How does the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit work?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit automatically reimburses cardholders for up to $300 in travel-related expenses each year. The credit applies to flights and hotels, as well as vacation packages and airline fees, among other things.

Some purchases don’t qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit, including in-flight goods and services (e.g. Wi-Fi, food), tourist attractions, and merchants within airports. But the $300 yearly travel credit helps offset some of the card’s $550 annual fee.

Key Things to Know About the Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit

1. How to use the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit:

To use the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit, you just make eligible travel purchases with this card. You don’t have to activate the benefit, use any codes, or book through special websites. The statement credit is automatically applied to the account the same day qualifying purchases post.

This happens until you hit $300 total for the year. For example, if you make a $100 travel purchase, Chase will apply a $100 credit as soon as the purchase processes. And you will have $200 remaining for other purchases during the year.

On your monthly statement, your transactions will include both the original purchase and an extra item that says, “Travel Credit.” The credit subtracts the purchase amount from your balance.

2. Purchases that qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit:

• Airlines
• Hotels and motels
• Car rental agencies
• Travel agencies
• Timeshares
• Cruise lines
• Discount travel sites
• Parking lots and garages
• Campgrounds
• Operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways

As you can see, the categories for purchases that qualify for Chase Sapphire Reserve’s travel credit are very broad compared to other travel credit cards. However, not all travel-related purchases qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit.

3. Purchases that don’t qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit:

• Sightseeing activities
• Tourist attractions
• Educational merchants arranging travel
• In-flight goods and services
• Onboard cruise line goods and services
• Real estate agents
• Purchases from gift card merchants
• Excursions
• RV and boat rentals
• Merchants within hotels and airports
• Public campgrounds
• Merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling
• Merchants that sell points or miles

Chase determines whether a purchase is eligible for the travel credit based on a 4-digit code that businesses use to categorize transactions. Anything that is not coded as “travel” doesn’t qualify.

4. When the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit resets:

Remember that the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit is available from the first day you open your account and lasts for 12 billing cycles, before resetting. Unused credit does not roll over from year to year. The travel credit will continue to reset every 12 billing cycles, on the first statement date after your account anniversary.

If you’re unsure when your credit will reset, you can call customer service at (800) 432-3117 or the number you see on the back of your card. Simply enter your card number and follow the prompts to connect to a live representative.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit is $300 per year. You’ll receive it as a statement credit.

The travel statement credit is $300 maximum.