New Sapphire Reserve BENEFIT + 3 NEW Amex Lounges

In this video, we are going to talk about a new benefit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve business cards. And then we just had an announcement this morning from American Express of three new Centurion lounges opening all at U.S. airports, which is very exciting indeed. We're going to tell you where they are, so there may be one coming to an airport near you. Hey, Credit Warriors, welcome to the show. My name is Ben Hedges, aka The Credit Shifu, and on this channel, I cover U.S. credit cards, personal finance, and luxury travel. If you like the sound of that, please subscribe. But let's get into it. Oh, and this video is brought to you by David, but more on that later. So Chase has brought in a new benefit on its premium travel credit cards, the Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve business. And this would be a way that you can unlock Hyatt Explorer status. This is Hyatt's second highest status, and it is the first tier in their status ladder system that gets you actual room upgrades, not just preferred rooms within the same room type like I think Discover Us gives you, but no, this would be an actual legitimate room upgrade. For completeness, I'll just read you out all of the most useful benefits. 20% bonus points on eligible stays, an upgrade to the best available room, excluding suites and rooms with lounge access, 2 p.m. late checkout when available, premium Wi-Fi, daily bottled water, a 72-hour availability guarantee. So as you can see, Hyatt is not the most generous with its status, to be honest. I mean, you have to be their higher status globalist before you get free breakfast, which is kind of weird. Hilton gives you free breakfast for their mid-tier gold status, but whatever. So anyway, these two cards from Chase are now going to offer Explorer status to card members. With a catch though, there is a spending requirement. Let's look at the personal card first. On the personal Sapphire Reserve card, you'll have to spend $75,000 in a calendar year to unlock Explorer status. After it is unlocked, you will be Explorers for the rest of that calendar year and the whole of the next year. So this is pretty cool if you're a big spender on the card, but if you are not, then yeah, it's kind of disappointing. And at a $795 annual fee, I'd almost expect this to be a perk of the card with no spending requirement or a low requirement like, you know, $10,000 or so. But crazy thing is, on the business card, the spending requirement is even higher. So on the Sapphire Reserve business, the spending requirement to unlock Explorer status is actually $120,000. I actually think that it's more likely that people with the business version will be getting this since businesses often have more spending, but it's still a sky-high requirement in my opinion. But the cool thing is with both of these cards that when you hit that spend threshold, okay, whether it's $75,000 or $120,000, you don't just get Hired Explorers. There are a load of other things that all unlock together. So on the personal card, when you spend $75,000 in a calendar year, you get IHG Diamond status, a $250 credit for the Shops at Chase, and a $500 Southwest credit as well as Southwest A-List status. And although they haven't updated the landing page yet, you'll be getting Hired Explorer status as well added to that list. And then on the business version, when you hit $120,000 in annual spending, it's a $500 credit for the Shops at Chase. And then the other things are the same. Plus now you get Hired Explorer status too. So if you do have high spending, there is quite a lot of value to be had with both of these cards when you hit those thresholds. All right, let's move on to these new Amex Centurion lounges. But first, I am an active guy. In the winter, I spend a lot of time skiing. And in the summer, I like to go wakeboarding. Okay, that's not me. That's one of my friends, the guy who owns the boat. But here's me wiping out at 30 miles an hour. That was a two-day concussion. I'm still learning wakeboarding. But whether you're a pro at something like I am with skiing, or just learning like with wakeboarding, this stuff requires a lot of energy. And I like to have some quick protein handy to support my active lifestyle. Now, I struggle to find good quality and tasty protein bars. That is until I found David. It's named after Michelangelo's David, the epitome of perfection. And the idea of perfection fits well because these bars actually taste good. They come in two varieties, gold bars, which feature 28 grams of protein, 150 calories, and zero grams of sugar. These are the most performance-focused option. And then you have the bronze bars, which have 20 grams of protein, 150 calories, and zero grams of sugar. And these really maximize rich taste. Since I mostly do extreme sports rather than gym workouts, I'm not really emphasizing building muscle mass. So I love the balance between great taste and performance that the bronze bars offer. The marshmallow-y texture coated in rich chocolate is totally delicious. If you're pumping iron, though, you might like the gold bars. And to be honest, I'm getting into the gold bars more and more, especially the blueberry pie flavor. Right now, David is offering my viewers a special deal where if you get four, you get your fifth free when you use my link down below or the QR code, which is on screen now. If you don't want to wait, you can also get them at Target, Walmart, Kroger, Publix, and other stores. Okay, so we have a press release from American Express, and it's dated April 1st, which is today. So I hope it's not an April Fool's joke. It's not crazy news, though, right? New Centurion lounges. I mean, not like this thing, okay? Which, you know, that was kind of crazy. Using a representative of a certain ethnic group as your logo is