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Chase Sapphire Reserve is changing... Alternative cards with high points for MVC maintenance fee payments?

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There are credible rumors circulating that the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) card will be getting a major overhaul this summer. One of the changes is that "Travel" category spending (other than travel booked within the Chase portal [10x], or direct bookings of hotels and flights [4x]) will no longer receive 3x points, and instead will just receive 1x points. In the past I have always used my CSR for my MVC maintenance fee payments. This gets coded as "Travel" by chase, which means my MF payments earn 3x points. Those Chase points are quite valuable to me, often completely paying for at least 2 business class international flights each year.

I do have the Marriott Boundless card, but for me Marriott Bonvoy points are far less valuable than Chase/AmEx/Citi/Capital One points which can be transferred to airline partners to book flights. The way I utilize points, a Chase point often gets me a value of about $0.10/point compared to Marriott points which for me are usually just worth $0.01 to $0.02/point, and which are far more limited in their potential uses.

Do you all have other cards you can recommend that earn at least 3x points on MVC MF payments? I do have the Citi Strata Premier which I believe gets 3x points on most travel, but I'm not sure if MF payments count as Travel for this card. I believe the Chase Ink Preferred Business card still gets 3x on Travel, and I suspect MF payments would count for this. The AmEx Green Card also advertises 3x points on Travel, can anyone here confirm if MVC MF payment fees earn 3x points with this card?

Thanks for any recommendations you all have.
 
Replying to my own post to note that I'm not entirely sure whether MVC MF payments will code as "Hotel" or other "Travel" for the CSR after this change. If the former, this CSR change will actually be a boon because Hotel categorized spending will earn 4x points starting later this summer. When I look at my past CSR statements, my MVC MF payments have been listed as "Merchant: Marriott," "Merchant Type: MARRIOTT," "Category: Travel" and earned 3x points. This contrasts with some other hotel reservations with other (smaller) brands that coded as "Merchant Type: Lodging: hotels, motels, and resorts" and "Category: Travel." I will cross my fingers that MVC MF payments get coded as a 4x category!
 
Those alleged changes are so bad, that I am very skeptical they will happen. People will dump that card in droves.

The advantage of the CSR is the 50% extra you get when redeeming for travel. So the 3x earn is actually 4.5x.

If you just want another card with 3x on travel, the Citi Costco one should do it. There are probably plenty of other ones too.

But, IMO it's hard to beat using the Marriott card with 6x Bonvoy points on maintenance fees.
 
I agree with DanCali. This is at the rumor stage currently, but if what I'm reading comes to pass, there may be a huge annual fee increase along with new "benefits" that may be of no particular use to us. It's unfortunate. The Sapphire Reserve has been beneficial for us.

Here's what I'm thinking. We currently have a large stash of Ultimate Rewards points. And I'm working on plans for a Japan trip in 2026. So:
1. Liquidate all U.R. points for the Japan trip.
2. Cancel this card (it's in my wife's name) before we're hit with a huge annual fee
3. She's had the Sapphire Reserve for quite a few years, so I'm hoping that if we cancel, she could apply for a Sapphire Preferred and be eligible for a points bonus for sign-up. If possible, I'd refer her for this card from one of my other Chase cards to get a referral points bonus.

Unless Chase puts up roadblocks, I suspect that a lot of people may switch from the CSR to the CSP.

Regarding Marriott timeshare maintenance fees, I'll probably either switch to a Marriott card or, if the timing is right, pay them with a new Sapphire Preferred account to help meet the minimum spend requirement for a points bonus.

The rewards credit card game is an ever changing one. I'll adapt.
 
Those alleged changes are so bad, that I am very skeptical they will happen. People will dump that card in droves.

The advantage of the CSR is the 50% extra you get when redeeming for travel. So the 3x earn is actually 4.5x.

If you just want another card with 3x on travel, the Citi Costco one should do it. There are probably plenty of other ones too.

But, IMO it's hard to beat using the Marriott card with 6x Bonvoy points on maintenance fees.
I'll look into the Citi Costco card, thanks.
I hear you, and wish I could derive as much value from the 6x Bonvoy points on my Marriott card as I do with the 3x Chase points on my CSR, but I just haven't figured out a way to do so. When I use my Chase points to book flights (through transfers to airline partners, like Aeroplan), I frequently get a value of about $0.10 per point (so at 3x, $0.30 per dollar spent on maintenance fees), while with Bonvoy points I typically can do no better than about $0.015 per point (so at 6x, $0.09 per dollar spent on maintenance fees). Maybe I just haven't learned the right way to optimize my Bonvoy points usage?
 
