Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

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Da5id
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

calwatch wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:38 pm Overall I'm on the fence to keep CSR but am leaning towards retaining because of the DoorDash and lounge benefits. If those go away, or if I had to use $300 travel credit only one travel instead of restaurants, I would definitely cancel.
Does the Dashpass last forever? I thought it was like the Lyft Pink in that is was at least in theory temporary, though mine hasn't vanished yet.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by airborne »

Da5id wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:48 am
calwatch wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:38 pm Overall I'm on the fence to keep CSR but am leaning towards retaining because of the DoorDash and lounge benefits. If those go away, or if I had to use $300 travel credit only one travel instead of restaurants, I would definitely cancel.
Does the Dashpass last forever? I thought it was like the Lyft Pink in that is was at least in theory temporary, though mine hasn't vanished yet.
I can't speak to DashPass, but my Lyft app is warning me that my Pink membership is expiring next month. Hopefully that doesn't come to fruition.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by krafty81 »

Their airport Centurian Lounges are a joke now. Often with one hour waits to get in. I complained about that and they refunded my yearly fee. I am on the fence on this card right now. I did use the rental car insurance piece but it paid only my deductable and my insurance company had to pay the rest. Uber benefits are difficult to use as it is some sort of "Uber Cash" conversion.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by ZinCO »

krafty81 wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:48 am Their airport Centurian Lounges are a joke now. Often with one hour waits to get in. I complained about that and they refunded my yearly fee. I am on the fence on this card right now. I did use the rental car insurance piece but it paid only my deductable and my insurance company had to pay the rest. Uber benefits are difficult to use as it is some sort of "Uber Cash" conversion.
I assume you are talking about the Amex Plat here and not the CSR?
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

airborne wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:35 am
Da5id wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:48 am
calwatch wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:38 pm Overall I'm on the fence to keep CSR but am leaning towards retaining because of the DoorDash and lounge benefits. If those go away, or if I had to use $300 travel credit only one travel instead of restaurants, I would definitely cancel.
Does the Dashpass last forever? I thought it was like the Lyft Pink in that is was at least in theory temporary, though mine hasn't vanished yet.
I can't speak to DashPass, but my Lyft app is warning me that my Pink membership is expiring next month. Hopefully that doesn't come to fruition.
My Lyft Pink did indeed come to an end. Can't say I cared really, actually gave that one to my son who lives in a city. I use Lyft pretty rarely.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling?

Post by SocalLiving »

Prokofiev wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 12:07 pm
Prokofiev wrote: Sat Jul 03, 2021 11:54 pm It is hard to put a value on the travel/car insurance benefits that the Sapphire Reserve has. I mean who ever actually uses this?

Until last month . . . when we were rear-ended in our rental car. We declined insurance from the car company and did not want
to use our personnel policy. So we are trying to use the Reserve insurance benefit. So far, so good. They have been very responsive
and have handled the situation well. Final cost and payment yet to be determined, so my report is a bit premature.

But I will return to this thread when all is finished to explain exactly what happened.
The above situation has played out (slowly) in our favor.

We eventually received a $7500 bill for damages and fees related to the vehicle from the car rental firm. That seemed high based on
the small amount of damage to the rear bumper and trunk lid, although I was not surprised. We relayed the bill and police report to
the Chase attorney (third party) who handles the Sapphire insurance program. It took another 5 weeks, but we received notice that
all charges and fees were settled for $6300 and that we now owe $0. No deductable and no contact with our insurance. Chase reserves
the right to recoup losses from the other driver's insurance company.

Overall, despite the almost 4 months of waiting, I was thrilled with the outcome. Most of the wait was for receiving an actual
bill for total damages from the car company. I would say that the Sapphire Reserve primary insurance is worth the price of admission.

And I was very skeptical about the value of the insurance prior to this event.
Thanks for the update. I have always wondered about the value of primary coverage for rentals on credit cards. Definitely will be taking that into consideration when valuing CC annual fees.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by UpperNwGuy »

One year ago this week I downgraded my Chase Sapphire Reserve to the no-fee Chase Freedom Unlimited. I haven't missed the CSR at all. During this past year I have taken no trips, and I have only visited restaurants on two or three occasions.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Finance (Not Investing) forum (credit card).
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by madbrain »

airborne wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:35 am
Da5id wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:48 am
calwatch wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:38 pm Overall I'm on the fence to keep CSR but am leaning towards retaining because of the DoorDash and lounge benefits. If those go away, or if I had to use $300 travel credit only one travel instead of restaurants, I would definitely cancel.
Does the Dashpass last forever? I thought it was like the Lyft Pink in that is was at least in theory temporary, though mine hasn't vanished yet.
I can't speak to DashPass, but my Lyft app is warning me that my Pink membership is expiring next month. Hopefully that doesn't come to fruition.
It's temporary. Mine expired a while ago.
hotscot
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by hotscot »

