Back in June, Chase introduced the new Chase Sapphire Reserve® card with a higher annual fee. Our initial reactions were mixed and a little disappointed because the card was no longer a no-brainer, broadly applicable card in our view. Now that we’ve had some time, has our opinion changed?
A second look at the new Chase Sapphire Reserve® card
Watch here:
Or listen here (or click “Follow” on the player below to select your preferred podcast app instead):
(01:42) – High-level view of the card updates
(04:04) – Initially, Greg felt like this card would work for him, but not for the casual cardholder. Does he still feel that way?
(10:42) – How does Nick feel about it?
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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I don’t see those benefits (apple, stubhub). I got the card in July, when will i see those benefits?
Thanks for doing this, my reaction has been similar.
I have been VERY disappointed with the Edit credits. I happen to have trips before the end of the year that take me to Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok, and Singapore, so I assumed I would easily be able to use the credit on one of those trips. But after much searching I wasnt able to find an Edit hotel in any of those places that made any sense. I’ve started looking at domestic places where I could do a weekend away to use it, but haven’t found anything that has even come close to being worth it. I’m guessing I may end up never using the Edit credits.
I do live in a big city and already go to Sapphire Tables restaurants at least once every couple months, so that is still like cash for me. And even though I was annoyed that the Stubhub credits for me wouldn’t be activated until after baseball season was over, I’ve already used most of that for concert tickets that I was going to buy anyway. So personally for me the changes are still a big positive, but the Edit has been really frustrating.
I am in a similar situation, in Singapore, the only hotels that I find Edit is usable is the IHG at Robertson and the Mondrian in Chinatown.
BKK and SIN have decent Edit hotels? Andaz, IC or Mondrian Singapore, and Standard, Kimpton, Ritz or St Regis Bangkok are all reasonably priced.
Does a person have the Ritz Carlton Card for travel protections (and Priority Pass)?
To use a given credit, is it more hassle than it’s worth?
To use a given credit, will a person spend money (net) on something they would not otherwise buy?
To use a given credit, will a person incur an opportunity cost by foregoing an alternative choice?
Even if they threw in a Founders Card membership, it’s hard to see keeping the CSR.
I was on the fence with keeping this card, even if it meant that I would have to try and recoup some of the annual fee with stuff I wouldn’t normally buy but when I found out that the nearest Sapphire Open Table restaurant was over 5 hours away from me and that the credits don’t work if the wait staff uses a wireless card reader it push me away from my January 2026 renewal.
Doctor of Credit reports that the wireless card reader issue appears to be resolved.
is it only me or something is wrong with the Frequent miler spotify? the last podcast it shows is from Apr 29. Nothing after that (though I’ve listened to many shows after that on spotify).
Yikes! I can’t believe we didn’t notice that! We’ll try to get it fixed ASAP
Thank you so much for bringing this up – it went unnoticed because it seems it’s only an issue for some accounts, not all. (My Spotify account shows all episodes for example.)
Looking into this and thanks again.
I first noticed it on my iOS app. And still only see the latest being from Apr 29
A quick update so you can continue listening as we keep working to resolve this – If you search our “Frequent Miler on the Air” name in the search, you should actually see two feeds – our current one and our old one. We’re obviously working to get that old feed removed again, but in the meantime, searching our name in full in your search should produce a current feed you can find in addition to this outdated one.
The only good thing I can say about the revamp is that it caused AMEX to absolutely annihilate this card with the Platinum refresh. Competition is good!
Woo hoo, we all get our money back!
Crazy coincidence, but that refund is exactly the same value, to the penny, as my valuation of The Edit and Sapphire Reserve Tables.
All of this, not to mention the ongoing nightmare of actually trying to use some of these coupon book “benefits.” Chase keeps advertising these credits as part of the new CSR’s value, but in practice, they’re totally dysfunctional. For months, I’ve been bounced between Chase and its partners over missing credits, each side pointing the finger at the other. Chase’s official response even says that partners would be “happy to assist [me],” as if they bear zero responsibility for benefits Chase markets as its own. I’ve also had missing credits that are administered directly by Chase. They’ve even promised call-backs from escalation teams on multiple occasions and never followed through. And when I point to the actual cardmember terms, Chase won’t even enforce them. For a $795 card, that’s absurd.