Chase Reserve and Sapphire additional Q3 bonus categories

Chase has announced that their Reserve and Sapphire Preferred cards will be earning bonus Ultimate Rewards (UR) for the 3rd quarter (Q3), which runs from July 1-September 30.  The flagship Reserve will be getting the following:
  • 5x on Instacart on up to $3,000 in spending
  • Up to $50 in statement credits toward Instacart Express annual ($99/yr) or monthly ($9.99/mo) membership
  • 5x at gas stations on up to $1500 in spending
  • 10x on select streaming like Netflix and Spotify on up to $1500 in spending

The lower annual fee Sapphire Preferred will also be getting similar albeit somewhat abbreviated benefits for Q3:
  • 3x on Instacart on up to $3,000 in spending
  • Up to $50 in statement credits toward Instacart Express annual ($99/yr) or monthly ($9.99/mo) membership
  • 3x at gas stations on up to $1500 in spending
  • 5x on select streaming like Netflix and Spotify on up to $1500 in spending
Instacart Express is essentially Instacart's premium membership program that gets you free delivery for a flat monthly or annual fee along with reduced service fees.  The Reserve and Sapphire's $50 statement credits covers half an annual membership or 3 months of membership given that the $50 credit appears to be only good for Q3.  Eligible streaming services are extensive and include Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, Netflix, Sling, Fubo TV, Vudu, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube TV.


Chase surprised everyone by offering bonus cashback at grocery stores between May 1-June 30 for their annual fee cards.  The Reserve lead the pack with 5x at grocery stores, and the Sapphire Preferred with 3x.  Now that the grocery store category bonus is coming to a close, Chase decided to add Instacart, gas stations, and streaming services into the mix for Q3.  Historically, only the Chase Freedom had rotating bonus quarterly categories.  But with all the changes in spending that are happening due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chase is adjusting the times as many of us are opting for home food delivery along with streaming services.


Bottom line

It's great to see Chase offer another round of bonus categories to their Reserve and Sapphire cards, which typically just earn 3x and 2x, respectively, on travel and dining purchases.  But as many of our purchases have shifted away from travel and restaurants during the pandemic and towards food delivery services such as Instacart, Chase is doing a good job adapting to our spending.  As a reminder that also through September 30, Reserve and Sapphire UR can now also be redeemed at 1.5 cents or 1.25 cents per point, respectively, towards grocery store, dining, and home improvement purchases on top of the normal travel purchases.

From all of us at Flying for Fitness, please stay healthy during this trying time.  We hope you enjoyed this post.  Please consider visiting one of our sponsors by clicking on the advertisements.  Our sponsors pay us for customer visits and help us to keep the lights on.  Thanks!



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