We have United Plus Explorer and Sapphire Reserve.
Torn on keeping one or both.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by econalex »

Recently downgraded to Freedom Unlimited. Still has the 3% on dining and not travelling much these days (except road trips). Will reconsider when I'm flying again. The priority pass for airport lounges was pretty nice (to load up on free food and alcohol preflight :beer ).
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by hotscot »

I thought the Priority Pass lounges were all bargain basement and not easily accessible?
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

hotscot wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:53 pm I thought the Priority Pass lounges were all bargain basement and not easily accessible?
I found them hit or miss. Often not in my terminal. Sometimes pretty decent tho. And some places you just get a credit per person at a restaurant in a terminal, which can be useful actually.
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truenyer
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by truenyer »

Da5id wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:58 pm
hotscot wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:53 pm I thought the Priority Pass lounges were all bargain basement and not easily accessible?
I found them hit or miss. Often not in my terminal. Sometimes pretty decent tho. And some places you just get a credit per person at a restaurant in a terminal, which can be useful actually.
I did this a few times and it is amazing.

But I just ran my CSR vs CSP numbers with the new benefit structure. With my wife’s additional card and spending being equal, the CSR will actually result in LESS point-dollar value than the CSP with the new annual fee and the bump to 3ppd for dining on CSP. So I am downgrading my CSR…
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Bh1984 »

There is one thing that I don't see see anyone referencing about the CSR.

1.5x on travel redemptions which means you really get 4.5% back when booking travel via rewards.

Another way to monetize on the 1.5x redemption is to move other Chase points to this card. That's right you can get bonus categories from other Chase cards and move those earned points to the CSR to get higher redemption rates. For those of you who have spouses who live in the same house you can transfer points between each other so further expand on this perk.

Fee does suck but I'm still keeping it this year.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by madbrain »

hotscot wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:53 pm I thought the Priority Pass lounges were all bargain basement and not easily accessible?
Really depends where you are. I love the Air France lounge at SFO. It's often at capacity, though.

In Asia, it's really nice to get a shower in the middle of a 24+ hour journey (total roundtrip from home to hotel).
Have seen the lounge at capacity in Taipei too, once.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by madbrain »

Bh1984 wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:23 am 1.5x on travel redemptions which means you really get 4.5% back when booking travel via rewards.
Yes, this was the main way I used to redeem rewards pre-pandemic. Since the pandemic, I have used mostly Pay yourself back, which lets you redeem at 1.5cpp on groceries and restaurants. The pay yourself back is ending this month, though.

Note that the CSP, with a much lower AF, still lets you redeem travel at 1.25cpp.
Another way to monetize on the 1.5x redemption is to move other Chase points to this card. That's right you can get bonus categories from other Chase cards and move those earned points to the CSR to get higher redemption rates. For those of you who have spouses who live in the same house you can transfer points between each other so further expand on this perk.
Yes. Well aware. Been doing that for years as well, with points from the Chase Freedom categories and Chase Ink Cash earning 5 points per dollar, and redeeming them at 1.5 cent per point on the CSR. That's a 7.5% rewards rate, and it's nice. Will be "just" 6.25% when using CSP and redeeming at 1.25cpp. The Freedom is limited to $1500 for 5% categories, though, and we often don't have any spending that fits them, such as when it's gasoline (we drive EV/PHEV, and the PHEV only has a 9 gallon tank that gets refilled no more than once a quarter typically).
On the Chase Ink, it's just our internet bill and nothing else. So, 7.5% / 6.25% of a relatively small amount, and definitely not enough to keep the CSR vs CSP.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by UpperNwGuy »

hotscot wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:13 pm We have United Plus Explorer and Sapphire Reserve.
Torn on keeping one or both.
I had this same card combo until a year ago when I downgraded both to no-fee cards. I will upgrade my no-fee United card back to the Explorer as soon as I get serious about resuming international travel. I doubt I will ever again hold the Sapphire Reserve because the Sapphire Preferred offers most of the same benefits with a much lower fee.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by hotscot »

Did you keep all your accrued points/miles?
I may do the same.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by madbrain »

hotscot wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:57 am Did you keep all your accrued points/miles?
I may do the same.
You get to keep your UR points when you downgrade CSR to CSP.

United Miles no longer expire, so you shouldn't lose them regardless.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by UpperNwGuy »

hotscot wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:57 am Did you keep all your accrued points/miles?
I may do the same.
Yes, you do.

However, in the months leading up my downgrade, I burned through all my many Chase Ultimate Rewards points using the "Pay Yourself Back" program that they introduced in the late spring of 2020. I knew I would not be making any trips until 2022, so I decided cashing out the points and getting an immediate benefit would be better than letting them sit in my Chase account for two years.

