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Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit in the Real World: What Counts & What Doesn’t

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Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Links in this post may provide us with a commission.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit How It Works

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.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit How It Works

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!

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit How It Works

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!

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit How It Works

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.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit How It Works

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.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit How It Works

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.

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Shawn Coomer
Shawn Coomerhttps://milestomemories.com/
Shawn Coomer earns and burns millions of miles/points per year circling the globe with his family. An expert at accumulating travel rewards, he founded Miles to Memories to help others achieve their travel goals for pennies on the dollar. Shawn also runs a million dollar reselling business, knows Vegas better than most and loves to spend his time at the 12 Disney parks across the world.

Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

24 COMMENTS

  1. Did the following test purchases:
    Alaska Air Gift Card. Didn’t credit.
    Amtrak points purchase. Didn’t credit.

  2. Any word on UR credits for cruisesv. Whether payments are made to travel agencies or direct to the cruise lines?

    • 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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?

    • 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.

  5. 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

  6. 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. 🙂

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