becoming a sensitive issue, and certain brands have decided to ditch those logos altogether. And American Express is the latest company to come to this realization. Happy April Fool's Day. So I think it's just a coincidence that it came out on April 1st. And we do have some pictures of these new lounges to show you, but let's start reading through the press release first. With 32 locations and growing, American Express expands its industry-leading Centurion lounge network with plans for new spaces in Boston and Charlotte airports. Wow, 32 locations. It doesn't feel like there are that many. I think there's like 13 in the U.S. or something. I don't know. I can't remember. But maybe they actually upgraded some things that used to not be full Centurion lounges into full lounges. I don't know. Anyway, let's keep going. American Express today announced plans to expand its premium airport Centurion lounge network, currently offering access to 32 locations with new and enhanced spaces for card members, including the Centurion lounge at Boston Logan International Airport expected to open in 2029. The second ever sidecar by the Centurion lounge at Charlotte Douglas International Airport expected to open in 2027. And then expanded Centurion lounge at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport expected to open also in 2027. Here is a photo mock-up of the entrance to the Boston lounge. Is that lady modeling the lounge? Like, you know how they have cute girls standing next to cars at car shows? We have a smart business lady kind of doing the same thing with this lounge. Amex says this about the Boston lounge. The two story lounge will be among the largest in the Centurion network and will feature an outdoor terrace offering travelers open airspace to rest and recharge. This lounge will be at Terminal C at BOS and you can walk between terminals at Boston Logan too. I went there at Christmas to change planes, so I know about it. I walked between terminals to try to go to the Chase Sapphire lounge but the line was insane. So even if you were in a different terminal you could potentially consider going to this lounge and hopefully this will alleviate the crowding at the Sapphire lounge too. But you have to wait until 2029. So this is the latest of the three that we're going to talk about in this video. Let's now look at two that are opening sooner. So we have another sidecar lounge coming to Charlotte Douglas and here is a rendering of what the entrance will look like. So this is a new concept where they have an additional lounge specifically for short visits called sidecar. So like you have a sidecar on a motorcycle with an additional passenger but it's only there because it's attached to the main bike, right? It wouldn't exist without the motorbike. Well this is the same concept. These sidecar lounges only exist at airports that have Centurion lounges already and they are for the overflow of additional passengers who only want to make a short visit. I think on average it's probably going to be like a 30 minute visit or so although you can spend a bit longer but it's not as long as the Centurion lounge. There is one already open actually at Las Vegas. We did a video about it a few weeks ago but let's now hear about this new one at Charlotte Douglas. It's designed with solo and small groups of travelers who have limited time before their flight but still want a premium refined experience. Guests can order elevated small plates, signature cocktails and wine via a QR code and menu items are quickly delivered to their seats. The Charlotte sidecar location is expected to open in concourse A in 2027. Now I've never been to Charlotte airport but judging by the map concourse A seems to be connected to the rest of the airport so it should be accessible wherever your flight leaves from probably with some walking time. Leave a comment if you've been to Charlotte or maybe it's a local airport let us know what the situation is about transferring between concourses or between terminals. Can you do it? All right now let's take a look at the last of the three. So here is a rendering of the bar area of what Amex is describing as a larger updated Centurion Lounge at Dallas Fort Worth. Here is what they say about it. American Express is expanding and renovating its Centurion Lounge at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, one of the earliest locations in the Centurion Lounge network. The expansion will make the lounge nearly 50% larger than its current footprint adding more seating, a new dining area and a second full service bar. The refreshed space will also introduce a walk-up ice cream window offering travelers a quick sweet treat before boarding. The reimagined space blends modern sophistication with the spirit of the west featuring rich textures and warm desert tones. And the location for that one will stay the same since they're just renovating and expanding it so it's getting built onto the current lounge so it's still going to be at terminal D near gate 12. They don't say in the press release whether the Dallas Lounge will close while the renovation work goes ahead so I'm guessing that it won't. I guess they're just building additional areas onto it so they don't have to have to go into the current lounge and do anything. At least that's what I think from the information I have. The Dallas Fort Worth Lounge is open right now as usual and the expanded areas of the lounge are expected to open in 2027. So a lot to look forward to guys and we'll give you updates on all of these lounges as we get more information on them. And that's the video for today. Don't forget to check out the sponsor of this video, David, in the comments below or by scanning the QR code which is on screen now. My viewers get five for four and my first purchase. Please subscribe to the channel if you're new. I'll see you next time, bye.