I still have enough United miles on the books for one overseas trip. If I could have cashed them out, too, I would have.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by MikeG62 »

hotscot wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:13 pm We have United Plus Explorer and Sapphire Reserve.
Torn on keeping one or both.
We used to have both as well. We cancelled the United Explorer last summer as the AF was coming up and we were not traveling. We kept the CSR as the net annual fee ($150) seemed a small price to pay for the benefits we were still getting on the card. Plus, we felt we’d one day resume our past travel pattern and would reap the additional travel benefits.

Although we have now resumed travel, we are booking 1st class fares to stay away from the crowded main cabin and to avoid sitting shoulder to shoulder with someone we don’t know. Feels safer to us. The benefits of 1st class (free checked bags and priority boarding) obviate the need for the United Explorer card for us. Yes, it is a considerably more expensive way to get those benefits (plus priority processing of checked luggage and United Premier lounge access), but well worth it in our view. Much more comfortable way to fly too. YMMV.
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hotscot
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by hotscot »

I talked to a Chase rep.

I'm seriously considering downgrading the Sapphire Reserve. (No travel these days.)

They informed me that going to a new card won't involve any sign-on bonus?
Any tips that change that equation?
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by truenyer »

hotscot wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:27 pm I talked to a Chase rep.

I'm seriously considering downgrading the Sapphire Reserve. (No travel these days.)

They informed me that going to a new card won't involve any sign-on bonus?
Any tips that change that equation?
Changing your account won't qualify for sign-on bonus. It also doesn't require a credit pull and meeting the 5/24 requirement.

You would have to literally apply for a new account. Including credit pull, and meeting the 5/24 requirement.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

hotscot wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:27 pm I talked to a Chase rep.

I'm seriously considering downgrading the Sapphire Reserve. (No travel these days.)

They informed me that going to a new card won't involve any sign-on bonus?
Any tips that change that equation?
Cancel the card. Wait a bit. Apply for new cards that have bonuses.

For Chase cards you need to qualify under 5/25 rules. For a CSP you need to have no CSP or CSR bonus in 4 years.

Perhaps rep was saying no bonus if you just downgrade though?
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by hotscot »

I think that's what he meant...I'm not sure now though. I don't think 5/24 applies to me since it's been well over 5 years since we applies for new cards.

'Wait a bit'?

How long?
Last edited by hotscot on Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by truenyer »

hotscot wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:40 pm I think that's what he meant...I'm not sure now though. I don't think 5/24 applies to me since it's been well over 5 years since we applies for new cards.
You would be ok to downgrade your current card to a free card (don't necessarily close it, that might hurt your credit). And then apply for a *new* CSP account.

The 5/24 rule applies to everyone, it's just that you pass it. :D
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by hotscot »

'(don't necessarily close it, that might hurt your credit)'

Sorry I'm confused...treat me like an idiot.

If I don't close it I'll still be hit with the annual fee won't I?
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by truenyer »

hotscot wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:44 pm '(don't necessarily close it, that might hurt your credit)'

Sorry I'm confused...treat me like an idiot.

If I don't close it I'll still be hit with the annual fee won't I?
You can downgrade your current CSR to the Chase Freedom card that has no annual fee. Your account is still open and reported as current and paid to the credit bureaus, even if you just stick the card in your drawer and never use it. If you close the account, depending on the time the account was open, might hurt your credit because it affects your average age of all accounts.

Credit bureaus only see that you have an account with a Bank. They don't see which specific product you have (CSR vs. CSP vs. Freedom).
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by hotscot »

truenyer wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:46 pm
hotscot wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:44 pm '(don't necessarily close it, that might hurt your credit)'

Sorry I'm confused...treat me like an idiot.

If I don't close it I'll still be hit with the annual fee won't I?
You can downgrade your current CSR to the Chase Freedom card that has no annual fee. Your account is still open and reported as current and paid to the credit bureaus, even if you just stick the card in your drawer and never use it. If you close the account, depending on the time the account was open, might hurt your credit because it affects your average age of all accounts.

Credit bureaus only see that you have an account with a Bank. They don't see which specific product you have (CSR vs. CSP vs. Freedom).
And if I downgrade it to a no fee card...then there won't be any fee from Chase, even on the CSR.
Ok I think I get it.
(The fee was charged Feb 1st..I may as well wait until near then...I think.)
Thanks.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

I gave the retention bonus a try, and despite having CSR for a bit over 5 years no luck. Oh well. Cancelled it. I'll probably apply for a Chase Sapphire Preferred for the sign up bonus in a bit (yes, I met the 5/24 and one Sapphire bonus per 48 months requirements).
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by deltaneutral83 »

Any card with Chase must be taken in the context of your relationship with chase in that you have more than one card and the combined benefits you get. You can't look at any Chase card in isolation only. If you only have one or two credit cards with Chase you're doing it wrong, or more specifically, leaving money on the table. Reading through this thread there are a lot of uninformed posts, and other specific credit card blogs/sites are better.

