Cards covered: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Personal), Sapphire Reserve for Business℠, and Chase Sapphire Preferred®.
If you’ve got a Chase Sapphire card, December is the month when value quietly disappears. Some credits reset every month, some reset twice a year, and others reset on your account anniversary. This post is a practical checklist for using what you already have access to—before December 31—without buying random stuff you don’t need. It also includes the confirmed upgrades coming in 2026, so you can plan ahead.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Personal) — Year-End Credits & Quick Wins
| Credit / Benefit | Value | Where it works (U.S.-friendly) | Resets / expires | Best low-waste use |
| $300 Annual Travel Credit | $300 | Broad travel purchases (air, hotel, transit, rideshare, parking, tolls) | Account anniversary year | Use it on any travel you were already paying for |
| Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables Dining Credit | Up to $300/yr (up to $150 Jan–Jun + up to $150 Jul–Dec) | Eligible restaurants in the Exclusive Tables program (OpenTable) | Jul–Dec portion expires Dec 31 | Book one qualifying meal close to the remaining amount |
| StubHub / viagogo Credit | Up to $300/yr (up to $150 Jan–Jun + up to $150 Jul–Dec) | StubHub or viagogo purchases (activation required) | Jul–Dec portion expires Dec 31 | Buy tickets you would have bought anyway (local sports, concerts, gifts) |
| The Edit by Chase Travel Credit | Up to $500/yr (up to $250 Jan–Jun + up to $250 Jul–Dec) | Prepaid 2+ night stays at The Edit hotels via Chase Travel | Jul–Dec $250 expires Dec 31 | Prepay a 2-night stay (can be a 2026 trip) and keep the price reasonable |
| DoorDash Promos (with DashPass) | Up to $25/month (up to $300/yr) | DoorDash (restaurants + groceries/retail promos) | Monthly — unused promos don’t stack | Use December promos on an order you’d place anyway |
| Lyft Credits | Up to $10/month (up to $120/yr) | Lyft rides (in-app credit) + 5x points | Monthly | Use it on airport runs, errands, or holiday rides |
| Peloton Membership Credits | $10/month (up to $120/yr) | Eligible Peloton memberships (activation required) | Monthly | If you already pay for Peloton, put the bill here |
| Apple TV+ + Apple Music | Included (subscriptions run through 6/22/2027) | Apple subscriptions (after activation) | Ongoing (promo period) | Activate once, then stop paying monthly out-of-pocket |
How to use each Reserve credit without overspending
$300 Annual Travel Credit
This is the easiest value on the card. If you still have any of it left, use it on travel you’re already paying for—flights, hotels, parking, tolls, transit, rideshare. It resets on your account anniversary year, not the calendar year, so the ‘deadline’ depends on when you opened/renewed your card.
Dining Credit (Exclusive Tables, up to $150 for Jul–Dec)
If you haven’t used your July–December portion, the simplest play is one meal at a qualifying restaurant close to your remaining credit. If you want to keep costs down, use lunch/brunch instead of dinner, skip extras you wouldn’t normally buy, and split the check so your card is charged near the credit amount.
StubHub / viagogo Credit (up to $150 for Jul–Dec)
The best use is tickets you’d buy anyway—local sports, concerts, comedy shows, family outings, or gifts. If you’re not sure what to pick, buy something in early 2026 but charge it before December 31 so it counts in this period.
The Edit Credit (up to $250 for Jul–Dec)
The trap is booking a hotel you’d never pay for. The smart version is: find a reasonably priced Edit property, book a prepaid stay of 2 nights or more, and use the credit to reduce a trip you already want. Two helpful tools for finding Edit hotels (and filtering by price/location) are:
• https://www.awardhack.com/chase-tools/edit-hotels-map
• https://theedithotelswithchase.com/
DoorDash Promos (monthly)
These are monthly promos (up to $25 each month). If you already use DoorDash, use December’s promos on a normal order. If you don’t use DoorDash much, consider groceries/retail orders when it makes sense rather than forcing restaurant delivery.
Lyft Credits (monthly)
Easy win: use one Lyft ride in December so you don’t lose the monthly credit. This is perfect for airport runs, holiday errands, or nights out when you’d take a ride anyway.
Peloton Credits (monthly)
If you already pay for Peloton, make sure the membership is billed to the Reserve and that the Peloton benefit is activated. If you don’t use Peloton, don’t subscribe just to chase a credit.
Apple TV+ + Apple Music
If you pay for either service, this can be real monthly savings. Activate the benefit, link your Apple ID, and let it replace what you’d otherwise pay out of pocket.
Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ — Year-End Credits & Business-Smart Uses
| Credit / Benefit | Value | Where it works (U.S.-friendly) | Resets / expires | Best low-waste use |
| $300 Annual Travel Credit | $300 | Broad travel purchases | Account anniversary year | Use on business travel you were already paying for |
| The Edit by Chase Travel Credit | Up to $500/yr (up to $250 Jan–Jun + up to $250 Jul–Dec) | Prepaid 2+ night stays at The Edit hotels via Chase Travel (not available to employee cards) | Jul–Dec $250 expires Dec 31 | Use for a trip you’d take anyway (or a client trip) |
| DoorDash promos + DashPass | Up to $25/month promos + DashPass membership value | DoorDash (team meals, supplies, groceries/retail) | Monthly promos | Use December promos on normal orders (team lunch, office restock) |
| Lyft credit | Up to $10/month (up to $120/yr) | Lyft rides | Monthly | Airport rides and local client meetings |
| Google Workspace credit | Up to $200/yr | Purchases made directly with Google Workspace | Annual | If you already pay for Google Workspace, route billing to this card |
| ZipRecruiter credit | Up to $400/yr (up to $200 Jan–Jun + up to $200 Jul–Dec) | Purchases made directly with ZipRecruiter | Jul–Dec $200 expires Dec 31 | Only useful if you’re actively hiring; otherwise skip |
| Curated gift card credit | Up to $100/yr (up to $50 Jan–Jun + up to $50 Jul–Dec) | giftcards.com/reservebusiness | Jul–Dec $50 expires Dec 31 | Buy gift cards you’d purchase anyway (from the curated list) |
How to use each Business credit efficiently
$300 Annual Travel Credit
Same idea as the personal card: use it on travel you’re already paying for. If you travel for work, this one is usually easy to use naturally.
