Last edit by: serpens
Sapphire Reserve Annual Travel Credit
How are the dates calculated?
For cards issued prior to May 21, 2017 it was Reimbursed per Calendar year, not membership year. Purchases must be posted (not pending) by your December statement (dated any time Dec 1 through Dec 31) to be credited against current year's $300 credit. Any travel spend that posts after the December statement will credit against the next year's $300 credit.
For cards issued after May 21, 2017, it will be reimbursed by membership year.
But my 2nd annual fee is after May 21, 2017, why didn't my travel credit reset?
Because if you got your card before that date, your travel credit will continue to reset after your December statement.
Does the travel credit count as minimum spend?
Spend is spend, the credit is the credit. The $300 reimbursement is a separate item from spending requirements( the $300 reimbursement on travel, $100 Goes all count towards the $4,000 only the $450 yearly fee doesn't). You must spend $4000 for your signup bonus UR points. If part of that spend is categorized as travel, a credit will post to your account accordingly. They are separate items.
Even if you return a purchase after you've met your $4000 initial spend it will not count against your spend.
Can I get two travel credit fees if I apply in the middle of the year?
Not for applications after May 21, 2017.
What counts as Travel?
Gas Station and Grocery Store purchases will also count through 12/31/21. (See post 1521.)
The following items have been reimbursed.
Airline purchases, fees & gift cards:
What doesn't count as travel?
Here's a thread dedicated to the topic: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...rrect-mcc.html
The following items have NOT posted as travel/been reimbursed:
How are the dates calculated?
For cards issued prior to May 21, 2017 it was Reimbursed per Calendar year, not membership year. Purchases must be posted (not pending) by your December statement (dated any time Dec 1 through Dec 31) to be credited against current year's $300 credit. Any travel spend that posts after the December statement will credit against the next year's $300 credit.
For cards issued after May 21, 2017, it will be reimbursed by membership year.
But my 2nd annual fee is after May 21, 2017, why didn't my travel credit reset?
Because if you got your card before that date, your travel credit will continue to reset after your December statement.
Does the travel credit count as minimum spend?
Spend is spend, the credit is the credit. The $300 reimbursement is a separate item from spending requirements( the $300 reimbursement on travel, $100 Goes all count towards the $4,000 only the $450 yearly fee doesn't). You must spend $4000 for your signup bonus UR points. If part of that spend is categorized as travel, a credit will post to your account accordingly. They are separate items.
Even if you return a purchase after you've met your $4000 initial spend it will not count against your spend.

Can I get two travel credit fees if I apply in the middle of the year?
Not for applications after May 21, 2017.
What counts as Travel?
Gas Station and Grocery Store purchases will also count through 12/31/21. (See post 1521.)
The following items have been reimbursed.
Airline purchases, fees & gift cards:
- AA e-gift certificate
- Delta eGift Cards, in-flight food/drink purchases
- UA in-flight bev
- Moved from EC to EC+ on AA and credit posted 8/2017.
Southwest gift cards do work! Just purchased a $40 emailed gift card and received the travel credit 3/2018
- Airbnb & their GC
- Bellagio Las Vegas -- including restaurant charges signed to room (posted as BELLAGIO - FRONT DESK)
- hotels.com (NOT hotels.com e-gift cert!)
- Hotel restaurants not charged to room (verified at Renaissance LV)
- Marriott GC and hotel charges
- Priceline "opaque" hotel purchases
- Kruger National Park lodging reservation (booked on sanparks.org official site)
- Hilton Home2 Suites
- taxi fares: Uber, Lyft, Gett, Way2Ride, London taxi, RideAustin
- Transit fees: BART, MTA, FastTrac, MetroCard, DC Metro (WMATA) SmarTrip farecard and commemorative cards, NJ Transit, Oyster card, Ventra (Chicago), Las Vegas Monorail,Short term parking at LAS, London, STIB/MIVB (Brussels), UTA (Salt Lake City), TriMet (Portland, OR)
- Parking meters: Chicago; Portland, OR; San Francisco; Atlantic City; Seattle; Minneapolis; Raleigh; San Diego
- Public parking garages: San Francisco; Montgomery Co. MD; Saint Paul; UC San Diego
- Toll passes: E-Z Pass (MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, PA), Sunpass prepaid tolls, Washington State GoodToGo tolls, RiverLink tolls, TxTag, IPass (Illinois), Houston EZ-Tag
- Train tickets: trainline (UK train tickets), Eurostar.com, Bahn.com (when using Paypal), Amtrak (cafe car purchases as well as tickets purchased from kiosks or the website), italirail.com, Train and bus travel in Scotland at ticket counter, SNCB/NMBS (Belgium--app or counter; chip-and-sign cards don't work in ticket machines), Euroshuttle (car train under the English Channel)
- Ferries: Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE
- Shuttles: Jackson Hole WY Airport official shuttle to town
- Unlimted JR Pass for Japan purchased from japan-rail-pass.com
- Bikeshare membership/usage fees in Washington, DC
- Parking apps: ParkWhiz, SpotHero, ParkMobile
- Presidential Limousine service in Las Vegas
- Costco Travel
Disney theme park tickets physically purchased at Disney gateSee post #1203- Disney Vacation account funding
- Royal Caribbean drink package
- Cruise bookings
- Cruise Excursions Booked Prior to Cruise (and fully refundable)
- MIR Travel Agency
- ChargePoint for Electric Vehicle Charging
- MileagePlusX Uber GC
- undercovertourist.com
- Rental cars (verified Avis on page 7 of this thread)
- Lahaina Cruise Co. (Hawaii Ocean Project whale watch cruise)
- Interval International Exchange Fee + Upgrade Fee
- Aircraft title transfer registration fees with ICAO's International Registry of Mobile Assets (Cape Town Convention and Aircraft Protocol)
- Cooking class/experience booked through Viator
What doesn't count as travel?
Here's a thread dedicated to the topic: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...rrect-mcc.html
The following items have NOT posted as travel/been reimbursed:
e-gift card from Airline, except DeltaPlease list specifics.- AA in-flight food
- AAA membership
- Alaska Airlines: e-gift cards; in-flight food; Board Room membership (post 1152)
- Blink Charging (EV charging network): shows up as Bills & Utilities
- CLEAR -- annual membership fee and pro-rated $50 fee for adding a family member
- Points.com (Southwest)
- Not all parking meters - Michigan State University (MSU Police Dept. 1x), Phoenix
- Parking citation payment (SF MTA)
- Hotel parking fees (e.g. Fairmont SF)
- Walt Disney tickets directly from Disney.com
- Vacation Rental by Owner/HomeAway
- Airport landing, parking and ground handling fees for private jets
EZ-Tag (Houston, TX)now DOES count per post 1109- Georgia Peach Pass
- Hotels.com e-gift card
- Hyatt e-gift card
- Hyatt physical G.C. from Hyatt.com (coded as Online, Mail, or Telephone transaction or Card, Gift Novelty and Souvenir Stores) No manual adjustment.
- IHG Ambassador recognition program
- Southwest Airlines in-flight purchases
- Southwest Airlines Wi-Fi purchase ("Bills & utilities" in Chase online banking)
- Prince Resorts Hawaii Gift Card (Prince Hotel Waikiki, Mauna Kea Hotel, Hapuna Beach Hotel)
- Meal at Fairmont Hotel not charged to room
- Choice hotel Points + Cash reservation
- Delta in-flight Wi-Fi purchased through app
- MPX Amazon.Com
- Not all public transit: Lisbon metro
- Travel Insurance (Allianz)
Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 Annual Travel Credit (2016 - 2021)
#76
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 53
I've already used $200/$300 credit. Instant reimbursement sure helps to take the sting out of the $450 AF.

