The Sapphire Reserve Turns 10. Chase Is Handing Cardholders Up to $1,050 in Credits.
Chase is giving Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders five limited-time statement credits worth up to $1,050 combined. You had to hold the card on September 16, 2026 to qualify, and each offer has to be activated in your Chase account before you pay. A separate contest runs through November 6, 2026, with a grand prize of 5.5 million Ultimate Rewards points.
The short version
Five credits worth $1,050 in total, against a $795 annual fee.
Earning all five takes at least $3,700 of spending, leaving roughly $2,650 out of your own pocket.
The IHG credit pays $125 back on $500, and payment has to clear by October 16, 2026.
Four other credits run until December 14, 2026.
One contest winner gets 5.5 million points. Nine finalists get 500,000 each. Entries close November 6, 2026.
What are the five anniversary credits?
The Chase Sapphire Reserve anniversary promotion is five separate spend-and-get offers, each tied to one travel brand. Earn $125 back on $500 or more at IHG Hotels & Resorts in the U.S. Earn $250 back on $1,000 at Miraval and Alila properties inside World of Hyatt in the U.S. Earn $200 back on $200 with semi-private carrier JSX. Earn $350 back on $1,500 with vacation rental company Wander. Earn $125 back on $500 on a premium car rental with SIXT.
The SIXT offer has a tighter gate than the rest. It is open to cardholders as of August 25, 2026, not September 16.
Every one of these is booked and paid directly with the brand rather than through the Chase Travel portal. That detail matters. Hotels and flights booked direct earn 4x on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, so you collect points on top of the credit.
Do you qualify, or did you miss the cutoff?
The Chase Sapphire Reserve anniversary credits are closed to new applicants. Chase set the eligibility date at September 16, 2026, so somebody approved on September 17 gets nothing from this promotion. Existing cardholders still have to switch each offer on inside their Chase account before the purchase posts. An activated offer after the fact does not retroactively pay.
Which credits are worth chasing?
Not all $1,050 is equally reachable. The IHG and Hyatt credits attach to ordinary hotel stays, and IHG alone runs about 6,000 properties, so most travelers with a fall trip will land those two. The JSX credit is harder. JSX flies a short route map out of private terminals, and a $200 minimum rarely covers a single ticket, so you are paying above the credit to collect it.
The Wander credit asks for $1,500 on a vacation home before it returns $350. Treat it as a discount on a trip you were taking anyway, never as a reason to book one. Same test applies to the SIXT premium car rental credit at $500.
Chase describes the card's baseline benefit plainly. Chase says the Sapphire Reserve carries a "$300 annual travel credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year." That credit is automatic and separate from everything above.
How does the 5.5 million point contest work?
Chase is running a video contest alongside the Sapphire Reserve credits. From September 16 through November 6, 2026, cardholders post a clip of up to 90 seconds about a favorite trip taken since 2016 to a public Instagram or TikTok account, tag the Chase Sapphire account, and submit a form on Chase's anniversary page. Ten finalists move to a public vote. The grand-prize winner receives 5.5 million Chase Ultimate Rewards points and the other nine finalists receive 500,000 points each.
What is 5.5 million Ultimate Rewards points worth?
Put a number on it before you get excited. At 1 cent per point through the Chase Travel portal, 5.5 million points is $55,000 of travel. Moved to airline partners for long-haul business class, where AwardWallet members average 3.16 cents per point, the same balance is worth closer to $173,000. The nine runner-up prizes of 500,000 points each sit somewhere between $5,000 and $15,800 on the same math. Our guide to how much points and miles are worth walks through where those numbers come from.
What this means for you
If you already carry the Chase Sapphire Reserve and you have a fall hotel stay on the calendar, log in and activate the IHG and Hyatt offers today. Those two alone are $375 against a $795 fee, and the October 16 IHG deadline is the tight one. Skip the JSX, Wander and SIXT offers unless the underlying trip was happening regardless.
If you do not hold the card, this promotion is not a reason to apply. You are past the eligibility date, and the card still costs $795 a year. Compare it against the cheaper sibling in our Sapphire Reserve versus Sapphire Preferred breakdown and against the rest of the field in our best travel credit cards guide.
FAQ
Do I need to activate the Chase Sapphire Reserve anniversary credits?
Yes. Each of the five Chase Sapphire Reserve anniversary offers has to be activated in your Chase account before you make the qualifying purchase. Activating afterward does not trigger the credit.
Can I earn the credits by booking through Chase Travel?
No. The Chase Sapphire Reserve anniversary credits require booking and paying directly with IHG, Hyatt, JSX, Wander or SIXT. Booking through the Chase Travel portal will not count toward the spending threshold.
What is the deadline for each credit?
The IHG offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve requires payment to clear by October 16, 2026. The Hyatt, JSX, Wander and SIXT offers run until December 14, 2026.
Is the DoorDash change part of the anniversary promotion?
No, it is a separate benefit change. The Chase Sapphire Reserve monthly DoorDash restaurant credit rises from $5 to $15 on October 1, 2026, and the two $10 non-restaurant credits stay in place. We covered the details in our DoorDash credit post.
Who can enter the 5.5 million point contest?
Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders who post a video of up to 90 seconds about a trip taken since 2016 and complete the entry form on Chase's site by November 6, 2026. Ten finalists go to a public vote.
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