Finally, Chase Sapphire Reserve Has Arrived

My Chase Sapphire Reserve arrived earlier this week so I tweaked my system a little bit.

Why You Should Get a Sapphire Reserve

As long as you spend $3,667 on restaurants or travel, you will come out ahead with the Sapphire Reserve versus the Sapphire Preferred. The Sapphire Reserve has a $450 annual fee. This fee is offset by a $300 annual travel credit. The remaining delta of $150 is only $55 more per year than the Sapphire Preferred. Given that the Sapphire Reserve earns 3 points per dollar spent in restaurants and travel (vs. 2 points for Preferred) and that each point is worth a minimum of 1.5 cents, your breakeven between the cards is $55/$0.015 = $3,667. 

Oh, and the Sapphire Reserve comes with a 100,000 point sign up bonus after you spend $4,000 in the first 90 days. It's a no brainer if you are on the Retire on Rewards System. 

How This Changes the Retire on Reward System

I made 3 simple changes to my system as a result of this card and the impact can be big.

• All restaurant and travel spend goes on the Sapphire Reserve
• Sapphire Preferred was downgraded (to avoid the $95 annual fee) to a Chase Freedom Unlimited (1.5 points per dollar spent). I now use the Freedom Unlimited instead of the Fidelity Visa.
• Sapphire Reserve gives a 50% bonus on ultimate rewards points when redeemed for travel through the ultimate rewards portal. This actually makes the portal much more competitive for reward redemption so now check it more often. The big upside of purchasing through the portal versus using miles directly on an airline site is that you receive status credit and miles for the flight if you booked through Chase. That can be huge if you are using miles to fly a lot but also want to retain your airline status. Now, if I can buy a flight through the ultimate rewards portal for close to the same number of points I would need to transfer to an airline, then I will buy the flight through ultimate rewards.

Closing Thoughts

Given the high demand for this card, Chase was much slower than normal in approving my application and delivering the card. When this happens, just call them on the Sapphire Preferred line. The agent can get an underwriter on the phone who can approve the application on the spot. You can also ask for expedited shipping so you get the card sent via FedEx instead of snail mail. Lastly, you should remember to downgrade your Sapphire Preferred so you don't get charged the $95 annual fee. I downgraded to the Chase Freedom Unlimited since I didn't have one yet.

​Questions? Comments? Tweet me @RetireOnRewards.