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

[GetawaysRus]

*Did a test booking for Park MGM (including resort fees/taxes) was $340 all-in, for sat & sun, 2 nights for Jan (cheaper than direct cancelable rate); will see when credit posts.
(cancelable until 2 days before trip...)
TY!

I'm curious if you are going to have a car. Does "all-in" include parking? Any resort fee?

We have a 1 week timeshare stay at Marriott Grand Chateau in Spring 2026, so a Vegas hotel might be an easy way to tackle on some extra nights.

 

[mountainboy]

Does "all-in" include parking? Any resort fee?

*Includes resort fee of $50 per day BUT there IS a parking fee of ? $20 or 25/day which appears to give in/out at ALL MGM properties in Vegas (so presumably Bellagio also, so not terrible but still not nice to pay all these junk fees)...

Not sure if there is anyone up to speed with any status matches from Marriott/Hyatt to MGM which may give one premium status with MGM & waiving parking fees but looks like MGM moved from Hyatt to Marriott & there are benefits for Bonvoy Elites but free parking & waived resort fees are only for Marriott Ambassador Elites, not for Platinum or Titanium.

Also, status match works FROM MGM to Bonvoy but not the other way around :-(

 

[mountainboy]

I hesitate to give value to the added hotel/resort credit AMEX FHR comes with to cover the out of pocket costs for a stay because we’d have to spend it there when we might not otherwise.

*Much worse for Chase Edit for me with 2 night min; AmEx FHR has many 1 night stays, so the $300 works well for us...

Ventana Canyon is a nice property in Tucson; easy getaway from PHX. Staying Saturday night there on AmEx FHR (excellent F&B quality for the price/F&B FHR credit & Free BF) + Sunday nite at WM Rancho Vistoso for $100/night cash stay for a nice 2 BR condo for a nice 3 day getaway from PHX for cheap...

 

[daviator]

We booked a 2 night The Edit stay in Atlanta for next weekend. I posted previously about the “gotcha” with the need for the stay to be prepaid but also to show up on a statement after Oct 26. I was hoping I could simply prepay the stay in midOct. Of course, there was no availability when I tried to do so, and there was no possibility of me prepaying without cancelling. I was assured that if I cancelled and tried to rebook, there would be no availability. I had no interest in going to Atlanta without the CSR rebate, so I cancelled. Indeed there was no availability when I tried to rebook.

So… I personally think the Edit benefit will be like this. Layers of “gotchas”- overpriced stays, so you have to research the non Chase cost of the hotel, figure out the value of the daily breakfast and what you can use the $100 credit on, call CSR customer service to clarify details, and then in the end be unable to use the benefit.

I’ve found the same with the DoorDash benefit. The prices are inflated and you have ten steps of research to find out that your credit is worthless.

Sad to say that I’m out on CSR. The changes are not only annoying, they’re scammy. I have zero interest in rewarding a company for scammy-ness. Chase actually reminds me of Hyatt Vacation Club.

I agree. My CSR renews in February and I will not be renewing it.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I am already annoyed by the Doordash credits. So far In Flertalk and here, I did not hear anyone state they can find outsized value - even with digging by seasoned travel posters.

To pay $750 X 2 in order to waste time searching to shoehorn restaurants and hotel stays seems ridiculous without outsized value. Can just pay cash and go when and where we want.

Will likely cancel one at anniversary and the SUB into preferred if that still offers value. May eventually cancel second card. Sad because this has been a great card for us.

I am hoping someone will prove me wrong so I can keep.

 

[ljmiii]

I am hoping someone will prove me wrong so I can keep...

My immediate reaction was to ditch the CSR but now I'm seeing more than enough value to give it another year. Though we will be cancelling the additional user since it's not worth anywhere near $195 to us since we do the vast majority of our travel and dining together.

I have no doubt I'll get the $300 Travel Credit and $300 for CSR Dining. The $300 from StubHub seems very likely as well so there's the $795 right there.

The Doordash credits are worth a lot to us - $96 for Dashpass + $60 in monthly restaurant credits + ~$120 non-restaurant credits. At least $60 from Lyft, plus there is a weird bonus Lyft Discount for having Dashpass. Hard to quantify the Apple TV+ benefit because most of the time we get it for free for one reason or another.

I doubt we'll ever use the Edit credits but there is a $250 credit for Pan Pacific coming in 2026 that I may be able to use (assuming the Chase Travel rates are comparable to the stay I have booked). IHG Status is nice (we end up in an IHG hotel 1 or 2 nights a year). But we don't fly Southwest so no help there.

And at base, 4x Chase points on non Marriott/Hilton hotels and non United/Alaska flights and 3x dining can't be beat. So we'll see where we end up at the end of next year.

 

[hpbinla]

If paying MVC, HGVC and DVC MF awards 4x points, I believe I will have to get the CSR.

Have resisted all this time but that 4x for MF would make me get card.

Please report if MF credits at 4x.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

I paid my Hyatt Grand Vacations Club Maintenance Fee and it did earn 4X.

 

[mountainboy]

I am already annoyed by the Doordash credits.

waste time searching to shoehorn restaurants and hotel stays seems ridiculous without outsized value

Agree 100% for me too!
Very happy for @ljmiii ; if the CSR coupons align with your organic spending/usage pattern, then it's a keeper. Sadly (likely) not for me...

 

[mountainboy]

Hyatt Grand Vacations Club

HGVC & HVC folks love this alphabet soup! Adding Hyatt to the mix (although they have their own mess with the portfolio HVC, Platinum HVC or whatever else)...

 

[GrayFal]

I paid my Hyatt Grand Vacations Club Maintenance Fee and it did earn 4X.

View attachment 117583

NYC Taxi formerly got 3x under travel coded as “taxi cab and limo” merchant type “travel” is now 1X “all other purchases” 10/26 posted 10/27.

Charged $100 MVC maint fee on 10/27 description “Marriott Annual Dues” merchant type “Marriott” on 10/27 - still in pending status.
Will let you know.

 

[buzglyd]

Just booked two tickets for the SDSU vs. Wyoming game this Saturday via StubHub. Credit posted a day later.

Go Aztecs!

 

[vacation dreaming]

NYC Taxi formerly got 3x under travel coded as “taxi cab and limo” merchant type “travel” is now 1X “all other purchases” 10/26 posted 10/27.

Charged $100 MVC maint fee on 10/27 description “Marriott Annual Dues” merchant type “Marriott” on 10/27 - still in pending status.
Will let you know.

I did the same thing and mine posted at 4 points today! I am worried Vistana will be a different story though.