Sapphire Travel Credit: Maximizing Your Chase Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card offers a $300 annual travel credit, which is one of the card's most valuable benefits. This credit is separate from the card's welcome offer and is awarded annually just for being a cardholder. It applies to all qualifying travel purchases paid for with the card, including flights, car rentals, hotels, cruises, and more. The credit is easy to use and can be redeemed by simply using the card to pay for eligible travel purchases. The credit will then be automatically applied as a statement credit. To maximize the benefits of the card, it is important to use the travel credit as soon as possible, as you won't be able to earn bonus rewards on travel purchases until the credit is used up. Additionally, the credit does not roll over to the following year, so it is important to use it within the cardmember year. Overall, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card is a great option for frequent travellers who can take advantage of its benefits, such as the annual travel credit and airport lounge access.

The $300 annual travel credit

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card offers a $300 annual travel credit, which is one of the card's most valuable benefits. This credit is separate from the card's welcome offer and is awarded annually just for being a cardholder. It applies to all qualifying travel purchases paid for with the card, including flights, car rentals, hotels, cruises, taxis, trains, buses, toll roads, parking, and more. The credit is easy to use and automatic, with statement credits typically posting to your account on the same day as the qualifying purchase.

The travel credit is a use-it-or-lose-it benefit and does not roll over to the following year. It is also tied to a cardmember year, not a calendar year, resetting each year around your cardholder anniversary. To maximize the credit, it is best to use it as soon as possible, as you won't be able to earn bonus rewards on travel purchases until the $300 credit is used up.

It's important to note that not all travel-related purchases are eligible for reimbursement under this credit. In-flight goods and services, onboard cruise line purchases, sightseeing activities, merchants within hotels and airports, educational merchants arranging travel, merchants renting vehicles for hauling, and merchants selling points or miles are generally excluded.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card has a high annual fee of $550, but the $300 travel credit helps to offset this cost, making it a valuable option for frequent travellers.

Qualifying purchases

The Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 annual travel credit is one of the card's most valuable benefits. It's an annual card benefit, so it's separate from the card's first-year welcome offer. The $300 travel credit is a use-it-or-lose-it benefit. If you don't use it one year, you'll forfeit any portion that remains at the end of your cardmember anniversary year—it won't roll over.

The annual travel credit resets each year. But unlike similar credits on top-tier travel cards, the timing is based on your card renewal date instead of the calendar year.

One of the best parts of this travel credit is that Chase's travel rewards category encompasses a broad range of purchases, including:

• Hotel and motel stays
• Eligible discount travel sites
• Public transportation such as trains, buses, taxis, limousines, and ferries
• Toll bridges and highways
• Parking lots and garages

Unfortunately, not all travel-related purchases are eligible for reimbursement under this credit. Common airline charges like in-flight purchases won't count, for example. Here's a list of ineligible purchases for your $300 travel credit:

• In-flight goods and services
• Onboard cruise line goods and services
• Sightseeing activities, excursions, and tourist attractions
• Merchants located within hotels and airports
• Educational merchants arranging travel
• Merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling
• Merchants that sell points or miles

When the credit resets

The Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 annual travel credit is awarded each year that you have the card and is ready to use as soon as you open your account. The credit resets each year on your cardholder anniversary. This is usually the date you opened your account, but if your statement closing date changes, the date may change too.

For example, if you opened your account on June 6 and your account statement closes on the 3rd of each month, you'll need to use your initial $300 annual travel credit before July 3 of the following year. Your travel credit will then reset the next day, on July 4, and you can start using your next $300 travel credit.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit is not based on a calendar year. Instead, it resets at the close of the first statement date after your account opening anniversary and then every 12 monthly billing cycles after that.

If you opened your account before May 21, 2017, your annual travel credit resets each year on the day after your December statement closes.

What counts as 'travel'

The Chase Sapphire cards are among the most popular travel credit cards on the market. Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve cards offer extra points for travel purchases.

Chase defines travel expenses as including:

• Discount travel sites
• Taxis, limo or rideshare services (including Uber and Lyft)
• Toll bridges and highways
• Parking lots and garages
• Airlines (including tickets, baggage fees, change fees, etc.)
• Vacation rentals (like Airbnb)
• Trains (like Amtrak, subway and metro tickets)
• Buses (like city bus tickets, Greyhound tickets and Megabus tickets)
• Cruise lines
• Car rental agencies
• Hotels and motels
• Timeshares
• Campgrounds
• Operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries

However, some purchases that are related to travel won't earn you extra points. These include:

• Real estate agent fees
• Educational merchants that arrange travel, such as a school trip
• In-flight goods and services
• On-board cruise line goods and services
• Tours and sightseeing activities
• Tourist attractions, such as admission fees
• Merchants within a hotel or airport, such as a duty-free store or gift shop
• Vehicle rentals for hauling
• Gift cards (unless the merchant is set up to count as travel)
• Points and miles (unless the merchant is set up to count as travel)

How to redeem the credit

The Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 travel credit is one of the card's most valuable benefits. It's an annual benefit, so it's separate from the card's first-year welcome offer. The travel credit is easy to use and applies to a wide range of travel purchases, including flights, car rentals, hotels, cruises and more.

To redeem the credit, simply use your Chase Sapphire Reserve card to pay for eligible travel purchases. There's nothing to activate, no codes to use or special sites to book through. The statement credit will post to your account on the same day that the travel purchase is posted, and you should see it reflected in your statement within one to two billing cycles.

The travel credit is awarded each year that you have the card and is ready to use as soon as you open your account. The credit resets each year around your cardholder anniversary. So, if you opened your account in June, your credit would reset in June the following year.

It's important to note that the travel credit does not roll over to the following year. If you don't use it, you'll forfeit any remaining portion at the end of your cardmember anniversary year.

Frequently asked questions