The Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card has recently undergone some major changes and many current cardholders may be wondering if this card is worth keeping, especially with the updated $795 annual fee.
If you’re on the fence about whether the revamped benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve justify the cost, I’ll break down some key features of the card to help you determine whether it deserves a spot in your wallet or if it’s time to explore other options.
IN A NUTSHELL: The revamped Chase Sapphire Reserve may turn off some current cardholders if the newly added credits do not align with current spending habits. Benefits such as travel insurance, lounge access, travel credit, and purchase protection that are likely the main draw for many cardholders can be accessed with a lower overall annual fee by substituting with a combination of two cards: the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One’s Venture X credit card. However, if elevated travel insurance and guest access for airport lounges are key features or you don’t want to manage cards in two different loyalty programs, sticking with the Chase Sapphire Reserve is likely the best option.
For years the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card held steady as one of the leading premium travel credits on the market alongside the Venture X and the American Express Platinum. These three credit cards have offered cardholders premium travel benefits such as travel insurance, airport lounge access, elevated earning through travel portals, travel credit, airline and hotel transfer partners, generous sign up bonuses, purchase and warranty protection and elevated earning multipliers for travel-related expenses.
When it comes to benefits, the Chase Sapphire Reserve continues to be an outstanding credit card for all the features outlined above. However, for current cardholders, the additional $245 per year may not seem worth the price, especially if newly added credits are not aligned with existing lifestyle or spending habits.
Below are the benefits and features of the updated card with new features highlighted in blue:
REVAMPED CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE BENEFITS
- Priority Pass Select membership with up to 2 free guests
- Chase Sapphire lounge access with up to 2 free guests
- $120 Credit for TSA, Global Entry or NEXUS every 4 years
- $120 Lyft credit ($10/month)
- $300 Travel credit through the Chase Travel Portal
- Travel Insurance and Auto Rental Coverage
- Purchase, Return, and Warranty Protection
- IHG Platinum Rewards Elite Status
- $500 Travel credit for The Edit hotel collection through the Chase Travel Portal ($250 Jan-June, then July- December, 2 night minimum)
- $300 Dining credit when dining at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables($150 Jan-June, then again July- December)
- $300 DoorDash credit and complimentary DoorDash membership ($5/month on food delivery and $10/month twice a month for groceries and retail)
- Complimentary Apple TV and Apple Music ($250 value)
- $300 Stubhub credit ($150 twice a year-Jan-June, then again July- December)
- $120 Peloton credit
Replacing Essential Chase Sapphire Reserve Benefits
The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a slew of benefits, but current cardholders who are not immediately sold on the revamped version may be curious if there are alternatives that would still give them access to things like travel insurance, lounge access, good earning multipliers and travel credit.
GET THESE BENEFITS WITHOUT THE CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE
I’ve managed to retain nearly all of the key benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve by using a two-card strategy. I now hold both the Capital One Venture X ($395 annual fee), and the Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee). Between these two cards, I get the bulk of the perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve at a significantly lower cost. Even with two cards, the total annual fee comes to $490, for a grand total of $305 in annual savings compared to the Reserve’s $795 fee.
Below are the original benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, prior to the revamp. For current cardholders wondering if they should bail on this card, let’s go through these benefits to see how we might be able to get the same values from the Venture X and Chase Sapphire Preferred:
- Priority Pass Select membership with up to 2 free guests
- Chase Sapphire lounge access with up to 2 free guests
- $120 Credit for TSA, Global Entry or NEXUS every 4 years
- $120 Lyft credit ($10/month)
- $300 Travel credit on your account
- Travel Insurance and Auto Rental Coverage
- Purchase, Return, and Warranty Protection
Additional benefits and multipliers:
- 3x Dining
- 3x Travel
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal
Priority Pass Select Membership:
The Venture X offers cardmembers the same Priority Pass membership as the Chase Sapphire Reserve. However, Capital One recently restructured their lounge access for guests and authorized users. Beginning February 1, 2026, all guests will be charged $35 fee to access lounges- unless the primary cardholder has paid the new $125 annual fee per authorized user that grants them their own Priority Pass membership.
