Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits: 4th night free at select sbe hotels

Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits include a the 4th night free on hotel bookings with select sbe hotels as well as a $30 property credit, free wi-fi, and some other benefits similar to Chase’s Luxury Hotel Collection or Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts bookings. Somehow, this benefit slipped past us when it debuted last year until a reader pointed it out via email yesterday. Interestingly, the participating sbe hotels are Accor Live Limitless properties (though not all are participating), so it may be possible to earn points and credit in that program for these bookings. Whether or not the 4th night free is a deal varies considerably. There are a couple of ways this could be awesome and a couple of ways I am not impressed. Read on and see the table of contents below to skip to your areas of interest. For other key Sapphire Reserve benefits, see our Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits complete guide.

In Summary (link to booking page here)

Chase and sbe hotels offer a relationship that enables you to get a number of benefits (including the 4th night free, a $30 hotel credit, potentially late checkout, and more). You must book through the following link:

https://partners.sbe.com/chasesapphire/

Benefits include:

• 4th night free
• $30 hotel credit toward eligible food and beverage
• Free continental breakfast for 2 each morning
• Late checkout when available
• One category room upgrade when available

After spending a few hours digging into examples, this could be awesome in some scenarios, though useless in others. That’s not surprising, but it’s definitely a mixed bag. More detail below.

Key Terms

• These Program Benefits and Guest Privileges are available exclusively to Chase Sapphire Reserve and JP Morgan Reserve cardmembers.
• To receive the Guest Privileges, reservations must be made through the dedicated Chase/sbe Booking Website.
• Eligibility requirements:
  • (1) Benefits shall be valid for new reservations made directly through the dedicated sbe/ Chase booking channel.
  • (2) Chase Sapphire Reserve and JP Morgan Reserve cardmembers must (a) use their Chase Sapphire Reserve or JP Morgan Reserve credit card to make the reservation, (b) present the card at the time of check-in and (c) use their Chase Sapphire Reserve or JP Morgan Reserve credit card to settle the bill at check-out in order to receive Benefits.
  • (3) Benefits cannot be redeemed for cash.
  • (4) Benefits expire upon checkout. In the event a Chase Sapphire Reserve or JP Morgan Reserve cardmember cancels the reservation or changes the credit card on file, benefits will no longer apply to any of the remaining reservations reserved under the eligible cardmember’s name. In the event the eligible cardmembers does not pay with a Chase Sapphire Reserve or JP Morgan Reserve credit card, the current value of any benefits received for every room in the reservation, including but not limited to room upgrades, free Wi-Fi and free Continental Breakfast, will be added to the final bill at check-out.
• All exclusive amenities and Guest Privileges are provided per room and may be subject to availability at check-in. Amenities may not be combined with other offers. Certain blackout dates and other restrictions may apply.
• Reservations are subject to the rules of each property on your itinerary; rates are flexible, but cancellation terms vary by property.
• Bookings are limited to no more than four (4) rooms at the same hotel during the same dates, even if all the dates are not identical. If the hotel determines that you have booked reservations for more than four (4) rooms in separate reservations through the program, all reservations are subject to cancellation and will incur applicable cancellation fees.
• Reservations cannot be transferred or reassigned to another traveler and cannot be re-sold. If the hotel determines that the reservation has been transferred or re-sold, the reservation is subject to cancellation and will incur applicable cancellation charges.
• No shows are non-refundable and will result in a forfeiture of all payments made by you in connection with the reservation, without credit due. If you think you may arrive at a hotel late, please contact the hotel directly to arrange for late arrival, if available. Actual times for “late” vary by hotel.
• Early check-out from a hotel is not subject to a refund.
• Government issued photo identification and the corresponding Chase Sapphire Reserve or JP Morgan Reserve Credit Card is required at check-in and must match the name on the reservation. Some properties have a minimum age requirement for check-in.
• Policies for children vary by hotel. Please contact the hotel directly to learn whether child benefits are offered and whether there are child restrictions.
• Reservations include estimated room and applicable hotel taxes at the time of reservation and may vary at the time of stay. Any additional hotel charges, such as resort fees, and any charges for incidentals that you incur are not included in your reservation rate or 4th Night Free award and must be paid directly to the hotel. Incidental charges may include but are not limited to parking fees, babysitting, room service, telephone fees, in-room movies, mini-bar charges, and gratuities.
• Reservations do not include services not specified in the travel itinerary.
• Room upgrade is available for every room made in a reservation, limit of four (4) rooms
• Each reserved room will receive a credit on their account upon checkout equal to $1 for each eligible dollar spent, up to $30, which will be based upon qualifying charges made at the hotel’s Food and Beverage Outlets by the Eligible Cardmember, excluding taxes, gratuities, fees and cost of room(s);
• Any food or beverage consumption within the applicable hotel is eligible, including the mini bar.
• Food and Beverage credit cannot be carried over to another stay, is not redeemable for cash, and expires upon checkout;
• Credit is non-exchangeable and non-refundable and will be applied in USD or equivalent local currency, subject to the exchange rate on the day of arrival;
• May not be combined with any other offers or programs unless otherwise indicated. Limit one credit per room, per stay.
• Complimentary WiFi access for an unlimited number of devices. In the case where a property includes the cost of WiFi as a mandatory resort fee, the customer will receive a daily credit from the Property in the standard amount the property charges for WiFi and reflected on the customers’ final statement upon check-out.
• For every four consecutive nights booked at participating properties the fourth night is free and the room charge will be credited to the account at checkout. All booked nights for the entire stay must be exclusive of any blackout dates.
• Daily continental breakfast for two people per room.
  • In the event the participating hotel does not offer continental breakfast at the property, sbe shall provide a substitute benefit of one complimentary drink per person (limit 2 per room) per day at the participating hotel’s lounge or bar. Currently the Hudson Hotel (NY) and Redbury South Beach (FL) do not offer breakfast. This list may be updated, upon notice to Chase, at sbe’s discretion.
• See full terms here

