Gary at View from the Wing took exception to my proposal for fixing the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. He argued that the card, as is, meets Chase’s goals of saving money and increasing revenue (by driving cardholders to book travel and buy merchandise through Chase). He also noted that the card works very well for some, including himself. My issue with the Sapphire Reserve card isn’t whether it works for me (more on that later), but rather whether I can still recommend it to the average frequent traveler. I cannot.
The new Sapphire Reserve card is great… for some. In fact, it seems to have been custom-built for Gary. Gary lives in Austin and travels often to DC. One of the new Sapphire Reserve coupons is $150 back on Sapphire Reserve® Exclusive Tables every six months. Gary is a foodie, and he’s blessed with twelve qualifying restaurants in Austin and ten in DC. This is free money for Gary. Where I live, Ann Arbor, there are no qualifying restaurants. In fact, there are only four in Michigan, and none in nearby Ohio or Indiana. Gary is also a big spender who highly values getting $500 in Southwest Airlines credit after spending $75,000 on the card. I doubt there are many people like that.
To be fair, Gary admits that the changes are controversial because the new card doesn’t work for everyone. I think that it has become a poor fit for most people. I used to recommend the card to everyone I knew outside of the points and miles hobby who had a decent income and who traveled often. Now, my go-to recommendations for that same crowd are for cards from Amex and Capital One:
- Capital One Venture X and Venture X Business: These twin cards are easy to recommend to almost anyone. The card pays back its $395 annual fee as long as you travel enough to use the card’s $300 travel credits and 10,000-point yearly bonus. And, the card offers solid and simple value: earn 2x everywhere. On top of that, you get enhanced earnings through Capital One’s travel portal, access to Capital One’s highly rated airport lounges, and Priority Pass.
- American Express Platinum Card®: The Platinum cards are great, not for spend, but for their perks. Compared to competitors, Platinum cards offer the best collection of airport lounge access, by far. Additionally, even though Platinum cards have an outrageously high annual fee ($895), most of their coupons/rebates are way easier to use than Chase’s. The number of restaurants and hotels that qualify for Platinum card credits puts Chase’s corresponding credits to shame.
The reason I’ve stopped recommending the Sapphire Reserve card is that I can no longer assume that most people will get good value from it. Most people I know who are not heavily into this hobby are unlikely to plan trips around Sapphire Reserve coupons (see my hypothetical Chicago trip here). They won’t think to reach for one card for airfare and hotel purchases, and a separate card for other travel. And they certainly won’t wait for the right opportunity to use Points Boosts.
Then there’s me…
On paper, the card is an excellent fit for me. I spend a decent amount on hotels and airfare, so I value the ability to earn 4x. And, I especially value the card’s best-in-class travel protections that kick in automatically when I make these purchases. Like Gary, I don’t redeem Chase points for 1.5 cents per point through Chase Travel℠, but I’m excited about the ability to do so at 2 cents per point when Points Boosts are available. I will go out of my way to use the card’s many coupons so that I’ll probably earn more back each year than I pay for the annual fee.
For all of the above reasons, the Sapphire Reserve is a keeper for me… but I don’t like it! I dislike having to make a decision every time I book “other” travel to determine whether to use the Sapphire Reserve card for its travel protections or another card to earn better rewards. I dislike the fact that even when booking flights and hotels, I have to consider where I’m booking them. I recently booked a hotel via Hotels.com and, of course, I didn’t earn 4x because it coded as an online travel agency, not a hotel. And, I really dislike how much effort I have to put into finding opportunities to use the card’s coupons so that I can justify keeping it.
Gary argued that the Sapphire Reserve card doesn’t need fixing because Chase achieved what they set out to do. The new structure saves them money and increases their revenue. So, it made the accountants happy. Cool. However, I believe Chase’s primary goal should be to make their customers happy, especially with their flagship card! I want to like my Sapphire Reserve card again, and I want to be able to recommend it to others.
My specific proposals for fixing the Sapphire Reserve card (specifically, bringing back 3x for all travel and 1.5x for point redemptions) may indeed be too expensive. That’s fine. There are many other ways to resolve these issues. The first step, though, is to admit that there is a problem.