There have been too many to count methods for earning UR this past 18 months that require minimal work and that combined with the CSR and the PYB feature, it's been a gold mine during the pandemic. The grocery feature with PYB for 16 months was great since grocery stores sell $500 VGC (the CSR to boot offered 3x on Grocery purchases for a few months last summer instead of the usual 1x, not only negating the fee but paying you outright). The dining was nice too with PYB. The 90k UR (20k SUB+60k Grocery+10k referral ) mixing and matching on the CFF and CFU combined with referrals with spouse was just an overall UR giveaway at 1.5x to cash combining with CSR and using PYB. Occasionally purchasing retail gift cards at my regional grocery (Amazon) with my CSR (PYB)/CFF/CFU and stacking that with 4x fuel points for $30-$35 off per fill up the last year and half was a nice add on too.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

deltaneutral83 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:06 pm Any card with Chase must be taken in the context of your relationship with chase in that you have more than one card and the combined benefits you get. You can't look at any Chase card in isolation only. If you only have one or two credit cards with Chase you're doing it wrong, or more specifically, leaving money on the table. Reading through this thread there are a lot of uninformed posts, and other specific credit card blogs/sites are better.

There have been too many to count methods for earning UR this past 18 months that require minimal work and that combined with the CSR and the PYB feature, it's been a gold mine during the pandemic. The grocery feature with PYB for 16 months was great since grocery stores sell $500 VGC (the CSR to boot offered 3x on Grocery purchases for a few months last summer instead of the usual 1x, not only negating the fee but paying you outright). The dining was nice too with PYB. The 90k UR (20k SUB+60k Grocery+10k referral ) mixing and matching on the CFF and CFU combined with referrals with spouse was just an overall UR giveaway at 1.5x to cash combining with CSR and using PYB. Occasionally purchasing retail gift cards at my regional grocery (Amazon) with my CSR (PYB)/CFF/CFU and stacking that with 4x fuel points for $30-$35 off per fill up the last year and half was a nice add on too.
Some may be knowledge, but some may also be unwillingness to work at playing the game. I used to buy gift cards etc. No longer interested in taking the trouble. I did quite well in the past year with CSR. Funneled points from Freedom and Freedom Unlimited to CSR. Used pay yourself back to drain all my remaining points. Was pretty good and didn't require any extra effort on my part. But I'm not interested in more hassle than that. Given that, the $550 fee seemed not very worthwhile as the side benefits (other than the $300 travel credit) weren't very interesting. If they had kept PYB for restaurants/groceries I'd probably have paid up.

I'll do some other card for a sign up bonus when I get around to it. CSP current offer is worthwhile to me, though I want to wait a bit for CSR account to get cleaned up. Though CSP offer may be ending I see.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by deltaneutral83 »

Da5id wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:23 pm Some may be knowledge, but some may also be unwillingness to work at playing the game. I used to buy gift cards etc. No longer interested in taking the trouble. I did quite well in the past year with CSR. Funneled points from Freedom and Freedom Unlimited to CSR. Used pay yourself back to drain all my remaining points. Was pretty good and didn't require any extra effort on my part. But I'm not interested in more hassle than that. Given that, the $550 fee seemed not very worthwhile as the side benefits (other than the $300 travel credit) weren't very interesting. If they had kept PYB for restaurants/groceries I'd probably have paid up.

I'll do some other card for a sign up bonus when I get around to it. CSP current offer is worthwhile to me, though I want to wait a bit for CSR account to get cleaned up. Though CSP offer may be ending I see.
I certainly see what you're saying but I didn't list any of the "more than one step" methods (Ink Biz cards) in terms of accruing UR, just the basic SUB/referral on other cards and combining with CSR and PYB on the generous categories that I would think every day people frequent. Buying an Amazon gift card at the grocery store and adding it to your account takes 20-30 seconds, same with a VGC on your utilities bill or whatever, so if that's "playing the game" then to each his own I guess. My thought process is if you can log into any brokerage and buy VTI/VTSAX, you probably can handle redeeming a gift card to your account :D . But again, SUB's for Chase cards combined with CSR/PYB this past 16 months was a welcomed event.

Chase was more than generous IMO during the pandemic when very few if any were traveling to offer nice redemptions on Grocery/Dining. Not to belabor my earlier point, but you mentioned that Chase no longer has restaurants listed for PYB on the CSR and that is not accurate. The 1.5x same as cash redemption with PYB has probably netted me well over 10k this past year on just Grocery and Dining purchases alone (again not mentioning the other hacks to stack UR's that some would call "work"). They could triple the AF and it would be more than worth it to me even with the current PYB categories (dining being on there) and I'd still have to keep it. Shame about the hit to Priority Pass lounges, I find them less frequently than I used to it feels like, and it seems they trimmed the bennies on the ones still around.

