Chase increased the Annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card from $450 to $550 on January 12, making it one of the top-paying premium Travel Rewards card. This is the biggest change ever since they launched the card in August 2016. This change doesn’t come in a surprise with Amex offering similar rideshare and door delivery food service benefits on Amex Platinum and Amex Gold.

Update 4/1

Cardholders with account renewal dates between April 1 and July 1, 2020 are eligible for the $100 annual fee credit.

You don’t have to call Chase, help them to save this time for customers in need. Its going to be an automatic $100 credit towards the new annual fee. source

  • Annual fee will increase to $550 for existing users in April 1st, 2020

Chase is adding a couple of interesting partnerships with DoorDash and Lyft. This announcement comes with a mix of new benefits and some disappointment for Reserve cardholders on the Annual Fee.

If you don’t want to pay the higher Annual Fee for the Reserve card, you might want to consider dropping down to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. It has fewer benefits but still offers 2x points on travel and dining (as opposed to the Reserve’s 3x points). Your points have an additional 25% value when you redeem them for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards (compared to 50% additional value with the Reserve card). The Chase Sapphire Preferred Annual Fee will still be $95 per year for now.

Chase Sapphire Reserve DashPass Membership

Chase adds certain credit cardholder’s free Doordash delivery. DashPass offers free delivery and lower service fees from hundreds of restaurants on orders of $12 or more. This service typically costs $9.99 a month, but you can receive up to 2 years free with an eligible Chase card. The free membership varies by card. This benefit can save an average of between $4 and $5 per order.

To activate the DashPass benefit, add your eligible Chase credit card as the default payments in the DoorDash app or online by December 31, 2021. You can use our referral link and get $15 credits.

Chase Sapphire Reserve and Preferred members get up to 2 year Dashpass, it is active till Dec 31st 2021. So, it’s better you activate now to enjoy almost full 2 years. Simply add the card in DoorDash and the offer pops up automatically to activate it.

Eligible Chase credit cards include:

Chase Reserve cardholders also get a $120 credit on DoorDash for the next 2 years along with the Free membership. So, it’s $60 in 2020 and another $60 in 2021. We are not sure what happens after that.

Maximize Rewards with DoorDash and Lyft using Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase Sapphire Reserve Free Lyft Pink Membership

Chase Sapphire Reserve Cardholders are getting Free Lyft Pink Membership for one year. This offer is becoming active on 1/12/20.

If you are new to Lyft, Rakuten offers $10 Cash Back on your first ride with Lyft. Ensure to sign-up for Lyft and take the ride within 2 weeks to get the credit.

Starting Jan 12th, Lyft transactions will be earning at 10X and all other cards like Sapphire Preferred, Ink and Freedom will earn 5X until March 2021 . This is going to be huge for Lyft users, but again disappointing for others. If you combine these two benefits, it’s like you already get 15% discount using Lyft Pink and an additional 10x which is worth 15% at least. So it’s a great benefit for a Lyft user using it a few times a year.

It’s not just this, you can now Triple dip with Delta SkyMiles and Hilton Honors.

What does Lyft Pink Membership offer?

Explore The Perks Of Lyft Pink (regularly 19.99/month):

15% off unlimited car rides
Save on every car ride you take — any time, anywhere.

Priority airport pickups
Get picked up faster at the airport when it’s busy.

Relaxed cancellations
We’ll cover three cancel fees per month if you rebook within 15 minutes.

Surprise offers
Get seasonal discounts and exclusive savings.

Waived lost and found fees
We’ll take care of the return fee every time.

Bikes and scooters
Enjoy 3 free 30-min. bike or scooter rides per month (in select markets).

Conclusion

It’s clear from these new benefits, they are following the Amex path and also trying to be more profitable. Reserve definitely still has the most generous rewards program, especially their $300 travel credit and 50% more rewards redemption on Travel. If you are in the market looking for a good travel card apart from Chase Sapphire Reserve, then Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best. Their 60,000 bonus points, 2x travel, and dining along with the newly added DoorDash benefits makes the top travel card. If DoorDash credits and Lyft membership are part of your purchases, then Reserve should benefit a lot despite the increase in $100 Annual Fee.

Now, there is going to be lots of debate to choose between Amex Platinum and Chase Reserve if you own both. If the credits have been offered on Lyft, it would have been a clear win despite the increase in Annual Fee.

Post Views: 4,801