Evan’s Ultimate Chase Sapphire Benefit Calculator
Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve card worth its eye-watering annual fee of $550 a year?
Use the sliders below to find out! The Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Unlimited are included for comparison.
All three cards earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be redeemed for cashback or flights and hotels.
Summary of Benefits
| Chase Freedom Unlimited | Chase Sapphire Preferred | Chase Sapphire Reserve |
 |
 |
 |
|
$0 annual fee
|
$95 annual fee
|
$550 annual fee
|
| $300 travel credit | ||
| 3X dining | 2X dining | 3X dining |
| 1.5X travel | 2X travel | 3X travel |
| 1.5X other | 1X other | 1X other |
| +0% travel redemption | +25% travel redemption | +50% travel redemption |
| +3% foreign fees | +0% foreign fees | +0% foreign fees |
| $0 total value | $0 total value | $0 total value |
Redeem points for:
Budget Analysis
Monthly dining spend:
(Restaurants, bars, cafes)
Monthly travel spend:
(Flights, hotels, Uber, transit)
Monthly total spend:
(Including dining and travel)
Annual foreign spend:
(Including dining and travel)
Neither of these credit cards Learn more
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the $300 travel credit?
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card includes an annual credit towards travel purchases. “Travel” for purposes of the credit, and for the 3X points, includes:
- Flights
- Hotels
- Airbnb
- Uber
- Train tickets
- Bus tickets
- Tolls
- Ferries
- Parking lots
- Parking garages
The calculator takes the $300 credit into account.
Credits do not roll over into the next year. Use ’em or lose ’em.
What counts as dining?
According to Chase:
- Restaurants (including takeout and delivery)
- Bars
- Cafes / coffee shops
- Juiceries
- Vending machines
Why are the calculated values higher if I redeem for flights instead of cash?
If you have a Chase Sapphire card, your points are worth more when you redeem for flights or hotels through Chase’s travel portal. Ten thousand Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth $100 in cashback, or $125 in travel with the Sapphire Preferred, or $150 in travel if you have the Sapphire Reserve.
Some seasoned travelers say that you can get even more value from the points by transferring them to participating frequent-flyer programs.
Where can I transfer my points if I’d rather not redeem them?
The Sapphire cards let you transfer points on a 1:1 basis to:
- Air France/KLM
- British Airways
- JetBlue
- Hyatt
- IHG
- Marriott
- Ritz-Carlton
- Singapore Airlines
- Southwest
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
Note that the Chase Freedom Unlimited does not allow point transfers.
Since when did the Chase Freedom Unlimited card offer 3% back on dining?
Since September 13, 2020. It also began offering 3% back on drugstore purchases, and 5% back on flights and hotels booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. (The drugstore and travel portal benefits are not reflected in the calculator.)
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