How does Chase Sapphire Reserve price protection work?

Chase Sapphire Reserve is worth its $450 annual fee for at least 5 years because of its $750 initial bonus and $300 annual travel credit. With just those features considered, cardholders are $600 ahead after the first year ($750 + $300 - $450), $450 ahead after the second year ($600 + $300 - $450), and so on. Sapphire Reserve also gives 3 points per $1 spent on travel and dining, and it comes with a free Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership that would usually cost $399 a year.… read full answer

But those features are only worth it to frequent travelers with the excellent credit needed to get approved for Chase Sapphire Reserve. And “worth it” doesn’t just mean breaking even. You need to consider a card’s net value: rewards minus fees.

In other words, is Chase Sapphire Reserve $450 better than the best no annual fee credit card? That test also applies to cards that have annual fees but charge a lot less than Sapphire Reserve. For example, is Capital One Venture ($95 annual fee) $355 per year worse than Sapphire Reserve?

In answering those questions, don’t forget that there are several ways to squeeze enough value from Sapphire Reserve to make the card worth it.

Is Chase Sapphire Reserve worth it? Here’s when it might be:

• $750 signup bonus + $300 annual travel credit: Sapphire Reserve gives 50,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. Those bonus points are worth $750 when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Combined with Reserve’s $300 annual travel credit, it covers the annual fee for five years.
• $399 Priority Pass membership + $300 annual travel credit: Using the Priority Pass lounges regularly and maxing out the annual travel credit provides $699 in value every year. After the annual fee, that’s $249 left. And that doesn’t count any points earned from using the card.
• $300 annual travel credit + over 10,000 reward points: Spending $3,334 on travel and dining each year ($277 per month) is enough to earn $150 in Chase travel. Add in the $300 annual travel credit, and that recoups the cost of Reserve’s annual fee. From there, any additional rewards go into the cardholder’s pocket.

So, is Chase Sapphire Reserve worth it? Not for people struggling to spend enough to break even. But for consumers who naturally spend several thousand a year on travel, the rewards and other perks will well outweigh the annual fee. Plus, the Reserve card offers several types of travel insurance. That includes a $1 million benefit for serious injury or death.

More moderate spenders may prefer the Sapphire Preferred card. Its initial bonus is worth $625 toward travel. And it gives 2 points per $1 on travel and dining, worth 1.25 cents each toward travel (compared to Reserve’s 1.5). Sapphire Preferred only charges a $95 annual fee.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit score requirement is 750+. Chase says this card is for people with excellent credit, the highest tier in the credit score range. And while excellent credit is generally thought to start at 720, we really recommend a credit score of 750+ to maximize your chances of approval. With a lower score, the risk of rejection will be higher if Chase finds any negatives on your credit report or income-wise.… read full answer

You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub to gauge your odds. Just bear in mind that you’ll need more than a high credit score to get approved for Chase Sapphire Reserve. Let’s take a look at some of the other essential requirements.

Here are Chase Sapphire Reserve’s credit score & other approval requirements:

• 750+ credit score. You might find yourself getting approved with a lower score or denied with a higher one. But a credit score of 750 or higher definitely helps to maximize your chances.
• Eligibility. You must be over 18 years old with a U.S. mailing address and a Social Security number.
• Income. You don’t absolutely need a job, but you must have some kind of income and/or assets to prove to Chase that you have the means to pay for the charges you make.
• As little debt as possible. Chase will weigh your income against your debts to determine how much you can afford to borrow.
• No bankruptcy. You probably won’t be in this situation if you have an excellent credit score. But you won’t get approved while in active bankruptcy and will have a tough time as long as any record of bankruptcy is on your credit report.

So as you can see, a lot more than just your score goes into approval. But having an excellent credit score is still a very important requrement. If you’re not sure where you stand right now, you can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, the only site with free daily updates to your scores and reports. And if you find out that your credit isn't quite up to par, working to improve it can drastically increase your approval chances. For advice on what to do, check out your custom credit analysis.