Chase Sapphire Reserve's 150,000-Point All-Time High Offer: The Business Class Redemptions That Justify the $550 Annual Fee in Year One

The Chase Sapphire Reserve just dropped its first-ever 150,000 Ultimate Rewards welcome bonus: 150,000 points after $6,000 spend in three months. That’s not marketing fluff—it’s the highest public offer the card has ever seen, and it lands at the exact wrong (or right) moment.

Aeroplan’s partner award chart devalues on June 1, jacking up business class redemptions to Europe and Asia by 5,000–15,000+ points on many routes. British Airways starts piling on higher cash surcharges for Avios awards from May 27. The window to transfer these fresh points and lock in current rates is narrower than the spend deadline itself.

Don’t sit on this. The $550 annual fee (frequently cited in legacy references, though current pricing sits higher) gets crushed in year one if you actually use the points for lie-flat seats instead of portal value.

Current Transfer Math and Stacking Bonuses

Chase transfers to all major partners at a clean 1:1 ratio. Several are running transfer bonuses or promo awards that multiply your 150k haul.

Flying Blue often stacks 20–30% transfer bonuses. Its monthly promos routinely discount business class to Europe at 50,000–60,000 points one-way from the U.S. east coast. Add a bonus and your effective cost drops further.

Virgin Atlantic remains the ANA killer. One-way business class from the U.S. west coast to Tokyo runs 52,500 Virgin points; east coast closer to 60,000. Availability still exists if you check regularly. A 150k balance gets you two one-ways with points left for positioning or a return in premium economy.

Aeroplan before June 1 is the most urgent play. Current pricing for partner business class (Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian) from U.S. east coast to Europe in the 0–4,000-mile band sits at 90,000 points one-way for many routes—think New York or Boston to Frankfurt or Munich on a Lufthansa A340 or 747 with those glorious old first-class pods now sold as business. After June 1 it climbs to 100,000–120,000 depending on exact distance band. Your 150k gets you a round-trip plus a domestic positioning leg before the increase hits.[[1]](https://www.aircanada.com/content/dam/aircanada/loyalty-content/documents/flight-rewards-chart-june2026-en.pdf)[[2]](https://travel-on-points.com/air-canada-aeroplan-devaluation/)

Realistic CPP on a Fresh 150k Balance

Let’s talk actual cents per point instead of theoretical spreadsheet porn.

Book Lufthansa business IAD-FRA round-trip via Aeroplan today at ~180,000 points total (pre-deval). Cash price in May 2026 often runs $4,000–$6,000 depending on dates. That’s 2.2–3.3 cents per point. One round-trip eats most of the bonus and pays for the annual fee with change left for a nice bottle of Champagne in the lounge.

Go bigger: two one-way ANA business trips to Japan via Virgin (roughly 110,000–120,000 points total) on routes that cash for $8,000–$12,000. You’re looking at 6–8+ cents per point if you value the experience. That’s the kind of redemption that makes the $550 (or current $795) fee look like a rounding error.[[3]](https://awardwallet.com/airlines/virgin-atlantic-flying-club/ana-award-chart/)

Even conservative Flying Blue redemptions to Paris or Amsterdam in business during promo months deliver 2.5–4 cents per point with minimal effort. The point is: these aren’t unicorn awards. They’re bookable today if you’re not waiting for the perfect Saturday night in June.

The clock is genuinely tight. Transfer bonuses can disappear overnight, Aeroplan prices update in days, and BA surcharges only go one direction. A 150k entry into the UR ecosystem has never been this strong, and the redemption environment has rarely been this motivated to move.

Action item: If you’re under 5/24 and haven’t had a Sapphire Reserve bonus in the last 48 months, open the application tab right now. Hit the $6,000 spend on regular business expenses you were going to put somewhere else anyway. Then immediately start scouting Aeroplan for pre-June 1 Lufthansa awards or call Virgin for ANA space. The points post fast on this offer—use them before the programs finish adjusting the math against you.