Chase Sapphire Reserve Military 2024 | Annual Fee Waived, 60k Bonus

The best Chase Sapphire Reserve^® Card military benefit is the $550 annual fee waiver with the Military Lending Act or MLA.

American military servicemembers on active duty orders, including Guard and Reserve, and their military spouses are eligible for the Military Lending Act fee waiver on any Chase personal credit card.

My civilian wife (married to me, an active duty servicemember) and I both carry the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card with the annual fee waived. It's awesome for both of us to get the $300 travel credits every year AND pay no annual fee!

Chase Sapphire Reserve^® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• $550 annual fee waived to $0 for US military + spouses with Chase MLA policy
• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠
• $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
• Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually.
• 3x Points on other Travel (airfare, hotels) after earning the $300 travel credit
• 3x Dining restaurants, takeouts, delivery
• Chase Ultimate Reward Points redeemed through Chase Travel℠ are worth 1.5 cents, a 50% bonus.
• Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
• Priority Pass lounge and restaurant access with over 1300+ airport lounges worldwide
• Up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry every 4 years
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Primary coverage with Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• No foreign transaction fees, Member FDIC
• Learn more in the Chase Sapphire Reserve review

Chase Sapphire Reserve^®: No Annual Fee for Active Duty Military

Chase waives annual fees on all of their personal credit cards for active duty military servicemembers and their spouses. This policy started with any card opened after 20 September 2017.

This includes National Guard, Air National Guard, and Reservists in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard Reserves on Title 10 or Title 32 orders greater than 30 days.

For Chase military credit card customers, the Military Lending Act (MLA) applies. You can check your MLA status on the MLA database website.

Here's my MLA letter from Chase waiving my annual fees:

Every credit card company has a different interpretation of the MLA. The Chase MLA policy is to charge no annual fees on their personal credit cards for military servicemembers.

You can learn more about the Chase MLA policy and why they waive annual fees.

Please note that Chase DOES charge annual fees on their business credit cards for military servicemembers. That being said, Chase business cards often have no annual fees regardless of MLA and offer $500+ welcome bonuses.

Chase's MLA program is similar to American Express's SCRA military annual fee waiver. However, American Express is even more generous, extending their fee waiver to any personal or business account opened after beginning active duty service.

American Express has offered a similar Amex military benefit for over a decade. Every US military servicemember should have The Platinum Card^® from American Express and a Chase Sapphire Reserve in their wallet.

How to use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve welcome offer, you can earn at a minimum $900 in travel. Combined with the $300 annual travel credit, you're looking at $1200+ minimum in first year travel value.

Here's a screen shot of my Chase Ultimate travel portal. I've already maxed out my annual $300 credit for the year, but I get another one soon!

The real value from Ultimate Reward points comes from transferring them to travel partners. For instance, I recently booked my wife a one way United ticket from Honolulu to Washington, D.C.

The ticket would have cost $1300 in economy. It was only 22,500 points with United miles.

I transferred 23,000 UR points to United and booked the ticket. My 23,000 points bought me a $1300 ticket for just $5.60 in taxes and fees.

That's 5 cents per point or 333% better return than booking the ticket through the Chase travel portal! If you booked 2 of those tickets with your 60,000 UR point welcome, you could get $2,600 of value for 45,000 UR points.

At 5 cent per UR point redemption, that would make your welcome bonus worth $2500! Learn how to maximize your points and SCRA/MLA benefits in my 100% free course.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Global Entry for Military

Thanks to some actual commonsense, all DOD servicemembers with a CAC ID are eligible for TSA Pre-Check.

To register, just add your DOD ID number from the back of the CAC to your airline reservation online or over the phone in the “Known Traveler” or “Trusted Traveler” section. Airlines can even usually add it for you at the airport if you forget before arriving.

Global Entry is an additional program on top of TSA Pre-Check that grants you expedited Customs and Immigration processing when you re-enter the US through a commercial airport. It's really handy when you get back to the States and you don't want to wait in line with the 400 other people on your flight.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a easy to use $100 Global Entry credit as a benefit. Simply purchase Global Entry membership through the CBP website and the credit will post to your account. You'll be sailing through those lines in no time!

CSR Priority Pass Airport Lounge Access

When Uncle Sam sends you TDY and books you on the worst airline, in the middle seat, and has you wait for hours in the worst airports for your connection, it pays to have Priority Pass lounge access. Trust me, it's even better than the USO!

