One of the most attractive features on Chase’s Sapphire Reserve has got to be the $300 Annual Travel Credit that is automatically applied to all travel purchases. Considering that most premium cards do have an annual travel credit ranging from $100 to $300 (American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card vs Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card).
The Annual Travel Credit can be triggered with merchants in the travel category including airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, campgrounds, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages. Summing it up, it’s overall any travel-related purchase should count towards the annual credit.
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| Chase Business Complete Checking® | $300 or $500 Cash | Review |
| Chase Private Client | $3,000 Cash | Review |
| Chase Total Checking® | $300 Cash | Review |
| Chase College CheckingSM | $100 Cash | Review |
| J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | Up To $700 Cash | Review |
| Chase Secure BankingSM | $100 Cash | Review |
Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Perk In-Detail:
As for the benefits, the statement credit will automatically be posted into your account. Chase confirms that it will be posted the same day any eligible travel-related purchase is made, but it will not appear in your statement for another 1-2 billing cycles
Now, the main premise of having an annual travel credit perk is so that you can effectively bring your annual cost lower when holding a premium card, but there are also other useful ways to utilize this benefit and there can be some differing factors from card to card compared to the Reserve’s $300 credit.
| Annual Fee | Travel Credit Amount | How It’s Processed | Eligible Uses for Credit | |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | $450 | $300 | Automatically applied | All Travel Purchases |
| Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card | $450 | $300 | You need to call in after using the card for an eligible purchase. | Seat upgrades, baggage fees, in-flight entertainment, in-flight meals preferred lounge memberships or passes |
| Citi Prestige Card | $450 | $250 | Automatically applied | Airfare, baggage fees, in-flight purchases, lounge access, |
| Platinum Card from American Express | $450 | $200 | To use the credit, you need to select a qualifying airline. | Baggage fees, in-flight food and drink |
| American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card | $195 (waived the first year) | $100 | To use the credit, you need to select a qualifying airline. | Baggage fees, in-flight food and drink |
- The Ritz-Carlton VISA Infinite will offer you $300 Travel Credit that can cover some of your travel cost with seat upgrades and lounge access/membership, it does offer a bit of sibling rivalry towards the Reserve, but where it falls short is that it doesn’t actually include Airfare and triggering the credit could take quite a bit of thinking considering that you will need to call in after using the card on ELIGIBLE purchases, furthermore, on incidentals. Now, this card does have an attractive sign-up bonus with 3 Free Nights at a Tier 1-4 Ritz Carlton Property when you spend $5,000 in the first three months.
- The Citi Prestige Card has a $250 credit attached that I believe to be the closest to rivaling with Chase Reserve’s $300 Annual Travel Credit considering that it’s automatically applied for Airfare, lounge fees, baggage fees, etc. Although the Reserve has the card by the ropes with $50 more credit, automatic applied credit, and eligible with a more wide array of travel purchases, The Citi Prestige definitely doesn’t fall short with a quite rewarding 4th Night Free Benefit. Keep in mind that this card will be removing the Admirals Club Lounge Access as of next year, which could be detrimental to the value of this card.
- The Platinum card will offer you $200 credit when you select a specific airlines. You will have the option to change the credit once a year and have it go towards incidentals; baggage fees, in-flight meals, etc. Keep in mind that there is exclusions applied with actual flight ticket purchases when you deem your credit as incidental. The Platinum currently offers a sign-up bonus of 40,000 MR Points after you make a spend of $3,000 within the first three months.
- The American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card will come with the same restrictions as the Platinum card and it does offer the lowest annual travel credit compared to any of the other cards listed above. You shouldn’t really judge the Annual Travel alone considering that this card is only a $195 AF and it is waived or the first year.
Conclusion:
It’s a clear distinction between the Chase Sapphire Reserve and it’s many rivals and when a perk deemed as $300 Travel Credit is attached, it’s enough to make anyone consider taking a gander at this card. Travel credit, as we mentioned before, is not cash, but there’s plenty of ways to use it; whether you want to lower your AF Cost, or use it for qualifying travel purchases.
Furthermore, what makes this perk so generous is that it’s on the same boat as unlimited when it comes to travel purchases that are eligible on the Reserve; you won’t have to call in to receive your statement credit or pick a specific airlines to reap your credit with and with a beautiful 3X the points on travel, it makes saying Yes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve so much more tempting. Be sure to also take a gander at our Chase Sapphire Reserve Review as well as our complete list of Chase Card Promotions or Credit Card Promotions.