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You have nailed the core issue here: Chase is having an identity crisis. They are trying to thread the needle between Platinum and Centurion but ended up in no man’s land. The Reserve refresh feels like a committee decision where nobody wanted to commit real resources, so we got half-measures across the board.
Your point about the generational shift is particularly sharp. The original Reserve launch in 2016 captured millennials perfectly with its timing and value proposition. This refresh alienates that same crowd who are now in their prime earning years, which is baffling from a business standpoint.
The “fix it later” approach you are outlining (broader Edit hotels, expanded Sapphire Tables reach) would help, but that just highlights how undercooked this launch was. Why not get those partnerships locked down before the refresh? The Apple credit being tacked on feels especially rushed, almost like they realized the math was not working and needed something, anything, to pad the benefits.
What concerns me most is that Chase may have permanently damaged the Reserve’s brand positioning. Even if they course correct over the next year, the perception of “they do not get it anymore” might stick. Greg’s hesitation to recommend it speaks volumes, because this used to be the default premium card suggestion.
The Preferred refresh will be telling. If Chase doubles down on this older, higher-spending demographic strategy, fine, but then the Preferred needs a complete rethink for the mass affluent market. Half measures will not cut it there either.
I have both the Altitude Reserve and Sapphire Reserve cards. Since both are Visa infinity cards the insurance should be similar. Switching “other travel” spend to the Altitude Reserve should still yield 3%.
It does not, in the sense that US Bank cards have a narrower definition of “other travel” than the CSR used to, compared to the BoA PR/PRE, Amex Green and WF Autograph.
Prior to this Year of Encouponifcation, I used AMEX platinum for perks, Citi Strata Premier and Venture X for points, and USBAR for 4.5% cashback on everything to refund travel. This year I got the CSR before price bump and Citi Strata Elite to try them all out. Next year when renewals come due I’ll have AMEX platinum, Citi Premier and Double Cash, and probably a lot more cash in my pocket from not paying annual fees.
I’m very happy with the new Amex Plat. I’m very unhappy with my new CSR. Guess which one I will be dumping at renewal? Saying that the fixes I want are: get rid of the 2-night minimum stay for The Edit credit, expand The Edit portfolio to more hotels in $300-$400 range and bring more value to The Edit (I get a lot of value from Amex FHR, why can’t Chase do the same), expand the dining credit to the much larger Visa Dining restaurants. If these things happen, I’ll get value from the CSR and will keep it.
I will be canceling my CSR in January mainly because of no longer 3x on all travel. It was my main travel card for that reason. Almost none of the coupon added features are useful for me and fall far short for me to justify the card with the increase annual fee.
Chase redesigned the card to encourage me to no longer carry it in my wallet. I will use it (until next Oct) to book airfare and hotels, but that is about it.
Chase used to have a card that a lot of “upper class people” used every day which created a positive association with its brand. Chase no longer has that card.
Chase may have been “losing money” with the CSR (losing so much money that they, uh, doubled their market cap over the last three years), but branch banking is not especially vibrant anymore, and the way that most people interact with Chase on a day to day basis is through seeing a Chase credit card on Apple Pay, with occasional use of the app.
If Chase wants to change that, that’s fine! It’s their bank, their brand. But they should be clear about what their goals are and have an even clearer understanding about what they just did to their brand in the premium marketplace.
In the meantime, Greg is 100% correct – one cannot recommend the CSR anymore for most people. And if you are going to have one “premium lounge travel non-everyday spend” card and are choosing between the Amex Platinum and the CSR, it’s not even close – Amex wins hands down.
I think the biggest difference between your opinions of the card is that Greg wants them to target mass market and Gary thinks they are targeting a narrower upscale market. While Greg would like to be able to recommend a card for most people, if not everybody, I don’t think that that is what Chase is going for with this card. I think they always planned for it to be for a relatively upmarket set, with the preferred being their mass market card. They made it too generous and not sufficiently targeted when they introduced it and it ended up being adopted by too many people and cannibalizing the preferred market. I agree with Gary that they have now better positioned the card for what they meant it to do. Yes, it is not going to appeal to all of the people who already had it and I am sure that they expected considerably run off of cardholders who were not profitable. If you are losing money on each account, you aren’t going to make it up in volume!.
