Renewal time for my Chase Sapphire card arrived this month and after having accesss to the new benefits for nine of those months, I decided to renew. While I probably only benefited from about half of their perks, an unexpected expense – a new roof – put me over the $75K spending tier that added some additional benefits from Southwest: a $500 credit, a companion pass, and A-list membership. All told, the benefits totaled about $800 more than the card’s cost. I also benefited from a $300 travel credit, a $250 Chase shopping credit (used on an Apple product), $100 for Apple Music, and about $250 on dining credits, and $150 on hotels. There were a few other minor benefits such as $5 discounts with Door Dash and Lyft, and two upgrades to hotel loyalty programs that were of little value.
But along with the renewal fee of $795, Chase added a $195 charge. Wondering if it was a mistake, I called Chase. The customer service agent explained that the extra $195 was the fee for my wife’s authorized use of my card on the account. It’s the exact same account number. They call her an “authorized user (AU).”
Apparently, when Chase updated the Sapphire Reserve card, they added the cost of adding a spouse or family member at $195 per card. They originally charged $75 extra under their older plan, although I found no record of having paid that.
When I pushed back, the representative explained that it is gives her an added benefit: the same access as a “travel member.” The $195 fee, he noted, covers:
- Independent Lounge Access: Her own Priority Pass Select membership and standalone access to Chase Sapphire Lounges with up to two guests—when traveling without me. She is required to apply for her own Priority Pass Membership.
- Travel & Consumer Protections: Primary rental car collision coverage, trip delay insurance, and lost luggage coverage when paying on her own.
- Her Own DoorDash Benefits: Dedicated account perks and credits. Yes, this is a biggie!
If she had her own business then she’d probably want her own credit card account. But, in fact, we mostly travel together. We use airport lounges together just a few times a year. The $195 charge seems like a ripoff because, as a primary cardholder, my $795 fee already includes complimentary lounge access for myself plus two guests. The agent agreed to remove the charge and confirmed I could add my card to her Apple wallet and I could request a “replacement” card for myself at no charge for misplacing it or to replace a damaged card.
I checked some Reddit forums to see if other experienced this and found others with a similar complaint:
“My wife does not go to lounges without me present as she simply doesn’t travel at all for work. I’m considering dropping it for that reason as it’s not well thought out.”
“I still don’t understand why it’s necessary to charge that much for an authorized user. I can rationalize the original $75 for admin purposes, but other than that it doesn’t make sense. It’s not like the rewards are doubled.”
“Going to $795 plus $195 per authorized user brings a single household to nearly $1,000 a year for one card.”
“I’ll drop the AU and give my partner my physical card and I’ll just use the digital card and save $195.”
“Don’t need an AU. Just say the card is damaged and they send you a duplicate.”
“Exactly, they should offer a no cost extra card like Amex Plat does.”
For a credit card issuer that spends billions trying to convince us how valued and exclusive we are, Chase has a strange way of showing appreciation. And note that it’s biggest rival, Amex Platinum, does not charge extra for an authorized user.