48 hours with Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase Sapphire Reserve is Chase’s premium journey rewards card, providing tons of perks and advantages that make it a go-to for a lot of vacationers. Along with a $300 annual journey credit score, the cardboard additionally options elevated incomes charges throughout all kinds of purchases, in depth journey protections and quite a few beneficial redemption choices.

Nevertheless, the cardboard may also add extra luxurious to your journeys — because of advantages like Precedence Go lounge entry, the Luxurious Resort & Resort Assortment and Sapphire Personal Eating, a collection of unique eating occasions held across the nation in a few of the nation’s hottest and thrilling eating places.

And it additionally simply launched a proposal of 80,000 bonus factors for brand spanking new cardmembers.

I had the chance to place the cardboard to the check on a current journey to Seattle, the place I booked my flights and rental automotive by way of Chase Journey and my lodge by way of the Luxurious Resort & Resort Assortment. I loved an enhanced airport expertise and in addition attended an unique, non-public eating occasion at Tomo Seattle hosted by Chase and The Infatuation, the newest dinner in a brand new collection referred to as The Hit Listing.

In actual fact, the cardboard helped me maximize my total journey.

Right here’s what my 48 hours with Chase Sapphire Reserve had been like — and why it’s best to think about including the cardboard to your pockets right this moment.

Chase Sapphire Reserve perks

Earlier than I bounce into my journey and eating expertise, right here’s a fast refresher of the perks provided on Chase Sapphire Reserve.

• $300 annual journey credit score.
• 10 factors per greenback on lodges and rental vehicles bought by way of Chase.
• 10 factors per greenback on eating purchases by way of Chase Final Rewards, together with pay as you go reservations, occasions and purveyor bins.
• 10 factors per greenback on Lyft purchases (by way of March 2025).
• 5 factors per greenback on flights bought by way of Chase.
• 3 factors per greenback on all different journey and eating purchases worldwide.
• Precedence Go Choose membership, providing limitless entry to over 1,300 airport lounges together with credit score at choose airport eating places.
• Constructed-in journey protections, together with journey delay reimbursement, journey cancellation/interruption insurance coverage and auto rental collision injury waiver.
• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription, together with $5 in month-to-month credit score (by way of Dec. 2024).
• As much as $100 in assertion credit for World Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus.

Associated: Chase Sapphire Reserve bank card assessment: Luxurious perks and beneficial rewards, now with an 80,000-point bonus

You’ll be able to redeem your factors for journey by transferring to considered one of over a dozen journey companions together with Southwest, United Airways and Hyatt. Or, you may redeem them for 1.5 cents per level by way of Chase’s rewards portal. Alternatively, you too can redeem your factors on Chase Eating purchases, together with takeout.

Journey reservations by way of Chase Journey

I booked round-trip, nonstop flights out of San Francisco Worldwide Airport (SFO) to Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) on Alaska Airways by way of Chase Journey. The entire value of the itinerary was $301.21, and since this certified as a journey buy, it was eligible for the $300 journey credit score. In actual fact, it posted to my account as a press release credit score the day after the flight was booked — which means I successfully paid $1.21 for my flights.

I’d by no means been to Seattle earlier than, so I knew I’d desire a automotive to get round as an alternative of counting on rideshare apps. In consequence, I booked a rental automotive by way of Chase Journey as nicely. By charging the $120.65 buy to my Sapphire Reserve, I earned 10 factors per greenback spent — a return of 20% primarily based on TPG’s valuations. I sit up for placing these rewards towards an upcoming journey.

Utilizing my Sapphire Reserve for the rental automotive had one other profit: It robotically triggered the cardboard’s major automotive rental protection. Fortunately, nothing went improper with my rental, however had I skilled any collision injury or theft of the car, I’d’ve been in a position to file a declare to cowl these surprising prices — while not having to report it to my private automotive insurance coverage supplier.

Lastly, I may’ve booked my lodge by way of the portal as nicely, however I wished to benefit from the included advantages of reserving a Luxurious Resort & Resort Assortment property as an alternative. (Extra on that in a bit.)

Precedence Go lounge (and restaurant) entry

My journey received off to an amazing begin courtesy of Sapphire Reserve and the improved airport expertise it presents. I used the cardboard to pay the charge for World Entry and obtained a $100 credit score to cowl the five-year membership. And since this consists of TSA PreCheck, I breezed by way of safety — which gave me a while to kill earlier than boarding.

Fortunately, the cardboard presents complimentary Precedence Go Choose membership, granting cardholders limitless entry to over 1,300 lounges world wide. Simply notice that you should activate this perk by way of the cardboard advantages part of your on-line account.

