How to Use the Chase Sapphire Reserve Dining and StubHub Credits Before They Expire

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has become a much more coupon-heavy card.

That is not automatically a bad thing. But it does mean the card now rewards people who are organized and quietly punishes people who forget to use the credits before they expire. Two of the most useful new credits are:

• Up to $300 in annual StubHub credits
• Up to $300 in annual dining credits at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurants

But neither credit is given all at once. Each one is split into two semiannual chunks:

• Up to $150 from January 1 through June 30
• Up to $150 from July 1 through December 31

That means the first half expires at the end of June. The second half expires at the end of December.There is no rollover. If you do not use the credit in time, it is gone. This guide walks through how each credit works, how to avoid the common mistakes, and how to squeeze more value out of both.

TL;DR: How These Credits Work

The Chase Sapphire Reserve gives you up to $300 per year in StubHub credits and up to $300 per year in dining credits.

Each benefit is split into two $150 windows

Chase Sapphire Reserve StubHub Credit

The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with up to $300 in annual statement credits for StubHub and viagogo purchases. As mentioned above this is split into two $150 Credits.

To use it, activate the benefit in your Chase account, then use your Chase Sapphire Reserve at checkout on StubHub or viagogo. The activation is just a one time thing, you will to do this if you have never used the StubHub Credit. The most important thing to know: the purchase has to happen before the credit expires. The actual event can take place later.

So if your first-half credit expires on June 30, you can buy tickets on June 25 for a concert, game, or show happening months later. What matters is the purchase date, not the event date.

How to Maximize the StubHub Credit

Most people will simply go to StubHub, buy a ticket, pay with the Sapphire Reserve, and wait for the statement credit.

That works. But you can often do better.

Before buying, check whether StubHub is available through a shopping portal. StubHub regularly appears on cash-back and points portals, and rates can sometimes be elevated.

My favorite way to check this quickly is SaveWise. It is a shopping portal aggregator that shows you which portal is currently offering the best return for a specific merchant.

So instead of manually checking Rakuten, TopCashback, airline shopping portals, and hotel portals one by one, you can search StubHub in SaveWise and compare the rates in one place.

Even better, SaveWise also shows historical portal data. That is useful if you still have time before your credit expires. For example, if StubHub is currently earning 1x somewhere but historically goes up to 5x or 10x during promos, you may decide to wait if your expiration window is not closing soon.

My usual flow is:

1. Decide what event I want to book.
2. Check StubHub pricing.
3. Search StubHub on SaveWise.
4. Pick the best portal rate.
5. Click through the portal.
6. Pay with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
7. Watch for the Chase statement credit and the portal rewards.

This is the cleanest stack: Chase credit plus portal rewards.

A Few StubHub Credit Reminders

Do not wait until the last hour of June 30 or December 31 if you can avoid it. Transactions sometimes post later than expected, and statement credits depend on the eligible purchase being recognized correctly.

Also remember that taxes and fees can push the final price above $150. That is fine. Chase should credit up to $150 for the eligible window, and you pay the rest.

For example, if your StubHub total is $210, you should receive up to $150 back and effectively pay $60 out of pocket, assuming the purchase qualifies and you have not already used that half-year credit.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Dining Credit

The Chase Sapphire Reserve also comes with up to $300 in annual dining statement credits.

Just like the StubHub credit, it is split into two $150 windows:

• $150 from January through June
• $150 from July through December

But this credit is more restrictive.

It only works at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables. Do not confuse this with the broader Visa Dining Collection or Visa Infinite dining reservations. Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables is a specific subset of eligible restaurants.

The basic way to use the credit is simple: find an eligible restaurant, dine there, and pay with your Chase Sapphire Reserve. Chase then issues a statement credit up to the available amount for that half-year period.

This can be a great excuse to try a restaurant you already had on your list, especially if you live near one of the participating cities.

How to Find Eligible Dining Credit Restaurants

Go to the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables section through OpenTable or Chase and confirm that the restaurant is part of the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program.

This part matters. A restaurant being on OpenTable is not enough. A restaurant being part of a Visa dining program is not necessarily enough.

It needs to be eligible under Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables for the dining credit to work.

Before booking, I would double-check three things:

1. The restaurant is listed as part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables.
2. You are using your Chase Sapphire Reserve to pay.
3. You are making the charge before the June 30 or December 31 deadline.

A Possible Dining Credit Stacking Strategy

There is one more advanced strategy some cardholders have been trying: restaurant gift cards. Some restaurants sell gift cards through Toast or directly at the restaurant. In certain cases, buying a gift card for an eligible restaurant has triggered the Sapphire Reserve dining credit.

For example, let’s say Rich Table in San Francisco is on your eligible restaurant list and sells gift cards through Toast.

Here is how the stack could work:

In H1, you buy a $150 gift card for Rich Table using your Chase Sapphire Reserve. If the transaction codes in a way that triggers the credit, you receive the $150 dining statement credit.

Then in H2, your dining credit resets.

You go to Rich Table, have dinner, use the $150 gift card toward the bill, and put the remaining balance on your Chase Sapphire Reserve. That second charge may then trigger your H2 dining credit. In a perfect world, this lets you combine the previous half-year’s gift card with the current half-year’s statement credit for a much larger meal.

But there is a big caveat: this is not guaranteed.

Gift card purchases do not work the same way at every restaurant. Some may trigger the credit. Some may not. Toast gift cards may work for one restaurant and not another. Direct restaurant gift cards may code differently from online gift cards. So treat this as a “try at your own risk” strategy, not as an official benefit feature.

If you are planning to do this, research recent data points online or ask the restaurant how gift card purchases are processed. If the restaurant is nearby, buying a gift card directly in person may be worth testing, especially if you were going to dine there anyway.

My Recommended Strategy

For StubHub, I would not overcomplicate it. Pick an event you genuinely want to attend, check shopping portals through SaveWise, and pay with your Chase Sapphire Reserve before the credit window closes.

For dining, start by looking at the eligible restaurant list early in the half-year. Do not wait until the final week of June or December, because reservations at the better restaurants may be limited.

If you have a restaurant you know you want to visit but cannot go before the deadline, the gift card strategy may be worth researching. Just understand that it is not guaranteed and should not be treated the same as dining at the restaurant.

Bottom Line

The Chase Sapphire Reserve dining and StubHub credits can be easy wins, but only if you remember the timing.

You get:

• Up to $150 in StubHub/viagogo credits from January through June
• Up to $150 in StubHub/viagogo credits from July through December
• Up to $150 in Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables dining credits from January through June
• Up to $150 in Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables dining credits from July through December

The biggest mistake is assuming you have all year to use them. You do not. The first-half credits expire at the end of June, and the second-half credits expire at the end of December.

So set a reminder, check your eligible options early, and use the credits for something you actually enjoy. A good dinner, a concert, a game, or a show is a much better outcome than letting Chase keep the money.