I have too many coupons and vouchers from credit cards. It’s definitely possible for me to recoup the cost of the AF but it’s turning into a part-time job. CSR is probably the card I will cut first (after being a no brainer for the past 10 years). Plus The Edit really bugs me.
I think Chase’s biggest mistake was that it so clearly designed the refreshed CSR to copy the Amex Platinum instead of focusing on the CSR’s unique value proposition. They took away important elements that set the card apart and replaced them with obvious imitations of Amex Platinum benefits that, at least for now, fall short (fewer restaurants, fewer hotels). I think they would have been more successful if they had kept the focus on being a travel card rather than trying to become a lifestyle card, which is, essentially, what Greg was suggesting. I don’t know what the specifics of that look like, if the existing benefits weren’t cost effective for Chase, but trying to copy a competitor doesn’t seem to have had the effect they were hoping for.
Does the card fulfill Chase’s objectives? People can opine all they want. The card needs to be structured so as to be profitable AND there needs to be enough takers. While the structure might be profitable, Chase’s ACTIONS suggest that the card doesn’t have enough takers. In that context, the card would seem to not fulfill Chase’s objectives. While it seems Chase was less than fully in touch with its target cardholders when it structured the card and needs to do something, I’m not going to presume to tell Chase what it needs to do. For me, it doesn’t work and I’ve moved on.
I don’t think it is meeting Chase’s objectives or they wouldn’t be upping the SUB or changing the coupons for 2026. I’m not sure what Chase’s objectives were but bad press definitely needs wasn’t one of them. Chase definitely fumbled this roll out.
I mostly agree with Greg with one exception, the Cap1 Venture C Business is a terrible card, requiring a ridiculous amount (for most people not running a business with high expenses) of spend. If you can generate that much spend you are much better off doing it across multiple 100/200K offers.
I used to respect Gary as one of the earliest and most insightful bloggers but with 5 posts in what seems like 5 weeks (I have not formally counted) pimping the Citi Strata Elite card (the value of which he convinced me of with the first post) he’s beginning to look more and more like The Points Pimp (TM), without the army of staffers and corporate backing.
I’m still on the fence on whether or not to keep my CSR come the AF due date. However, I contend there is one non-monetary benefit to all the various coupons: They fight against the inertia to say “I’ll get there someday.” Without the need to use all the benefits and coupons to justify keeping these cards and paying their fees, I’m not sure I would make the effort to take my daughter or my family (or just myself) to new and different places…or to revisit places we’ve enjoyed in the past. Maybe we should look at all of these credits and coupons not as burdens but as opportunities to explore the world…and look at AFs as a down payment on your next travel adventure! Perhaps it’s naive to think this way, but after all it’s only money which I can always earn more of (thank you bank bonuses!). Time with loved ones is fleeting.
My point was simply that 3x on all travel paired with 1.5 redemption on all travel (without offsetting contract discounts and commissions) was a money-loser for Chase. It took them a long time but it wasn’t sustainable.
This card is better for actual spending than Amex Platinum. The Edit credits are pretty good for the type of traveler Chase is targeting with the card. And their lounges are decent.
Doesn’t work for everyone, but I wanted to offer some perspective on what Chase was facing and trying to accomplish in the redesign. I would absolutely love it if they did better. The dining credits are too hard for many to use, and Amex Platinum’s dining credit underscores this.
However, do you actually recommend spending money outside of airfare (and earning the initial bonus) with Amex Platinum… to anyone? Do you recommend Strata Elite as a true keeper after year one?
I like Venture X for its simplicity and the quality of its small lounge footprint (though the lines for Denver and DFW, oy). But even that has scaled back lounge access generosity and added fees for authorized users.
