Can you upgrade Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve car rental benefits include $75,000 in rental car insurance plus free upgrades and discounts from National Car Rental, Avis, and Silvercar. Chase Sapphire Reserve also gives 10 points / $1 spent on car rentals and other travel-related purchases. It is one of the best credit cards for car rentals as a result.… read full answer

Here are Chase Sapphire Reserve car rental benefits:

• Rental car insurance. You get complimentary coverage for damage to or theft of rental cars. Chase will pay up to $75,000 per incident. To get this benefit, just pay for the entire rental with your Chase Sapphire Reserve card or Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and then decline the rental agency’s insurance.

  Beware of restrictions, though. For example, coverage doesn’t apply to antique vehicles, trucks or motorcycles. And you won’t be reimbursed for off-road or drunk driving, among other illegal situations. Be sure to read your benefits guide for the full details.

• Special deals at agencies. National Car Rental, Avis, and Silvercar all offer special privileges to customers who rent using a Chase Sapphire Reserve. Log in to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account, then click the “Travel Benefits” page and find the “Special Car Rental Privileges” section. You might get free car upgrades, discounts on rentals and other promotional offers.
• 10 points / $1. These points are worth 1.5 cents each toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• $300 travel credit. Chase reimburses your first $300 in travel costs per year, including money you spend at car rental agencies.

Altogether, the Chase Sapphire Reserve car rental benefits help you earn more points, save money with special deals and protect your finances with insurance. And they come at no extra cost.

But whether these benefits and the rest of Chase Sapphire Reserve’s perks are worth the card’s $550 annual fee is the real question. The much cheaper Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has the same insurance coverage but only gives 5 points / $1 on travel and lacks a travel credit. It costs $95 per year.

Yes, Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a metal card. There’s no plastic version, so there’s no need to specifically request the card in metal when you apply. That’s what you’ll automatically get if you’re approved for an account. While many people like the feel and aesthetic of metal cards, or see them as status symbols, those are the only benefits. Metal won’t save you more money or keep your account any safer.… read full answer

Plus, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card costs $550 every year. So you really need to decide whether its terms make it worthwhile for you, metal aside. Let’s go through Reserve’s perks other than a cool design to help you make the right call.

Here’s why to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve metal card:

• 50,000 points bonus for spending $4,000 in the first three months
• $300 annual travel credit
• Earn a total of 10 points per $1 spent on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase, a total of 10 points per $1 spent on prepaid restaurant reservations or takeout orders made through Chase, a total of 5 points per $1 spent on flights purchased through Chase, 3 points per $1 spent on all other travel and dining purchases, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
• 1.5 cents a point (50% extra) when you redeem through Chase’s travel website.

You don’t have to do anything special to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve® metal card once you’re approved. But whether you should apply in the first place depends on how much you travel. It’s mostly frequent flyers who will get enough value out of the Chase rewards program to make the $550 worth it. If that’s the case for you, the metal card is just the icing on the cake.

You should also remember that the Reserve card is not the only metal option out there. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card all come in metal.