Sapphire $300 Travel Credit - need to use but don't have travel plans

[tooqk4u22]

Family had planned to be away next month and would have used the credit no problem, but some issues came upon that changed the plans.  Now we have no travel set and I want to use this years credit before my next annual fee comes up. 

Any confirmed ways to use this with a preference that provides most flexibility.  Worst case is I will get an airline or hotel gift card but I hate to be locked in to one brand.

[honeybbq]

My card basically credited me any time I went outside my zip code. I had to drive to work one day and I parked and used my CC for the parking fee. Noticed that Chase credited towards the $15. It's not like a flat $300, it comes in piece by piece. So if you went out to dinner a bit far away, that would also be a credit. They are fairly liberal in what they call 'travel'. Will you go out of your city at all in the next year?

[Catbert]

My card basically credited me any time I went outside my zip code. I had to drive to work one day and I parked and used my CC for the parking fee. Noticed that Chase credited towards the $15. It's not like a flat $300, it comes in piece by piece. So if you went out to dinner a bit far away, that would also be a credit. They are fairly liberal in what they call 'travel'. Will you go out of your city at all in the next year?

Dinner outside your zip code (or continent) won't work.  If your annual fee is approaching then get the gift cards.

[Brother Esau]

We purchased a Marriott gift card to use up the rest of our $300 travel credit. Will use the card eventually on a trip. 

[GoHokies]

Chase is very generous with what the consider "travel".  Here's an article from thepointsguy that describes what counts as travel:

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/which-purchases-count-as-travel-chase-sapphire-reserve-preferred/

Typically I do not have a problem at all getting the $300 as stuff like Uber and even the monthly parking fee I use for work counts.  If the annual fee is quickly approaching though, you should go down the gift card route (I have not confirmed this works, so might want to do some research before committing to that).

[Catbert]

Deep dive is you have a lot of time on your hands

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase-ultimate-rewards/1395555-chase-sapphire-what-counts-travel-consolidated.html

[letired]

My monthly parking for work always triggered the travel credit, so 3 months of parking did the trick.

[secondcor521]

I buy Delta gift cards.  They never expire and they work for the Chase $300 credit.

Yes, this locks me in to Delta for those funds, but I have enough upcoming travel over the next several years and I like Delta and they have good routes from my local airport, so this works for me.

[Padonak]

I buy Delta gift cards.  They never expire and they work for the Chase $300 credit.

Yes, this locks me in to Delta for those funds, but I have enough upcoming travel over the next several years and I like Delta and they have good routes from my local airport, so this works for me.

I have a bunch Delta gift cards, $50 each but haven't redeemed them yet. How easy are they to redeem? I read somewhere that it's difficult to do online for some reason. For example, if I buy a ticket for Delta miles, can I used my gift cards online to pay for taxes and surcharges? If so, can I stack them?

[secondcor521]

I buy Delta gift cards.  They never expire and they work for the Chase $300 credit.

Yes, this locks me in to Delta for those funds, but I have enough upcoming travel over the next several years and I like Delta and they have good routes from my local airport, so this works for me.

I have a bunch Delta gift cards, $50 each but haven't redeemed them yet. How easy are they to redeem? I read somewhere that it's difficult to do online for some reason. For example, if I buy a ticket for Delta miles, can I used my gift cards online to pay for taxes and surcharges? If so, can I stack them?

They're easy once you figure out which option to pick - Delta is a little confusing as they have several different gift certificate-type things - but you just put in the code and it subtracts $50 or whatever from your balance due.

I think you can use them to pay for taxes and surcharges on a mileage ticket, but not sure.  I recently used three of mine to pay for a ticket and paid the rest out of pocket, so I know you can use up to three of them on one ticket, but I don't think you can use more than three at a time.

[catccc]

What happens if there is a travel category refund? 

You could book a disney vacation through and authorized disney travel planner, pay $300 towards the trip, and there's no penalty for cancellation 30 days before the trip.  This is a verified travel expense if you read the reddit.  And verified by me personally, I used the timing flexibility (pay any amount any time) to cash in on the end of year double dip on the travel credit before cancelling DH's CSR.  Plan on using it again this year in December to double dip on my CSR before cancelling.  Except that I actually went on the vacation, didn't cancel it and get a refund.  So IDK what happens to your credit in the event of a refund.

[katsiki]

I am pretty sure folks have booked a refundable fare with Southwest Airlines and then later cancelled it.

[LateToTheParty]

This happened to me too. I bought an AirBnB gift card which we will use on a trip coming up this winter.

[tooqk4u22]

Purchased a gift card direct from Kimpton site...apparently they use a third party processor for their gift cards so it doesn't qualify...wtf.  Not a big deal because we had planned to stay there anyway but didn't have a specific date otherwise I would have just booked it. But still.  May need to buy an American airlines gift card even though I won't have use for it for some time.   Just need to get the credit.

ugh

[catccc]

This post says you can keep your credit if you get a refund on the credit triggering expense:
https://millionmilesecrets.com/guides/what-happens-to-your-travel-credit-if-you-cancel-your-booking/

So just buy any refundable airline ticket, wait for the travel credit to post, then get a refund.  If this timing looks too suspect for you, do what I suggested earlier, book a refundable Disney package vacation, pay $300 on it, wait a few months, then cancel the trip, getting a full refund.

[Duke03]

Book a refundable airfare and after the credit post cancel the flight.  This is the easiest way to turn the travel credit into a $300 statement credit for you.  Other wise just buy travel gift cards ie: airline or hotel ect.  Parking fees will also code a travel fyi.

[okisok]

My Chase Venture card counts Uber & Lyft rides as travel for reimbursement purposes.