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The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card comes with a $300 annual travel credit.
Due to the pandemic, Chase is once again allowing cardholders to use their $300 credit on gas and groceries in 2021.
If you applied for your Sapphire Reserve on or after 5/21/17, the annual travel credit is based on your cardmembership year. In other words if you opened a card on 3/1/19 and your statement closes on the 1st of the month, you will get a $300 credit for travel spending from 3/1/19 through 4/1/20 and it will reset annually on 4/1.
If you applied for your Sapphire Reserve before 5/21/17, the annual travel credit is based on the calendar year.
It’s important to remember that while AMEX uses a true calendar year, Chase’s calendar year credit ends once your December statement closes, so your calendar year can end anytime from 12/1 through 12/28. You can call Chase or go on Chase.com to push off your statement close date to as late as the 28th of every month (which would impute a statement due date of the 25th of every month).
Once your December statement closes you can start getting credit for the next calendar year. In other words if your statement closes on 12/15/21, you can start spending your 2022 credit on 12/16/21.
Click here to view how much of your annual travel spend has already been credited. Click on “Your Dashboard” on top of the page. You can tell what month your credit renews from your dashboard:
Wondering where you can use your travel credit? These categories have been confirmed as working for automatic travel refunds. Just spent in any of these categories and you’ll get an automatic refund:
- All gas stations and grocery stores through 12/31/21.
Air:
- Airline tickets from any airline
- Air Canada Gift Cards
- Alaska Airlines gift cards
- American Airlines gift cards
- Baggage fees from any airline
- Delta gift cards purchased from their desktop site only.
- Hawaiian Airlines gift cards.
- Online travel agencies (Including Expedia, Orbitz, and Priceline)
- Seat selection or upgrade fees for any airline
- Southwest gift cards
- Retail travel agencies
- Taxes on award tickets for any airline
- United Airlines TravelBank Cash
Dining:
- Uber Eats
Lodging:
- Airbnb
- Airbnb gift cards
- Campgrounds
- Cruises
- Groupon Getaways
- Hotel stays
- Marriott gift cards
- Motel stays
- Norwegian Cruise Line gift cards
- Online travel agencies (Including Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, and Priceline)
- Timeshares
- Retail travel agencies
Theme Parks and activities:
- UndercoverTourist.com (Discounted Disney, Universal, Legoland, and SeaWorld tickets)
Transportation:
- Amtrak
- BART
- Bridge tolls
- Buses
- Car rentals
- Car2Go
- Eurostar
- Ferries
- Greyhound
- Jerusalem Light Rail
- Limos
- Long Island Railroad
- Lyft rides
- Megabus
- Metra Rail Chicago
- Muni/parking meters
- NJ Transit
- NYC MetroCard
- NYC Parking Meters
- Oyster card
- Parking apps
- Parking garages
- Prepaid EZPass tolls loaded with the one-time payment option online or over the phone. If the system auto-loads then it may not count as travel, though it usually does.
- Prepaid I-Pass tolls loaded via one-time payment
- Prepaid FasTrak tolls loaded via one-time payment
- Prepaid SunPass tolls loaded via one-time payment
- Prepaid Washington DOT Good to Go tolls loaded via one-time payment
- Postpaid 407ETR Toronto tolls
- Subway travel
- Taxis
- Tolls
- Trains
- Trenitalia
- Tunnel tolls
- Turo
- Uber add funds in Uber app (plus get 5% off).
- Uber gift cards only if they are bought from the MileagePlusX app for iOS or Android
- Uber rides
- Ventra Chicago
- Zipcar
- Don’t forget that you also have a $60 annual credit on Doordash Restaurant Delivery through 12/31, plus get free DoorDash DashPass to save money on deliveries.
- Get up to $120 in Peloton statement credits through 12/31/21.
- Signup for 12 free months of Lyft Pink and Grubhub+ or Seamless+
- Redeem your points at a value of 1.5 cents each to reimburse spending on dining, Airbnb, and Away purchases through 3/31/22.
Know of other charges that will trigger a credit? Hit the comments!
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21 Comments On "Don’t Forget To Spend Your 2021 Chase Sapphire Reserve® Travel, Grocery, Or Gas Credit Before Your December Statement Closes!"
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Can you please explain how you get the travel credit? Do you have to book travel through Chase ultimate rewards? And what does it mean that you get an automatic refund when you spend in the following categories? I opened a Chase Sapphire when you advertised the bonus and I have read through many posts and comments but I don’t know how to use my Chase rewards. Thank you
The 100K bonus was for Sapphire Preferred, that doesn’t have the $300 travel credit.
The Sapphire Reserve travel credit can be used anywhere, no need to book via a portal.
I downgraded my CSR to a freedom unlimited card in order to get the CSP, if I upgrade my freedom unlimited back to a CSR will I receive the lyft pink 2 year for free again?
@ Dan, what about upgrading our preferred to get this credit, and then downgrade back?
Thanks for your amazing help
NYC meter is included in the 300
And the same is ezpass you also get the $300 credit
Will it work? Should be amazing for all of us who applied recently for the preferred.
Please provide instructions when and how to do it.
Thanks
CORRECT, if I’ll upgrade my preferred now when should I do the charge, right a way or next month, and when can I downgrade back, right a way or next one.
Is it any big risk?
Thanks @Dan for clarifying!
Can anyone please clarify?
Thanks
Wait…wait…are you saying for my Chase Sapphire Reserve, I could spend $300 on a United TravelBank, and it is Free?! I get reimbursed?
Sure, all travel, gas, or groceries counts.
My concierge just told me that grocery is NOT included in 2021. Was he wrong?
Yes
Dan, May I assume that the Grove Kosher Market qualifies as a grocery store?
Yes
I have the Saphire Preferred with 100k+ points? Is one of the best ways to spend the points to pay down the credit card with them?
If so, how do I do that?
I got rejected from chase for 5/24 but one of the 5 is a overdraft revolving credit from my bank. Can I fight that or do they count that as a credit card
Definitely call Chase.
Hey @Dan, thanks for the great content!
I downgraded my CSR a few months ago to get the 100K CSP, with intention of re-upgrading after I get the bonus.
Now that I got the bonus, does it make a diff if I re-upgrade before end of year? Will I gain anything?
Thanks in advance!
Dan,
Will buying a gift card at a grocery store or gas station trigger the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit if the purchase is made before 12/31/21?
Does annual credit of $300 doesn’t include grocery any more in 2022 ?