Is the New Chase Sapphire Reserve 125K-Point Travel Rewards Bonus Worth It?

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If you’re a player in the travel rewards world, the new 125,000-point bonus offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve card has no doubt caught your attention. Even for a premium travel card, this highest-ever bonus on the Sapphire Reserve card is nothing short of astounding.
But two major roadblocks stand between the credit card and casual users. The first is the requirement to spend $6,000 in the first three months in order to qualify for the hefty bonus. The second is the $795 annual fee. While many will scoff at the idea of paying nearly $800 just for the “privilege” of using a credit card, others will derive real value in the card, more than enough to offset the sizable fee.
Here’s how to determine whether the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is worth it for you.
How Much Is the Sign-Up Bonus Really Worth?
While receiving 125,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points sounds like a lot — and it is — how much are these points really worth?
At a bare minimum, 125,000 Ultimate Rewards points are worth $1,250 in cash back on redemptions made directly through Chase. That’s a lot of value for a sign-up bonus, even though you have to meet the hefty spending requirement of $6,000 in three months. If you simply liquidate your points for cash through Chase, you’ll pay off that $795 fee and still have $455 in value available.
However, savvy travelers and point hackers know that cash liquidations are one of the most inefficient ways to get value out of points. According to well-regarded travel advice website The Points Guy, Chase Ultimate Rewards points have a value of $0.025 each as of Sept. 2025. Clever use of the points through transferring to hotel or airline partners could possibly bump up that value even more.
What Additional Perks Are Available?
The sign-up bonus alone clearly makes this card a value for anyone in the first year. But to be worth keeping, it must continue to offer value that more than offsets the annual fee.
Per Chase, here are the main ongoing perks of the card, some of which have a clear dollar value and some of which must be evaluated a bit more subjectively.
- $300 annual travel credit
- $500 annual credit for stays with The Edit, Chase’s handpicked selection of hotels and resorts
- $300 annual dining credit at restaurants that are part of the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program
- $120 DashPass membership
- Up to $300 in annual DoorDash promos
- $300 annual credit at StubHub
- “Once-in-a-lifetime moments,” a collection of private experiences and special ticket packages with artists and talent
- Complimentary Apple TV+ and Apple Music subscriptions, a $250 annual value
- $120 Lyft credit and 5x points
- $120 Peloton credit and 10x points
- Access to Chase Sapphire Reserve airport lounges
- Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership
- $0 foreign transaction fees
- Travel protections, including primary auto rental insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, travel accident insurance, travel and emergency assistance, lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, roadside assistance, emergency evacuation and transportation, and emergency medical and dental insurance
- Additional consumer protections, including purchase protection, return protection and extended warranty protection
In addition to this extensive list of benefits, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers earnings kickers of 8x points on all Chase Travel purchases, 4x points on all flights and hotels booked directly, 3x points on worldwide dining, and 1x points on all other purchases.
Importantly for travelers, Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to 14 different airline and hotel partners, including United MileagePlus, Singapore KrisFlyer, Air Canada Aeroplan, World of Hyatt and more.
Calculating the Value
So how does it all break down?
For the first year, the card is a no-brainer. Even converting the points to cash more than covers the annual fee, and all of the additional perks are just gravy. But if you intend to hold the card for the long run, you’ll have to do your own calculus.
Every cardholder — at least, those who travel — gets the $300 annual travel bonus, which effectively reduces the annual fee to $495. Whether the other perks outweigh the residual fee is a matter of personal preference. It’s pretty unlikely that every cardholder will take advantage of every single monetary perk the card offers. But there’s still plenty of value to be had by those who use even some of the perks.
For example, even if you don’t use the DoorDash, Peloton, Apple Music and StubHub credits, if you stay at hotels by The Edit, the $500 annual credit will still more than offset the remaining annual fee. And this doesn’t even take into account the points multipliers, such as 8x points on Chase Travel purchases and 4x points on airfare and hotels. On the other hand, if you do avail of all of those credits, you’ll easily clear the hurdle of covering the annual fee.
The Bottom Line
Tough as it might be to swallow a $795 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers plenty of features and benefits that can justify it — with one big caveat. If you’re not really a traveler, or if your lifestyle doesn’t mirror the benefits that the card offers, there are plenty of other card options available that could make more sense — including Chase’s own Sapphire Preferred, which comes with fewer benefits but just a $95 annual fee.
Before you get enticed by the enormous sign-up bonus, be sure to do your own math regarding whether or not the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is worth it for you.
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