I'll look into the Citi Costco card, thanks.
I hear you, and wish I could derive as much value from the 6x Bonvoy points on my Marriott card as I do with the 3x Chase points on my CSR, but I just haven't figured out a way to do so. When I use my Chase points to book flights (through transfers to airline partners, like Aeroplan), I frequently get a value of about $0.10 per point (so at 3x, $0.30 per dollar spent on maintenance fees), while with Bonvoy points I typically can do no better than about $0.015 per point (so at 6x, $0.09 per dollar spent on maintenance fees). Maybe I just haven't learned the right way to optimize my Bonvoy points usage?

1.5 cents per point is very good value.

Maybe I just don't use the Chase points properly - I just use them like cash at $0.01 for travel.

If you get the $0.10 value of Chase points by transferring miles to airlines and booking business class tickets, to me that's "fuzzy value" because I would never spend the actual cost of a business class ticket (that's a bit like people valuing their timeshare based on hotel rack rates, which I would also never pay). But that that ratio, it sounds like it's even cheaper than an economy ticket, so I'm curious how that happens.
 
Mine say Merchant type: Typeshares, and are listed as travel.
 
I wouldn't think Chase categorizes the same merchant differently between cards? On the Marriott Boundless card, maintenance fee payments indicate "Travel". Even if you only get 1 Chase point per dollar, based on what is being said as worth $0.10, that is still better than a penny a point on a Bonvoy point which would be 6 points per dollar on maintenance fee spending.
 
1.5 cents per point is very good value.

Maybe I just don't use the Chase points properly - I just use them like cash at $0.01 for travel.

If you get the $0.10 value of Chase points by transferring miles to airlines and booking business class tickets, to me that's "fuzzy value" because I would never spend the actual cost of a business class ticket (that's a bit like people valuing their timeshare based on hotel rack rates, which I would also never pay). But that that ratio, it sounds like it's even cheaper than an economy ticket, so I'm curious how that happens.
Agreed, and I like your term "fuzzy value." You are right that the value stated is inflated since I'm not likely to spend $6,000 cash for a business class flight. Still, I do value the Chase points quite a bit, and if one is simply using them like cash (or at 1.5x in the Chase travel portal) they are missing out on some good opportunities to maximize value. For instance, I frequently can book domestic economy flights for 7,500 points each way. I did this a couple months ago on a flight that otherwise would've cost me $350, so a value of about $0.05/pt. That flight would've cost more than 20,000 points if booked in the Chase travel portal, instead of 7500 booked directly through the airline with transferred Chase points. Not to mention that I dislike booking through the travel portal due to all the potential issues with 3rd party bookings.
Later this summer I'm flying to Europe in business class on a flight booked with transferred Chase points. The flight was 58,000 points, but the cash price is $6,000. Would I have paid $6,000 for the flight? No, but even the economy ticket on the flight is over $1,000, and it is probably worth an extra $1,000 or so to me to be able to lie flat and actually sleep on the overnight flight to Europe, so still a pretty valuable use of points for me.
 
Agreed, and I like your term "fuzzy value." You are right that the value stated is inflated since I'm not likely to spend $6,000 cash for a business class flight. Still, I do value the Chase points quite a bit, and if one is simply using them like cash (or at 1.5x in the Chase travel portal) they are missing out on some good opportunities to maximize value. For instance, I frequently can book domestic economy flights for 7,500 points each way. I did this a couple months ago on a flight that otherwise would've cost me $350, so a value of about $0.05/pt. That flight would've cost more than 20,000 points if booked in the Chase travel portal, instead of 7500 booked directly through the airline with transferred Chase points. Not to mention that I dislike booking through the travel portal due to all the potential issues with 3rd party bookings.
Later this summer I'm flying to Europe in business class on a flight booked with transferred Chase points. The flight was 58,000 points, but the cash price is $6,000. Would I have paid $6,000 for the flight? No, but even the economy ticket on the flight is over $1,000, and it is probably worth an extra $1,000 or so to me to be able to lie flat and actually sleep on the overnight flight to Europe, so still a pretty valuable use of points for me.
What airline do you book with? I always struggle with United to find decent deals to transfer UR points to. Although I usually do find somewhat better value to transfer to United vs booking with the portal. However, we keep having issues with United flights so I'm starting to look for an alternative carrier to use.

