Chase Sapphire Reserve
Annual Fee: $795
1. Hotel Edit Credit – $500/250/0
It appears harder to use these credits than AmEx and limited to possibly only the priciest of options. Although, a Reddit thread does show some reasonable prices.
2. Travel Credit – $300/300/300
A non-behavior altering, instant $300 value toward the $795 annual fee is a good place to start.
3. OpenTable – $300/300/150
At first glance, this does not look anywhere close to as easy to use as the AmEx Resy credit. It seems to only apply to a certain list of OpenTable restaurants. Maybe Goodyear House in Charlotte, Nami Nori in Miami, or Kindred in San Diego?
4. DoorDash – $300/60/35
Credit for $5 toward restaurants and $20 toward other orders. I could use the $5 most months, but the others would go to waste like my current credits on other cards. If I could only crack the secret to making the non-restaurant credits worthwhile.
5. StubHub – $300/300/150
We buy a lot of tickets for Hornets and Charlotte FC, but we usually pay low amounts from local sellers or on TickPick. However, we will definitely utilize the credit and that would offset some of the usual spend even if it costs a little more.
6. AppleTV – $99/99/99
I need AppleTV for Charlotte FC matches, but that’s only $99 for the year. I hate how they use the monthly pricing to make it sound more valuable.
7. Apple Music – $99/99/99 (could stop separate Spotify)
Megan finally got sick of not having a music service so signed up for Spotify recently for $13.99/month. This would technically save $167/year. Hmm.
8. Lyft – $120/120/60
Another credit I will likely use from Lyft rides or scooter use. We use it most months without the credit being offered.
8. Chase Lounge Access – We have 3 trips currently planned for airports with these lounges and that would be fun, but also requires everything to line up and to be at the airport early enough and at the correct terminal, etc.
Overall Value: Projected Used Value $1228/Projected Would Have Spent $893
Initially I didn’t even count the Apple Music thinking we wouldn’t use it, but adding that in put us over the top of the projected amount we would have spent without the card.
According to my rough calculations, assuming we would likely use half of a lot of these even if we did not have the credits, it is almost a wash with the annual fee. If we put it a little effort and find ways to maximize the values of the hotel credit and the OpenTable, not to mention the Apple Music that would allow Megan to save over $150/year, I can make a case for opening this card. Plus, we would both get access to Chase lounges for the year and that’s worth something.
While the points earned is a little more agreeable compared to AmEx Platinum, the overall credits of Platinum seem easier and more in line with our typical spending. Still, it sure would be nice to have fancy lounge access for a year of effort to make the credits work.
I don’t mind if this has to be my full-time employment to maximize the credits available and have a little bit of fun and a nicer travel experience while doing it.