New Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits, but an increased annual fee

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The Chase Sapphire Reserve has been one of my favorite cards over the past few years. Earning 3x points on restaurants and travel has been invaluable and I absolutely love Chase Ultimate Reward points. Although the annual fee has been quite high since its inception, some of the benefits have made this card worth it. Unfortunately though, the annual fee is now up to $550 per year. Of course, the card also reimburses your global entry fee every four years, you receive Priority Lounge access and points are worth 50% more when redeeming them through the travel portal. And with the $300 annual travel credit, it effectively brings the annual fee down to $250. But, is the card now worth it?

New Chase Sapphire Reserve Benefits

In early 2020, two new benefits were added to the card: complimentary Lyft Pink access and DoorDash credits.

Then, in 2021, Chase added higher earning potential for some dining and travel purchases.

Lyft Pink

All members will receive a free year of Lyft Pink. Typically, this subscription costs $19.99 per month, so you can think of it as a $240 savings â€”Â ifÂ you were going to subscribe anyways. This service will get you a discount on all Lyft rides, priority airport pickups, more generous cancelation policies, waived lost and found fees and complimentary bike and scooters. While I appreciate receiving the service for free, this is something I would neverÂ pay for.

Also, if you pay for your Lyft ride with your Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you’ll earn 10x points through March 2022. This is a huge return, especially since I value Chase Ultimate Reward points at 2 cents per point making this a 20% return on every ride.

For me, the extra value of this benefit is a big $0. For those that take Lyft’s quite often, you’ll definitely see a higher value, but it still might not be worth the $100 annual fee increase.

DoorDash

Cardmembers will receive both DoorDash credits and a complimentary year to DoorPass. You’ll receive $120 in DoorDash credits â€” $60 to use in 2020 and $60 to use in 2021. If you live in an area that DoorDash services, then you can possibly take this for face value. Where I live in the suburbs outside of Boston, I have a decent number of restaurants for delivery. For me personally, this is worth $60 per year since I order out a few times a month and would spend this month anyways.

DoorPass will also get you free delivery and lower service fees. Typically, this membership costs $9.99/month, so a years membership is theoretically worth $120. This is definitely not something I’d pay for otherwise, so I do not place any value on it, but I’d gladly take a complimentary membership if handed to me.

Earn more points on dining and travel

In mid-2021, Chase enhanced the number of points you’ll earn on select dining and travel purchases. Traditionally, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on purchases within these two categories, but now, if purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you’ll be able to earn more points. For dining, hotel stays and car rentals purchase through Ultimate Rewards, you’ll now earn 10 total points per dollar spent. For air travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards, you’ll earn 5 total points per dollar spent.

Is the card worth it?

Truthfully, I am not sure if the card is as valuable as it once was. Although right now, you can easily offset the fee with the travel credit, DoorDash credit and Peloton credit. Unfortunately, many of those credits expire at the end of 2021, so hopefully we’ll see something as promising next year as well to make the card worth holding on to.

But, for many, the Chase Sapphire Preferred might be a better pick â€” especially with only a $95 annual fee.

resort waterfall pool — Transfer your Chase Ultimate Reward points to Hyatt and stay at the Hyatt Baha Mar for free! And when you use points, you do not have to pay the high taxes or resort fees.

Overall…

For me personally, I am still a cardmember, but I’ll have to re-evaluate in 2022. The value of these benefits truly do depend on the person.

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