Be gone with ya! Greg is the people’s champion and understands the plight of humble peasants such as myself. You on the other hand…
Agreed costs and lounge lines are out of control, but after adding the $125 fee the Venture C in two player mode is essentially $100 per year (with $95 net fee after a fairly usable $300 travel credit and 10K annual bonus points at say 1.2 cpp). If that reduces the lounge line it’s the only premium card with regularly holding on to.
Doubtless C1 will figure it out and ruin it.
Absolutely nothing to do with what the conversion pays.
I don’t think we really disagree about any details — we’re just framing the situation differently.
No, I don’t recommend the Platinum for spend, but it’s an awesome card to have for its perks.
Strata Elite… It’s actually growing on me. Unlike the CSR, I’ve found the Strata Elite’s coupons super easy and frictionless to use, and I actually find myself booking hotels through their site in order to (sometimes) get the best price AND 12x on the spend. Plus I get the $145 Citi Gold rebate so it’s a slight money maker. I’m NOT saying that I’d recommend it to others as a keeper card. And it’s definitely not the 1 and only card you’d want in your wallet. But for some people it works.
First, let me say that you’re an absolute legend Gary Leff.
Notwithstanding the debate on how to fix the card, I agree with Greg about the changes being overall negative for most people (and for myself). First, the edit credit is an absolute dumpster fire and has very little value. Most edit hotels are very pricey. Compare Maldives, Orlando, Helsinki and Stockholm to AMEX FHR. The fact that I have to make a points redemption concurrent to an edit credit usage is ABSOLUTE NONSENSE. Second, the other credits are marginally useful and are much worse compared to the Platnium. As you both noted, restaurants are much more limited. StubHub is nice (but is often the highest of the ticket apps). Compared with Amex, it’s much worse. Finally, while I do use most of URs for Hyatt, the points boost festure adds a lot of complexity. Most will probably wind up getting 1 cent vs 1.5 cents prior.
Yes, the earnings are much better on the Reserve than the Platnium, but we live in a multi card world. Most people don’t spend enough on travel (albeit directly with hotels and airlines) for the increase in multiple (3x to 4x) to balance the narrowing of the category. Other no fee or lesser fee cards can get somewhat equivalent on spending categories.
At the end of the day as Greg points out, the card is supposed to work for the consumer (and hopefully not kill the finances of a bank). I for one will 100% downgrade my reserve to a CSP. I think many are underwhelmed, people signing up aren’t as high and there will be a decently high churn. Because, at the end of the day, the Reserve is too complicated, couponified, and diluted relative to the Platnium. And in a world of multi credit card households, the earnings simply don’t move the needle
I say this with much love and respect. I deeply respect you and all that you do for the credit card hobby!
I’m curious about one of Greg’s original points from his first post…is the revamped CSR failing to bring in as many new applicants as Chase expected? I think your points about 3x travel and 1.5 cpp redemptions are valid. The fact that USB also is getting rid of 1.5 cpp on their flagship card, which was one of the main selling points, indicates that it is a money loser. But the question is valid…why is Chase increasing the sign up bonus months after they refreshed the card? I’m sure that Amex coming in and offering a card with credits that far exceed the annual fee is hurting Chase. So now the CSR becomes more of a niche card, very useful to people spending lots on airfare and Chase travel, who frequently find themselves in big cities, as opposed to the Amex platinum, which is much easier for the average joe to get value from, but won’t generate spend. So Amex gets more users and more annual fee income but chase gets higher average spend per card perhaps.
Gary–I read your e-mails twice a day and check your blog more often, but I truly disagree. First, excluding air portal bookings since when things go south I don’t want an intermediary, Plat is 5x vs. Reserve is 4x, so the Reserve is not better for airfare than Plat. Second, it is the nature of the credits that matters. For Plat, it is automatic and easy–$200 on United good for five years plus $400 on Resy (20,000 restaurants on the platform–incredibly easy to use 4x per year) plus $300 for my NY Times subscription plus $209 for Clear, and I am up to $1109 and the only thing I have to remember is to take care of United in early January and eat out once a quarter at one of 20,000 different restaurants (many in my area). That doesn’t include Uber Eats which I actually use monthly and can combine with the Uber Eats credit on AMEX Gold, the $100 on Saks, $300 on Lululemon, Walmart+ with Peacock or Paramount, $600 on FHR, and the value of the Centurion lounges which are prolific (and I am ascribing no value to Priority Pass since I get that on many other cards). Even if I didn’t use any of those credits in the second sentence (and I do use many of them), the card pays for itself with no brainpower or effort. So it’s not a question of spend on Plat vs spend on Reserve–it’s a question of am I getting my money’s worth and how hard is it to get my money’s worth. I wish and hope Chase rethinks this.
