9 Steps to Take After Getting your Chase Sapphire Reserve

Set up Auto-Pay

There is no greater detriment to the points game than accruing interest, paying late fees, and penalizing your credit score. This can be easily avoided by immediately setting up auto-pay to pay your statement balance each month from a checking or savings account. This is the first thing I do, even before getting the card itself. 

Review Travel Insurance Protections

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has one of the best travel insurance and protections of any card. Take the time to read through the benefits packet that comes with the card - at the very least review the many articles online highlighting the important ones like baggage delay insurance ($500/day) and primary rental car insurance. 

Update Payment Methods

With $4,000 to spend within 3 months, make sure you have a plan to meet this requirement so you can get the bonus points you deserve. This means going through your auto-pay subscriptions and utilities to make sure it's going to the right card (also just good financial hygiene to make sure you're not overpaying on things). 

Activate Lyft Pink

Lyft and Chase have a partnership, where by adding your Chase Sapphire Reserve to your Lyft payment methods, you receive a complimentary Lyft Pink membership and 10x back on all purchases on the app. This is a nice perk for those that use ride-sharing apps to automatically get some extra discounts and points. 

Enroll in National Emerald Executive Club

In your benefits page, you can get discounts at varous car rental companies such as Avis. For National, you can get the extra benefit of gaining Emerald Executive membership when you enroll through Chase. While I generally just go with the cheapest rental car company, this benefit can provide nice perks if it works out.  

$100 Global Entry/Nexus/TSA Precheck Credit

You're eligible for a $100 credit for three of the US government's trusted travel programs every four years. There's no need for activation - just swipe or pay online and the credit will automatically apply. In terms of which one to apply for, generally Global Entry is the best because it includes precheck. However, if you're not travelling internationally, then precheck will be easier and faster to obtain.  Sarah has Nexus, but that's only because she travels between Canada and the US a lot. 

$15/month Instacart Credit  EXPIRES 7/31/24

Go to https://www.instacart.com/store/partnerships/chase to activate your free Instacart+ membership and $15 credit per month. I usually do a monthly pickup from my local Wegmans for a quick grocery run, so I end up paying a dollar or so for milk, fruit, and meat. As a bonus, purchase on Instacart through a shopping portal through Rakuten, so you can get an extra 2%. As a reminder, your other Chase cards may earn some Instacart credit as well. 

$5/month Doordash Credit

Add your card to your Doordash account to automatically receive $5 of Doordash credit each month and  complimentary Dashpass. This can be rolled over up to $15 total to be used for food orders, otherwise they start expiring. So basically every quarter I use it to pick up a free meal.