Credit Cards as a Travel Tool: Chase Sapphire Reserve and Ultimate Rewards

Do you want to earn a free vacation for purchases you’d be making anyway? It may sound too good to be true, but reward-earning credit cards are fully legitimate travel tools to take advantage. As long as you pay your bill in full each and every month, you could earn hundreds of dollars in credit card points each year with little downside.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is the Rolls-Royce of the credit card world and comes with elite travel benefits. It earns three Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on travel and dining, which includes everything from parking to airline tickets and public transportation rides.

When cardmembers book their next trip through the Chase Travel Portal, they’ll also earn five points per dollar spent on flights. Plus, they can earn a whopping 10 points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals. Cardmembers also earn 10 percent back on Lyft rides and one percent back on almost everything else.

These Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1.5 times more when reimbursed for travel through the Chase Travel Portal. The portal aggregates nearly all major airlines, hotels, and rental car companies.

This means that, in effect, cardmembers earn 4.5 percent on every dollar spent on travel and dining.

Spending $10,000 in travel and dining alone per year would net 30,000 points, which is worth $450 when spent on travel.

Plus, if you also use the card for flights regularly you’ll earn both Chase Points and frequent flier miles, which puts your potential return on investment even higher.

The $550 annual fee practically pays for itself. The Sapphire Reserve comes with a $300 yearly travel credit, reimbursement for TSA Precheck or Global Entry, access to thousands of airport lounges across through Priority Pass, and complimentary DoorDash Dash Pass and Lyft Pink.

Additionally, you’ll get rental car discounts, trip delay reimbursement, an auto damage waiver and no foreign transaction fees. That makes the CSR a perfect card for globetrotters with a 740+ credit score.

The main draw is a 60,000 point bonus after spending $4000 in the first three months after opening the card. If you’re able to do this, it is an excellent offer. The bonus nets you at least $900 in travel spending, as you can redeem the 60,000 points for 1.5 times more through the Chase Travel Portal.

Transfer Partners

One of the best perks of the Sapphire Reserve are the transfer partners. Cardmembers can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to plenty of airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio. Some of those include United Mileage Plus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Avios (Iberia, British Airways), Flying Blue, Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, and IHG.

I’ve found that World of Hyatt is the transfer partner that consistently provides the most value. Otherwise, you can use this calculator to determine if a point transfer to a Chase partner is worth it.

Combining Points

To maximize points, it makes sense to pair the Chase Sapphire Reserve with a card that earns rewards at a higher rate for categories other than travel and dining.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited card earns three percent back on drugstore and dining purchases and 1.5 percent on nearly everything else. percent back on every single purchase. Meanwhile, the Chase Freedom Flex card also earns earns three percent back on drugstores and dining, five points per dollar on rotating categories each quarter and one percent at most stores.

Neither card has an annual fee and they also comes with a 20,000 point bonus after spending $500 in the first three months.

In sum, smart credit card use can help travelers save up for their next vacation.