I’ve said that *outside of airfare spend* CSR is the better spending card, so we seem to agree.
And also that the value of the coupons on Amex Platinum is much greater. That means it can make sense to hold Amex Platinum (for other benefits) but not to actually spend on Amex Platinum.
I think the ‘which premium card you should hold’ question often comes down to whose lounge network works better for your travels. I also think that CSR is the stronger card overall for spending – but that it isn’t going to work for everyone (restaurant credits don’t help cover the annual fee if you don’t live in a major market and eat at a small number of places) and that my use case – $75k in accelerator categories on the card, unlocking those additional benefits – is unique.
But the broader point was that it was just never an option to ‘leave 3x earn on all travel and 1.5x redemption on all travel’ alone. Chase was losing money. And they were going to redesign the card to meet their broader goals of *changing who their customers are* *changing how much they spend on those customers* and *leveraging their ecosystem to keep those newly-defined customers inside their properties more*.
That’s really all I’ve been saying. I absolutely know that it doesn’t work for many! And Chase doesn’t want it to work for those people because it was a money-loser for them to do so.
Cheers,
Gary
Thanks for the response, Gary–I really mean it and absolutely do respect your views.
My problem is in addition to the credits on Sapphire Reserve that I could only use without significant effort (I’ve found The Edit so far to be overpriced compared to member rates, AAA rates and senior rates), Chase will lose whole categories of spend from me.
I’m not really talking about the 1.5x floor since I’ve only used that once since the card came out–every other time has been point transfers–now all cruises, car rentals and travel agencies (including Viator, which gets a lot of my money) will go on Autograph Journey.
Bus, rail, subways, taxis, limos (and I spend a lot on limos in the metro NYC area), tolls and parking will go on Strata domestically and Autograph internationally.
All of these categories will get the 3x on spend that Sapphire Reserve is no longer providing, so that is just lost swipe fees for Chase. My total net cost for the Wells Fargo and Citi ecosystem is less than $200 per year ($150 including the $50 credit on Autograph Journey which works with United), so my incremental cost for switching all of this spend away from Chase is minimal. Plat gives more points on airfare. Autograph Journey gives more points on hotels if I am not using a hotel card. As far as the more limited partners on Wells Fargo, I can do a lot with the many flavors of Avios.
So, it really does come down to the credits.
And again, thanks for all the content on your blog!
Totally get that! 3x other travel was a money loser for them. They are basically good losing that spend with a change that also doesn’t incentivize bookings with their competitors like Expedia and Airbnb. It was a known tradeoff they accepted. Meanwhile they added 8x on their own short-term rentals and cruise bookings etc al and they went in eyes open to losing some customers over it -or even many customers- customers they lost money on…
I think they could have done the credits better! I just wanted to explain the why – and that there are customers this works out for.
But how many customers – even customers that fit their demographic – will be driven off by the complexities of the new card? Perhaps I flatter myself but I think I fit in the financial demographic for Chase but prefer simplicity in order to keep their card towards the top of my wallet. I’m already dealing with way too much coupon overload; now I’m supposed to not avoid their card for anything travel related because I’m current trying to figure what they choose to categorize as being bonus worthy? That’s a tall order.
Outside of airfare, the Amex Platinum is useful when a retailer charges a restocking fee, which Amex will reimburse. (Some others like Brilliant also offer this.)
