Chase Sapphire Reserve: Mid-Year Credit Checklist 2026
NCnextcard team
Advertiser Disclosure: nextcard may receive compensation from card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain. For the most up-to-date terms & conditions, refer to the official credit card application on the issuer's website.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders get access to an up to $300 annual StubHub credit through 12/31/2027. While a one-time activation is required, there are a lot of useful things you can do with this credit.
Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders get up to $300/year in StubHub statement credits, split into two $150 credits (January–June and July–December).
A one-time activation is required through the Chase app or chase.com before making any purchases. Credits won't apply to purchases made before activation.
The credit works on StubHub.com, the StubHub app, Viagogo.com, and the Viagogo app, with no minimum purchase required
It's a great fit if you regularly attend concerts, sporting events, or comedy shows; less useful if you rarely go to live events.
First of all if you haven't heard of StubHub, it is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell tickets similar to sites like Ticketmaster or SeatGeek. And with the revamped Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you will receive up to $300 annually in statement credits for Stubhub purchases (and for its sister site Viagogo).
The $300 credit is split up into two $150 statement credits:
One is from January through June and
the other goes from July through December.
There are a few important terms to know before you use this credit. Statement credits should post to your account within 3 business days but may take up to 4 weeks. The credit applies to the full charge, including ticket prices and fees, but it won't exceed $150 per period and there is no minimum purchase required. Any unused credit from one period does not roll over to the next, so use it before each period ends.
Qualifying purchases must be made directly through StubHub.com or the StubHub mobile app using your enrolled Chase Sapphire Reserve card. The credit also applies to purchases made on Viagogo and the Viagogo app.
Prerequisite: You need an active Chase Sapphire Reserve card to access this benefit. And you must activate the benefit beforehand.
Follow these steps to activate:
Log in to your Chase account at chase.com or open the Chase Mobile app on your phone.
Go to "Chase Offers"; you can find this under your card's account page or in the benefits section of the app.
Find the StubHub offer in the list of available Chase Offers. You can scroll through or search for it by name.
Click "Activate" next to the StubHub offer. That's it!
After you activate, you'll see a confirmation that the offer is live on your account. Statement credits are applied automatically to qualifying StubHub and Viagogo purchases (no promo code needed). Statement credits should post to your account within 3 business days (can take up to 4 weeks).
Important: Activation is only required once, but it must be completed before you make any StubHub purchases. Purchases made prior to activation will not receive the statement credit.
As someone who enjoys going to a concert at least once a year and sporting events three to four times a year, the StubHub credit is intriguing. I’ll confess that I’ve never used StubHub for buying tickets but I’m sure it works similar to another platform I have used in the past in SeatGeek.
As a Massachusetts native, I love going to Celtics games. And the season is starting up now. The Celtics first game of the season is at TD Garden in Boston and you can grab tickets on StubHub! Opening night tickets are known to be relatively expensive but you can save a ton with the StubHub credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
Let’s say you and a friend wanted to go to the game. With the StubHub credit you would get $150 off.
If you’re a concertgoer there’s lots of options on StubHub as well. You could get tickets to a concert for a popular artist like Ed Sheeran. Next month, there’s an Ed Sheeran concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA which is a 40 minute drive from Boston.
You could get a ticket for yourself for $151. Let’s say you are going with a bunch of friends and you have to pay your own way. This is great for your StubHub credit. The concert would essentially be free if you used your Chase Sapphire Reserve® on this ticket since the StubHub credit is $150 every six months. A fantastic deal!
After doing some research on StubHub, I can tell you that it’s quite a mixed bag. On Trustpilot StubHub has a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars with 25,003 reviews. A majority of these reviews are either five stars or one star.
It’s interesting though because Ticketmaster has a 3.9 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. Speaking from personal experience with Ticketmaster, I’ve never had bad experiences. So I can only imagine that StubHub would be the same, especially with an even better rating.
Honestly, I think the StubHub credit is excellent. If I’m being nitpicky, there are a few things I would change.
I would prefer if the StubHub credit was for up to $300 for a full year instead of up to $150 in credits every half of the year. A lot of times I find concerts and sporting events to be quite expensive especially if you are paying for two tickets.
If I'm going with my girlfriend, it'd be nice to have the credit cover both of us. Concerts for famous artists like Kendrick Lamar or Bruce Springsteen can cost upwards of $150-$200 which would make a $300 full year StubHub credit more valuable for me.
