What are the Chase Sapphire Reserve bonus categories?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card bonus categories are travel and dining. Using your card to make purchases on these categories will generally get you bonus points. Chase Sapphire Reserve’s travel bonus category includes airfare, hotel rooms, taxis, tolls, and more. Dining is restricted to places where the primary business is sit-down dining. So, the little restaurants in your local department store aren’t covered, for example.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Bonus Categories

• 4 points / $1 spent on flights and hotels: Airfare and hotel reservations made directly with the airlines or hotels will get 4 points/ $1. Exception is travel booked through Chase (for which you will earn 8 points / $1 spent).
• 3 points / $1 spent on dining: Sit-down and eat-in dining establishments, including fast food restaurants. Places that sell food located within larger stores don’t count. Exception make restaurant reservations or takeout orders made through Chase, which earn 8 points / $1 spent.
• 1 point / $1 spent on all other purchases: Purchases can be in any category.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card bonus categories provide a lot of value. But the card comes with a $795 annual fee. That can be hard to justify if you don’t spend or travel a lot. However, the card also comes with a few additional perks that can sweeten the deal.

Other Chase Sapphire Reserve Perks

• Initial bonus: 125,000 points for spending $6,000 in the first 3 months.
• $300 Annual Travel Credit: Automatically reimburses your first $300 in travel purchases each year (every 12 months from when you open the account).
• High redemption value: Chase Sapphire Reserve reward points are worth 1 cent each, on average. 

For occasional travelers who don’t want to pay the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s $795 annual fee, there are other options to choose from. For instance, both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offer high bonuses at a fraction of Chase Sapphire Reserve’s price.