For me, this change is the biggest drawback to the two-card approach as I greatly value the ability to bring guests into the lounge. That said, if I consider how often I have actually brought guests with me into the lounge, the math works out that it would still be cheaper to pay the $35 per visit fee versus the additional $305 to keep the Sapphire Reserve.
For further details on the upcoming changes to Venture X’s lounge guest access, click here.
Chase Sapphire Lounge Access:
While neither of these cards will give access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, the Venture X offers primary cardholders and authorized users with the paid Priority Pass membership to have access to the growing network of Capital One Lounges and Landings. Currently available in 6 airports across the United States, the Capital One lounges are celebrated for their elevated atmosphere, top-notch amenities like shower suites, grab-and-go food counters and even spa treatments.
Venture X cardholders and their authorized users can bring up to 2 guests at no additional charge until February 1, 2026. After that, all guests outside the primary cardholders and authorized users who have paid the membership fee will incur the $45 entry fee, unless you are client that has racked up over $75,000 on your Venture X the previous year. I am not in this club, but kudos to you if you are.
TSA Precheck or Global Entry credit:
The Venture X gives $120 credit to cover TSA Pre-check and Global Entry every 4 years, just like the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Absolutely no difference for this category between the cards.
Lyft Credit $120:
There is no credit like this for either the Venture X or the Chase Sapphire Preferred. However, paying for your rides with the Chase Preferred will earn you 5X once you connect your accounts.
Travel Credit of $300:
The Venture X credit card offers an annual $300 travel credit that is added to your account every anniversary. This credit can be used when booking travel through the Capital One travel portal. While not quite as flexible as the Chase credit which automatically applies to any travel expenses on the credit card, Venture X’s annual credit remains a valuable perk that helps enhance bookings.
Travel Insurance:
Both Venture X and the Chase Sapphire Preferred cards come with excellent travel insurance that helps cover trip delays and cancellations, lost or delayed baggage, and primary auto collision coverage. However, each card differs in terms of the required delay duration and payout limits for lost luggage or covered expenses. Click here for travel insurance details for the Venture X and here for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
The more premium Chase Sapphire Reserve offers travel insurance benefits like emergency evacuation and emergency medical and dental coverage, both items that are not included with Venture X or the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
If these types of benefits are important to you, it’s worth comparing the cost of purchasing similar coverage separately and consider how many trips you take each year. In some cases, paying the higher annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Reserve may be a worthwhile investment.
Purchase, Return, and Warranty Protection
Both the Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve are Visa Infinite cards and offer extended return policies and warranty protection for eligible purchases. However, one key advantage of the Chase Sapphire Reserve over the Venture X and Chase Sapphire Preferred is the superior purchase protection. The Sapphire Reserve covers up to $10,000 per claim, while the Preferred has a limit of $500 per claim. The types of purchases you make—and how important purchase protection is to you—can play a major role in determining whether keeping the Sapphire Reserve is the right decision.
Additional Perks of the Two-card Strategy
Pairing the Venture X with the Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with additional benefits beyond replicating the most important features of the Sapphire Reserve. Below are my favorites:
- Opportunity to earn a new sign up bonus for Venture X
- Current bonus offer is 75,000 after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months
- Venture X is a flat earning rate of 2X
- Venture X earns 2X miles on everything, making it a strong catch-all card for everyday spending that doesn’t fall into bonus categories. Earning 2X on groceries, medical bills and non-travel or non-restaurant purchases can be a huge bonus
- Venture X gifts you 10,000 anniversary points each year, a value of $100
- Strong Value-to-Fee Ratio
- Between the annual $300 travel credit and the $100 value of the anniversary miles, you get $400 value for a credit card with a $395 fee. The card pays for itself.