Years ago I also used the travel insurance during a snow storm up north and got delayed 16 hours and they paid my $400 of expenses (hotel, uber, meals) until the next morning. That was nice. I don't rent cars a lot but the protection there is superb but that's a specific benefit most probably don't use.
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

deltaneutral83 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:53 pm
Da5id wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:23 pm Some may be knowledge, but some may also be unwillingness to work at playing the game. I used to buy gift cards etc. No longer interested in taking the trouble. I did quite well in the past year with CSR. Funneled points from Freedom and Freedom Unlimited to CSR. Used pay yourself back to drain all my remaining points. Was pretty good and didn't require any extra effort on my part. But I'm not interested in more hassle than that. Given that, the $550 fee seemed not very worthwhile as the side benefits (other than the $300 travel credit) weren't very interesting. If they had kept PYB for restaurants/groceries I'd probably have paid up.

I'll do some other card for a sign up bonus when I get around to it. CSP current offer is worthwhile to me, though I want to wait a bit for CSR account to get cleaned up. Though CSP offer may be ending I see.
I certainly see what you're saying but I didn't list any of the "more than one step" methods (Ink Biz cards) in terms of accruing UR, just the basic SUB/referral on other cards and combining with CSR and PYB on the generous categories that I would think every day people frequent. Buying an Amazon gift card at the grocery store and adding it to your account takes 20-30 seconds, same with a VGC on your utilities bill or whatever, so if that's "playing the game" then to each his own I guess. My thought process is if you can log into any brokerage and buy VTI/VTSAX, you probably can handle redeeming a gift card to your account :D . But again, SUB's for Chase cards combined with CSR/PYB this past 16 months was a welcomed event.

Chase was more than generous IMO during the pandemic when very few if any were traveling to offer nice redemptions on Grocery/Dining. Not to belabor my earlier point, but you mentioned that Chase no longer has restaurants listed for PYB on the CSR and that is not accurate. The 1.5x same as cash redemption with PYB has probably netted me well over 10k this past year on just Grocery and Dining purchases alone (again not mentioning the other hacks to stack UR's that some would call "work"). They could triple the AF and it would be more than worth it to me even with the current PYB categories (dining being on there) and I'd still have to keep it. Shame about the hit to Priority Pass lounges, I find them less frequently than I used to it feels like, and it seems they trimmed the bennies on the ones still around.

Years ago I also used the travel insurance during a snow storm up north and got delayed 16 hours and they paid my $400 of expenses (hotel, uber, meals) until the next morning. That was nice. I don't rent cars a lot but the protection there is superb but that's a specific benefit most probably don't use.
What is worth doing for money is a personal judgement. How low hanging a fruit must be to be worth it may depend on financial security or on temperament or interesting in playing the CC game. I can clearly "handle redeeming a gift card", thanks for your concern though. I just don't feel like doing it. I make a fairly concerted attempt to not use Amazon these days, so their gift cards are not useful to me. And as I said, I don't want to bother. I used to use Priority Pass occasionally, never was in my terminal it seemed though, and the lounges weren't all that great (money off at a restaurant in the terminal was occasionally handy). Dash Pass my kids liked, but for me meh. Lyft Pink likewise my son used some.

As to PYB, they had announced it was ending for dining Sept 30, after which it was only for charity purchased through CSR. I guess they changed that deal or I perhaps misread at some point.
deltaneutral83
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by deltaneutral83 »

Da5id wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 4:04 pm What is worth doing for money is a personal judgement. How low hanging a fruit must be to be worth it may depend on financial security or on temperament or interesting in playing the CC game. I can clearly "handle redeeming a gift card", thanks for your concern though. I just don't feel like doing it. I make a fairly concerted attempt to not use Amazon these days, so their gift cards are not useful to me. And as I said, I don't want to bother. I used to use Priority Pass occasionally, never was in my terminal it seemed though, and the lounges weren't all that great (money off at a restaurant in the terminal was occasionally handy). Dash Pass my kids liked, but for me meh. Lyft Pink likewise my son used some.

As to PYB, they had announced it was ending for dining Sept 30, after which it was only for charity purchased through CSR. I guess they changed that deal or I perhaps misread at some point.
I am simply letting others who may read this thread know that there are and were plenty of very simple methods to crush the annual fee on this card, and there is and most likely in the future will be some well intended but ultimately misinformed posts and this topic is better suited for folks to migrate over to Flyertalk, Reddit, etc. Those who want simple and straight cash back are probably more suited to....cash back cards. These $400-$600 annual fee cards really get people's eyes and ears alert IMO. I also agree that is boils down to preferences, Jaime Dimon could hypothetically write me a personal check but I could complain about the 30 seconds it takes me to deposit it as too much work and rip it up. It is ultimately to each his own in nearly every choice we make, that is true.