It can also be good for Amex Offers that are often not on other Amex cards. CSR just can’t compete there with some rare exceptions like Backcountry last winter. I’ve never received a CSR Chase Offer for using the travel portal, but that would be another exception.
“However, do you actually recommend spending money outside of airfare (and earning the initial bonus) with Amex Platinum… to anyone? Do you recommend Strata Elite as a true keeper after year one?“
That question isn’t relevant to anything. No, of course not, to both questions. That doesn’t suddenly make make it worth going through contortions to use the CSR credits or make the card a good deal.
By the way, I think your argument is called the “False Dilemma” fallacy.
No, I think you’re missing the point. To say that Chase screwed up the redesign is to argue that it was a mistake from their perspective. You can’t really say “Amex is better” and also “Amex isn’t going to get any of my non-air spend”. That just says Amex is better *for me* rather than Amex built a more effective business.
The CSR refresh isn’t going to work for the majority of readers of this blog. That’s true! It also does not mean it was a bad decision for Chase to make.
CSR works for some folks. Chase had a very specific aim in mind with the way they designed it, predicated on (1) the old product lost money, (2) so they wanted to raise the fee and cut earning and redemption costs, (3) while reinforcing and growing the rest of their ecosystem. Understanding those 3 things explains everything about why they made the changes they made – and why they were willing to ‘fire’ a bunch of their existing cardmembers.
It’s possible the effort will fail. But that doesn’t mean ‘they should have kept the old model’ (3x on everything, 1.5 redemptions on all travel) because that was losing them money.
Hmm, well that is an interesting perspective. But I’m not trying to analyze whether Chase made a good business decision, only whether they have produced a desirable product. I can related better to Greg’s analysis because he is taking the perspective of the consumer and hobbyist. Obviously the banks have to figure out how to make a profit while they produce something desirable for consumers, but that is their problem, not mine.
I understand this!
I wrote my post, that Greg is responding to here, in response to the suggestion of bringing back 3x on all travel and 1.5x portal redemption value. The whole point of my post was to say, sure, that would be better for the customer if they’d do this but here’s why it doesn’t make sense for them to do it.
I was suggesting they weren’t making a mistake eliminating those things, from the perspective of what they were trying to accomplish.
I am not suggesting any particular consumer should think these card changes work for them [although I explain why the changes work for *me* … 4x instead of 3x on direct hotel spend is great for someone with 100+ nights in hotels, 8x on air through the Chase portal is tempting, and I can hit $75k spend in accelerator categories – so it’s $75k in good spend for me – and unlock the $500 Southwest credit, $250 Shops at Chase credit, Southwest A-List + IHG Diamond… and Southwest is 41% of the seats at my home airport.
I live in Austin and Stubhub is where you’re likely gonna go for seats to UT games. A couple of my regular restaurants earn the dining credit. I can book business stays through The Edit. Those things happen to be as good as cash for me. I know that I am an outlier consumer. I’m also not exactly Chase’s target consumer here because I spend so heavily in accelerator categories and not in 1x categories on the card.
Still, end of the day, an issuer earns money on 3 things: fees, interchange, and APR. The refresh increases fee income for Chase by about half a billion dollars (rough order of magnitude 2 million cards x $245 increase in annual fee). It significantly lowers the amount of money they spend awarding points [cruises, airbnb go from 3x->1x]. It significantly lowers the amount of money they spend on redemptions [1.5x -> PointsBoost, where they have negotiated savings]. It incentivizes greater spend among their ideal demographic [$75k threshold rewards]. And it keeps affluent business inside their ecosystem [incentivizes Chase travel spend, Frosch agents for premium trips, leverages Chase’s dining properties, introduces consumers to their electronic mall for premium brand purchases].
I am honestly frustrated by the refreshes! Between Reserve, Platinum and now Strata Elite managing and maximizing the credits is itself a full-time job 🙂 But boy I feel likek they’ve injected fun back into this. Sapphire Reserve was kind of a *boring* product before and isn’t anymore. Even this discussion is fun!!
Best,
Gary
Gary, you are adamant that 3x on broad travel was a money loser, but where is the proof? Where has Chase definitively said this and are there any hard numbers you are privy to?