More details & analysis

This looked like it could be pretty interesting on the surface. Getting a 4th night free and a $30 food and beverage credit sounds pretty interesting. After digging into a few examples, it’s clear that it may not always be a deal, but it sometimes could be. Playing the conservative side of these, the following things stick out as problems:

1. The terms indicate that if continental breakfast isn’t offered at the property, they can substitute 1 free drink per person up to 2 drinks. That isn’t a suitable replacement for breakfast in my opinion. The terms indicate that this may only affect 2 properties currently, but this could change and adds uncertainty and potential confusion to the benefit in my opinion.
2. In some cases, the 4th night free rates may not be as good as you can find elsewhere or you may have access to benefits you value more highly.
3. The program is confusing. More below.

I’ll break down my thoughts about the potential problems and then follow with how the program could be very good. To skip to the ways it could be awesome, click here.

Problem 1: Free breakfast from Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits might mean 2 free drinks

According to the terms, a property can offer 2 free drinks at the bar if they don’t offer continental breakfast. So far, this only seems to apply to bookings at two hotels included in the partnership. That’s the good news. The bad news is that I only know that because I read every bullet point in the terms and conditions. The very last bullet point is the one that explained this substitution and which properties offer drinks instead of breakfast. I have to bet that most people won’t read that far. The problem caused here is multi-faceted.

First, one of the two hotels where breakfast is not included, the Hudson New York, may or may not serve breakfast (actually, it doesn’t, but you wouldn’t easily know that). When I go to the ALL website for Hudson New York, it indicates that there is in fact breakfast.

And when you look directly to the left of the available rooms on the dedicated booking site for this Chase + sbe partnership, free breakfast is listed in the benefits:

But in a recent TripAdvisor review listed on the ALL website, a customer notes that there is no bar and no restaurant, to which management responds that there is in fact a bar. No mention of a restaurant.

So I called Hudson New York. I can confirm that they do not have a restaurant. I can therefore understand why they are not offering free breakfast (you can’t offer what you don’t have), but from a customer standpoint I would see the indication of free breakfast there on the booking page and likely assume it is included. I doubt most will read the entire terms & conditions page.

On the Hudson New York page, it does say that benefits are subject to availability and to see the full terms & conditions. One could be tempted to say that it’s just a form list of benefits that is the same at every property and since it is only two properties that currently don’t offer breakfast, it’s no big deal. However, Delano Las Vegas didn’t copy the same list of terms. The rate details clearly state that breakfast is a daily $30 credit per person per room for up to two people at Della’s Kitchen.

I like how the benefits are clearly listed on the Delano site. The fact that they aren’t clear on the Hudson New York site (and the fact that a recent customer apparently didn’t find the bar where you’d get your free drinks) combined with the fact that your $30 credit could then also only be used toward drinks at the bar (assuming you find it) is disappointing. Again, this is a non-issue at most of the participating hotels at the moment, but it will mean needing to check the terms & conditions site in the future in case another property decides to opt out. We have seen wide variance in the meaning of “continental breakfast” at Marriott properties. It isn’t inconceivable to me that a hotel could make the argument that they offer breakfast, but not a continental breakfast. The only way you would know is checking the terms & conditions page.

Problem 2: Rates from Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits may not always be the best

Speaking of Delano Las Vegas, it was the first property I checked. It is the only included hotel where I have previously stayed (and I have been there multiple times). My most recent stay was booked via Chase Luxury Hotel Collection, though I’ve booked past stays through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts. Delano can sometimes be outright cheap, with rooms occasionally under $100 during the week (making bookings through Chase LHC or Amex FHR particularly attractive for short stays given free breakfast for two, a $100 credit when booking through those programs, and guaranteed late checkout).

I looked up a sample set of dates from December 18-22nd through this Chase Sapphire Reserve / sbe hotels benefit (4 nights during a low-demand season). The rates I saw are going to play into the confusion section in a moment, but for now let’s notice that the Chase Sapphire Reserve rate is $119 per night (it’s actually cheaper).

A closer look at the “4th night free!” bullet point indicates that the fourth night will be credited upon check-out at Delano. Indeed, when you click through and see the rate details, you find that $119 per night is not factoring in the 4th night free.