The Edit Credit (up to $250 for Jul–Dec)
This works like the personal Reserve’s Edit credit, but note that Chase states the Edit benefits aren’t available to employee cardmembers. Keep the booking on the primary/authorizing officer’s card. The efficient approach is still the same: use it for a trip you’d actually take and keep the nightly rate reasonable.
DoorDash monthly promos
This is one of the easiest ‘use it without thinking’ benefits. If you order meals for the team or use DoorDash for office supplies/groceries, just make sure you use the December promo value before the month ends.
Google Workspace credit ($200 annually)
If your business already pays for Google Workspace, put that billing on this card so the credit offsets real spending.
ZipRecruiter credit (up to $200 for Jul–Dec)
Only use this if you’re actively hiring. If you’re not posting jobs, this isn’t a ‘free money’ credit—it’s just a discount on something you don’t need.
Curated gift card credit (up to $50 for Jul–Dec)
This can be a clean year-end win if the curated gift card list includes brands you already buy (for business gifting or personal holiday gifting).
Chase Sapphire Preferred® — Simple Credits That Still Add Up
| Credit / Benefit | Value | Where it works (U.S.-friendly) | Resets / expires | Best low-waste use |
| $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit | Up to $50 per account anniversary year | Hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel | Account anniversary year | Use it on a hotel you were already going to book |
| DoorDash DashPass + Monthly Promo | DashPass (12 months) + $10/month promo (up to $120/yr) | DoorDash groceries/retail promo (DashPass members) | Monthly promo | Use December’s $10 promo on a normal grocery/retail order |
How to use Preferred perks without extra spending
$50 Annual Hotel Credit
This credit is automatic when you purchase hotel accommodations through Chase Travel, and it’s based on your account anniversary year. If you haven’t used it this year, the easiest move is booking one hotel night you’d already pay for.
DoorDash: $10 monthly promo
If you have DashPass activated, the monthly promo can be an easy $10 off groceries/retail orders. Use it in December so it doesn’t disappear with the calendar flip.
What’s changing in 2026 (confirmed) — Sapphire Reserve & Reserve for Business
The Edit credit becomes more flexible.
Starting January 1, 2026, the $500 Edit credit is no longer locked into Jan–Jun versus Jul–Dec windows. Instead, you get up to $500 total, with a maximum of $250 per transaction, which effectively means two separate eligible bookings can trigger the full amount.
New 2026 hotel credit outside of The Edit.
Also starting January 1, 2026, Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve for Business cardholders can receive up to $250 in statement credits on prepaid Chase Travel hotel bookings for stays with select brands (two-night minimum, and must book by December 31, 2026).
Points Boost is the new normal in the Chase Travel portal.
Chase’s Points Boost system generally sets a 1 cent per point baseline in the portal, with select bookings boosted higher (often 1.5 to 2 cents per point). For cardholders who had the Reserve/Preferred before June 23, 2025, points earned prior to October 26, 2025 can still be redeemed at the old fixed rates until October 26, 2027.
Bottom line (quick summary)
If you do nothing else this month, make sure you don’t lose the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ pieces that end on December 31: the July–December halves of the Reserve dining credit, StubHub credit, The Edit credit, and (for Business) the ZipRecruiter and gift card credits. Then mop up the monthly stuff—DoorDash and Lyft—so December doesn’t vanish unused. For Sapphire Preferred, the play is simple: use the $50 hotel credit once per cardmember year, and use the monthly DoorDash promo when it fits your routine.
FAQs
Do these credits apply based on booking date or travel date?
For portal-based hotel credits like The Edit, the credit is generally tied to when the eligible charge posts (booking/purchase date), not when you actually stay. Always confirm your charge posts before December 31 if you’re trying to use a 2025 credit.
Can I split one trip into two reservations to use two $250 Edit credits in 2026?
Yes, that’s a common strategy: two back-to-back prepaid 2-night bookings can trigger two $250 credits, and many hotels will combine them so you don’t have to switch rooms.
Do I earn points on purchases that get credited back?
Chase’s terms state that purchases that qualify for certain statement credits (like the annual travel credit and The Edit credit) do not earn points on the credited portion. In practice, focus on capturing the credit first—the credit value is usually bigger than the points you’d earn on that amount.
Does the Business card’s Edit benefit apply to employee cards?
Chase notes that The Edit benefits aren’t available to employee cardmembers. Use the primary/authorizing officer’s card for the booking.
Is the Sapphire Preferred $50 credit a calendar-year credit?
No—Chase defines it as an account anniversary year benefit. So your ‘year’ runs from your account open date through your anniversary cycle, not January through December.
