Chase

Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits include 50,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months and a $300 annual travel credit. You also get 3 points per $1 spent on travel and dining, which works out to 4.5% back when you redeem for travel. Each Chase Sapphire Reserve point is worth 1.5 cents that way. Another great Chase Sapphire Reserve benefit is a free Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership, worth $429 per year. Plus, cardholders get several types of travel insurance, extra protection for purchases and more.

Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits come at a price: the card's $550 annual fee. So the perks are only a good value if you use them often. And to figure out whether you'll be able to do so, you have to know exactly what's available.

Top Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits:

1. Big bonus. You get 50,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. That's worth $750 toward travel.
2. Extra travel earnings. 3 points per $1 spent on travel and dining, 1 point per $1 on everything else. Points are also worth 50% more when used for travel.
3. $300 annual travel credit. Chase will reimburse your first $300 per year in travel costs (flights, hotels, cruises, etc.). The travel credit no longer qualifies for 3 points per $1 spent in rewards.
4. Priority Pass Select membership. Free access to over 1,000 airport lounges throughout the world. Limit of two free guests for airport lounge visits. Additional passes are $27.
5. No foreign transaction fees. You won't pay extra for purchases from foreign merchants.
6. 1:1 point transfer. Exchange your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for miles or points from 13 airline and hotel loyalty programs.
7. $100 application fee credit. If you apply and are accepted to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, Chase will reimburse your application fee.
8. Travel insurance. You get well over $1 million in total insurance coverage for incidents including travel accidents, emergency evacuation, trip cancellation/interruption, baggage problems and rental car damage, among others.
9. Purchase/Return Protection. Purchase protection covers items bought with Reserve against damage and theft, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year. Return protection covers working items you tried to return but couldn't, up to $500 per item and $1,000 per year. Chase eliminated its price protection benefit on 8/26/18.
10. Extended warranty. Items you buy with Reserve that have a warranty of 3 years or fewer can have their warranty extended by 1 year.

There's also roadside assistance, where Chase will send someone to help if your car breaks down or runs out of gas. You're covered for up to $50 per use, four times per year. Anything more than that you'll have to pay yourself. Plus, there's special customer service for people having travel emergencies.

So, as you can see, Chase Sapphire Reserve is packed full of benefits. If you travel all the time, you'll probably get more than your money's worth. But if you're a less frequent traveler and not a heavy spender, the $550 annual fee might make you want to think twice.

Chase asks you to verify card delivery whenever you get a new credit card in the mail. This is the same thing as activating a Chase credit card. You'll be able to use the new card immediately once you verify it. To verify your Chase card, visit the Chase verify card page online or call Chase at 1-888-489-7249.

Online, you'll need to sign in to your Chase.com account and find your new card under “My Accounts.” To verify a Chase card over the phone, enter your 16-digit card number when the system prompts you. Both types of verification will only take a few minutes.

Here's how to use the Chase verify card page online:

1. Go to Chase's card verification page​​​​​​​.
2. Create a Chase.com account, if you haven't already, and log in.
3. Click on “My Accounts.”
4. Select your new card.
5. Click “Yes” when asked if you'd like to activate the card.

Once you complete the Chase verify card process, you can begin using the card right away. The process is the same for all Chase credit cards, from travel rewards cards like Chase Sapphire Reserve® to everyday spending cards like Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

There is no Chase secured credit card available right now. In fact, there's never been a secured credit card from Chase. Chase offers unsecured credit cards for people with at least good credit.

Although there is no Chase secured credit card, the same cannot be said for many of Chase's competitors. Capital One, Citi, Discover and Wells Fargo are just some of the major banks that offer secured credit cards.  

Secured Credit Card Options & Info

• Good for low deposits: Secured Mastercard® from Capital One has a $0 annual fee. It requires a deposit of $49, $99 or $200, based on your credit history. But you always start with a $200 credit limit.
• Easiest approval: OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card has no credit check. It charges a $35 annual fee and requires a $200 deposit.
• Best cash back rewards: Discover it® Secured Credit Card has a $0 annual fee and 1 - 2% cash back on purchases: 2% cash back on up to $1,000 spent at restaurants and gas stations each quarter (1% everywhere else). And Discover matches your first year's rewards. Requires a $200 deposit.

