Update: Chase has confirmed these changes as reported by The Points Guy. See the “new benefits” section below for full details.
Doctor of Credit is reporting that the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s annual fee will increase from $450 to $550 on the following schedule:
- January 12th 2020: $550 for new cardholders
- April 2020: $550 for existing cardholders (presumably this change won’t affect you until your next annual fee is due).
We haven’t heard anything official yet, but we trust that Doctor of Credit has good information. As noted above, these changes have been confirmed.
New Benefits
So far it’s unclear to what extent Chase plans to enhance the card’s benefits in order to justify the new higher annual fee. We now know that they added a free DashPass subscription for DoorDash and Chase plans to throw in $60 per year of DoorDash credit during 2020 and again during 2021. As we reported earlier today, Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders are also getting a Lyft Pink subscription for one year and 10x on Lyft rides through March 2022. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s enough to avoid having many customers cancel or downgrade their cards.
New Welcome Bonus?
I wonder if Chase will introduce a larger new customer bonus? Currently, they still have the same 50K offer that has been present for last two years or so (found here). I’d like to see them increase the offer to at least match the Ink Business Preferred’s 80K offer.
Should You Apply Before January 12?
If you don’t currently have the Sapphire Reserve card, it may make sense to apply before January 12th in order to lock in the $450 annual fee for a year. That would likely mean forgoing a bigger welcome bonus, though, if such a thing appears (we don’t yet know).
Note that you cannot sign up for the Sapphire Reserve if you currently have either the Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred.
My Take
I’m extremely disappointed in Chase. They had previously taken the points & miles world by storm with the Sapphire Reserve, but now they’re simply copying everything that Amex has done lately. $550 is the exact same fee that Amex charges for their consumer Platinum cards and soon their Delta Reserve cards. And, just as Amex added credits for shopping with partners (Uber, Saks, etc.), Chase appears to be doing the same thing. If they’re going to increase the annual fee, I’d rather see more substantial perks like United club access, Marriott Platinum status, etc. Of course, great perks might still be introduced, but I’ll be surprised if they are.
Will I keep the card? My annual fee won’t hit again until October 2020. At that point I’ll assess whether the card still presents enough value to be a keeper. My guess is that the answer will be no, but we’ll see.
More about the Chase Sapphire Reserve
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[…] I’m always happy to earn more points. Since we have a Chase Sapphire Reserve in the household, the combination of 15% off on all rides and 10x Ultimate Rewards points means that I will in fact replace the Uber app on our phone home screens with Lyft for the time being (truthfully, the main reason Uber had been the app of choice had been longstanding habit, though Uber is also more widely available overseas in my experience). If I had any other Chase card, I’d stick with SoFi Money for the time being since the SoFi Money debit card offers 20% cash back through 2/18/20 (up to $1K back). Overall, I’m glad to see Chase expanding partnerships, but less enthusiastic about the impending increased annual fee. […]
[…] you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, keep in mind that Chase is offering a $60 statement credit this year (and another one next year) for DoorDash purchases. Stacking both would make for a nice opportunity to grab some easy points. Note that you can also […]
Nope. This is no way to treat loyal customers. I couldn’t care less about lyft or door dash.
You want to charge me an extra $100.00? Then provide the same airport lounge access as does the top-tier Amex card.
We should be grandfathered. I’ve held Chase cards for more than 20 years, I’m a charter Reserve card holder who also holds two Freedom Unlimited cards and two Ink business cards.
When it’s time for renewal, I’ll become an ex-Reserve card holder, and apply for the Preferred card and its bonus reward miles.
Given what Chase did to the CSR, I fully expect Chase will up the fee on the Preferred this year to $150 with a minor enhancement of something like 2x in grocery or gas up to a cap. Unlike Amex, which has focused for the last 20 years on driving everyday spend in grocery/gas Chase has no need to capture more share of wallet in those categories.
It’s become a huge tit for tat between Chase and Amex with everyone else like Citi as irrelevant in the transferable points space now. Amex has breathed new life into their historically stale charge portfolio with 3 levels to segment (versus a while back when the innovation was with credit like Everyday). Chase has been fighting against Amex with a 2 product strategy.
Now that Amex has caught up by positioning Green as the millennial card at the $150 net fee, we are seeing Chase take the CSR after gold/platinum with the $250 net fee and dining benefits. Given that $150 is now the annual fee floor it’s a matter of time before the CSP fee ratchets up to $150 as Citi premier is not a market mover. I’m not pro-Amex but being objective on the competitive landscape.
What happens if my renewal date is April 1st?
I’d guess you’ll be charged $550 but I don’t know for sure when in April the new fee kicks in
Yea I don’t think with the listed benefits, the card is worth keeping. Chase may regret this one.
CSR should add GAS at 5X.
Greg, your 2020 predictions are off to (another) great start! 🙂
Let’s just hope you are wrong about the Aspire’s higher fee too!
Yes, let’s hope I was 100% wrong!
Not that I or anyone wants a recession but one silver lining is the fruit will hang lower as consumer spending contracts. No longer will there be a race to the top with fees and adding in fluff benefits that will be the first to devalue when one cuts back on discretionary spending.
I don’t travel much, but I still keep the card. But for $550, sorry no… My next AF is on Sep. 2020, I guess I will downgrade it to CSP…
Cancel and then get the CSP anew instead of downgrade.
How long would you have to wait, from CSR cancellation to CSP application?
I would like them to offer perks you can pick from to make it more valuable to the holder. That would be something no other card does.
I was hoping your prediction is correct, but it seems an early strikeout on your predictions for 2020.
Oh, the change on CSR sucks.
Damn! I was positioned to drop AmEx Plat this month (due to AmEx Plat and Delta Reserve changes) and drop Citi Prestige next month. Now I need to re-evaluate my longer term strategy. Also have Ritz-Carlton, Aspire, Bonvoy Brillliant, Altitude, Delta Reserve, and CSR. Am now considering product change from CSR to CSP when AF hits.
It would be very helpful to have an updated full comparison of all benefits (esp. insurance/protection) for all premium cards to see which of these should be dumped.
I have used the customer service function on the Ritz card and it reminds me of 30 years ago when you actually had customer service. I hope it doesn’t change (sigh).
Citi demonstrated how to suicide but still alive so Chase followed.
I can’t see why the Aspire doesn’t get more love. I have found it easy to use the $250 resort credit (covers rooms)
Don’t worry that’s going up next. You know how amex plays.
Aspire doesn’t have PP restaurant.