The Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa, a long-time favorite of points and miles hobbyists and luxury travel aspirants, is getting an overhaul and a hefty new annual fee.
Chase announced Tuesday that Sapphire Reserve cardholders will soon pay $795 a year for the privilege of using that high-end metal card. While the new fee is softened by a host of updated perks, many points and miles experts are wary that the credit card game is losing its luster.
“Honestly, this is kind of a breaking point for me, but also I could see it for a lot of people. I don’t see why anyone would really splurge for this card when the Sapphire Preferred exists,” Stella Shon, a senior editor at Upgraded Points, a points, miles and travel website, told USA TODAY. “Do you really care that much about lounges? Do you really need to get to the airport hours early to get a free meal?”
The Sapphire Preferred is a more budget-friendly Chase card. It has fewer perks and no lounge access, but an annual fee of just $95. The current fee on the Reserve card is $550 a year.
Shon said that airport lounges remain one of the biggest value propositions offered by premium travel credit cards, but that benefit is getting diluted by higher fees and other harder-to-use perks.
Among the new benefits are expanded opportunities to earn points through Chase partners and extra statement credits to help offset a portion of the higher costs.
Shon also pointed out that the revamped Reserve card has sharp restrictions on how to earn and use some of its perks. For example, bonus points are only available in many spending categories on purchases made directly through Chase.
According to Chase, the new fee and perks will go into effect for existing cardholders starting Oct. 26. If your membership renews before then, you’ll pay the old rate for one more year. The updated fee will apply to all new applicants starting June 23.
American Express, which produces the Platinum card, the Sapphire Reserve’s main competitor, also announced it was planning updates of its own.
The Platinum card currently comes with a $695 annual fee and a similar slate of benefits to what Chase previously offered. Amex hasn’t announced details of its updates, including whether or not the fee would change.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
