The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review) is one of the most popular premium rewards cards. While the card has a steep $795 annual fee, it also offers a variety of benefits that can help offset that, ranging from lounge access to credits.
It’s also a fantastic time to apply for the card given that it’s offering a best-ever welcome bonus of 150K points upon completing minimum spending. If you’re eligible for the card, applying should be a no-brainer.
In this post, I’d like to focus specifically on the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit, which can get cardmembers up to $300 in value annually. I know this tends to cause some confusion, and there’s some nuance to redeeming this, unlike the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit, which is basically good as cash.
Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
How to use Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit
The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers up to $300 in dining credits annually, with the following basic terms to be aware of:
- The card offers an up to $150 statement credit semi-annually, once in January through June, and once in July through December
- The credit can be used across one or multiple purchases, until the $150 limit is reached
- The credit automatically posts for dining purchases at select restaurants, up to the maximum, with no registration required
- To qualify, the eligible card must be used for the dining purchase, though it doesn’t matter how you booked your reservation
- Certain types of purchases may not be identifiable and will not qualify, like delivery and takeout, merchandise and gift cards, purchases made through digital wallets, etc.
- Statement credits should post to billing cycles within three business days, but may take up to four weeks
Participating Chase dining credit restaurants
Many people may wonder at which restaurants the Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 dining credit can be used. This has actually been simplified a bit since this benefit was launched. Long story short, the credit can be applied to any restaurant belonging to Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables, and you can find that portal here. These are also restaurants at which cardmembers can get priority reservations.
You’ll find that there are hundreds of restaurants across dozens of cities that are participating. The list remains subject to change, so I won’t fully list them here, but this includes restaurants in Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Hawaii, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC, among other cities.
This list really has grown very nicely, especially outside of the country’s few biggest metropolitan markets.
Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit value & FAQs
Nowadays premium cards largely have high annual fees, and it’s possible to get outsized value, but it can take some effort. With that in mind, the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit is probably pretty polarizing for cardmembers. As is often the case, the perks of this card favor those who live in major cities.
For me, this dining credit is basically good as cash. I live in Miami, and there are a couple restaurants on the list that I frequent. So I’ll easily get $300 of value out of that per year.
That being said, of course others will feel differently. If you wouldn’t otherwise visit the restaurants on the list, then that’s a major value that you’re not going to get out of the card. Admittedly premium credit cards with a variety of statement credits are designed for there to be breakage, so you don’t need to get full value out of every benefit for a card to make sense.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit can only be used at restaurants participating in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 annual dining credit can be used at the hundreds of restaurants across dozens of cities that participate in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program.
To use the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit, there’s no need to register. You just need to make a purchase at an eligible restaurant, and will then automatically receive a statement credit for up to $150 when you pay with the card.
There’s no need to let the restaurant know that you’re using your Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit. Just pay with the card, and you’ll automatically receive a statement credit, typically within three business days.
There’s no consistent answer as to whether or not the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit can be used for restaurant gift cards. Generally as long as the purchase is made directly with an eligible restaurant it will be reimbursed, and that would also apply if it’s a gift card that’s purchased. The catch is that some restaurants may process gift card purchases differently or through third parties, in which case they may not credit.
Bottom line
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit, you can get up to $300 of value per year, with a credit of up to $150 every six months. This is available at a limited number of restaurants in select cities, though the list is becoming more substantial over time, including in some smaller cities. If you’d otherwise frequent these restaurants, then this is awesome, and basically good as cash. Meanwhile if you wouldn’t frequent any restaurants on the list, it’s a different story.
What do you make of the Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 dining credit?