The grocery store angle the past 16 months that I mentioned wasn't posted for others to shoot it down since they don't or didn't use the method. In this case I used amazon specifically, but there are tons of other options as well as VGC which of course is accepted virtually everywhere (I used Amazon for the gas stack, but also VGC a lot as well). I personally took 30 seconds and applied quite a few to my various utilities. I just more or less think it would be helpful to give others the idea of what's out there in case it may suit a need that they were unaware of. While I don't have a single person that doesn't use a grocery store (and of course the options inside the grocery store mentioned) or dine out, if one does not, I'm not sure this specific card was right in the first place?
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Prokofiev
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Prokofiev »

New data point for the Sapphire Reserve.

My girlfriend was hit with the $550 annual fee this week. I had her call tonight and ask for a retention bonus, although I didn't expect much.
She received a $150 credit! Not sure exactly why. She does spend $40k+ / year with this card so she represents a fair amount of
income to Chase. But she also cost them that $6300 insurance charge on a car rental last month. So . . .

The rep also said that the $60 DoorDash credit would return for 2022. I have not seen that anywhere. Most written Chase promos
say only thru the end of 2021. Final tally is $550-$300-$60-$150 = $40 net for the coming year! A nice deal. YMMV.
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein
blastoff
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by blastoff »

Prokofiev wrote: Wed Oct 06, 2021 11:51 pm New data point for the Sapphire Reserve.

My girlfriend was hit with the $550 annual fee this week. I had her call tonight and ask for a retention bonus, although I didn't expect much.
She received a $150 credit! Not sure exactly why. She does spend $40k+ / year with this card so she represents a fair amount of
income to Chase. But she also cost them that $6300 insurance charge on a car rental last month. So . . .

The rep also said that the $60 DoorDash credit would return for 2022. I have not seen that anywhere. Most written Chase promos
say only thru the end of 2021. Final tally is $550-$300-$60-$150 = $40 net for the coming year! A nice deal. YMMV.
Did you call the number on the back of th card for this?
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CrazyCatLady
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by CrazyCatLady »

Prokofiev wrote: Wed Oct 06, 2021 11:51 pm New data point for the Sapphire Reserve.

My girlfriend was hit with the $550 annual fee this week. I had her call tonight and ask for a retention bonus, although I didn't expect much.
She received a $150 credit! Not sure exactly why. She does spend $40k+ / year with this card so she represents a fair amount of
income to Chase. But she also cost them that $6300 insurance charge on a car rental last month. So . . .

The rep also said that the $60 DoorDash credit would return for 2022. I have not seen that anywhere. Most written Chase promos
say only thru the end of 2021. Final tally is $550-$300-$60-$150 = $40 net for the coming year! A nice deal. YMMV.
That's interesting. My renewal was up last month and I was told there was no retention credit both times I asked, with a similar spend. I have like 10 Chase cards though, so maybe they knew they'd get the spend no matter. I ended up downgrading to another Chase Freedom since I won't be traveling for a while and will likely apply for the Preferred when I do (to get the bonus).

Fun fact on door dash - my dash pass was cancelled within an hour of my downgrading. That one hurt since I used it a lot, but oh well. I had assumed it would continue until 12/31. On the plus side, my dining out Bill has gone way down :)
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Prokofiev
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Prokofiev »

"Did you call the number on the back of th card for this?"

Yes, and although I told her to ask for the retention dept., she just talked to the agent answering
the standard line. Originally was told no, but maybe she said "pretty please!"

As to DoorDash, we had never used DoorDash or any delivery service until the $60 credit came about.
Now we use it once or twice a month. The credit is a good way to get people hooked on the service.
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein
rjbraun
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by rjbraun »

CrazyCatLady wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:01 am
Prokofiev wrote: Wed Oct 06, 2021 11:51 pm New data point for the Sapphire Reserve.

My girlfriend was hit with the $550 annual fee this week. I had her call tonight and ask for a retention bonus, although I didn't expect much.
She received a $150 credit! Not sure exactly why. She does spend $40k+ / year with this card so she represents a fair amount of
income to Chase. But she also cost them that $6300 insurance charge on a car rental last month. So . . .

The rep also said that the $60 DoorDash credit would return for 2022. I have not seen that anywhere. Most written Chase promos
say only thru the end of 2021. Final tally is $550-$300-$60-$150 = $40 net for the coming year! A nice deal. YMMV.
That's interesting. My renewal was up last month and I was told there was no retention credit both times I asked, with a similar spend. I have like 10 Chase cards though, so maybe they knew they'd get the spend no matter. I ended up downgrading to another Chase Freedom since I won't be traveling for a while and will likely apply for the Preferred when I do (to get the bonus).

