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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, intensive journey protections and quite a few useful redemption choices.

Nonetheless, the cardboard may also add extra luxurious to your journeys — due to advantages like Precedence Cross lounge entry, the Luxurious Resort & Resort Assortment and Sapphire Personal Eating, a collection of unique eating occasions held across the nation in a number 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.

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I had the chance to place the cardboard to the check on a latest journey to Seattle, the place I booked my flights and rental automobile by means of Chase Journey and my resort by means of the Luxurious Resort & Resort Assortment. I loved an enhanced airport expertise and likewise attended an unique, non-public eating occasion at Tomo Seattle hosted by Chase and The Infatuation, the newest dinner in a brand new collection known as The Hit Checklist.

Actually, the cardboard helped me maximize my whole journey.

ASHLEY ONADELE/THE POINTS GUY

Right here’s what my 48 hours with Chase Sapphire Reserve have been like — and why you need to contemplate including the cardboard to your pockets at this time.

Chase Sapphire Reserve perks

Earlier than I soar 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 accommodations and rental automobiles bought by means of Chase.
  • 10 factors per greenback on eating purchases by means of Chase Final Rewards, together with pay as you go reservations, occasions and purveyor packing containers.
  • 10 factors per greenback on Lyft purchases (by means of March 2025).
  • 5 factors per greenback on flights bought by means of Chase.
  • 3 factors per greenback on all different journey and eating purchases worldwide.
  • Precedence Cross 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 harm waiver.
  • Complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription, together with $5 in month-to-month credit score (by means of Dec. 2024).
  • As much as $100 in assertion credit for International Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus.

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

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

Journey reservations by means 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 means of Chase Journey. The entire price of the itinerary was $301.21, and since this certified as a journey buy, it was eligible for the $300 journey credit score. Actually, it posted to my account as an announcement credit score the day after the flight was booked — that means I successfully paid $1.21 for my flights.

I’d by no means been to Seattle earlier than, so I knew I’d need a automobile to get round as an alternative of counting on rideshare apps. In consequence, I booked a rental automobile by means of Chase Journey as properly. 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.

ASHLEY ONADELE/THE POINTS GUY

Utilizing my Sapphire Reserve for the rental automobile had one other profit: It robotically triggered the cardboard’s main automobile rental protection. Fortunately, nothing went fallacious with my rental, however had I skilled any collision harm or theft of the automobile, I’d’ve been capable of file a declare to cowl these surprising prices — without having to report it to my private automobile insurance coverage supplier.

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

Precedence Cross lounge (and restaurant) entry

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

Fortunately, the cardboard provides complimentary Precedence Cross Choose membership, granting cardholders limitless entry to over 1,300 lounges world wide. Simply observe that it’s essential to activate this perk by means of the cardboard advantages part of your on-line account.

ASHLEY ONADELE/THE POINTS GUY

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 obtainable till 11:30 a.m. for Precedence Cross members, however I used to be capable of pop in shortly to get some work accomplished.

One of many nice issues about Sapphire Reserve’s Precedence Cross membership is that it additionally contains credit score for choose airport eating places — one thing that’s not provided on all premium playing cards. By exhibiting your Precedence Cross card, you possibly can 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 certainly 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

ASHLEY ONADELE/THE POINTS GUY

As famous earlier, I booked my keep by means of Chase’s Luxurious Resort and Resort Assortment. This group options over 1,000 luxurious properties across the globe, and entry to the reserving website and its perks is restricted to pick Chase cardholders — together with Chase Sapphire Reserve. While you e-book by means of the location, you’ll not solely take pleasure in an opulent keep; you’ll additionally obtain a variety of added perks, together with a resort credit score value as much as $100, day by day breakfast for 2, house obtainable upgrades and extra.

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

ASHLEY ONADELE/THE POINTS GUY

As a result of I booked my room by means 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, Movie star and Oceania cruise traces for his or her Alaska cruises.

The resort was nice and I extremely suggest 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 known as The Hit Checklist.

Hit Checklist 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 completely obtainable to Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers, and it was the fifth dinner that passed off 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 obtainable for you afterward. Extra occasions are on the way in which, with Austin and Miami slated to host upcoming Hit Checklist dinners.

You possibly can try 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 benefit from my time and expertise, as I did with Chase Sapphire Reserve.

New limited-time supply of 80,000 factors

CHASE

If this feels like your type of journey, now could possibly be a terrific time so as to add Sapphire Reserve to your pockets. The cardboard is at the moment 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 varied perks might help make your upcoming journeys extra rewarding and opulent.

Backside line

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

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

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 obtainable completely to Sapphire Reserve cardholders as part of The Hit Checklist, 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 possibly can replicate all of this — by making use of for Sapphire Reserve at this time.

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