Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Approval To Do List

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Now is the time to apply for the Chase Reserve card.

The Chase Reserve Card is a popular travel rewards card that many people find to be worthwhile.

The card currently has a welcome bonus of 80,000 Ultimate rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first three months, and there are many other benefits to the card.

• 3x points on dining and travel
• A $300 annual travel credit, which can be applied toward any purchase coded as travel
• A Priority Pass membership with the ability to guest two people into lounges
• Valuable travel and rental car coverage
• A Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck credit
• Visa Infinite perks, including rental car and hotel benefits

I wanted to look at what you should do when you get the card, after applying and getting it. Most of the benefits of the card are easy to use, as Chase intentionally makes them that way.

Some of the things that you should do once you have activated the Chase Reserve are listed below.

Activate your Priority Pass membership

With a Priority Pass membership, you can get access to over 1,300 airport lounges around the world, including many airport restaurants. You can bring two people with you into the lounge for free.

You have to use this. You can do this by going to the card benefits section of the website. You have to scroll down until you see the section for complimentary airport lounge access.

You have an option to get activated. The card should be mailed to you within two to three weeks if you choose that option.

The $300 travel credit is one of the perks that makes it easy to justify the annual fee. There is no need to register. If you spend up to $300 for a purchase categorized as travel, you'll get a reimbursement.

When your next cardmember year starts, you can see how much of your credit you have used by going to your card dashboard on the UltimateRewards website.

Use your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit

A Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $100 is offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve. When entering the U.S., Global Entry gives you expedited immigration, while the TSA PreCheck gives you expedited security. If you make regular land crossing between the US and Canada, NEXUS is a must have.

Since Global Entry automatically gets you access to PreCheck, I always recommend applying for it.

If you already have Global Entry, you can use it for another person. Your card is charged for the fee, that's all. There is no need to register on Chase's end. Within a few days, your card will be credited for the purchase.

You can add authorized users to the reserve for $75. When using the Priority Pass card, authorized users receive their own Priority Pass membership, as well as travel and rental car coverage.

If you know people who value lounge access, adding authorized users to the card can be a good deal. When picking up the card, think about this.

The bonus categories that Chase offers are some of the best in the business.

• 3x points on dining globally
• 3x points on travel globally
• 5x points on airfare booked through the Chase Travel portal
• 10x points on hotels and rental cars booked through the Chase Travel portal
• 10x points on Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025)

Make sure to update the card you have on file for travel purchases, including with airlines, ride sharing services, hotels, parking apps, and more, so that you can maximize your points.

Transfer existing Chase points to maximize value

You can redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for 1.5 cents each toward the cost of a travel purchase through the Chase Travel portal if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Points can only be redeemed for a travel purchase on the Chase and Ink Business credit cards.

In addition to that, there are other cards that could earn Ultimate rewards points, including the Chase Freedom Flex SM, Ink Business unlimited® Credit Card, and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card.

If you have racked up points on any of the cards, I would recommend transferring them to the sapphires reserve. Clicking on the "Combine Points" section on the Ultimate rewards website will allow you to combine points.

This will allow you to redeem your points for travel purchases at the rate of 1.5 cents each, even if you don't use them for flights or hotels.

Take advantage of your rental car perks

National, Avis, and Silvercar will give you rental car perks if you have the Chase sapphires reserve. These perks are included.

• Complimentary National Emerald Club Executive status
• An Avis Preferred membership, with the opportunity to save up to 30% on qualifying rentals by using an Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) code
• Savings of up to 30% with Silvercar

Use your DoorDash DashPass & credits

Chase and DoorDash offer perks for card members. This also applies to those with the Chase Reserve.

• A $5 monthly DoorDash credit all the way through December 31, 2024; the credit expires after three months, so you can “bank” them and could use a single $15 credit every three months, if you wanted to
• A complimentary 12 month DoorDash DashPass (must activate by December 31, 2024), offering $0 delivery fees on eligible restaurant and grocery store deliveries (generally you need to spend at least $12 with a restaurant or $25 with a grocery store)

For more information on how to use these benefits, see this post.

Decide if you want a card to complement the Sapphire Reserve

3x points on dining and travel are offered by the Chase Reserve. If you complement the card with another card, you can potentially earn Ultimate rewards points.

• Both the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card offer 1.5x points on all purchases, so are great complements; since you’ll be able to redeem points for 1.5 cents each, that’s like earning a return of at least 2.25% on all your purchases in conjunction with the Sapphire Reserve, making these some of the best cards for everyday spending
• The Chase Freedom Flex^SM offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, on up to $1,500 of spending per quarter, plus 3x points at drugstores
• The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers 3x points on the first $150,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines.
• The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers 5x points on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on office supply stores, internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines, and 2x points on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on restaurants and gas stations

If you earn a lot of points and pay only one annual fee, the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Sapphire Reserve are some of the best cards out there.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a small learning curve once you get it. Chase wants the card to be rewarding without a lot of work. Hopefully the above is a good start for anyone just getting the card.

If you haven't picked up the card yet, this is a great time to apply because of the 80,000 points bonus. The best bonus we have seen on the card is this one.