Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Sapphire Reserve: Is the $795 Fee Worth It?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve both earn Chase points. Both charge no foreign transaction fee. The big difference is the price. The Preferred costs $95 a year. The Reserve costs $795.

This guide shows what you get for the extra $700, and when you actually get it back. We use three spending profiles and show every step.

Want to try your own numbers first? Run these two cards on your own spending with our card-vs-card calculator.

The two cards side by side

These figures come from Chase's card pages as of November 2026.

"Booked direct" means you book on the airline's or hotel's own site. Chase Travel is Chase's own booking site. The 5x and 8x rates only count there.

Sign-up bonuses change often. The amounts above are what Chase showed in early November 2026.

What each card gives back each year

Sapphire Preferred

• Up to $100 a year in statement credits for hotel stays bought through Chase Travel. It resets each account anniversary year.

Sapphire Reserve

• Up to $300 a year in statement credits for travel purchases. Those purchases do not earn points.
• Up to $500 a year for prepaid hotel stays booked through The Edit, Chase's luxury hotel collection. It pays up to $250 per booking, and each stay needs at least two nights. Those purchases do not earn points.
• Up to $300 a year for dining at restaurants in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program on OpenTable. It comes as $150 from January to June and $150 from July to December.
• A Priority Pass Select membership for over 1,300 airport lounges.
• A DashPass membership and monthly DoorDash promos.
• Up to $120 every four years for a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS application fee.

A credit is only worth money if it pays for something you would have bought anyway. A $300 dining credit at restaurants you never visit is worth $0 to you.

How we value points in this guide

A Chase point does not have one fixed dollar value. It depends on how you use it. See our observed points values for what points have been worth in real bookings.

For the examples below, we assume a point is worth 1.25 cents. That is an example, not a promise. If your points are worth less to you, the Reserve looks worse. That is because its main advantage is earning more points.

Three spending profiles

Each profile shows one year of points, the value of those points at 1.25 cents, credits used and the annual fee. It does not include the sign-up bonus.

Profile 1: Two trips a year

You spend $20,000 a year. That is $4,000 on dining, $1,200 on online grocery, $300 on streaming and $1,500 on gas. Travel is $1,200 on flights and $800 on hotels, all booked direct. The other $11,000 is everything else. You do not use Chase Travel.

The Preferred earns more points here. It pays 3x on grocery, streaming and gas, where the Reserve pays 1x. The Reserve's $300 travel credit covers $300 of the flights, so those $300 earn no points.

The Preferred comes out $440 ahead. Say you also used the full $300 Reserve dining credit. The Reserve would then leave you $215. The Preferred still wins by $140.

Profile 2: A frequent traveler who uses two credits

You spend $35,000 a year. Travel is $5,000 on flights and $3,000 on hotels booked direct, plus $2,000 through Chase Travel. The rest is $8,000 on dining, $1,000 on online grocery, $1,000 on gas and $15,000 on everything else. One of your Chase Travel bookings is a hotel, so you use the Preferred's $100 hotel credit.

The two cards come out almost even. The Reserve is ahead by $10. The Reserve's 4x on direct flights and hotels, and 8x on Chase Travel, earns 16,800 more points. That makes up for its higher fee once you count the two credits.

One stay through The Edit would put the Reserve further ahead. Say you book a $600 two-night Edit stay as part of your Chase Travel spending. The $250 credit pays part of it. Those $250 no longer earn 8x, so you give up 2,000 points, or $25. The Reserve then leads by $235.

Profile 3: A big spender who books through Chase Travel

You spend $50,000 a year. That is $10,000 on dining, $8,000 through Chase Travel, $2,000 on flights booked direct, $2,000 on hotels booked direct and $28,000 on everything else. You use the Preferred's hotel credit and the Reserve's travel and dining credits.

The Reserve comes out $185 ahead. Most of that comes from 8x on $8,000 of Chase Travel bookings.

If your points are worth less than 1.25 cents to you, that lead gets smaller. The Reserve's extra 30,800 points are worth $385 at 1.25 cents, but $308 at 1 cent. To see how much travel you need on your own trips, use our travel card break-even calculator.

How many extra points the Reserve must earn

Start with the $700 difference in fees. Then subtract the Reserve credits you know you will use in full. Whatever is left must come from extra points.

Example: you will use the $300 travel credit and the $300 dining credit. That leaves $100. At 1.25 cents a point, the Reserve must earn 8,000 more points than the Preferred to cover it. If you also use a $100 Preferred hotel credit, the target rises to 16,000 points.

Remember that the Preferred earns 2 points more per dollar on online grocery, streaming and gas. So spending there raises the number of extra points the Reserve needs.

Who should pick the Sapphire Preferred

• You take one to three trips a year.
• You spend a fair amount on online grocery, streaming or gas.
• You would not use $600 or more of Reserve credits every year.
• You want a sign-up bonus that is easier to earn. It needs $5,000 in 3 months instead of $6,000.

Who should pick the Sapphire Reserve

• You spend several thousand dollars a year on flights and hotels.
• You will book through Chase Travel often enough to use the 8x rate.
• You will use the $300 travel credit and the $300 dining credit every year.
• You would use airport lounges, and you would pay for lounge access otherwise.

When to hold both

Holding both rarely makes sense. The fees add up to $890 a year. The two cards also overlap on dining, where both pay 3x. Read Chase's application terms on bonuses and on holding more than one card before you apply.

A more common setup pairs one Sapphire card with a no-fee Chase card for everyday spending. See Freedom Unlimited vs Freedom Flex and our guide to pairing a cash back card with a points card.

How to decide in four steps

1. Add up last year's travel. Split it into flights booked direct, hotels booked direct, Chase Travel and other travel.
2. List the Reserve credits you would use in full. Count only spending you already do.
3. Run both cards through our card-vs-card calculator with a point value you trust.
4. Pick the card that leaves you more after its fee. If they are within $100, pick the Preferred. You are not counting on using credits to come out ahead.

For more on how points compare with cash back, see our guide to cash back, points or miles by situation. To compare the Reserve with other premium cards, see Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum.

Sources

• Chase Sapphire Preferred card page: earn rates, $100 hotel credit, sign-up bonus, annual fee and foreign transaction fee, checked November 2026.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve card page: earn rates, credits, lounge access, sign-up bonus, annual fee and foreign transaction fee, checked November 2026.

Card terms change. Check the issuer's current terms before you apply. This is educational information, not personal financial advice.