In San Francisco, Sapphire Reserve cardholders have the choice of visiting the Air France-KLM Lounge or the British Airways Lounge previous to their flights. Each are in Worldwide Terminal A, which is a brief stroll from Terminal 2 (the place my flight was departing from). It’s value noting that the British Airways Lounge is just out there till 11:30 a.m. for Precedence Go members, however I used to be in a position to pop in shortly to get some work achieved.

One of many nice issues about Sapphire Reserve’s Precedence Go membership is that it additionally consists of credit score for choose airport eating places — one thing that’s not provided on all premium playing cards. By exhibiting your Precedence Go card, you may stand up to $28 off your invoice at over two-dozen eating places in airports throughout the nation (plus one other $28 for those who’re eating with a journey companion).

I utilized this perk at considered one of my favourite eating places, Lark Creek Grill in Terminal 2, earlier than boarding my flight to Seattle.

My keep at The Edgewater Resort

As famous earlier, I booked my keep by way of Chase’s Luxurious Resort and Resort Assortment. This group options over 1,000 luxurious properties across the globe, and entry to the reserving web site and its perks is restricted to pick Chase cardholders — together with Chase Sapphire Reserve. While you guide by way of the positioning, you’ll not solely get pleasure from an expensive keep; you’ll additionally obtain a lot of added perks, together with a resort credit score value as much as $100, every day breakfast for 2, house out there upgrades and extra.

For this journey, I booked a two-night keep at The Edgewater Resort, Seattle’s solely over-water lodge. A Noble Home Resort, the property presents each metropolis view and waterfront rooms, a gasoline fire in every guestroom and a unbelievable restaurant out there for breakfast and dinner. However the inviting room and gorgeous views weren’t the one causes I stayed right here.

As a result of I booked my room by way of LHRC, I obtained a $30-per-day credit score for breakfast, which I may use both within the restaurant or for room service. I additionally loved a $100 resort credit score, which was excellent for dinner on the primary evening of my keep.

It’s even inside strolling distance to the Bell Road Cruise Terminal at Pier 66, utilized by Norwegian, Celeb and Oceania cruise strains for his or her Alaska cruises.

The lodge was nice and I extremely advocate a keep. However I went to Seattle particularly to attend a Chase Eating occasion co-hosted by The Infatuation at Tomo Seattle as a part of their not too long ago launched dinner collection referred to as The Hit Listing.

Hit Listing Dinner at Tomo Seattle

James Beard Award-winning Chef Brady Ishiwata Williams leads the year-old Tomo Seattle, the place he serves a nightly five-course meal designed across the season’s availability of recent meals. On the evening I visited, every dish was paired with featured wines originating from Japanese Europe.

This occasion was solely out there to Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers, and it was the fifth dinner that came about this 12 months throughout the nation. Eeven for those who can’t make one of many occasions, reservations at collaborating eating places are held and made out there for you afterward. Extra occasions are on the way in which, with Austin and Miami slated to host upcoming Hit Listing dinners.

You’ll be able to take a look at the total calendar right here — or higher but, obtain the Infatuation app or join emails tailor-made to eating places in a particular metropolis.

I’ve by no means utilized a cardmember-exclusive perk like this earlier than, and now I gained’t plan a visit with out seeing how else I can use my playing cards to take advantage of my time and expertise, as I did with Chase Sapphire Reserve.

New limited-time supply of 80,000 factors

If this seems like your sort of journey, now might be a terrific time so as to add Sapphire Reserve to your pockets. The cardboard is at present providing new candidates 80,000 bonus factors after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. This bonus is value a whopping $1,600 primarily based on TPG’s valuations — and with the vacations proper across the nook, the assorted perks may help make your upcoming journeys extra rewarding and opulent.

Backside line

I spent 48 hours pushing Chase Sapphire Reserve to the max on a current journey to Seattle, and it was a unbelievable couple of days.

I took benefit of the cardboard’s many advantages to plan my journey, together with reserving my airfare and automotive rental by way of the Chase Journey Portal and using Luxurious Lodges & Resorts Assortment for an impressive two-night keep at The Edgewater Resort. I additionally loved an upgraded airport expertise because of precedence safety and Precedence Go perks, and with the entire built-in journey protections, I knew I used to be coated if issues went improper.

Whereas I used to be in Seattle, I additionally attended a personal eating occasion hosted by Chase and The Infatuation at Tomo Seattle. The small and intimate dinner was out there solely to Sapphire Reserve cardholders as part of The Hit Listing, a choose group of famend eating places across the nation that host occasions just like the one I attended in Seattle.

Sapphire Reserve is greater than a journey card – it unlocked an expertise that I’d have in any other case by no means identified about, and I can’t wait to place its advantages to good use once more.

And the perfect half? You’ll be able to replicate all of this — by making use of for Sapphire Reserve right this moment.