a credit card and sunglasses
Let's cut to the chase. Some links on this site pay us referral fees for sending business and sales. We value your time and money and won't waste it. For our complete advertising policy, click here. The content on this page is not provided by any companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone.

Amazing benefits, simplified…

You can read all the articles about how to maximize points and how to unlock crazy luxury experiences and all that crazy stuff, but a great credit card is all about making every journey better. And ideally – it should be easy. When it comes to seriously upgrading your travels while saving money the whole way, it’s very tough to beat the Chase Sapphire Reserve (Learn More). Here’s why it’s the best travel credit card for US travelers…

a pool with a thatched roof and a building with trees in the backgroundThe Most Flexible Points

For years it was a no brainer: the best way to use points was to transfer them from your credit card over to an airline or hotel, to take advantage of lucrative, ripe opportunities where you’re spending a relatively small stack of points for flights or hotels worth a ton of cash. But with that process more convoluted than ever, Chase decided to offer the best rate for spending points directly toward any air travel or hotel purchase. Translation: you don’t need to earn a PhD in points to get great value for them. You can use your points to book any flight or hotel on the Chase website, or you can still transfer points to airlines to unlock crazy value. Chase offers better for cashing in your points towards any flight or hotel directly with them than any other bank.

a sign with an arrow pointing to an airportThe Most Generous Travel Benefits

A $450 annual fee is a commitment. But you can easily make that back, and then some! We’ll save you the super long pitch: the more you travel, the more your card pays for itself. The Chase Sapphire Reserve (Learn More) is the only credit card which doesn’t technically limit the amount of guests you can bring into a Priority Pass airport VIP lounge. It’s been proven. Whereas many cards will get you, your significant other or one friend in – this card can potentially bring the whole family, and maybe even the in laws into a lounge. And that $450 fee? You instantly get $300 back toward any travel purchase. The term travel purchase is used very broadly, so without very much effort at all, you’ll have $300 credited to your account in no time. And here are other money saving benefits you may not realize…

  • 30% off Silvercar, Avis and National car rentals via Visa Infinity discount. 
  • Up to $500 in clothing and necessities for flight delays over 6 hours.
  • $100 Global Entry Credit – aka FREE Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
  • VIP hotel benefits worldwide via Luxury Hotels & Resorts Collection.
  • Concierge service, with special access to tickets, restaurants and gifts.
  • Covers new purchases for up to 120 days against damage or theft!
  • No foreign transaction fees. Use your card worldwide.

a plate of food on a white surfaceVery Generous Earning Rates

3x points on all travel booked directly with airlines and hotels – and also on dining. That means when you venture out with friends on a Friday night, it’s always a good idea to say “I got this, just gimme the cash”. A $100 dinner would yield 300 rewards points. A $1000 flight would yield 3,000 points, not even including the frequent flyer miles you’ll earn. In practice, dining is a very flexible term, and even your morning latte may earn 3x Chase Sapphire Reserve points (Learn More)! That will add up! For all other purchases you’ll earn a solid one point for every dollar you spend, and that’s uncapped. The more you spend, the more you earn – responsibly of course.

a seat and chair in an airplaneAspirational Travel Experiences

Here are a few of the dreamiest ways to cash out your points, like 93,000 points for Korean Air First Class, 15,000 points for a Michelin starred dinner with a famous chef via Marriott Moments (with wine, of course), 25,000 points for five star super luxury Hyatt hotels, 50,000 Virgin Atlantic points for flat bed business class to Europe on Delta. Yeah, this card quickly unlocks all of those opportunities. We also love spending 100,000 points to book round trip business class tickets virtually anywhere in the world during flash sales. Basically you can’t go wrong.

You can sign up for the card here.

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

Join the Conversation

3 Comments

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *