How to Use the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s Annual $300 Travel Credit to Save on Your Winter Travel
Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with new information.
In addition to bonus points for travel and dining fees, a benefit of Chase Sapphire Reserve since first launching in 2016, travel credits worth $300 per year. And unlike similar perks on competing cards, this credit is incredibly easy to use.
Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with annual fee $550but if you spend at least $300 per year on commuting, the effective annual fee is much less painful.
This annual credit complements other Sapphire Reserve perks, such as Privilege Card Membershipapplication fee credit for Global Entry / PreCheck every four years, bonus points in Lyft rides and up to $5 monthly DoorDash credits – plus a DashPass membership through December 31, 2024 – this together makes it easier to keep holding the pass.
For a limited time Sapphire Reserve is offering a signup bonus of 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening, here’s when Great for signing up.
How do you use Sapphire Reserve tourist credit if you recently added the card to your wallet? Thankfully, it’s really, really easy.
Bad news? It’s so simple and automatic that you can use the credit before you even realize it.
Related: The full review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve
When do you earn the $300 Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit?
Chase Sapphire Reserve’s $300 annual travel credit is awarded each year when you have the card and is ready to use as soon as you open a new account.
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In most cases, when this credit resets, it is tied to the cardholder’s year, not the calendar year. That means when you first open the card that will usually determine the date you get the new $300 travel credit each year.
The exception is those who opened a Sapphire Reserve prior to May 21, 2017, who are awarded an annual travel credit based on a calendar year. In that case, the credit will be awarded after the closing date of the last statement in December, regardless of what time of year the account was opened.
This is in contrast to American Express Airline Fee Credit on cards like Platinum Card® from American Expressas they are always awarded according to the calendar year (registration required).
Related: Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum
What counts towards travel credit?
One great element of the Sapphire Reserve’s tourist credit is that it’s pretty broad in the types of fees it covers.
Basically, you can usually use the annual travel credit for anything code like travel on your Sapphire Reserve. Remember, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar in travel fees by swiping your card, so the rewards points charges will be the same as the ones you can use for travel credits. (Just know that you don’t earn points for travel expenses that are offset by the $300 travel credit.)
Some examples of the types of purchases that count for Sapphire Reserve tourist credits include:
- Airlines.
- Many hotels.
- Time sharing.
- Campground.
- Car rental agency.
- Ship.
- Travel agency services.
- Train.
- Bus.
- Taxi and car service.
- Toll bridge and highway.
- Parking and garage.
Since airline fees are often code-coded as travel, you can use the credit on purchases such as your airline ticket, tax on award tickets, upgrades, seat transfer fees, checked baggage fees, in-flight snacks, change fees, infant fees, etc.
Deposits and payments on your yacht will also count, as will hotel reservations and deposits. If you have to pay parking, taxi or road tolls in your normal life, you can even use commuter credits towards those daily fees.
What doesn’t count towards the Sapphire Reserve tourist credit?
Of course, not all purchases in the travel space are travel fees. If the purchase without the code is a travel fee, you won’t be able to use the $300 travel credit from the Sapphire Reserve.
Items with a travel code are different and are subject to change at any time. Some things that may not be travel code include theme park tickets brought directly from the theme park, ski lift ticketpurchase point.com, some airlines or travel buy gift cardIn-flight purchases are prepared by third parties and some meals are eaten at the hotel without room charge.
(Pro Tip: If You Want Disney Tickets to encrypt travel fees, book them through a third-party travel site such as Go today or Secret travel.)
How do you use the Sapphire Reserve travel credit?
Using your Sapphire Reserve travel credit is simple – just use the card to pay for eligible travel transactions. That’s it.
There’s nothing to activate, no codes to use or special sites to reserve. Offsetting statement credits will usually appear on your account within a few days, and this will continue until you’ve used up your year’s travel credits.
Credit is so easy to use that some visitors in the TPG Facebook Lounge report the use of their credits annually on daily commuting fee such as tolls, parking, taxis or subway fares before they can purposefully apply it to something bigger.
Related: Best travel credit cards
How to see if you’ve used your travel credit
If you’ve lost track of whether you’ve used up your Sapphire Reserve annual travel credit, you can easily find out by logging in Chase Gate Ultimate Reward and review the reward activity for your Reserve card.
This will also let you know when next year’s credit is available so you know to use up this year’s credit before that.
Key point
It’s great that a credit card gives you annual travel credit ease of use and $300 travel credit on Chase Sapphire Reserve is as simple as it comes. Every year, you automatically get $300 in statement credits whenever your card is used for travel purchases – effectively reducing the fee on the card to $250 per year.
Of course, if you can’t get the most out of the Sapphire Reserve, you can also talk to Chase about potentially downgrade arrive Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or even free every year Unlimited pursuit of freedom.
However, with increase signup bonus out of 80,000 spots on the Sapphire Reserve, now could be a great time to get this pass and save on your next trip.
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.
