One thing to consider about the Reserve, if you travel a lot, is the Emergency Evacuation and Transportation coverage. This can be very expensive to cover separately, or even more expensive to pay out of pocket. Of course the odds are very low of needing this, but it's comforting to have it on a CC. I don't know of any other card that offers this.
That’s a good point! Sometimes we’ll purchase additional travel insurance that has this, but if our credit card already covers it, that could help make the annual fee worth it
@@JacobsPointsAndProfit Be careful of the fine print on the bottom of page 14 of the guide to benefits for the CSR that states this only applies if your trip was "arranged by a travel agency." These are marketing features that are built to sound useful and sell credit cards, not necessarily provide the best benefit for the traveler.
I love the CSR for its PPS and travel protection including its primary auto insurance. It is so mucj simpler to use than all other cards, for that, I am OK even if it has an effective annual fee of $250 that may not be fully off set easily
I upgraded my CSP to the CSR and couldn't be happier. I use Lyft a lot so between the Lyft Pink membership and the travel credit my EAF is $50. When the Lyft perk expires in two years I'll examine my options. I just booked Delta first class to Atlanta using the $300 credit plus 30K URs. I'll be going to the Sapphire lounge at JFK and the Sam Adams Ale House at ATL. Can't wait!
That’s cool to hear about your CSR. I wish I could get more value out of the Lyft Pink membership. I don’t think I’d save that much money. Maybe $20-$30 every year. Maybe there’s some Priority Pass restaurants I can visit that I’m not thinking about right now if I get the Reserve
Appreciate your honest review of the Chase portal. I haven’t used the portal yet as I have had my CSP for less than a year. Looking forward to seeing if you upgrade to the CSR as I will probably need to make the same decision in the future.
I want the CSR to make sense, but I’d have to use the portal so much to make it worth it. I’ll probably keep price matching the portal hotels with booking.com to see if the prices are the same or better. It’ll be a tough choice either way
Great analysis! The CSR is great for non-luxury travel! You're a good example of too much travel, not enough points. Whereas I have too many points, not enough PTO! so it makes sense for me to just splurge and spend more points for my stays!
The too many points and not enough PTO can lead to some really cool experiences all on credit card points! I don’t want to spend $550 every year for just a decent card but it might help me save money
@@precociousdeathdealer202 PTO is paid time off. I have this TH-cam channel, but I also have another one with way more subscribers. It's called "Jacob and Jenny - Travel" if you want to check it out. I also do independent contractor work when I'm in the United States to supplement any extra income we need to keep this travel lifestyle
@JacobsPointsAndProfit cool. I'm from England and here paid time off is usually between 20 to 30 days annually. I have heard USA have very bad labour rights such as PTO, overtime pay and maternity leave.
Watching the video now and I love this concept. It sounds so “freeing” to be a complete hotel free agent. My wife would prefer to stay at the one off boutique properties as well.
I realized if I paid cash for hotel stays at my preferred chain, I would probably overspend for my personal situation, so I decided to be a free agent even with status from certain credit cards. I would love to stay at all the popular brands, but I won't force myself to stay there if it doesn't make sense financially
I want to upgrade to the CSR but I put a lot of spend per month on my CSP for online grocery and streaming services. Combine that with not traveling as much as you and I just can’t justify it at this point. Great video!
Yeah that’s what I’m thinking too. I’d have to do a ton of redemptions on flights and hotels through the portal to make it worth it. Otherwise I’d save money by getting 1.25 cents per point through the portal with my Sapphire Preferred if I just made a few portal bookings
I'll have to rewatch your CSR videos to see if I can get more clarity about my decision. You're one of the main people who made me consider replacing my Sapphire Preferred with the Reserve
It’s interesting to me that you don’t care for luxury yet, I mean you guys have traveled so much, and I guess it means way more travels, but I’m surprised you haven’t cared maybe as much for the high end stuff. Like your first Hyatt place stay, I can’t wait until you do your first Thompson or Andaz stay hahaha. Itll be wild if you haven’t already. I think this card makes sense for your life for sure, much more easy going in a lot of cases which seems to be what you’re striving for. Great video Jacob!
