Chase Sapphire Reserve welcome bonus is worth at least $900 in travel — here’s how you can get it

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Those 60,000 bonus points are worth $900 when redeemed through the Chase Travel portal and potentially even more if you transfer the points and redeem with one of Chase's airline or hotel partners like United or Hyatt.

When combining the welcome bonus, worth $900, with the card's annual $300 travel credit, new cardholders have up to $1,200 to spend on their travels. That's a big chunk of savings that can help you keep more money in your pocket as travel prices continue to rise.

Here's how the new Chase Sapphire Reserve 60,000-point welcome bonus works, more details on what it's worth and the different ways you can spend it.

New Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

In order to qualify for the welcome bonus, you must meet two eligibility requirements:

1. You currently don't have any Sapphire cards (Preferred or Reserve); and
2. You haven't received a new card member bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months

The Sapphire Reserve's points are worth 50% more when you redeem them for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. So 60,000 bonus points can be worth up to $900 and will "erase" dining and Airbnb purchases from your statement.

When redeemed for cash back, the 60,000 points are worth $600.

In addition to offering a sizable welcome bonus, the Sapphire Reserve also has a generous rewards program: 5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase through Chase Ultimate Rewards® (immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually); 3X points on travel and dining worldwide and 1X points on all other purchases. Plus, earn 10X points on Lyft purchases through March 2025.

Cardholders also enjoy additional travel perks including:

• Up to $300 annual travel credit to offset flights, hotel stays and more
• $100 credit toward Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee every four years
• Priority Pass Select lounge access (valued at $429), giving you access to 1,000+ VIP lounges in over 500 cities worldwide
• Complimentary DashPass (worth about $119) for a minimum of one year through December 31^st, 2024)
• Complimentary year of Lyft Pink membership (worth about $19.99 per month), which includes 15% off car rides, relaxed cancellations and priority airport pickups through March 31^st, 2025
• The Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection, giving you special benefits, such as complimentary room upgrades, early check-in and late check-out at participating properties
• Travel protections, including lost luggage reimbursement, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, travel accident insurance, baggage delay insurance, travel and emergency assistance services and emergency evacuation and transportation

Reviewing this list makes it obvious why the Sapphire Reserve ranks as Select's top travel credit card for luxury travel and is a consistent favorite among frequent travelers.

There are many ways to redeem your Reserve bonus points, but some methods provide more value than others.

Book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards:

Value: 1.50 cents per point

Maximize your Chase Sapphire Reserve's 60,000 points by cashing them in to book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

Redeeming your points this way gives you 1.50 cents per point — making them worth 50% more — and you can use the points to cover future airfare and accommodation booked through Chase's travel portal. 60,000 points would cover $900 worth of expenses booked through the Chase Travel Portal.

Transfer points to a Chase travel partner:

Value: 1:1 ratio

You can also transfer your points for a 1:1 ratio to one of Chase's 13 travel partners in the Ultimate Rewards program. These partners include 10 airlines: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Emirates, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM), Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Southwest, United and Virgin Atlantic; and three hotel chains: Hyatt, IHG and Marriott.

Once your points are transferred to a travel partner, they might have more or less value depending on the program's rules and regulations.

For instance, you could transfer 60,000 points to Hyatt and book two nights at the luxurious Park Hyatt New York, where rooms typically cost over $1,000 per night. Another option would be to transfer your points to Virgin Atlantic and book a business class flight from the U.S. to Japan on ANA for as little as 90,000 miles round-trip.

Gift Cards:

Value: 1 cent per point

You can use your points toward gift card purchases at restaurants, department stores or for entertainment services. The value of one point is worth a penny, so, for example, a $50 Under Armour gift card would cost 5,000 points. At times, Chase will offer a sale on gift cards, marking them down by 10%.

Minimum gift card redemption amounts vary by merchant, but many cards have $15 or $25 minimums. Gift cards are shipped, and cardholders have two options: free standard shipping, which takes six to 10 days, or rush shipping, which costs $10 and takes three to six days.

Cash Back:

Value: 1 cent per point

Chase's cash-back option allows cardholders to redeem their points in the form of a statement credit at a 1:1 value. For example, 10,000 points could earn you $100 cash back. Redeeming your rewards for cash-back statement credits isn't the most cost-effective way to use them.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a good addition to any frequent traveler's wallet, especially with the current 60,000-point welcome bonus. The card's $550 annual fee can be easily offset by taking full advantage of its statement credits, travel perks and the 50% value boost on select rewards redemptions.

Chase points don't expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing (not delinquent).