Chase Debuts Sapphire Card With $795 Annual Fee

Chase has introduced substantial changes to its Chase Sapphire Reserve card, its premium travel card.

Due to go into effect June 23, the updated card offers users $2,700 in yearly benefits, including all existing perks plus new ones related to how customers collect and spend travel and dining points, the company said Tuesday (June 17).

In addition, Chase has rolled out the Sapphire Reserve for Business card, which offers a new level of perks for cardholders who spend at least $120,000 annually.

“The new Sapphire Reserve cards are the culmination of years of focus on the things most important to our cardmembers: travel, dining, entertainment and exceptional service,” Chris Reagan, president of Chase’s branded cards unit, said in a news release.

“Both cards offer incredible rewards and benefits centered on our cardmembers’ lifestyles — whether it’s scoring hard-to-get reservations at great restaurants, elevating every aspect of their trips or providing access to amazing experiences.”

While the Sapphire Reserve card offers customers expanded benefits on things like dining and lodging, it also features a larger annual fee of $795 per year. A report by the New York Times notes that Chase has hiked that fee from $550 per year, above the yearly fees for other premium travel cards from the likes of American Express (Amex).

The news comes one day after Amex said it was preparing what it described as its largest-ever investment in updating its cards, with a planned “refresh” of its U.S. consumer and business Platinum cards. The company said it would reveal more details on this update in the fall.

Meanwhile, recent PYMNTS Intelligence research examined credit card use among consumers who live paycheck to paycheck, showing that financial stability — and not just income — is the key factor in deciding how consumers use credit, from necessities to strategic rewards.

“While financially-stable individuals may use credit extensively to maximize benefits like rewards, those facing financial strain often depend on it simply to cover essential costs,” PYMNTS wrote Wednesday (June 18). “Understanding the distinct behaviors and needs of the struggling paycheck-to-paycheck consumer is crucial for financial institutions.”

The research indicated that consumers’ financial lifestyle determined not only the necessity of credit but also the amount of spending covered by credit and the types of credit products used.

Credit played a part for many consumers, covering roughly half of essential and nonessential purchases among credit users overall. Still, this usage varied by financial stability.