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If you travel, a premium travel rewards card can be an essential tool for earning rewards, having flexible redemption options, and accessing premium travel benefits.
Unfortunately, premium travel rewards cards come with high annual fees. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can quickly help offset that fee with an easy-to-use benefit.
The $300 yearly travel credit automatically reimburses your qualifying travel purchases with a statement credit.
We’ll get into the details of how the credit works, which purchases count, and how to track your progress, but first, here’s a quick overview of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
A top player in the high-end premium travel credit card space that earns points on travel and dining while offering top luxury perks.
If you’re looking for an all-around excellent travel rewards card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the best options.
The card combines elite travel benefits and perks like worldwide airport lounge access, with excellent point earning and redemption options. Plus, it offers top-notch travel insurance protections to cover you at home or on the road.
Don’t forget the more than $2,000 in annual credits, which can offset the annual fee!
Chase Ultimate Rewards
The $300 travel credit is just one of the key benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It also has a strong earning structure and flexible redemption options. Several protections and benefits can also provide peace of mind when traveling and save you money.
Here are some additional benefits that make the card one of the best premium travel rewards cards:
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Using the $300 travel credit couldn’t be easier. Make a travel purchase with your card and receive an automatic statement credit for the exact amount, up to $300.
There is no need to preregister or enroll your card before making a purchase.
Statement credits are typically applied immediately as purchases are processed in your card account.
A partial credit is applied if a qualifying travel purchase exceeds the remaining unused credit. For example, if your travel purchase is $40 and you have $25 remaining credit, you receive the $25 credit.
It’s important to note that travel purchases qualifying for the travel credit do not earn Ultimate Rewards points. After the $300 credit is used, you earn the regular rates of 8x points on Chase Travel purchases, 5x points and a $10 monthly in-app credit on Lyft rides through September 30, 2027, and 4x on flights and hotels booked directly.
The $300 travel credit is applied immediately to qualifying travel purchases. No preregistering or card enrollment is necessary. You do not earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points on purchases that qualify for the credit, and once the credit is exhausted, you continue to receive the applicable bonus earnings.
When you’re initially approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, your $300 travel credit is immediately available. Any travel purchases made qualify for the statement credit.
Once used, the $300 travel credit will be available again after your card renewal anniversary. Any travel purchases made once your card renewal date has passed and the statement has closed count toward the credit.
For example, in the previous screenshot, the card renewal date was January 10. Every travel purchase after that date counted toward the credit.
Cardholders who have older cards (over 7 years) may have a calendar year period to utilize their travel credit.
New Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders may use the $300 travel credit immediately. The credit resets annually after the card anniversary statement closes.
Any purchase that codes as travel counts for the $300 travel statement credit. Here are examples of purchases that could qualify.
This list is not all-inclusive, as any purchase that posts to your account as a travel purchase is eligible.
Chase has one of the broadest definitions of what counts as a travel purchase. Any purchase that posts to your account that codes as a travel purchase receives the credit.
Tracking your progress to ensure you’ve used the entire $300 credit is easy. Log in to your online Chase Sapphire Reserve card account. After accessing your account, select the Redeem option or select Benefits from the More drop-down box. Either will take you to Chase Travel.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see your tracker. It shows how much credit you’ve used and when the annual credit will be available again.
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Utilizing the $300 annual travel credit easily helps offset the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s annual fee of $795.
The card has many valuable benefits, but the annual travel credit is simple to use and provides immediate value. Unlike other premium travel rewards cards where only airline incidental fees qualify for travel statement credits, any travel purchase triggers the Chase Sapphire Reserve card travel credit.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card provides a stellar earning structure for travelers, outsized redemptions, and premium travel protections and benefits.
The $300 travel credit is one of the unique benefits that results in immediate economic value to the cardholder.
Selecting the Chase Sapphire Reserve card just for the travel credit may not make sense, but if you’ll use even 1 or 2 of the other benefits, you can come out ahead. Priority Pass Select membership, flexible transferable points, increased value for point redemptions via Chase Travel, and premium travel benefits make the card a strong travel rewards card choice.
Here’s our take on the best travel rewards cards for a broader view of the available travel credit cards.
The $300 travel credit is applied as a statement credit for any travel purchases made with the card immediately following card approval or after each card renewal anniversary. Any purchase that codes as travel is reimbursed up to $300 each card anniversary year.
No. You do not earn Ultimate Rewards points on travel purchases that qualify for the $300 travel credit. After $300 in travel purchases have been reimbursed with statement credits, you earn 8x points on all Chase Travel purchases, and 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly.
Any purchase that codes as travel receives the statement credit, up to $300 each card anniversary year. Examples of purchases that can count include airfare, Chase Travel, car rentals, cruises, transit, hotels, and tour companies.
The $300 travel credit resets after the card anniversary statement closing. You can check the month and year your credit resets in the tracker in your online card account. For those cardholders who have older cards, the qualifying year may be a calendar year. Accessing the tracker confirms the actual reset date.
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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services offices. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, detailed content for UP.
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