A Thompson or Andaz might be a little too much for us, unless we have a free night certificate haha, but I'll be looking for them throughout our travels. It would be cool to stay in nicer properties, but I don't want to burn through our points too quickly
We Didn't realize our chase Sapphire reserve had a $550 annual free. Thought it was around $400. But thats still better than the AMEX Prices. I dunno, with the lack of availability of good lounges with full food and drinks, not sure it will be worth the price next renewal.
Yep it's $550 every year. That's quite a bit of money, so I wouldn't blame you if you decided the CSR wasn't worth it. You can always call Chase and ask for a retention offer and/or downgrade the card to a Sapphire Preferred or a no annual fee Freedom card
It appears the additional user card costs $75 and they will get their own Priority Pass membership, but not much else. It can be worth it for some, but your Sapphire Reserve will come with guest passes to Priority Pass lounges, so it may or may not be worth it to add an authorized user
Venture X? Yes, I absolutely think the Venture X is better than the CSR, but there's potentially room in my wallet for both as long as they provide me more value than the annual fee. Considering I already got the sign up bonus for a Sapphire card, it's a lot harder to justify the CSR
One thing to consider about the Reserve, if you travel a lot, is the Emergency Evacuation and Transportation coverage. This can be very expensive to cover separately, or even more expensive to pay out of pocket. Of course the odds are very low of needing this, but it's comforting to have it on a CC. I don't know of any other card that offers this.
That’s a good point! Sometimes we’ll purchase additional travel insurance that has this, but if our credit card already covers it, that could help make the annual fee worth it
@@JacobsPointsAndProfit Be careful of the fine print on the bottom of page 14 of the guide to benefits for the CSR that states this only applies if your trip was "arranged by a travel agency." These are marketing features that are built to sound useful and sell credit cards, not necessarily provide the best benefit for the traveler.
Lately I've been thinking about Jacob's videos from time to time haha
Haha good one! I’ll allow it lol
I love the CSR for its PPS and travel protection including its primary auto insurance. It is so mucj simpler to use than all other cards, for that, I am OK even if it has an effective annual fee of $250 that may not be fully off set easily
I love the Priority Pass and travel protection on the CSR! It certainly is more simple than other big travel cards
I’ve saves hundreds on the car rentals alone by not having to take the auto rental company insurance option.
I upgraded my CSP to the CSR and couldn't be happier. I use Lyft a lot so between the Lyft Pink membership and the travel credit my EAF is $50. When the Lyft perk expires in two years I'll examine my options. I just booked Delta first class to Atlanta using the $300 credit plus 30K URs. I'll be going to the Sapphire lounge at JFK and the Sam Adams Ale House at ATL. Can't wait!
That’s cool to hear about your CSR. I wish I could get more value out of the Lyft Pink membership. I don’t think I’d save that much money. Maybe $20-$30 every year. Maybe there’s some Priority Pass restaurants I can visit that I’m not thinking about right now if I get the Reserve
Appreciate your honest review of the Chase portal. I haven’t used the portal yet as I have had my CSP for less than a year. Looking forward to seeing if you upgrade to the CSR as I will probably need to make the same decision in the future.
I want the CSR to make sense, but I’d have to use the portal so much to make it worth it. I’ll probably keep price matching the portal hotels with booking.com to see if the prices are the same or better. It’ll be a tough choice either way
Great analysis! The CSR is great for non-luxury travel! You're a good example of too much travel, not enough points.
Whereas I have too many points, not enough PTO! so it makes sense for me to just splurge and spend more points for my stays!
The too many points and not enough PTO can lead to some really cool experiences all on credit card points! I don’t want to spend $550 every year for just a decent card but it might help me save money
@@JacobsPointsAndProfitwhat is PTO. Also how do you have enough income to travel the world. What is your income source?