- Dual Travel Portals for Rate Comparisons
- Having access to Chase and Capital One travel portals allows you to compare rates for hotels and flights
- Two Shopping Portals for More Earning Opportunities
- Both Capital One and Chase offer online shopping portals that allow you to earn additional rewards when making purchases through partner retailers
- Venture X includes Cell Phone Protection
- When you pay your monthly phone bill with the Venture X, it offers protection for eligible breaks, thefts and losses.
- Generous Authorized User Policies
- Venture X allows up to 4 free authorized users, while Chase Sapphire Preferred has no restrictions on the number of free authorized users. In comparison, Chase Sapphire Reserve just increased authorized user fees from $75 to $195 per user
- Retention of Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
- Downgrading to the Chase Sapphire Preferred from the Reserve means you can keep all your Chase Ultimate points and don’t have to scramble before you lose access to them if you decide to ditch the card
The Drawbacks of the Two-card Strategy
While there are a multitude of benefits of the two-card approach, there are admittedly a few drawbacks that may keep Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders from making the jump, even if they aren’t thrilled with the new updates:
- Splicing points into two different loyalty programs
- Points earned will now funnel into Chase Ultimate Rewards and Capital One Miles
- Requires more intentional spending
- Using a two-card system to maximize points earning will require a bit work
- Limited lounge access
- Lounge access for guests through Venture X’s Priority Pass will come with a fee after February 1, 2026
For those trying to accrue a large number of points for a specific trip, juggling two programs might be a turn off. However, it is worth exploring hotel and airline partners for both Chase and Capital One as there is an overlap of transfer partners, thus points from both programs could be transferred into the same airline or hotel loyalty account for a larger redemption.
For example, I transferred points from both my Capital One and Chase accounts into Vietnam Airlines and got my husband and me business class tickets from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City last year.
Managing two cards will require intentional spending on specific cards to maximize points earning. Personally, I put all restaurant expenses on my Chase Sapphire Preferred and the rest goes on my Venture X. Although some may have an aversion to dividing points earned into two different loyalty programs, I would argue that you may be surprised at how quickly your points accumulate when you are earn double points on things like medical bills, pet food, and the mechanic which were earning only one point per dollar on the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Keep in mind that the renewed Chase Sapphire Reserve just shifted their travel earnings multipliers with the new update, giving higher earnings for bookings through their portal or direct bookings with airlines and hotels.
What was once a 3X earn on all travel-related expenses (think ride shares, third-party booking websites like Kayak, Airbnb, cruise bookings, Viator and Klook, now such sites will only earn one point per dollar spent unless utilizing a promo in the Chase shopping portal.
And of course, the, lounge access. Beginning February 1, 2026, Venture X cardholders will no longer be able to bring free guests, and authorized users on the Venture X will need to pay a fee of $125 to maintain their Priority Pass membership.
If guest lounge access is important to you, this may be a good enough reason to keep the Chase Sapphire Reserve as no changes were made to their lounge access.
Final Thoughts
With the recent updates, keeping the Chase Sapphire Reserve may not be an obvious choice for plenty of current cardholders. For people looking for a more budget-friendly substitute, pairing the Venture X with the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a compelling option.
While it might take a bit of adjustment for those used to using one card for all purchases, these two cards offer almost all of the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, and some additional perks as well.
However, if lounge access for guests and elevated travel insurance are important features for you, then keeping the Chase Sapphire Reserve is likely the way to go. I continue to stand by the Chase Sapphire Reserve being a top-notch travel credit card- it just might not be the right choice for some who prefer to stay within certain budgets or are comfortable leaving behind some of the bells and whistles.
To explore further about options for credit cards, please read about what credit cards will fit best into your lifestyle, or dive deeper into my full review of the updated Chase Sapphire Reserve. Additionally, you can read up on why I still think that Venture X is one of the best travel credit cards on the market.
