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November 14, 2024: The Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with an annual $300 travel credit that you get automatically when you charge travel expenses to the card.
For most Sapphire Reserve cardmembers, the $300 travel credit goes a long way toward offsetting the card’s annual fee (annual_fees).
Here’s everything you need to know about the $300 travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
In this article…
About the Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel credit
The annual $300 travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the card’s signature benefits. Chase bills the Sapphire Reserve travel credit as “the most flexible travel credit available” and there’s a lot of truth to that claim.
The travel credit gets automatically applied to a wide variety of travel expenses that you or an authorized user charges to your card—all you need to do to use the credit is use your card for travel purchases and you’ll see offsetting credits reflected on your statement, up to $300 per year.
The travel credit resets with your first statement date after your the opening anniversary.
Which travel charges are eligible for Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel credit?
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel credit applies to most of the major expenses you’ll incur for getting to your destination, your overnight stay, local transportation, plus cruises and booking travel. In its reward category FAQ, Chase lists the specific expenses that are eligible to be reimbursed with the Sapphire Reserve $300 travel credit:
- Airlines
- Hotels
- Motels
- Timeshares
- Car rental agencies
- Cruise lines
- Travel agencies
- Discount travel sites
- Campgrounds
- Passenger trains
- Buses
- Taxis
- Limousines
- Ferries
- Toll bridges and highways
- Parking lots and garages.
Anything not on the list above is not eligible for the $300 Sapphire Reserve travel credit.
Chases notes that many travel-related services that may be provided by similar merchants, in a hotel, or onboard an airplane do not qualify for the credit. Some examples include: real estate agents, educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, excursions, tourist attractions, RV and boat rentals, merchants within hotels and airports, public campgrounds and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling.
Gift card purchases, or purchases from merchants that sell points and miles are also not eligible for the travel reimbursement.
When do you get the travel credit?
You become eligible for the $300 Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel credit on the day your account is opened.
You’ll receive the credit based on your eligible charge posting date.
When does the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit reset?
For most cardmembers, the $300 Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel credit is resets with your cardmember anniversary year. Specifically, your credit will reset with your first statement closing date after your account anniversary date.
If you have a Sapphire Reserve and applied prior to May 21, 2017, you receive your credit based on your December statement closing date.
How to use the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit
Using the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit is simple—just pay for eligible travel expenses with your card. Once an eligible travel charge posts to your account, you’ll see a credit on your account labeled as “Travel Credit $300/Year” when you look at your account activity online.
Travel credits post to offset each travel charge, not as a single $300 lump sum. If you have multiple small travel expenses, you’ll see smaller credits on your account for each travel charge. And you may see a partial credit if your travel charge exceeds your remaining credit amount. For example, if you charge a $20 Lyft ride, a $150 airfare, and a $200 hotel stay, you’ll see credits of $20, $150, and $130 post to your account.
Note that credits are awarded based on the transaction post date. This may be a few days after the charge is processed, depending on how quickly the merchant and banks process the charge.
How to check how much travel credit you have left
To check how much of your $300 annual travel credit you’ve used, sign in to your Chase account and head to the Ultimate Rewards portal for you Chase Sapphire Reserve card account. On the home panel, you’ll see a section labeled “Annual travel credit.” There, you’ll find how much travel credit you have left:
- Amount used: How much of the $300 credit you’ve used so far.
- Reset month and year: When the credit automatically renews (usually on your statement date after your card anniversary).
How much is the $300 travel credit worth?
Most Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardmembers will spend at least $300 on travel during the year and capture the full value of the travel credit. However, the value is almost certainly less than $300. When valuing credit card perks, I try to ask myself, what I would pay for the perk, in cash, in advance.
How much you might pay in advance for a $300 travel credit will be different than what I might pay. But looking at gift card markets can provide a good proxy for what many people would reasonably pay for something like a travel credit. When this article was published, airline, hotel, and online travel agency gift cards were selling for a 1%-5% discount. Add another 3% to account for the rewards that you won’t earn on your credited travel purchases and we get a conservative 8% discount off the face value.
If we discount 8% from the face value of the credit, we get a value of $276 annually for the $300 travel credit.
Bottom line: An easy to use $300 travel credit
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers an annual $300 travel credit good for most of the expenses you might incur while traveling, including airfares, hotel stays, local transportation and more. If you travel often enough to make the Sapphire Reserve a good card for you, chances are you’re going to easily get the full value out of this credit.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
