The limited-time offers on the Sapphire Reserve has ended and the card is back to its regular bonus. If you’re thinking of getting this card, you might want to consider getting the Sapphire Preferred for a year and then upgrading because the Sapphire Preferred currently has a monster welcome offer.
Here’s what you need to know about the current Sapphire Reserve welcome bonus.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® welcome offer
Welcome offer: Earn 100,000 points after you spend $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
This bonus is earned as Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.
Annual fee: $795 annual fee; $195 for each authorized user
Quick take: Unexciting bonus, considering the card
Aaron Hurd
Executive Editor of Cards and Points
The 100,000 points currently on offer with the Sapphire Reserve is the standard offer. And while that is a ton of points, it’s pretty unexciting when you consider that you can get 100,000 from the welcome offers available on the Sapphire Preferred, Ink Cash, or Ink Unlimited—all cards with much lower or no annual fees.
It’s worth pointing out that the Sapphire Reserve doesn’t offer clear value in the way that it once did. While the sign-up bonus certainly makes the card worth it during the first year of card membership, Chase’s last refresh of the card made the card feel more like a coupon book than an easy-to-recommend premium card for travelers.
Sure, you can get plenty of value out of the card, but you have to jump through some hoops:
- Book travel through Chase and
- Stay at a large number of high-end luxury properties (booked through Chase) and
- Are willing to shift your spending to places that offer coupon-like statement credits and
- Your points redemptions match up with Chase’s “points boost” special offers…
I could go on, but you get the point… that’s a lot of ifs. The point is that you really have to jump through a lot of hoops to get the value out of the Sapphire Reserve—today, having the card feels like more of a hassle than a premium travel card.
Bottom line: If you’re convinced that the Sapphire Reserve is the right card for you and can do so, wait around for a better limited-time offer. But if you’re looking to earn Ultimate Rewards with a welcome bonus, there are many more compelling options available.