@@precociousdeathdealer202 PTO is paid time off. I have this TH-cam channel, but I also have another one with way more subscribers. It's called "Jacob and Jenny - Travel" if you want to check it out. I also do independent contractor work when I'm in the United States to supplement any extra income we need to keep this travel lifestyle
@JacobsPointsAndProfit cool. I'm from England and here paid time off is usually between 20 to 30 days annually. I have heard USA have very bad labour rights such as PTO, overtime pay and maternity leave.
@@precociousdeathdealer202 20-30 days in pretty good. It's very normal to have 10-15 days of paid time off here
Watching the video now and I love this concept. It sounds so “freeing” to be a complete hotel free agent. My wife would prefer to stay at the one off boutique properties as well.
I realized if I paid cash for hotel stays at my preferred chain, I would probably overspend for my personal situation, so I decided to be a free agent even with status from certain credit cards. I would love to stay at all the popular brands, but I won't force myself to stay there if it doesn't make sense financially
I want to upgrade to the CSR but I put a lot of spend per month on my CSP for online grocery and streaming services. Combine that with not traveling as much as you and I just can’t justify it at this point. Great video!
Totally makes sense! It's nice to earn 3x in those two categories. The CSR is decent, but I might not even travel enough to justify the $550 haha
CSR is for people who travel alot, so don't upgrade if you don't travel. Tsa prechech, $300 travel credit or airport longue will be worthless to you
I've thought about the CSR, but you need a ton of chase points to make up for that 250 effective AF every year.
Yeah that’s what I’m thinking too. I’d have to do a ton of redemptions on flights and hotels through the portal to make it worth it. Otherwise I’d save money by getting 1.25 cents per point through the portal with my Sapphire Preferred if I just made a few portal bookings
Good informative video. Btw I used your CIP referral 🤝
That’s so much for using my referral link! It means so much and helps support the channel in a big way. Glad you liked the video too!
@@JacobsPointsAndProfit yes sir! Keep up the good content.
Nice thought process, Jacob. I love my CSR!
I'll have to rewatch your CSR videos to see if I can get more clarity about my decision. You're one of the main people who made me consider replacing my Sapphire Preferred with the Reserve
It’s interesting to me that you don’t care for luxury yet, I mean you guys have traveled so much, and I guess it means way more travels, but I’m surprised you haven’t cared maybe as much for the high end stuff.
Like your first Hyatt place stay, I can’t wait until you do your first Thompson or Andaz stay hahaha. Itll be wild if you haven’t already.
I think this card makes sense for your life for sure, much more easy going in a lot of cases which seems to be what you’re striving for.
Great video Jacob!
A Thompson or Andaz might be a little too much for us, unless we have a free night certificate haha, but I'll be looking for them throughout our travels. It would be cool to stay in nicer properties, but I don't want to burn through our points too quickly
We Didn't realize our chase Sapphire reserve had a $550 annual free. Thought it was around $400. But thats still better than the AMEX Prices. I dunno, with the lack of availability of good lounges with full food and drinks, not sure it will be worth the price next renewal.
Yep it's $550 every year. That's quite a bit of money, so I wouldn't blame you if you decided the CSR wasn't worth it. You can always call Chase and ask for a retention offer and/or downgrade the card to a Sapphire Preferred or a no annual fee Freedom card
@@JacobsPointsAndProfit great suggestions!
Can you tell me more about the additional user? worth it for a family member? I live abroad travel 5-6 times a year.
It appears the additional user card costs $75 and they will get their own Priority Pass membership, but not much else. It can be worth it for some, but your Sapphire Reserve will come with guest passes to Priority Pass lounges, so it may or may not be worth it to add an authorized user
Capital Venture is better, I used to have the CSR, but $550 is a little too costy
Venture X? Yes, I absolutely think the Venture X is better than the CSR, but there's potentially room in my wallet for both as long as they provide me more value than the annual fee. Considering I already got the sign up bonus for a Sapphire card, it's a lot harder to justify the CSR