Single-card reviews that ask one question: does this card earn its annual fee? We go through the credits one at a time and count only what a normal person would realistically collect — not the total printed on the marketing page — then say plainly who the card suits and who it does not.
4x at restaurants and US supermarkets, and $424 of monthly credits against a $325 fee — if you actually claim them. The realistic math, and why superstore shoppers should skip it.
2x on everything, free authorized users and the widest transfer list on a $95 card — but nothing comes back in credits, so the fee only pays for itself if you actually transfer the miles.
A $100 hotel credit cancels the $95 fee, the 3x list covers four everyday categories, and the trip protections are the real reason to hold it. Where it wins, and where a flat 2x card beats it.
Still effectively free if you fly alone – but the February 2026 changes added $125 a year per authorized user, which flips the answer for couples who use lounges.
After the 2025 revamp the Reserve costs $795 — but a $300 travel credit that auto-applies cuts it to $495, and more credits can take it further. Here’s the honest math and the catch.
The advertised credits beat the $895 fee on paper, but they are monthly, merchant-specific and opt-in. The claim-rate test, and the 2026 guest rule that changed the answer.