The other thing is I wish that the credit also applied to platforms like Ticketmaster and SeatGeek. These platforms would benefit from the exposure to this credit and of course the consumer would have more options.
All things considered if you like concerts, sporting events or other popular events, the StubHub credit is an excellent feature on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
The up to $300 Digital Entertainment credit is very different from the $300 StubHub credit but there are some similarities. You can think of both of these benefits as “entertainment” credits. However, the Reserve's $300 Stubhub credit is great for folks that love going to public events like sporting events or concerts whereas the Digital Entertainment credit is for those people as well as homebodies.
Feature | CSR StubHub Credit | American Express Platinum Card® Digital Entertainment Credit |
|---|---|---|
Annual Value | Up to $300 | Up to $300 |
Credit Structure | Up to $150 semi-annually (Jan–Jun, Jul–Dec) | Up to $25/month |
Activation Required | Yes, one-time via Chase app or chase.com | Yes, enrollment required |
Where You Can Use It | StubHub.com, StubHub app, Viagogo.com, Viagogo app | Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Peacock, NYT, WSJ, YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, and more |
Best For | Concerts, sports, live events | Streaming, news subscriptions, at-home entertainment |
Minimum Purchase | None | None |
Credit Expiration | Unused credit doesn't roll over between periods | Unused credit doesn't roll over month to month |
Benefit End Date | Through 12/31/2027 | Ongoing |
The Digital Entertainment credit with the American Express Platinum Card® allows you to get $25 off on one of these providers (or up to $25 when you combine them):
Disney+
The Disney Bundle
ESPN+
Hulu
Peacock
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
YouTube TV
YouTube Premium
This adds up to be up to $300 a year. The Digital Entertainment credit is beneficial for most folks since a majority of people watch TV or shows. I’d say that it's harder to justify the StubHub credit since some people don’t go to shows, concerts or sporting events regularly. But maybe it would make these kinds of events more affordable.
Every house or apartment I have been to has some kind of TV plan and with the option of YouTube TV, the Digital Entertainment credit can be useful for most people (even if it means switching providers). The Digital Entertainment credit won't include a service like a traditional cable provider but I'd argue YouTube TV would get you more bang for your buck. Even before applying the Digital Entertainment credit.
Anyways, I'll say that if I had both cards I would be putting both of these benefits to you. Unfortunately, I only have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® as I'm hesitant about getting another super premium card with the American Express Platinum Card® having a $895 annual fee. The StubHub credit is super useful to me as I love going to Celtics games as well as going to see a wide variety of artists at concerts.
For me, the $300 StubHub credit 100% helps justify the $795 annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. I already attend concerts & sporting events that total over $300 a year so I’d be saving $300. It’s true that for some folks this credit has minimal or no value. You may not be a big fan of events and would prefer to stay at home or go on trips. In that case, the credit is essentially useless.
However, the credit has so many possibilities. Great for sporting events, concerts or even comedy shows.
Let's say you use the $300 travel credit and $300 in dining credits at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurants, plus the $300 StubHub credit... you are getting $900 in value for a $795 card. A spectacular possibility if you get the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
The StubHub credit is a meaningful benefit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® if you’re up for some entertainment. Whether it be sports, comedy shows or concerts, the StubHub credit can save you hundreds of dollars. If you use the StubHub credit along with the plethora of other benefits on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the events that you are attending can feel much more affordable.
No. Any unused credit from one period does not roll over to the next. The credit resets every six months (January–June and July–December), so make sure to use each $150 before the period ends.
No. Activation is only required once. Once you activate through the Chase app or chase.com, the credit applies automatically to qualifying purchases going forward. No need to re-enroll.
Yes. The credit applies to the full charge on StubHub.com or the StubHub app, including ticket prices and fees. Just note it won't exceed $150 per semiannual period.
No. The credit only applies to purchases made on StubHub.com, the StubHub app, Viagogo.com, and the Viagogo app. Ticketmaster and SeatGeek purchases do not qualify.
Purchases made before activation will not receive the statement credit. You must activate the offer through Chase first, and only purchases made after activation will qualify.
It depends on the cost. If a single event costs $150 or more, you could get solid value from just one use per period. That said, if you rarely attend live events, the credit may be harder to use consistently, and other Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits may deliver more value for you.
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Advertiser Disclosure: nextcard may receive compensation from card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain. For the most up-to-date terms & conditions, refer to the official credit card application on the issuer's website.
