What Credit Score Do You Need for the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

Vault’s Viewpoint

• The Chase Sapphire Reserve is Chase’s premier credit card and offers a large welcome bonus, spending rewards and travel perks.
• To qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve it’s recommended to have a very good or excellent credit score of 740 or higher, though other factors affect eligibility as well.
• If you don’t currently qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can improve your credit score by paying your bills on time and increasing your credit utilization.

More About the Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is Chase’s premium travel credit card, with an annual fee of $550 and an additional fee of $75 per year for each authorized user. As an intro bonus, you can earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first three months of opening your account. The 60,000 points equate to $900 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel.

Earning and Redeeming Rewards With the Chase Sapphire Reserve

When you spend with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll earn points in the following ways:

• 5X points on flights purchased through Chase Travel (after the first $300 spent on travel annually)
• 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel (after the first $300 spent on travel annually)
• 3X points on dining at restaurants, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out
• 3X points on other travel not purchased through Chase worldwide (after the first $300 spent on travel annually)
• 10X points on Chase Dining purchases through Ultimate Rewards

Chase offers a variety of ways to redeem your points, including applying them to your bill, exchanging them for a gift card, transferring them to a travel partner, and more. You’ll get the most value by redeeming your points for travel—Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem their points at a rate of 1.5 cents per point through Chase Travel.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers more than $1,000 of value in travel and other perks, including:

• $300 annual travel credit
• Lyft Pink membership
• DoorDash DashPass subscription
• Monthly DoorDash credit
• Instacart membership
• Monthly Instacard credit
• Priority Pass Select membership with one time activation
• Complimentary airport lounge access
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee credit
• No foreign transaction fees
• Travel protection and purchase coverage

Credit Score Needed for the Sapphire Reserve

Chase doesn’t disclose a minimum credit score for any of its credit cards. But because the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a premium credit card, you’ll likely be recommended to have at least a very good or excellent credit score to qualify. A very good score is one from 740 to 799, while an excellent score is one of 800 or more.

Your credit score isn’t the only factor Chase will consider when you apply for a Sapphire Reserve card. Chase may also consider your income, including your total annual income and your debt-to-income ratio.

The contents of your credit report are also an important factor. For example, Chase will take into account your payment history, credit utilization and more. Finally, though it’s not a written policy, Chase has an informal 5/24 rule, which limits card eligibility to individuals who have opened fewer than five cards within the past 24 months

What If You Don’t Qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

If your application is denied for the Chase Sapphire Reserve or you don’t think your credit score is high enough to apply, you still have some options.

First, consider what other cards could offer you similar benefits without the recommended high credit score. There are plenty of travel cards to choose from, including from Chase, that may be available to those with a lower credit score (and the added bonus of a lower annual fee).

If your heart is set on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, there are steps you can take to improve your credit score and then apply for the card:

• Check your credit report: Knowing the contents of your credit report can help you determine what you need to improve to boost your score. It will also show you whether there are any errors on your credit report that could negatively impact your score.
• Pay your bills on time: Your payment history is the most impactful factor in calculating your credit score. Paying all your bills on time each month will improve your score over time while having late or missed payments can hurt your credit score.
• Reduce your debt balance: If you have large balances on your other credit cards, consider paying down your debt before applying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve. A high card balance can increase your credit utilization, meaning the percentage of your available credit in use. The lower your credit utilization, the better.
• Increase your credit card limits: Just as reducing your debt balance can improve your credit utilization, so can increasing your credit card limits. You can often request a credit limit increase directly in your online credit card account. Otherwise you can call your credit card’s issuer.
• Avoid applying for new credit: When you apply for a new credit account, whether it’s a loan or a credit card, it will create a new hard inquiry on your credit report. Hard inquiries can have a negative impact on your credit score—though likely a minimal one. Applying for another account shortly before applying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve could hurt your chances of approval.