And even if this is the case, why not just instill an annual cap instead of destroying one of the core value propositions of the card? 3x on all travel, anywhere in the world plus the best in class travel protections. That simplicity made the CSR a no-brainer for the frequent traveler, one who flies, takes metros/trains, rents cars, pays tolls, stays at AirBnbs, or takes cruises. Now they’ve lost that, and with it, coupled with the higher fee and difficult coupons, they will continue losing market share to other ecosystems.
Simple numbers illustration: if each $1 of spend were earning them 2 cents, and 3 points transferred to Hyatt were costing them 6 cents… Look, most people aren’t redeeming in the costliest ways. Chase makes money at 2x earn, which is why Sapphire Preferred was so profitable for them [the move to 3x on dining was sort of forced on it when freedom unlimited went to 3x on dining].
The fundamental problem with Sapphire Reserve was that people were (1) spending disproportionately in travel and dining and not spending outside of accelerator categories, and (2) not revolving. As for proof of losses, beyond the conversations I’ve had with Chase card executives telling me these things, there were 8-Ks disclosing unexpected costs for the card – acquisition costs were high. Cardmembers weren’t paying back those costs. And there were disclosures on low rates of revolve in investor presentations, explaining that these were desireable consumers to cross-sell other products like mortgages to [but that never happened, much of the Sapphire Reserve changes are about getting cardmembers to transact in other elements of the Chase ecosystem].
The problem is Chase ecosystem does not have direct multipliers on everyday spend like gas, grocery. Their Sapphire cards only pay 3X on travel & dining. Once they strip that out, their ecosystem is left bare with no catch all 2X, no gas, grocery multiplier like competitors. On top of that the CSR refresh applying coupons and credits that are too narrow and specific. I already have Spotify premium & AppleTV comped & don’t use Peloton app or DoorDash so the card offers little value for me outside of dining. Chase has Disney, Amazon, Apple, IHG, Marriott, Hyatt, Southwest, United as partners, it’s hard to believe they couldn’t leverage these partnerships and offer better deals & more flexible coupons/credits.
Chase’s market cap at the end of 2022 was around $400bb. Now it’s over $800bb. What is sustainable, or not, is purely up to Chase’s discretion and judgment. It’s the market leading bank and it can quite frankly do whatever it wants.
If it doesn’t want to have a loss leader, that’s fine, but let’s not pretend Chase *had* to fix a “problem” it was facing. This was a judgment call. Chase now has to face the, potentially, very real consequences of the perception problem that it created among wealthy folks who, mostly, are none too pleased with the changes to the CSR.
Amidst the chaos, Amex saw a golden opportunity to ensure loyalty to its golden goose, rubbed salt in Chase’s self-inflicted wound, rolled out an amazing revamp, and cemented the Platinum as the best luxury/premium card with the most benefits for the most people.
As far as cards for spending are concerned, Citi’s Strata Premier / DoubleCash is probably now the best duo, and throw in a Strata Regular for a really good trifecta.
Totally agree with Greg–Chase screwed it up. I acquired this card when it first came out and it became my primary travel card. Now, for anything other than airfare and hotels, I use credit cards from someone else’s eco-system that still bonus what Chase does not, which results in less revenue to Chase. Even the multipliers are not best-in-class since I can get 5x on airfare with Plat and 5x on hotels with Autograph Journey. I also was planning to use the Edit for a two-night stay at a SLH property on Santorini, and discovered the price on the Edit was so inflated that even considering the property credit and Points Boost, I was still better off using Hilton points and buying the extra points I needed at $0.005 cents per point. The Sapphire Exclusive Tables are generally not worth the money or have unusual menus that don’t interest me in my area. I can’t reserve a specific seat at a Broadway show on Stubhub so count me out there. I’ve got access to Sapphire lounges through the Ritz card so no additional advantage for keeping Sapphire Reserve. So, Chase is actively pushing me to downgrade to Sapphire Preferred, since the value in Sapphire Reserve is just not there anymore. They took my favorite card and blew it to smithereens!