This hidden benefit made me regret not getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve

If you love traveling, the best travel rewards credit cards can help make every trip a little cheaper, easier, and more stylish. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium credit card that charges a $550 annual fee, but it gives you hundreds of dollars of extra value that’s worth paying for.

For my first travel credit card, I chose the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which only charges a $95 annual fee — but now I wish I’d gotten Chase Sapphire Reserve® instead. Why is the higher fee card worth paying extra for? For many reasons, but the most surprising benefit of Chase Sapphire Reserve® is the travel insurance benefits built into the card.

Let’s take a look at why frequent travelers – especially international travelers – should consider choosing the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for their next travel credit card.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®: The Biggest Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card are both on our list of the best travel rewards credit cards because they both let you earn rewards points with your everyday spending and both give you a Extra value when you redeem points to book travel through Chase.

But the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers even more value: 50% more value when redeeming points for travel, compared to 25% for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. For example, if you earned 10,000 points, you can exchange those points for:

$125 trip with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card or
$150 trip with Chase Sapphire Reserve®

This makes Chase Sapphire Reserve® the best choice if you travel frequently and earn lots of rewards points with your everyday spending: the more you spend, the more you can travel. This advantage alone can be it’s worth it $550 annual fee if you book a lot of trips.

But wait, there’s more…

In addition to the 50% extra value for redeeming points for travel, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers additional benefits. In particular, I would have liked to note that Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers built-in travel insurance benefits.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers some great travel protections when you use your credit card to book travel, like collision damage waiver for a car rental and trip cancellation/interruption coverage. But Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel protections are much more generous and comprehensive.

Here are some of the best additional travel protections you get with Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

$100,000 of emergency medical evacuation coverage

If you’re vacationing in another country where your U.S. health insurance might not reach you, what happens if you break your ankle hiking in the mountains, get sick at the beach, or Do you need emergency transportation to a hospital? Travel insurance can help you pay those bills and protect you against tens of thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses.

Emergency medical and dental coverage (up to $2,500)

If you’re more than 100 miles from home and need emergency health care (medical or dental), this travel protection can help pay the bill. This coverage could help you when traveling within the United States when you are far from your usual local dentist or in-network clinics and hospitals. It could also be a big relief if you are traveling abroad to a country where, as a foreign tourist, you may not be covered by the local health insurance system.

Travel accident insurance (up to $1 million)

It’s the worst travel scenario, but unfortunately it happens every day: people are killed or seriously injured in car accidents and other transportation incidents. If you use your Chase Sapphire Reserve® to book travel on a plane, bus, train or cruise, you’re automatically covered with up to $1 million in accidental death and dismemberment coverage. Hopefully you will never need this coverage, but it can provide additional protection to your loved ones in the event of an accidental death or serious, life-changing injury.

Why I wish I had chosen Chase Sapphire Reserve® instead

I travel abroad frequently, have visited 12 countries and always purchase travel insurance when traveling abroad. Having travel insurance through my credit card would be a big help: it would allow me to avoid having to purchase travel insurance for every trip and it would save me money.

My family experienced a few situations while traveling in Europe and Japan where someone got sick or injured and we had to see a local doctor. One day in London, my son injured his hand playing football and received free treatment at a National Health Service hospital – we had no bills to pay.

However, the UK is unusual in making medical care free at the point of service. You can’t assume that healthcare is “free” in every other country: if you don’t have travel insurance, you’re taking a big risk. Travel insurance is worth it!

How Much You Can Save on Travel Insurance with Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Travel insurance isn’t cheap: a typical month-long trip to Europe for a 40-year-old can cost $100 (or more) for emergency medical and evacuation coverage, and the cost is increasing if you are traveling with family. Having built-in travel insurance coverage through a travel credit card could have saved my family hundreds of dollars over the years.

Conclusion

If you’re a globetrotter, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® can save you hundreds of dollars per year on travel insurance. The built-in protections are generous and comprehensive, giving you coverage for emergency medical evacuations or certain dental treatments. This travel credit card is worth paying extra for the annual fee because it gives you automatic travel insurance (and peace of mind) for every trip.