Chase, the largest U.S. credit card issuer, announced major changes on Tuesday to its Chase Sapphire Reserve card, popular among points enthusiasts and high-end reward travelers, and unveiled a Sapphire Reserve for Business card that offers a new tier of premium perks for customers who spend at least $120,000 a year.
Sapphire Reserve customers will see an expansion of benefits in the usual categories — dining, hotel and lifestyle credits — but also a heftier annual fee: $795 per year, up from $550, which surpasses annual fees for other premium travel cards from companies like American Express. (On Monday, American Express announced its own plans to update its premium cards, with details to come later this year.)
Secondary cardholders, known as authorized users, will also see a higher annual fee of $195, up from $75. The increases will take effect after Oct. 25, on the cardholder’s annual renewal date. New cardholders will be subject to the new fees after June 23, the day the new cards open to applicants. Details on a welcome bonus for the new cards will also be announced that day.
Credit card fees are a billion-dollar enterprise. Across the industry, the total amount paid in annual fees has more than doubled in the last decade to $6.4 billion in 2022, up from $3.0 billion in 2015, according to a 2023 consumer credit report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The annual fee for the Sapphire Reserve card will have increased 77 percent since it was introduced at $450 per year in 2016.
The announcement from Chase highlights an ongoing shift for credit card companies and airlines toward premium rewards and travelers willing to spend to acquire them.
Cardholders can unlock a new tier of rewards by spending at least $75,0000 per year on the Sapphire Reserve card or $120,000 per year on the Sapphire for Business card; perks include a credit at a new online store called Shops at Chase, as well as special status at IHG Hotels & Resorts and Southwest Airlines.
Chase also introduced Points Boost, a feature offering additional points for Reserve and Preferred customers as well as their business cards Ink Business Preferred and Ink Plus. In changing its bonus rewards, Chase retired some of the ways consumers maximized travel points. Cardholders will now receive eight times as many points on bookings made through Chase Travel, the company’s online travel portal, replacing the prior terms that offered five times as many points on flights and 10 times as many points on hotels and car rentals. The new terms will also provide four times as many points on flights and hotels booked directly, up from three times as many points on all travel.
Chase’s new Points Boost system will offer up to twice as many points on eligible travel bookings, though the offers will exclude basic economy seats.
Customers who book through Chase Travel will no longer receive 1.5 times as many points for Reserve accounts and 1.25 times as many points for Preferred accounts. (For bookings not eligible for Points Boost, points can still be redeemed for at a one-to-one rate on Chase Travel.) For Sapphire Reserve customers, any points earned before Oct. 26, 2025, can still be redeemed at 1.5 times on Chase Travel until Oct. 26, 2027. Preferred card members can redeem points on Chase Travel for a lower rate of 1.25 times.
Cardholders will still have access to several Chase Sapphire airport lounges and 1,300 Priority Pass lounges, among others; business card customers will be allowed two guests per visit. The $300 annual flexible travel credit remains unchanged, as does the $120 credit (every four years) for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus. All told, Sapphire Reserve customers will receive more than $2,700 in value, according to Chase, including credits for Lyft, Peloton, Apple TV, StubHub and DoorDash, along with $500 for Chase’s lodging collection called the Edit.
For customers unnerved by higher fees, finance experts recommend reaching out to the issuer about downgrading a card to a lower-fee option, which is less damaging to credit scores than canceling the card.
Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2025.
Nia Decaille is an editor on The Times’s Audience team, who also writes about culture and lifestyle.
Christine Chung is a Times reporter covering airlines and consumer travel.
The post Chase Sapphire Leapfrogs Amex Platinum With a New $795 Annual Fee appeared first on New York Times.
