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Chase Sapphire Reserve = New $550 annual fee
(This post was updated on January 8th with newly confirmed info).
DoC claims (and Chase has since confirmed) that the fee will hit new card applications beginning on January 12th and that the Reserve is already closed to product changes until then.
They go on to say that it will affect renewing Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers starting in April, meaning that if your account renews before April 1, you’d have another year at $450.
In exchange for the extra $100 a year, you’d get a complimentary annual Lyft Pink membership which gives you 15% off rides, a few free bike/scooter rides each month, and better cancellation rules, as well as either a $60 annual DoorDash credit. This makes sense on top of the free DoorDash Dash Pass offered as of today.
Chase is not increasing the $300 annual travel credit.
I’d honestly have expected more for the extra $100, but heavy Lyft / DoorDash users will find good value here. On top of this, Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders will get 10X Ultimate Rewards on Lyft rides.
Worth It?
To me, this is a bit heartbreaking. I’ve long compared the Reserve vs the Preferred (See:Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred: Which is right for you?) using a net effective $55 fee difference.
If it jumps to a $155 difference, I can see many more people opting for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which maybe is exactly what Chase wants…
What is clear though is, if you have been thinking about a Chase Sapphire Reserve, get it before the 12th. Worst case is this fee jump doesn’t happen and you have a great card, but I’d hate to spend an extra $100 a week from now…
If this actually comes to pass, I’ll break down the fee comparisons in more detail, but for now let’s see what happens.
Thoughts?
Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