So, even though you're not able to get a Chase secured credit card, you still have plenty of options. And they'll all help you start building your credit, plus save some money. Once you get your credit score to “good”, you can start thinking about applying for a Chase credit card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits include high rewards on travel, plus thousands of dollars in travel insurance and coverage for damaged or stolen purchases. Sapphire Preferred also offers one of the best initial rewards bonuses on the market. That's a big reason why its among WalletHub's choices for the year's best rewards cards as well as the best credit card deals. The average person would earn more Preferred over the first two years of use than any other Chase credit card, according to WalletHub's latest Credit Card Rewards Report. And Chase Sapphire Preferred's secondary benefits are impressive as well.

Chase Sapphire's Benefits

• Initial Bonus: Sapphire Preferred offers one of the best bonuses on the market.

• Travel Insurance: Chase Sapphire Preferred has the best overall travel insurance among credit cards, according to WalletHub's editors. Pay for travel with Sapphire Preferred, and you'll get coverage for delayed, cancelled, or interrupted trips as well as forlost or delayed luggage.

• Rental Car Insurance: Paying for your vehicle rental with your Sapphire Preferred card automatically gives you coverage for damage or theft. Chase's policy ranks third among major issuers.

• Extended Warranty: If you buy something that has a manufacturer's warranty, Chase may add a year to your coverage. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve are tied for 17^th in this category.

• Purchase Protection: You may be eligible for at least a partial refund if certain items purchased with a Chase Sapphire card are damaged or stolen. WalletHub ranks Chase Sapphire Preferred 5^th in this category. The Sapphire Reserve card takes 1^st place.

• International Travel Perks: WalletHub's editors analyzed major issuers' perks and policies for international travelers, including travel rewards, foreign transaction fees, emergency assistance and more. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve tied for 7^th best.

Another Chase Sapphire Preferred benefit is worldwide acceptance. Since Chase Sapphire Preferred is a Visa, you can use it pretty much everywhere in the world credit cards are accepted. Using a Visa or a Mastercard is the best way to convert currency when traveling internationally, too, thanks to low exchange rates that could save you as much as 9%. Plus, Chase is one of the few major credit card companies that will send you a free replacement if you lose your card while out of the country.

In short, Chase Sapphire Preferred is an excellent rewards credit card for people with excellent credit. You can learn more about the offer from WalletHub's complete Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve 100k bonus was a limited-time promotion that ran from August 2016 through March 2017. Cardholders who were approved during that period and spent $4,000 within 3 months of account opening got 100,000 bonus points. And that Chase Sapphire Reserve 100k bonus was worth $1,500 in travel – an incredible deal.

But after March 2017, Chase chopped the Sapphire Reserve 100k bonus in half. You still have to spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. But now you get a bonus of 50,000 points, worth $750 in travel. That's still one of the biggest credit card bonuses on the market, though. And it's enough to cover about 1.7 years' worth of Reserve's $550 annual fee.

So, at the end of the day, Chase Sapphire Reserve's 100k bonus is no longer available because it was never supposed to be permanent. It was the equivalent of 35% cash back, and that's just not sustainable. Chase offered it to build some buzz for the new Sapphire Reserve Card when it was introduced. And since that seems to have worked, they retired that promotion. It's possible Chase could do another 100,000 point bonus in the future. But don't count on it.

Fortunately, Sapphire Reserve's sign-up bonus isn't the only benefit you'll enjoy. You'll also receive a $300 travel credit each year. And you'll earn 3 points per $1 spent on all travel and dining purchases as well as 1 point per $1 on everything else. Those points are normally worth 1 cent each, but when redeemed for travel, they're worth 1.5 cents apiece. That's how the bonus of 50,000 points, normally worth $500, jumps to a $750 value.