Chase Sapphire Reserve Makes Big Changes: Higher Fee, New Rates, More Perks

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is getting an overhaul. A week after teasing that something big was afoot with the popular premium travel credit card, Chase has announced new rewards rates on travel spending, changes to how points will be valued when redeemed for travel, and a host of new benefits, including statement credits for various merchants with a potential value of more than $1,000 a year. At the same time, the annual fee on the card is jumping to $795.

These changes go into effect on June 23, 2025. Existing cardholders and those who applied for the card on or before that date will get the new benefits and features starting Oct. 26, 2025, and will be charged the new annual fee when they next renew their cards.

Chase has not publicly announced whether the card's sign-up bonus will be changing when the new version of the card goes live on June 23. But here's what we do know is changing on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Higher annual fee

The annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is increasing to $795. That's a $245 increase over the previous annual fee of $550 and makes it one of the most expensive credit cards on the market — $100 more than the fee on its rival The Platinum Card® from American Express. (Meanwhile, AmEx just announced that the Platinum will be getting an overhaul of its own later this year, though it didn't provide details.)

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is also increasing the annual fee for authorized users to $195 (from $75).

New rewards earning rates

Rewards rates on travel purchases made with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® are being adjusted. Hotels and rental cars booked through Chase will earn fewer points than before, but flights booked through Chase will earn more points. Hotel stays and flights booked directly will earn 4 points per dollar, up from 3 points previously.

However, all other travel purchases — such as from cruise lines, travel agencies and others — will now earn only 1 point per dollar, a significant cut from the previous 3X rate that applied to all travel not booked through Chase.

The card's dining rewards remain unchanged, as does its base rate of 1 point per dollar on all purchases that don't fit into any bonus categories.

'Points Boost' when redeeming in the portal

Chase is also changing how points are valued when redeemed for travel booked through Chase's portal. From the time the Chase Sapphire Reserve® launched in 2016, cardholders have been able to redeem their Ultimate Rewards® points in the portal at a value of 1.5 cents apiece. So 10,000 points, for example, would be worth $150 when redeemed that way. This is changing.

Under a new redemption program called "Points Boost," Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders will be able to redeem their points at a value of 2 cents apiece on select flights and hotel stays. Bookings that qualify for Points Boost will be identified as such in the portal. On bookings not eligible for Points Boost, the redemption value will be just 1 cent per point.

Chase notes that there will be a transition period between the current system (1.5 cents per point for all redemptions) to the Points Boost system:

• For cardholders who had the card or applied for it before June 23, 2025, points earned prior to Oct. 26, 2025, can be redeemed at 1.5 cents per point until Oct. 26, 2027.

• For points earned prior to Oct. 26, 2025, cardmembers will automatically receive the best offer available, whether it’s Points Boost or 1.5 cents per point, until Oct. 26, 2027.

• After Oct. 26, 2027, the Points Boost system takes full effect, with all bookings worth either 2 cents or 1 cent per point.

Points Boost will also be coming to other Chase travel cards, including the newly announced Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

Note that cardholders will still be able to transfer points to Chase’s airline and hotel loyalty program partners at a 1:1 ratio.

New credits and benefits

Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders will continue to receive $300 a year in credit against travel expenses, which has been a signature benefit of the card since its launch. The card will also continue to offer a credit of up to $120 every four years for the application fee for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or NEXUS. The card's existing benefits for DoorDash (up to $25 in monthly promotions, plus a free DoorPash subscription for a year) and Lyft ($10 a month in credit, plus 5X points on Lyft rides) remain in place. And the card's travel protections remain intact.

On top of those benefits, the card is piling on hundreds of dollars a year worth of travel, entertainment and lifestyle credits:

• Up to $500 in credit for The Edit (Chase’s high-end hotel portal). This comes in the form of two $250 credits a year, one good in January-June and one in July-December. 

• Up to $300 in credit at restaurants in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program. This, too, comes as two separate credits — $150 in each half of the year. 

• Up to $300 in statement credit for StubHub, in the form of two $150 credits a year. 

• Up to $250 toward Apple TV+ and Apple Music subscriptions. 

• Up to $120 in credit toward Peloton membership, available at $10 a month, plus you earn 10 points per dollar on eligible Peloton purchases.

• Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status through Dec. 31, 2027.

Additional benefits become available when you spend $75,000 on the card in a year:

• Southwest Airline benefits: Receive $500 Southwest credit and Southwest A-List status (which gets you benefits including priority boarding and a free checked bag on Southwest flights) when you book through Chase.

• IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite Status.

• Earn $250 in credit for The Shops (a Chase shopping platform).

» MORE: NerdWallet's best Chase credit cards

What to make of these changes

The new $795 annual fee is a huge jump from what the Chase Sapphire Reserve® previously charged. It's a 45% increase from the current fee (and over 75% more than the $450 fee on the card when it first hit the market). Even taking into account the broad $300 annual travel credit, you still need to squeeze nearly $500 a year in additional value from the card just to break even.

Chase is hoping cardholders will conclude that the long list of new perks — mainly in the form of statement credits with specific merchants — offsets that cost. But you’ll need to put in a lot of work to keep track of and make the most of the benefits — many of which also come with spending requirements and caveats. In this way, the changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® are in line with the credit card industry's trend toward “coupon book” perks programs.