#77
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Greenacres,WA
Programs: Marriott Plat; Hyatt Globalist ; National Exe; Avis Preferred; Delta Diamond
Posts: 431
I can confirm Timeshare Maintenance fees work. . .at least for vistana (formerly SVO)
Prepaid $300 towards fees and travel credit posted same time as the charge. Will use the card for remaining MF balance in Jan as well.
Prepaid $300 towards fees and travel credit posted same time as the charge. Will use the card for remaining MF balance in Jan as well.

#78
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Orlando, FL
Posts: 196
Charged $360 for AirAsia fares. Received the $300 immediately. Can't wait to do it again in January.

#79
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 114
DP: I had some ThankYou points leftover from charges I made on my Citi Prestige, before switching to the Sapphire Reserve as my main card, and I needed to book a flight. I booked the flight using Citi's ThankYou portal, for a mix of TYP and cash. For the cash portion, I used the Sapphire Reserve, which was $153.
I was not 100% sure if it was going to be reimbursed because I wasn't sure how travel via Citi's portal would bill, but sure enough, the second the charge posted I was reimbursed for $153. And, I earned 3x points for that portion. I'm going to guess this would work on Chase's own portal as well...
I was not 100% sure if it was going to be reimbursed because I wasn't sure how travel via Citi's portal would bill, but sure enough, the second the charge posted I was reimbursed for $153. And, I earned 3x points for that portion. I'm going to guess this would work on Chase's own portal as well...

#80
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 19
Confused on airline gift cards
Looking at the wiki some are reimbursed as travel credit and some aren't. Anyone tried w/Southwest yet? Wondering if it makes a difference to get the emailed gift card vs a physical one.

#81
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: East Coast US
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 191
Corrected wiki to reflect that annual credit eligibility dates are determined by December statement date, not necessarily through Dec 31.

#84
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Hilton Plastic, Delta Silver Emeritus
Posts: 1,021
MSU parking meters don't post as travel. There go 3.6 UR points.

#85
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: AA Plat Pro, Marriott Plat, Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 739
Edited the wiki to reflect that Chicago parking meters did trigger the bonus, since the OP does not have editing privileges yet.

#86
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: New York
Programs: Delta Platinum
Posts: 112
E-Z Pass tolls and Way2Ride taxi fares come through as travel. I'll add to the Wiki.

#87
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,251
San Diego parking meters didn't code as travel on the CSP last time I used one, so it's doubtful they'll get the travel credit for the CSR. I don't know if they do now though since it's been a while.

#88
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: SW Michigan, ex SF Bay Area
Posts: 702
I don't have my CSR yet, but with the CSP, parking did give the travel bonus in: Erie, PA; Portsmouth, NH; and as we already know, Chicago.
Also, the Illinois Tollway's iPass replenishment got the travel bonus. (I suppose different E-ZPass states could code it differently?)
Shall I add these to the wiki, or do you all want to keep that solely for charges verified to qualify for the CSR travel reimbursement?
Also, the Illinois Tollway's iPass replenishment got the travel bonus. (I suppose different E-ZPass states could code it differently?)
Shall I add these to the wiki, or do you all want to keep that solely for charges verified to qualify for the CSR travel reimbursement?

#89
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: AA Plat Pro, Marriott Plat, Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 739
My 2 cents: Please keep the wiki to verified credits on the CSR. This place gets rampant with speculation sometimes (oftentimes ) and the wiki should be a dependable resource for those without time to read (or re-read) everything in the thread. Best to keep it clean and tidy.
Mods, feel free to weigh in here if you disagree with me.
Mods, feel free to weigh in here if you disagree with me.

#90
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: FL
Programs: BA, AA, DA, UA, CO
Posts: 212
Thank you for that info, buddy. I think, it's safe to assume CSR will code these as Travel as well.
