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  • #90: Huge Changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve Has Me Looking Elsewhere for Credit Card Rewards

#90: Huge Changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve Has Me Looking Elsewhere for Credit Card Rewards

I recently signed up for 2 new credit cards that have become my primary credit cards now

Author

Millennial Money Veteran
June 17, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

MMV here,

HUGE NEWS IN THE CREDIT CARD SPACE!

Chase unveiled the new Chase Sapphire Reserve card today and it has completely changed the credit card space. The new Chase Sapphire Reserve and the newly introduced Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business will be available starting June 23, 2025.

I’m going to go over the changes (the good & the bad), what I think about the changes, and why I’m looking elsewhere for credit card rewards.

Let me start by saying I’m a huge Chase credit card consumer. I have had my Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) since it first came out and only recently switched to the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) when the 100,000 sign-up bonus was re-introduced. Now, I’m glad that I switched over to the CSP because I was able to snag the extra points while it was available and I plan to stick with the CSP and other credit cards.

The Brief

What to know about Chase’s New Sapphire Reserve

Here’s what the new CSR offers:

Annual Fee
Primary Cardholder: $795 (previously $550)
Authorized Users: $195 each (previously $75)

Points Earning Rates
8x points on Chase Travel (replacing 5x on flights and 10x on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel)
5x on eligible Lyft purchases
4x points on flights and hotels purchased directly (replacing 3x on all travel)
3x points on dining, including eligible delivery
1x point on everything else

The biggest drawback from this change is that other travel expenses will only earn you 1x like cruises, rental cars, vacation rentals, public transit, and taxis. 

CSR’s New Benefits

Points Redemption Value
Up to 2 cents per point with Points Boosts on Chase Travel
1x point on Chase Travel purchases not eligible for Points Boost (replacing 1.5 cents on Chase Travel)

Other Benefits
(New) IHG Platinum Status until December 31, 2027
(New) Free Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscription
(New) $250 in statement credits from January through June, and again from July through December for a maximum of $500 annually for bookings made with The Edit (purchases that qualify will not earn points and two-night minimum)
(New) Reserve Travel Designers to build and book custom itineraries
(New) Up to $300 annually in statement credits when you dine with Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables
(New) $150 statement credit per 6-months for StubHub 
(New) $10 statement credit per month for Peloton

Same Benefits
DashPass membership with a monthly $5 restaurant credit and two $10 non-restaurant credit
$300 annual travel credit
$10 monthly in-app Lyft credit
Transfer partners
Rental car insurance

(NEW) $75K Spend Benefits (if you spend $75,000 within a calendar year)
IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite Status
$500 Southwest Airlines Chase Travel credit
Southwest Airlines A-List Status
$250 credit for The Shops at Chase

Recent News

📰 News Highlights

My Thoughts On The New CSR

The rumor mill was going crazy for a week and almost all the rumors were true. The only rumor that ended up not being true was that the flexible $300 travel statement credit would turn into a $300 statement credit on Chase Travel. That was the only good news. The entire change to the CSR was disappointing.

Based on the changes, it’s clear that Chase wants the CSR to be the premium high-end travel credit card to target high-earners who would benefit from the “coupons” like Stubhub and luxury hotels through The Edit. 

The only benefit I see is the 4x points on flight purchases directly with airlines. Even with the 4x on hotels, I usually stay at either a Hyatt and Marriott so I would use those credit cards for their respective hotel loyalty points.

The original Chase Sapphire Card was a GREAT all-around travel credit card due to it being flexible with how you earn points (3x on travel and dining) and only costing a net fee of $300. Even when the annual fee increased from $450 to $550, it was still worth it in my opinion. With the annual fee increasing to $795, it’s a huge jump with benefits that are rigid. That’s why I’m sticking with the CSP for now and I’m hoping Chase doesn’t change it soon.

Recommendations

🔧 Toolbox

This section will showcase the tools I use for anything. I love trying new things so I’ll share what I’m using and why:

  • Website Hosting (link): If you have a website hosted by HostGator, BlueHost, or another heavily-marketed hosting service, you NEED TO SWITCH! Those two are overpriced and offer low speeds. Cloudways offers high-speeds and makes managing your hosting easy.

  • Real estate banking and rental management platform (link): If you have any rental properties, this is the platform you should be using. Every transaction that happens within my portfolio shows up in bookkeeping and I can link external accounts like my credit card so it auto-imports. Best of all, my tenants can automate paying rent.

Credit Card Strategy

How My Credit Card Strategy Is Changing

I use credit cards for every purchase so that I can earn points. The CSR and CSP were my primary dining and travel credit cards. However, that recently changed when I signed up for two new credit cards and became definite after this change. 

The main reason why I looked elsewhere was because I just came back from my Japan trip where I used a lot of Chase points and I still have over 500,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards. I don’t need to stockpile more Chase points so I looked at what else I could earn.

I signed up for the Gemini Bitcoin Credit Card and Bilt Credit Card. I’ll explain why I switched to these two cards.

The Gemini Credit Card

Sign-up Offer: $200 in Crypto after spending $3,000 within 90 days (plus $50 using my referral link)  

Gemini Credit Card rewards:

  • 4% on gas, EV charging, transit, taxis and rideshare services up to $300/month

  • 3% on food and dining

  • 2% on groceries (not wholesale stores)

  • 1% on everything else

Instead of points, I earn the crypto of my choice, which is Bitcoin. It’s a nice way to invest in crypto without directly purchasing crypto. So far, I’ve earned over $350 in Bitcoin and there is no annual fee.

The Bilt Credit Card

The second credit card I signed up for is the Bilt Credit Card.

The Bilt Credit Card offers:

  • 1x points on rent

  • 5x points at Bilt Neighborhood Dining Partners (not many options)

  • 3x points on dining

  • 5x points on Lyft rideshare

  • 2x points on travel

I rent so this was an easy way to earn points on the rent I pay, which I wouldn’t have otherwise earned. Bilt also has some amazing transfer partners that Chase doesn’t offer so it complements my credit card list. 

If you pay rent and want a travel credit card with no annual fee, Bilt is a great travel credit card to have in your wallet!