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Chase Sapphire Reserve military benefits, fee reductions

  • Joseph Hostetler

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    The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are two favorites here amongst the MMS team. Both cards are unignorably some of the best credit cards for travel, with strong welcome bonuses and the ability to earn valuable Ultimate Rewards points on your everyday purchases.

    The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve typically have annual fees of $95 and $550. But those fees are waived for active U.S. military, making them among the best credit cards for military members. I’ll show you why this can mean $300 in completely free travel every year, as well as a free lounge membership (worth $400+ annually).

    If you’re in the military, you can’t go wrong with either card.

    If you are in the military, you can contact Chase to have the annual fee waived on your Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve card. (Photo by BPTU/Shutterstock)

    Chase Sapphire military benefits

    Welcome bonus

    Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve earn the same Ultimate Rewards points, so it’s easy to compare these two cards in this area.

    With the Sapphire Preferred you can earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. Points redeemed through the Chase travel portal are worth 25% more, so this bonus is worth at least $1,250 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

    With the Sapphire Reserve, you can earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. The Sapphire Reserve receives a 50% bonus when you redeem points through the Chase travel portal, so this bonus is also worth at least $900 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

    The bonus isn’t the only way to accrue points in a hurry. Read our guide on how to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

    Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

    Although you can do a ton with either welcome bonus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® currently has a higher welcome bonus, so you have the opportunity of getting more value out of this redemption.

    Earning ability

    With the Sapphire Preferred, you can earn 2 points per dollar on travel and dining at restaurants, which can include airfare, hotels, fine dining, and cafes. You’ll earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

    The Sapphire Reserve earns slightly more, at 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel and dining, with the same ability to earn 1X Chase Ultimate Rewards point on all other purchases.

    Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve

    Redemption value

    Chase Ultimate Rewards points are very valuable, and if you know how to redeem them, you can get some amazing value. For example, I redeemed 90,000 Ultimate Rewards points earlier this year for three nights at the Park Hyatt New York. Had I paid in cash, it would have cost a whopping $3,000.

    Both cards earn the same Ultimate Rewards points, so regardless of which card you go for, you’ll be able to transfer them to any of Chase’s travel partners to book hotels, airfare, etc. This is the best way to use Chase points.

    You can book flights to Europe for as little as 34,000 points by transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards to Iberia. (Photo by Christian Kramer)

    The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a slight advantage, though. Chase points value redeemed on the card is increased by 50% if redeemed through the Chase travel portal, compared to just 25% more on the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

    Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve

    Annual fee

    If you’re thinking you might be leaving the military soon or just don’t want to potentially be on the hook for a larger annual fee, then you may want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® because it carries a smaller annual fee of $95. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® on the other hand, carries a $550 annual fee.

    Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

    Premium travel benefits

    Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve carry strong travel perks, like primary rental car insurance, trip delay reimbursement, no foreign transaction fees and trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance. Because of these benefits, it’s often a better idea to book your travel with these cards instead of even the best airline credit cards.

    The Chase Sapphire Reserve, with its higher annual fee, carries a ton of additional perks that eclipse the Chase Sapphire Preferred:

    Check out our easy-to-understand breakdown of Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits.

    Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve

    Bottom line

    Because the annual fee is waived for active U.S. military, you really can’t go wrong with either Chase Sapphire card. Both cards offer strong welcome bonuses as well as many premium travel benefits like primary rental car insurance, trip delay reimbursement, no foreign transaction fees, and trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance.

    The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the #1 card for beginners, but for those who travel often, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers many more useful perks. It’s especially a no-brainer if you get your annual fees waived — airport lounge access, up to a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry, and a $300 annual travel credit (that’s $300 in absolutely free travel annually if your annual fee is waived).

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    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)