It isn’t immediately clear to me whether you’ll receive the average nightly rate credited at checkout ($119) or the fourth night credited at check out ($109). That said, I think you’ll get $109. I’m basing that on a point I’ll get to later on under “how this could be awesome sometimes“.

Assuming I’m right about getting $109 off rather than the average nightly rate, you’ll end up paying an average of $91.75 per night at Delano before considering taxes and the (expensive) resort fee (a total of $607.56 with all taxes and fees).

As you can see above, there is a better rate available when booking direct that comes to $89.75 per night. You may also find an even better rate when logging in to your account. In my Mlife account, I found an offer that was good for $82.50 per night before taxes and fees.

That’s a total of $551.03 with all taxes and fees.

In other words, in that specific example, booking through the Chase benefit would cost an additional $66.53 over my Mlife offer. That’s actually not necessarily a bad deal given that Chase is offering a $30 food & beverage credit plus free breakfast for two each day (up to $30 each). I actually like Della’s kitchen well enough and find that $30 per person easily covered coffee and a breakfast entree on my previous visits.

The food & beverage credit would likely work toward a number of restaurants. I’ve previously found that food & beverage credits from Amex and Chase have covered purchases at a number of restaurants at Mandalay Bay (and even covered a re-usable Starbucks cup that I charged to my room on a stay last year. The Starbucks there didn’t have gift cards).

That said, you may not value those things highly enough to pay the higher rate through the CSR sbe partnership. Delano may be an exception, but it shows that the Chase rate may not be the best rate available.

On the other hand, this partnership beats Fine Hotels & Resorts or the Chase Luxury Hotel Collection if you’re booking 4 nights.

Note that $119 per night is the same price I found through Hotels.com, Expedia. Orbitz, etc. The 4th night free discount is therefore a decent enough deal (though keep in mind that if you’re able to buy discounted hotels.com gift cards and combine them and then you also value Welcome Rewards, you may do marginally better booking that way).

Problem 3: It’s confusing

As noted above, the benefits are confusing because:

1. At least two properties do not really offer free breakfast
2. It varies as to whether the rates you see are pre- or post-discount

I’ve covered the first of those two points already. To the second point, as shown above, Delano displays the rate without considering the 4th night free — its terms clearly state that the fourth night will be credited at checkout. However, other properties show an average nightly rate that already takes the 4th night free into consideration.

For example, in search results, I found the following studio at a Miami property advertised at a nightly rate from $164 before taxes and fees:

That is after the fourth night free discount (i.e. the discount has already been factored in).

As you can see, the actual rate is $219 per night. With the fourth night free, the pre-tax total is $657. Divided by four nights, that works out to $164.25 per night before taxes.

Most hotels I’ve found display the average nightly rate this way, but Delano doesn’t. You will therefore need to go to the detail page to see the breakdown and know whether the discount is being applied up front or is being credited at check-out.

Personally, I’m a stickler for consistency. When something isn’t consistent, it instantly becomes less customer-friendly. With breakfast being potentially inconsistent and the way rates are not displayed consistently, I feel like the potential for confusion increases.

It is also interesting that while the sbe hotels are theoretically part of Accor Live Limitless (ALL), they may not all be participating in ALL. For instance, when I went to the ALL site for Hudson New York, I found this below the place where you put in your dates to search rates:

In other words, not all ALL properties participate in ALL program benefits. Some don’t participate at all. Clear as mud?

How this could be awesome sometimes

All of my above cynicism aside, there is certainly some big potential here.

For instance, as discussed above, some properties show the price with the actual fourth night of a booking being “free” (as in $0 for the 4th night). While the terms indicate that blackout dates may apply, the Mondrian in New York did not seem to be blacking out New Year’s Eve (despite the rate for that night individually being $559). If New Year’s Eve is your 4th night, you get New Year’s Eve for free.

Furthermore, the 4th night free appears to apply to any room type. For example, if you’re the Penthouse Suite type, a random set of dates at the Sanderson London indicated that you might be able to save a thousand pounds on the room rate. In fact, when I looked up the rate for that room for Saturday night alone, it was 1470 GBP. That’s a heavy discount.

If you are the type who will leverage this during a single (fourth) night with very high demand (like New Year’s Eve, a fight night in Las Vegas, etc), and/or to book a highly upgraded room, then this could be a big win.

You’ll obviously still want to shop around to be sure you’re getting a deal, but there is at least some potential with the actual 4th night (rather than an average rate over 4 nights) being free.

Bottom line

This partnership between Chase and select sbe hotels slipped past us when it debuted, but it could be really interesting for those who like to book premium suites at cash rates (since you stand to save a significant chunk) and/or for those who can time the 4th night to coincide with high demand. It obviously may present good value at other times as well, though the circumstances will vary. This is a good tool to check, but not necessarily a go-to benefit as similar or better discounts may be available through other programs. Still, the fact that there are many ALL properties participating and that you’re booking directly means that you may be able to earn ALL points and elite credit through at least some of the hotels and that might contribute to making this deal interesting in the right instances. It’s great to see an expansion of benefits; hopefully this will yield some solid deals for those who can take advantage.

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