Fun fact on door dash - my dash pass was cancelled within an hour of my downgrading. That one hurt since I used it a lot, but oh well. I had assumed it would continue until 12/31. On the plus side, my dining out Bill has gone way down :)
My Reserve card is up for renewal this month. I just called for the second time about a retention offer but got nothing. As last year I got a $250 retention bonus I didn't really expect anything from Chase this time around. So, disappointed but not surprised.

I am already in the Chase ecosystem with Private Client status and various other Chase cards, but my Cap One Spark 2% cash back card will probably get activity that CSR would have otherwise seen. Can't really see keeping CSR given reduced travel for the foreseeable future and the now $550 annual fee (vs $450 originally).

DoorDash has been a nice benefit. Primarily only used, though, when I visit family for discrete times of a couple or so weeks, so a direct, one month DD subscription for $9.99 should be fine.

Would have considered keeping the Reserve if Chase provided some economic incentive, but for $550 less $300 travel / groceries(?) credit and $60 DD credit = $190 it's not worth it to me. Even if I product change to Sapphire Preferred with I think a $95 annual fee, the added $95 for Reserve doesn't make sense.

Now, I'm wondering if I should just downgrade to a no-fee Chase card. The main draw for me to the Reserve card are the collision etc coverage for car rentals (not a car owner) and the trip / travel protection benefits. I would need to review Preferred's terms to see how they compare to Reserve's, but as I'm not even sure we will rent a car or travel near-term anyway, maybe the Preferred isn't even worth it. I just find keeping up with the rotating 5% categories and various Pay Yourself Back terms and deadlines more time-consuming than I like these days.
EnjoyIt
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by EnjoyIt »

If one was to downgrade from the reserve to a freedom card, how long must one wait to get the preferred card? Also, once one has the preferred card, can I turn upgrade back to the reserve and how long should I wait?

Basically I want to keep the reserve but also would like to get a sign up bonus on the preferred card. I have had the reserve for over 48 months and am below 5/24.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: | viewtopic.php?p=1139732#p1139732
drk
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by drk »

EnjoyIt wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 1:32 pm If one was to downgrade from the reserve to a freedom card, how long must one wait to get the preferred card?
"A few days" is what the anecdata suggest.
EnjoyIt wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 1:32 pm Also, once one has the preferred card, can I turn upgrade back to the reserve and how long should I wait?
No dice. You cannot upgrade the Freedom to a CSR while holding the CSP because of the One Sapphire Rule. You cannot upgrade the CSP to a CSR until your first anniversary because of how Chase interprets the CARD Act (changing annual fee in the first year).

BTW, it looks like the CSP 100k offer expired today, but referrals still show it, so you might want to hustle.
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Da5id
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

drk wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 2:53 pm
EnjoyIt wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 1:32 pm If one was to downgrade from the reserve to a freedom card, how long must one wait to get the preferred card?
"A few days" is what the anecdata suggest.
Earlier this week I cancelled my CSR. Two days later I tried and was denied. I called the reconsideration line, and they said that the reason for the denial was still showing a Sapphire card in the system they have. And that it takes a while for a cancelled Sapphire to propagate to their system. This person said "could take a billing cycle". So I'll wait a bit, though per the article you linked I guess may not need *that* long.
manuvns
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by manuvns »

300$ travel credit + $200-300 worth of airport lounge visit + doordash and lyft discount , probably worth it if you travel by air and rent car and stay in hotel .
Thanks!
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CrazyCatLady
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by CrazyCatLady »

rjbraun wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 1:19 pm
CrazyCatLady wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:01 am
Prokofiev wrote: Wed Oct 06, 2021 11:51 pm New data point for the Sapphire Reserve.

My girlfriend was hit with the $550 annual fee this week. I had her call tonight and ask for a retention bonus, although I didn't expect much.
She received a $150 credit! Not sure exactly why. She does spend $40k+ / year with this card so she represents a fair amount of
income to Chase. But she also cost them that $6300 insurance charge on a car rental last month. So . . .

The rep also said that the $60 DoorDash credit would return for 2022. I have not seen that anywhere. Most written Chase promos
say only thru the end of 2021. Final tally is $550-$300-$60-$150 = $40 net for the coming year! A nice deal. YMMV.
That's interesting. My renewal was up last month and I was told there was no retention credit both times I asked, with a similar spend. I have like 10 Chase cards though, so maybe they knew they'd get the spend no matter. I ended up downgrading to another Chase Freedom since I won't be traveling for a while and will likely apply for the Preferred when I do (to get the bonus).

