Chase quietly erased the Reserve’s biggest Lyft edge. Since April 1, 2025, both the Sapphire Reserve and the Sapphire Preferred earn the same 5x points on Lyft — yet the Reserve still costs $700 more a year. So the real question isn’t which card earns more Lyft points. It’s whether the Reserve’s remaining perks are worth that gap.
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If you picked the Reserve mainly for Lyft, the ground just shifted under you. Here’s exactly what changed and which card wins now.
Both cards now earn 5x on Lyft. The only Lyft-specific edge the Reserve keeps is a $120/yr credit — against a $700 fee gap.
What Changed in 2025
Until early 2025, the Chase Sapphire Reserve earned a headline-grabbing 10x points on Lyft — double the Preferred’s 5x. That 10x rate was the single loudest reason a rideshare-heavy spender reached for the pricier card.
That’s over. As of April 1, 2025, the Reserve’s Lyft rate dropped to 5x, matching the Preferred exactly. Chase confirmed the change on its own Lyft partnership page. Both cards now sit at the same earn rate for every Lyft ride you take.
The Reserve didn’t lose everything Lyft-related, though. It kept a $10/month in-app Lyft credit — worth $120 a year — that the Preferred never had. That credit is now the only Lyft-specific advantage the Reserve holds. Keep that number in mind; it does most of the heavy lifting in the math below.
Lyft Perks: Reserve vs Preferred Side-by-Side
Here’s the head-to-head on everything that touches Lyft and the fees around it.
The takeaway is blunt: on Lyft earning alone, the cards are identical. The Reserve’s advantages now live entirely outside the rideshare — the credit, the lounges, the travel credit, and a richer points redemption rate.
Note the fee figures. Chase raised the Reserve’s annual fee to $795 in 2025, up from $550, which widened the gap even further. The Preferred stayed at $95.
Breaking Down the $700 Fee Gap
Do the simple subtraction: $795 − $95 = $700. That’s what you pay every year to hold the Reserve instead of the Preferred.
Now credit back the Lyft perk. The Reserve’s $120 Lyft credit shrinks the effective gap to $580 — but only if you actually use all $10 every single month. Miss a few months and the gap climbs back toward the full $700.
So Lyft alone cannot justify the Reserve. Even a heavy rider earning identical 5x points and pocketing the full $120 credit is still $580 in the hole versus the Preferred. To break even, you have to lean on the rest of the Reserve’s stack:
- $300 annual travel credit — near-automatic if you travel at all; this alone covers most of the gap.
- Airport lounge access — Priority Pass plus Chase’s own Sapphire Lounges.
- 1.5¢ per point in the travel portal vs the Preferred’s 1.25¢.
- Rotating credits like DoorDash DashPass and other partner perks.
💡 Stack the $300 travel credit on top of the $120 Lyft credit and you’ve offset $420 of the $700. The lounges and richer redemption have to carry the last stretch. If you don’t use those, you’re overpaying.
Who Should Choose the Reserve
The Reserve still wins — but only for a specific traveler, not a Lyft-only rider. Pick the Chase Sapphire Reserve if you:
- Fly enough to burn the $300 travel credit and the lounge access. These two perks are where the Reserve earns its keep.
- Redeem points through Chase’s portal and want the 1.5¢-per-point rate.
- Use the partner credits (DashPass, Peloton, Lyft) consistently, not occasionally.
- Treat the card as your full premium ecosystem, where the Lyft credit is a bonus, not the reason.
If you’ll realistically claim $600+ in annual value from these perks, the $700 fee pays for itself. If not, keep reading.
Who Should Choose the Preferred
For most people who chose their Sapphire card because of Lyft, the math now clearly favors the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Pick it if you:
- Ride Lyft but don’t fly much. You get the identical 5x rate for $700 less.
- Won’t reliably use a $300 travel credit or airport lounges.
- Want a low-fee keeper card that still transfers to all 14 Chase travel partners.
- Value simplicity over managing monthly credits you might forget to redeem.
The Preferred keeps the parts of the Sapphire brand that matter to a casual traveler — the transfer partners, solid earn rates, strong travel protections — without the premium price tag that Lyft alone no longer justifies. If you want to squeeze even more out of it, learn to maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers before your points sit idle.
FAQ
Do I need to activate the 5x Lyft rate?
No activation is needed for the earn rate — 5x applies automatically when you pay with your Sapphire card in the Lyft app. The Reserve’s $10 monthly credit is also automatic, but it only appears in-app when you link the card as your Lyft payment method.
When does the $10 Lyft credit post?
It’s a monthly in-app credit that appears in your Lyft account, not a statement credit. It doesn’t roll over — use it within the calendar month or lose it. That “use it or lose it” rule is exactly why the effective fee gap creeps back toward $700 for forgetful users.
Do both cards transfer to the same travel partners?
Yes. Both the Reserve and Preferred move points 1:1 to all 14 Chase transfer partners (United, Hyatt, Southwest, and more). Transfer partner access is not a reason to pay the higher fee.
Can I hold both the Reserve and the Preferred at once?
Chase generally won’t let you hold two personal Sapphire cards at the same time. You’d need to product-change or cancel one. Most people pick the single card that matches how much they actually travel.
Is the Reserve’s higher points value worth it for Lyft riders?
Only marginally. The 1.5¢ vs 1.25¢ portal rate is a 0.25¢ edge — on Lyft points alone, you’d need to redeem enormous volume for that difference to approach the $700 fee gap.
Did the Preferred’s Lyft perks change too?
The Preferred kept its 5x Lyft earn rate and gained nothing new. It never had the monthly credit, so from the Preferred side, nothing about Lyft changed in 2025 — it simply stopped being outclassed.
The Bottom Line
Same Lyft points, $700 gap. If you fly enough to use lounges and the travel credit, the Reserve still earns its fee. If Lyft was your reason, the Preferred now does the same job for far less. Check the current terms and apply for the card that fits how you actually spend.