$795 annual fee is gross. $550 was too much but I have had a few times that I needed to use the CSR purchase protections and they came through big, so I stuck with it. Not sure on $795. The change of the portal to using Expedia was a bad change as well. All of the supposed new coupons for doordash, lyft, etc., we won't use. I hate the idea of doordash or ubereats. If they drop the $300 travel credit I'll drop the card and consider overhauling completely to a different system after burning through my UR points.
 
Chase is still advertising the card as it is now and I think that is dishonest, if these changes are imminent.
 
Chase is still advertising the card as it is now and I think that is dishonest, if these changes are imminent.

They can't really change the advertisements until the details are officially announced. These rumors started from leaks on redit and have just run from there- but Chase clearly was not ready for any of it to be public yet.
 
I like 6x Bonvoy points for my MF because I can convert them to Alaska miles, which have great redemption rates and reasonable availability. For now I haven’t found a better path.
 
Chase is still advertising the card as it is now and I think that is dishonest, if these changes are imminent.
They always attempt to fleece people and pull the rug soon thereafter. 3 of my main cards are VentureX, CSP, and the newly released Robinhood gold that gives 3% on everything, and like Chase travel 5x on flights. Will just switch to RG and see how long that lasts. Always playing whack-a-mole.
 
They can't really change the advertisements until the details are officially announced. These rumors started from leaks on redit and have just run from there- but Chase clearly was not ready for any of it to be public yet.
From what I have heard, Chase will roll out the product changes on June 17th, so next week. If you apply now and get approved prior to that date, you would probably still pay the lower fee for the current year.

I will have to see what the finalized changes are. I like the solid travel insurance and the 3X on all travel, though that is supposed to be changing to 4X on flights and hotels... Will have to see how things like rental cars and cruises count.
 
There are credible rumors circulating that the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) card will be getting a major overhaul this summer…

Wow. Your post inspired me to look and see what is coming and I can only conclude that Chase has lost its mind. Losing the 3x spend on travel and the $300 travel credit would make me think the annual fee would go *down* by $245… not up.

Instead we are presented with a bunch of useless bonuses better served by other cards and coupons for drivel (excuse me, products and services) that hold no interest.

The one good thing to come of this is that I am now aware that I have to choose between ‘downgrading’ between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom cards. Blecch.
 
From what I have heard, Chase will roll out the product changes on June 17th, so next week. If you apply now and get approved prior to that date, you would probably still pay the lower fee for the current year.

I will have to see what the finalized changes are. I like the solid travel insurance and the 3X on all travel, though that is supposed to be changing to 4X on flights and hotels... Will have to see how things like rental cars and cruises count.

You would definitely still pay the lower annual fee. Federal Regulations require that credit cards not change the account terms within the first 12 months of account opening. So no changes to APR, Annual fee, late fees, etc. (I don't think specific rewards programs are covered by the regulations- so those can be changed even in the first year.)
 
So prepay maintenance fees etc if the 3x is really important to you?
And remember posting date is almost always several days after charge date
 
And any word on whether they will be keeping the Hyatt transfer?
 
I like the Chase Ink Preferred business card. I have rented my timeshare before so I use that as my sole proprietorship. Card has a $95 annual fee and gives 3x travel. My last MVC coded as travel and got x3. Current SUB is 90,000 UR. The card also does not count towards Chase's 5/24 rule since it is a business card. Bonus is the 3x on many streaming services.
 
I don't like to use obscenities, but there is a word for what seems likely to happen to the Sapphire Reserve: enshittification.

If you're not familiar with the word, look it up. Yes, it's a real word. Grow your vocabulary. It has unfortunately had quite wide application over the past few years.
 
I need to use up my Chase points. That's definitely my take away on this news. I also started paying MF's well in advance.
 
Stick with the Sapphire Preferred and combo with the AMEX Platinum for flights and AMEX Gold for dining.
 
I need to use up my Chase points. That's definitely my take away on this news. I also started paying MF's well in advance.

I have 430,000 points and a fully booked travel schedule for 12 months. So sad.

Our next annual fee is payable Feb 1. Gotta get to figuring out how to use those Ultimate Rewards!
 
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