Priority Pass is a separate card (or app on your phone) that grants you access to over 1000 airport lounges around the world. The CSR comes with free Priority Pass membership. When you receive your CSR, you just need to go to Chase Ultimate Rewards and then the “Card Benefits” section.

I've personally used Priority Pass lounges in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Sri Lanka, the US, Canada, South America, New Zealand, and Australia. It's truly a global program that has a wide range of VIP lounges available to members.

With the free food and drink available in most Priority Pass lounges, you can save hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars per year. Many airports have restaurants that also participate in Priority Pass.

These Priority Pass restaurants usually take $25-35 off your bill on almost anything you order. It's a great way to get some good free food when you travel.

Sapphire Reserve Rental Car Insurance

Since the CSR has primary rental car insurance coverage, you can decline the super expensive collision and damage waiver when you rent a car.

This can save you hundreds or thousands, depending on how often you rent cars when you travel. This Chase credit card will cover up to $75,000 in damages to the car.

Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Chase Sapphire Preferred®

The welcome bonus offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a similar offer to the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Credit Card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠
• 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 3x points on dining (includes takeout, delivery, and dine-in), select streaming services and online groceries
• 2x on all other travel purchases
• 1x on all other purchases
• $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit
• Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠ . Example- 60,000 points would be worth $750 toward travel.
• No foreign transaction fees, great for overseas OCONUS assignments, TDY, and PCS
• Primary rental car insurance coverage & trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and more.
• DashPass access is complimentary which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
• Upgrade to a Chase Sapphire Reserve after 1 year (compare Reserve vs Preferred)
• $95 annual fee waived for military and spouses with Chase Military Lending Act
• Member FDIC

Somtimes the CSP has a larger welcome bonus than the CSR. If it does, I recommend:

1. You apply for the CSP
2. Earn the welcome bonus
3. Then upgrade to the CSR after 1 year

You can compare the Chase Sapphire Reserve vs the Chase Sapphire Preferred in this article.

The choice between the Sapphire Preferred and the Sapphire Reserve usually comes down to one question:

Is the annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve worth it over the lower annual fee Chase Sapphire Preferred?

However, for US military troops and their spouses, the question of annual fees is moot. You don't have to pay an annual fee on either card!

So the question for military folks is:

For the first year of the card, do I want a $300 travel credit or extra Ultimate Rewards points?

You can always upgrade the Chase Sapphire Preferred to a Chase Sapphire Reserve after 1 year and still maintain the annual fee waiver. Just call the number on your card to upgrade.

Another card benefit to consider is the Chase Sapphire Preferred pays 3x points on dining and 2x points on travel while the Chase Sapphire Reserve pays 3x on both travel and dining. If you spend $1,000 per month on travel, you would have 36,000 points after a year with the Reserve vs. 24,000 with the Preferred, a 12,000 point difference.

Best Chase Credit Card for Military

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is arguably the best Chase credit card for military servicemembers and their spouses. But when the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus offer is substantially larger, get the CSP and upgrade to the CSR after 1 year.

The Reserve is one of the few cards I carry daily in my wallet.

The annual fee is waived by Chase's MLA policy. This unlocks all of the amazing travel benefits of this card for military servicemembers.

The $300 travel credit, the airport lounge access, no foreign transaction fees, 3x points on dining and travel – all for you for $0 per year as a covered borrower of the Military Lending Act.

With the huge, current welcome bonus it makes sense to add this card into your wallet alongside your American Express military cards. I recommend starting with The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Chase Sapphire Reserve^® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• $550 annual fee waived to $0 for US military + spouses with Chase MLA policy
• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠
• $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
• Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually.
• 3x Points on other Travel (airfare, hotels) after earning the $300 travel credit
• 3x Dining restaurants, takeouts, delivery
• Chase Ultimate Reward Points redeemed through Chase Travel℠ are worth 1.5 cents, a 50% bonus.
• Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
• Priority Pass lounge and restaurant access with over 1300+ airport lounges worldwide
• Up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry every 4 years
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Primary coverage with Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• No foreign transaction fees, Member FDIC
• Learn more in the Chase Sapphire Reserve review

Chase Sapphire Reserve Military Frequently Asked Questions