Fun fact on door dash - my dash pass was cancelled within an hour of my downgrading. That one hurt since I used it a lot, but oh well. I had assumed it would continue until 12/31. On the plus side, my dining out Bill has gone way down :)
My Reserve card is up for renewal this month. I just called for the second time about a retention offer but got nothing. As last year I got a $250 retention bonus I didn't really expect anything from Chase this time around. So, disappointed but not surprised.

I am already in the Chase ecosystem with Private Client status and various other Chase cards, but my Cap One Spark 2% cash back card will probably get activity that CSR would have otherwise seen. Can't really see keeping CSR given reduced travel for the foreseeable future and the now $550 annual fee (vs $450 originally).

DoorDash has been a nice benefit. Primarily only used, though, when I visit family for discrete times of a couple or so weeks, so a direct, one month DD subscription for $9.99 should be fine.

Would have considered keeping the Reserve if Chase provided some economic incentive, but for $550 less $300 travel / groceries(?) credit and $60 DD credit = $190 it's not worth it to me. Even if I product change to Sapphire Preferred with I think a $95 annual fee, the added $95 for Reserve doesn't make sense.

Now, I'm wondering if I should just downgrade to a no-fee Chase card. The main draw for me to the Reserve card are the collision etc coverage for car rentals (not a car owner) and the trip / travel protection benefits. I would need to review Preferred's terms to see how they compare to Reserve's, but as I'm not even sure we will rent a car or travel near-term anyway, maybe the Preferred isn't even worth it. I just find keeping up with the rotating 5% categories and various Pay Yourself Back terms and deadlines more time-consuming than I like these days.
The rental car coverage is why I'll eventually go back to the preferred. The last time I checked, it had the same primary rental car insurance that the reserved has, except it doesn't apply to the more exotic cars. It's been a bit since I looked though, so you may want to double check.
EnjoyIt
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by EnjoyIt »

drk wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 2:53 pm
EnjoyIt wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 1:32 pm If one was to downgrade from the reserve to a freedom card, how long must one wait to get the preferred card?
"A few days" is what the anecdata suggest.
EnjoyIt wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 1:32 pm Also, once one has the preferred card, can I turn upgrade back to the reserve and how long should I wait?
No dice. You cannot upgrade the Freedom to a CSR while holding the CSP because of the One Sapphire Rule. You cannot upgrade the CSP to a CSR until your first anniversary because of how Chase interprets the CARD Act (changing annual fee in the first year).

BTW, it looks like the CSP 100k offer expired today, but referrals still show it, so you might want to hustle.
I guess I’m not keen on a year without CSR. Guess I’ll just pay the $550 with no CSP bonus in between.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: | viewtopic.php?p=1139732#p1139732
fuddbogle
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by fuddbogle »

Cancelled the CSR last month.

Waited a little less than 30 days and 1 billing cycle and applied and was approved after phone verification for the CSP, 100k sign up bonus this week.

Not sure yet if I'll upgrade back to the CSR in a year.
Jags4186
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Jags4186 »

The Reserve is a really hard sell these days.

I don't put airfare on it because I put it on AMEX Platinum for 5x.
I don't put hotels on it because almost all hotels I stay in are Hyatt award stays.
I don't put other travel purchases on it because I use my US Bank Altitude Reserve for 3x earn and 1.5x redemptions with Real Time Rewards.

So the only real earning advantage it has over the CSP is that it earns 3x travel instead of 2x, but I'm not putting travel purchases on either card.
And the 1.5x redemptions vs. 1.25x redemptions aren't helpful because I always transfer my UR to Hyatt.

Just easier to pay $95 and be done with it rather than muck around with travel credits (which I don't assign a $300 value to) and Doordash and whatever else.

I suppose if you are a heavy Priority Pass restaurant user, CSR has value. But none of my frequent airports on personal visits have a PP restaurant and business trips I always expense my meals.
Da5id
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Re: Any Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders planning on cancelling? [annual fee increasing]

Post by Da5id »

Jags4186 wrote: Fri Oct 08, 2021 7:27 am The Reserve is a really hard sell these days.
...
Just easier to pay $95 and be done with it rather than muck around with travel credits (which I don't assign a $300 value to) and Doordash and whatever else.
While I'm mostly with you and am personally downgrading to CSP, for most people the $300 travel credit is really pretty close to $300. It is painless (in that it happens automatically). It is pretty broad, for example covering rapid transit and EZ pass in addition to other travel costs. Even for you where you have cards that pay back more, the $300 presumably swamps the extra you get from the percentage. e.g. if you use the US Bank Altitude Reserve to get an extra 1.5% back you get an extra $4.50 on the $300 purchased. So it is worth about $295.50? Not saying it is a good card for you (or me), just that for most people the $300 travel credits is generally close to $300 value. I agree other benefits (dashpass, Priority Pass, etc) are much more variable and hard to value.
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