Gasp! I know! I was looking at My Wallet today and I’ve honestly started to wonder if it’s finally time to get rid of the amazing Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Don’t get me wrong, the card is still great, but I’m beginning to wonder if I’m still getting any unique value from the card.
Anyone that knows about credit cards knows that for a while the Chase Sapphire Reserve has been the card to have; or at least it was. When the Chase Sapphire Reserve first came out it offered an insane 100,000 Ultimate Rewards point sign-up bonus. In addition to the lucrative sign-up bonus the card offered the opportunity to earn 3X points on dining and travel and 1X points on all other purchases. That points earning structure (at the time) was insane for any credit card. It was even better for a card that effectively cost just $150/year.
However, in the years that followed the release of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card issuers have been working hard to close the gap between the CSR and other cards. Namely, Amex offered 5X points on airfare and hotels with the Platinum card, More recently Wells Fargo revamped their propel cards to also offer 3X points on “eating out and ordering in.” There have been countless other improvements to credit cards as well. All of these improvements have started to make me wonder if it is still worth paying $450 ($150 net) to carry the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
What Am I Getting Out Of The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card?
As I went through my current stockpile of credit cards I couldn’t help but wonder what am I actually getting out of my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. So I started by going through each benefit and trying to see if the benefit is unique or if I get similar benefits from other cards. Here’s what I came up with.
- 3X Points On Dining – Unique
- 3X Points On Travel – Redundant (Citi ThankYou Premier / American Express Platinum)
- 1X Point On All Other Purchases – Extremely Redundant
- Priority Pass Select Membership – Redundant (Amex Plat)
- Global Entry / TSA PreCheck $100 Credit – Redundant (Amex Plat)
- Points Worth $0.015 – Irrelevant (I transfer points anyway)
- No Foreign Transaction Fees – Redundant
As you can see, the only “unique” primary benefit of this card is the 3X points on dining. So I began crunching some numbers. I assumed I spent about $15,000 a year on “dining” purchases. With that, if I put each of those qualifying charges on the CSR I earn 15,000 more points than I would when using a different card. Since I value Ultimate Rewards points at $0.015/each that’s about $225 of additional value that I’m getting from the card. Honestly, that’s about it. Besides that additional value I’m not getting much else more out of this card.
Is It Worth Paying Another $450 Annual Fee?
Well, for starters the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with $300 in annual travel credits. These credits reduce the “effective” annual fee to just $150 a year. Given that I get about $225 of value from the card I am coming out slightly ahead. In total, I’m getting about $75 of value from this card each year. On this basis alone I’d argue that it is worth keeping this card open for the time being.
It’s Time To Consider Opening Another Card
The issue with carrying the Chase Sapphire Reserve is that it is becoming my everyday credit card. I’ve become so used to pulling this card out to pay for meals that I don’t think twice about using this card to pay for other things like groceries, convenience store purchases, or other miscellaneous charges. By doing this I’m missing out on earning more points with more rewarding cards.
For that reason I’ve been considering opening one additional card that I will carry daily for everyday spending. In the past I always assumed that card would be the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. That card offers 1.5X Ultimate Rewards points (when paired with a UR card) on all annual spend. That represents fairly good value from a card that lacks an annual fee.
In recent weeks though I’ve started looking more closely at the American Express Blue Business Plus card. The Blue Business Plus card again lacks an annual fee, but offers 2X Membership Rewards points on all purchases (capped at $50,000/year). The only downside to this card is that it is a business card instead of a personal card so some people (me?) may not be eligible to open an account.
Earning 1.5X or 2X on all other non-bonus spend would be significant. I’d bet that I spend about $10,000 a year on non-bonus spending so a card like this would get me an extra 5-10,000 points a year. That’s approximately $150 of value that I’m missing out on each year.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately I do still spend enough on “dining” purchases each year to justify paying the $450 annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. However, if my spending habits change and I eat out less than perhaps carrying the CSR won’t make sense going forward.
Likewise the CSR has created a bad habit where I use that card for many everyday purchases (including grocery store purchases) which means I’m missing out on value that I could get from another card. That’s why I think it’s important each year or every so many months to sit down an analyze your annual spend. As spending habits change so should your credit card portfolio to maximize value.
Lastly, the Chase Sapphire Reserve was the best all around card a few years ago, but that doesn’t mean the same can be said today. Credit card issuers have spent the the last couple of years playing catch up and it’s surprising to see the gap between the CSR and other cards close.
So, the CSR is safe in my wallet for now, but it might not be there for much longer as my spending habits shift, new cards hit the market, and existing cards improve on their existing benefits.
