The $95 annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Preferred is no longer $95.
Chase quietly raised it to $95 — wait, that's still the number.
The real shake-up is on the premium Sapphire Reserve, where the annual fee jumped from $550 to $795.
That's a $245 increase, and it landed in the same year grocery bills are still squeezing household budgets.
Here's the part that stings: the fee hits whether you use the card or not.
If you're carrying a Reserve for the airport lounge access and 3x points on dining, you're now paying roughly $66 a month for the privilege.
That's a week of groceries for a family of four, depending on where you shop.
The Reserve now comes with a $300 annual travel credit, bonus points on travel booked through Chase, and new perks like a $120 Global Entry credit every four years and access to certain dining and fitness benefits.
Run the math and the credits can offset a chunk of the fee — but only if you actually use them.
Unused credits are just money you handed over for nothing.
For Sapphire Preferred holders, the math is friendlier.
The $95 fee is offset by a $50 hotel credit each year when you book through Chase, plus 5x points on travel purchased through the portal and 3x on dining and online groceries.
If you spend $500 a month on dining and groceries, the points alone can cover the fee several times over.
A no-annual-fee card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% on everything with no strings.
The Sapphire Preferred earns more on travel and dining but only if you're actually redeeming points for travel rather than cash back at a lower rate.
Points sitting unused are worth less than cash in your pocket.
So what should you do before your next renewal?
First, check your card's anniversary date.
Second, tally what you actually earned and redeemed over the last 12 months.
If you earned less in points and credits than the fee costs, downgrade to a no-fee card or cancel.
Third, call Chase and ask for a retention offer.
Banks hand out statement credits and bonus points to keep customers from walking, and it takes about ten minutes.
One more thing: don't cancel a card you've had for years without thinking about your credit score.
Closing an old account shortens your average credit history and can ding your score.
A product change to a no-fee Chase card keeps the account open and the history intact.
The bottom line is that premium travel cards are only worth it for people who travel enough to burn through the credits.
Everyone else is subsidizing the lounges and perks for the people who do.
If you're not flying at least a few times a year, this fee hike is your cue to reassess.
My take: Chase is betting that most cardholders won't do the math.
Final Thoughts
Ten minutes with a calculator and your last year of statements will tell you more than any marketing page ever will.