The $95 annual fee that made the Chase Sapphire Preferred a starter travel card is going up, and the $550 on the Sapphire Reserve is climbing too.
Chase confirmed the changes quietly through cardholder notices, and the math is about to get uncomfortable for anyone who signed up years ago and never rechecked whether the perks still pay for themselves.
The Preferred moves to $150 a year for new applicants.
The Reserve jumps to $795, which is more than most people spend on a single domestic round-trip flight.
Existing cardholders get a grace period, but Chase hasn't been especially loud about how long it lasts or who qualifies.
Annual fees are the one credit card cost that hits whether or not you use the card even once.
A $795 charge posts automatically, and if you're carrying a balance, it's now accruing interest on top of everything else.
The perks did get bigger to soften the blow.
Chase added statement credits toward groceries, dining, and its own travel portal, plus higher earning rates on some categories.
The catch is that most of those credits are split into monthly chunks rather than one lump sum.
That structure quietly punishes people who don't log in constantly.
A $10 monthly grocery credit that expires on the 30th isn't worth $120 a year to someone who forgets it four months running.
It's worth $80, and the fee didn't shrink to match.
Downgrading to a no-fee Chase card keeps the account and your credit history intact, though you lose the transfer partners that make the points valuable.
Product changing to a different Chase card is usually a phone call, not an application.
Canceling outright is the bluntest move, and it does hurt your credit score a little by shrinking your available credit and eventually your average account age.
That said, paying $795 for perks you don't use is a worse trade than a temporary dip.
The other move is calling the number on the back of the card and asking for a retention offer.
It works more often than people expect, especially if you've been a customer for several years and your spending is steady.
Ask directly what they can do about the fee.
Before deciding, pull up your last twelve months of statements and tally what you actually redeemed.
Points sitting unused in an account are worth nothing today, and they don't offset a fee that already posted.
Worth noting: the cards that compete with Sapphire haven't stood still.
Capital One, Amex, and Citi all have premium travel cards in the same range, and several have raised their own credits in response.
Comparing fees without comparing what you'd realistically use is how people end up overpaying twice.
The honest take is that these cards were never meant for everyone, and the new pricing makes that truer than before.
If you travel a few times a year, use the transfer partners, and actually claim the credits, the math can still work.
Final Thoughts
If you got the card for the sign-up bonus and never looked back, this is the year to do the arithmetic.