Steffi Montoya
The Chase Sapphire travel credit card is a great option for those who want to earn points on travel purchases. The card offers a range of benefits, including travel insurance, trip delay reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, and lost luggage reimbursement. In terms of what counts as a travel purchase, Chase includes merchants such as car rental agencies, discount travel sites, passenger trains, buses, taxis, ferries, toll bridges, highways, parking lots, and garages. However, it's important to note that not all travel-related purchases will count, and Chase provides a list of excluded merchants such as educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight goods and services, and onboard cruise line goods and services. To maximize the benefits of the card, cardholders should familiarize themselves with the eligible travel purchases and plan their spending accordingly.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Car rental agencies | Covered |
| Discount travel sites | Covered |
| Operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways | Covered |
| Parking lots and garages | Covered |
| Educational merchants arranging travel | Not covered |
| In-flight goods and services | Not covered |
| Onboard cruise line goods and services | Not covered |
| Sightseeing activities | Not covered |
| Tourist attractions | Not covered |
| RV and boat rentals | Not covered |
| Merchants within hotels and airports | Not covered |
| Merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling | Not covered |
| Gift card merchants or merchants that sell points or miles | Not covered |
What You'll Learn
Discount travel sites
- Jetsetter.com: Since its launch in 2009, Jetsetter has become a lifestyle portal with 2.2 million members and counting. It offers "flash sales" on high-end properties, with discounts of up to 50% off. Jetsetter also offers themed-sale formats, such as Mystery Mondays and Jetsetter Journeys, where they customize your trip.
- Airfarewatchdog.com: This site has the upper hand on last-minute flight deals, pulling them from carrier sites fast. It offers fare listings, alerts, and promo codes straight to your inbox or Twitter feed.
- Momondo.com: This Denmark-based site finds and compares airfare prices from more than 700 websites, including small airline carriers that other sites might miss. It also offers color-coded city guides and rail transportation options within flight search results.
- TripAlertz: Known as the "Groupon for travel," TripAlertz offers discounts on getaway travel to destinations like Las Vegas, Aruba, and Buenos Aires. They sell excess inventory from 3- to 4-plus star hotels and resorts, adding perks like complimentary breakfast and free Wi-Fi.
- Airbnb: Airbnb has become a popular portal for city sublets, offering guests the chance to stay in a local's space, whether it's an apartment, a house, or even a countryside castle. Guests can directly contact the host, negotiate payment, and make the transaction through the site. Airbnb also offers a host guarantee that provides protection of up to $50,000.
- Luxury Link: Luxury Link offers auctions on luxury hotels, with extras included. You can also "buy now" at a considerable discount. For example, a recent search found a 3-night stay at Mandarin Oriental for $1,388, which included a suite with a wrap-around balcony, breakfast for two, and complimentary wireless and taxes.
- Budgetplaces.com: This site consolidates more than 9,000 of the world's cheaper hotels, hostels, apartments, and bed and breakfasts onto one site, offering special deals and guest reviews.
In addition to these discount travel sites, there are also other ways to save on your travel bookings. For example, Google Flights and Kayak allow you to compare airfare prices and set alerts to track price changes. For hotel bookings, Hotels.com offers a simple rewards program where you earn a free night's stay for every ten nights you spend at any of their 500,000 member properties. HotelTonight is another app that offers low last-minute rates on hotel bookings.
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Car rental agencies
The Chase Sapphire card also provides an auto rental collision damage waiver, which reimburses damage caused by theft or accident. This waiver covers most rental cars, including SUVs and trucks, but it does not cover luxury or exotic vehicles, antique vehicles more than 20 years old, cargo vans, or trucks other than pickups. It is also worth noting that this waiver does not cover personal belongings in the car, or damage to other vehicles or property.
To activate the Chase Sapphire rental car insurance, you must use your Chase Sapphire card to initiate and complete your entire car rental transaction. You must also decline the rental car company's collision damage waiver to be eligible for Chase Sapphire coverage.
The Chase Sapphire cardholder must be the primary renter on the rental car agreement, and authorized users are also eligible for the rental car insurance benefit when using their authorized user card to rent.
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Operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries
Operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, and ferries are included in Chase's travel category. This means that any purchase from these operators will trigger the travel credit offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card.
Chase defines operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, and ferries as merchants that fall within its travel category. This means that any purchases made from these operators will be considered travel purchases and will be eligible for the travel credit offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card.
Here's a more detailed explanation of each type of operator:
- Passenger trains: These are trains that carry passengers and operate on established routes and schedules. They can include intercity and high-speed rail services.
- Buses: Buses are road vehicles that carry numerous passengers and operate on conventional roads. They are commonly used for shorter journeys and have lower capacity compared to trains.
- Taxis: Taxis are typically cars used to transport a small number of passengers and their luggage. They usually have "Taxi" signs on their roofs and use meters to determine fares.
- Limousines: Limousines offer a private and luxurious transportation experience, often without any signage indicating they are passenger services. They are typically pre-booked and may be used by hotels to transport important guests.
- Ferries: Ferries are boats that carry passengers and sometimes their vehicles across bodies of water. They are commonly used in waterside cities and islands as a more affordable alternative to bridges or tunnels.
By including these operators in its travel category, Chase provides cardholders with a wide range of travel options that can trigger the travel credit. This makes it easier for cardholders to take advantage of this benefit and make the most of their Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card.
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Parking lots and garages
The University of Washington provides an example of the different types of parking available at a large institution. The university has several parking lots and garages located on campus, which require permits to park there during certain hours of the day. The university also specifies the clearance height of each garage, which is important for drivers of taller vehicles to know.
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Uber and Lyft rides
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers 5X points on travel, including Lyft rides, through March 31, 2025. This is in addition to the 2X points earned for general travel purchases, giving you a total of 5X points on Lyft rides. The card also offers 2X points on regular travel purchases, which includes Uber rides.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers an even higher earning rate of 10X points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025. This card also comes with a complimentary Lyft Pink All Access membership, which includes benefits like priority pickups, free cancellations, and discounts on Lux rides.
In addition to the Chase Sapphire cards, there are other credit cards that offer rewards or benefits specifically for Uber and Lyft rides. For example, the Capital One Savor Rewards Card and the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card offer unlimited 10% cash back on Uber and Uber Eats, along with a complimentary Uber One membership through November 14, 2024. The American Express Green Card offers 3X points on transit, which includes ride-share services like Lyft and Uber.
When it comes to determining whether a purchase qualifies as travel, Chase provides a list of merchants that are included in the travel category. This list includes car rental agencies, discount travel sites, operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages.
By offering bonus rewards on Uber and Lyft rides, the Chase Sapphire cards and other credit cards mentioned above can help you maximize your earnings on each trip.
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Frequently asked questions
According to Chase, the following categories count as travel: airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds, passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages.
The following types of purchases do NOT count as travel: educational merchants arranging travel, inflight goods and services, onboard cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, merchants within hotels and airports, merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling, gift cards (unless the merchant is set up to count as travel), and points and miles (unless the merchant is set up to count as travel).
The most surefire way to determine a purchase’s category is to run a small charge through your card to see how it codes before you make a large purchase. You can also scroll back through your past purchases to get a good idea of how common merchants code. You’ll be able to see each purchase’s rewards category in your online statement.
