance back home covered the damage to the guardrail that I hit going downhill in the snow on a bend when another car was parked in the middle of the road.
Since then:
I recently used these points during a limited-time promo to book AirBNB at a rate of 1.5 cents per point. At times, they have promos going that further expand the options with points. I used 200k points to book a $3k large home in the Hatteras, NC area on a peak weekend. My dad's an authorized user on the Reserve card, my player 3, does a lot of spending on that card and his businesses do a lot of others, and wanted it.
Image courtesy AirBNB
Multipliers
Spending categories include 3x on travel & restaurants, 10x on Lyft through Mar 31, 2025, 5x on airfare & 10x on hotels & car rentals in the Chase travel portal, 10x on Chase dining
Annual Fee, Benefits, & Credits
The positive expected value I've had every year pays for this card & more. Whether it does for you or not really depends, but even if you won't be keeping it around after year 1, 80k points (TPG valuation of $1600) is hard to pass up.
Here's a breakdown of the annual fee, benefits, and credits, in order of what I believe is most important:
Annual Fee: $550 (+$75 per authorized user)
$300 annual travel credit that is much more flexible & easy to use than most other travel credits. For instance, spending on a plane ticket, hotel, or many other forms of travel will automatically activate the credit. With many other travel credits, you may be scrambling around the end of the year trying to figure out how you can use them.
Ability to use pay with Points at a higher rate than any other Chase card with excellent flexibility and value compared to any other travel card. It's by far the best credit card spending option for earning points that can then be spent on cruises, many activities, rental cars, etc.
Ability to transfer to partners (also possible with the annual fee incurring Chase Ink Preferred & Chase Sapphire Preferred)
Spending categories
Priority Pass Select (including restaurants & similar which Amex variants don't do) That said, if all you are looking for is this benefit, the Capital One Venture X is superior in terms of positive expected value. Referral link where we can both benefit here.
Primary rental car coverage for insurance (list of other cards)
DashPass subscription for 1 year when activated by Dec 31, 2024, which includes $5 in DoorDash credits each month & $0 delivery fees
InstaCart+ 1-year complimentary membership with $15 in statement credits through July 2024.
As with many other Chase cards, "$10 monthly statement credit from Gopuff." through Dec 31, 2023
As with many other cards, "Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Fee Credit... up to $100... every 4 years"
No foreign transaction fees
Ability to earn referrals, up to 50k points per year (10k per referral at the moment)
The Luxury Hotel & Resort CollectionSM
In an ideal world, you would only use points when getting 2 cents per point or more, but many travelers don't like that restriction, and if looking for flexibility, it's hard to beat the pay with points options of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.