Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit How It Works
When Chase released the Sapphire Reserve they made a bold promise regarding its travel credit. Not only would it be an automatic credit, but it would apply to anything in the travel category. I have now had a chance to use the card quite a bit and thought I would share with you which purchases were credited back and which ones weren’t.
What Counts
During my trip I had a wide variety of travel expenses which were credited back. Let’s take a look at what Chase gave me back on my statement.
Subway/Mass Transit
A few weeks ago I was traveling in New York and purchased a Metrocard for getting around the city. Thankfully that purchase DID receive a credit. As far as I am told, all mass transit purchases as long as they are coded correctly WILL COUNT.
Uber/Lyft/Taxis
As part of that same trip, my wife took Uber to JFK and with traffic not only did it take forever, but it cost a fortune! Thankfully the travel credit kicked in!
Busses
While my wife was headed to JFK, I was headed down to Atlantic City. Unfortunately Greyhound is the best way to do that. Despite some initial worries when a fight almost broke out at the ticket windows over someone cutting in line, the ride down wasn’t that bad and the ticket triggered my travel credit!
Hotels
Naturally you would think hotels count and they indeed do. For example, my small charge at the Park Hyatt New York easily was credited back.
Airfare
Coming back from that trip, I booked a United award, but had to pay the $5.60 security fee. As you would expect, it was credited back.
What Didn’t Count
While in New York my wife and I made our way out to Coney Island for some coasters and Nathan’s hot dogs. Of course I charged our coaster tickets to the Sapphire Reserve with the hopes that theme parks would count as travel. Unfortunately, I did not receive a credit.
Conclusion
As you can see, Chase has made the Sapphire Reserve’s travel credit as lucrative as promised. It counts for just about everything and applies automatically. On one single I trip I was able to max out the credit on a huge variety of different purchases. At a time when I am drowning in travel credits, I am glad that at least one of them is so easy to maximize.
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Did the following test purchases:
Alaska Air Gift Card. Didn’t credit.
Amtrak points purchase. Didn’t credit.
Any word on UR credits for cruisesv. Whether payments are made to travel agencies or direct to the cruise lines?
[…] Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit in the Real World: What Counts & What Doesn’t […]
$37 dollars to JFK is a bargain. Thats cheaper than I see for pool rides most of the time.
I had close to $20 in credit on my account so it was closer to $55. I left that part out to keep it a bit simpler. It seems based on those prices and the nearly 2 hours it took, that taking the subway is definitely the easiest and cheapest way to go if you don’t have large luggage or in my wife’s case a baby.
DP – In Los Angeles, parking meters all around the city have counted for me. Weird and unexpected.
I didn’t get a travel credit for an IHG cash and points purchase, with the charge coding as a ‘warehouse club and discount stores” purchase, probably because it was for the “IHG Rewards Club.” C’mon, Chase, you’re better than that. So IHG purchases might also count for warehouse club purchases and 5X on the Freedom card, though I have no need or desire to find out.
Interesting.
Well, if dodge’em cars aren’t travel, I say it’s spinach and I say the hell with it.
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How was Coney Island? I have not made it out there and was thinking about going on our next trip. I heard the area is slightly sketchy but not too bad. Did you take the subway out?
Oh it is great and has been cleaned up a lot over the past few years. Definitely worth a visit! Yes we took the subway out. It takes about an hour from Manhattan.
Theme parks are pretty clearly entertainment and not travel.
They have qualified before as travel on cards such as the Arrival+ (that has been discontinued) so I thought it was worth a test. I wanted to provide the data point, but as you say it fully makes sense that it wouldn’t code as travel.
I received the credit for parking at the airport.
I got reimbursed for a parking ticket in Wisconsin
I booked tours and Hop On/Hop Off bus tickets in Spain that counted
EZ Pass charges count as well.
Interestingly and on-board food purchase on Alaska counted as dining, not travel and I didn’t get the credit. Airport parking however has worked at 3 different airports now. SFO, OGG, and SMF
Coasters would not count because your origin and destination are the same. Unlike a flight or Uber where you have a destination, the coaster stops where you board. Have you tried charging a coaster with a separate loading and unloading zone? Maybe those will work. 🙂
I’ll have to try that next time!
Thanks for the info but what about Airbnb? Will Airbnb purchases trigger the credit?
I haven’t tried Airbnb with the credit yet, but have heard it should work. Hopefully someone can chime in and confirm.
Yup, got a couple of confirmations it works fine!