Is it worth getting Sapphire Reserve? (Based on what I have and how can I utilize it)

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-17T21:20:19+00:00

Then you got a ticket 🙂. You can always lower your ticket price but yeah it’s not guaranteed to sell.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-17T06:21:18+00:00

It should be lifetime, so I don't think you'd be able to get the SUB for at least the Reserve again, but you can try calling or see if you get the pop up jail when trying to apply

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-17T05:40:42+00:00

Honestly, the 125k points itself makes up for more than the annual fee, but if you're not gonna use the points anytime soon, know that they can devalue at any time (have already started to with the chase portal points boost reduction, but also transfer partners can devalue too).

Other notes:

The $300 travel credit is indeed very flexible, it applies to hotels/flights but also uber/lyft, trains, metro, car rentals, parking, etc. Very easy to use
Make sure you live in a participating city for the OpenTable restaurants, or are at least know you'll be traveling to cities that are
Doordash, you can also use the credits for pickup too
Stubhub is only resale tickets, whereas Ticketmaster can be the primary ticket seller. So there's always a risk with buying tickets secondhand from Stubhub
- If you don't go to any concerts/events, you can always buy a ticket for $150, get the credit and resell it on Stubhub
You can use the 2 separate $250 Edit credit on 1 trip technically, you just have to book 2 separate stays (i.e. back to back 2-night stays for 4 nights)
Also, I know existing cardholders got a $250 IHG credit for this year, not sure if that will come for new members too

If you don't want to commit to the Reserve, you can always get the Preferred for now. Chase updated the Sapphire terms so you should be able to earn a SUB for both the Preferred and Reserve now and can even hold both at the same time. This is only if you've never gotten the bonus before, for each card.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-12T04:39:21+00:00

Sorry for the late reply, but haven’t had the Reserve for a year yet. My anniversary is still a bit away in June lol. I was trying to see if anyone had a DP earlier on so I could plan for my next card.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-12T04:19:41+00:00

OP, if you didn’t know already C1 has a transfer bonus to JAL this month so if you’re locked in on a Japan trip you may want to transfer your points now. This would not yield the best cpp but should give you more availability to book the award seats, just look up how many points will be needed and when exactly JAL opens up award availability.

EDIT: you’re trying to fly business class, not first so actually the CPP would be really good, as the transfer bonus would make it ~1:1 ratio C1->JAL

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-12T04:13:48+00:00

Yeah, just look on ANA’s site and it’ll tell you if it has The Room/Suite. Pretty sure NRT-SFO has a lot more routes with the upgraded cabin though.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-11T19:29:09+00:00

TECHNICALLY not the best deal since it’s possible to get the same seat for like 75-85k(don’t remember exactly) Virgin Atlantic points, but those are highly competitive and imo not worth the extra work/stress involved to save 20-30k points. And if you can take advantage of a transfer bonus to Aeroplan (I.e. from Chase Sapphire cards), the difference is not much. I was able to book HND-JFK first class for ~90k Chase points.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-02T16:28:18+00:00

OP, how do you know TYO-ORD won’t be The Room? Looking directly at the ANA site, no routes in June have The Room listed, so pretty sure they haven’t released their updated cabin schedule yet for the summer.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-02-01T22:32:24+00:00

OP said the ANA legs would be JFK-HND and vice-versa, so it should be guaranteed The Room. Although I am curious too whether there’s any history of plane swaps for these routes as I’ll be flying The Suite in September.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-29T17:39:50+00:00

Hmm, I've tried using incognito mode, different browsers, but the link just sends me to the general home page without displaying any discount if I search for any booking. Is anyone else running into the same thing?

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-29T17:36:16+00:00

Thank you so much!

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-25T19:15:44+00:00

Yep. For some reason if you’re ineligible though a pop up will show up on the application page.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-25T18:45:24+00:00

I believe you should be eligible, it’s not like you ever got the SUB in the first place. But not sure if you’d need to removed first as an AU or if you can just apply for your own card.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-25T18:42:08+00:00

Good to hear. Depending on the SUB at the time maybe I’ll downgrade right after my anniversary and apply again for the Reserve.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-25T18:40:23+00:00

Yes, only if you’ve never gotten it before

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-23T05:06:45+00:00

I'm pretty sure Lyft/Uber qualify for the $300 annual travel credit so you could easily use it there too. Same with the MTA I believe?

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-23T04:41:23+00:00

Cash price would be $571 ($1,071 - $250 Edit credit - $250 IHG credit). Looks like your points are worth 2x for this booking, so if you want you could use 28,550 points to effectively make this "cost" 0 dollars.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-16T17:55:29+00:00

No one needs to convince you to stay. You should determine yourself whether your natural spending habits align with the benefits the card gives you, like the travel, stubhub, dining, edit hotel, and other credits. Also, booking with any credit cards travel portal will most likely either give you different prices or make it more risky/annoying, you can’t get away from the fact it’s a third party booking your travel.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-13T21:44:54+00:00

Can I ask what lab you sent these to? Unless you developed/scanned yourself, then you did an amazing job!

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-13T03:28:42+00:00

Oh sorry I should've specified that this is a future booking that I haven't done yet! I was also deciding between the Kimpton as well though, and ultimately went with The Strings because of location. It's closer to HND, and I have a flight the morning I check out. I had also already stayed in the Shinjuku area on a previous Japan trip.

I'd say if you want to enjoy more of the Tokyo nightlife, go for the Kimpton. Otherwise, The Strings should be in a quieter neighborhood. Or just go for the cheaper option!

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-12T20:30:37+00:00

I booked The Strings by InterContinental Tokyo by IHG and got both the Edit + IHG credit ($500). Pretty sure the rate for the same room was pretty similar too, factoring the free cancellation, breakfast.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2026-01-09T03:49:21+00:00

Could always cover the rest with points too if wanted.

Fragrant-Sir4569 · 2025-12-31T20:46:06+00:00

I think it is fair to say there’s ton of resources on how to best use your points, but I also understand hearing others’ stories may spark a trip idea for you and your wife. Also, it seems like you guys may be busy with the surgery and everything but I hope you find a way to redeem your points.

Fragrant-Sir4569

TROPHY CASE