How I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve to never pay for food at an airport

As of July 1, 2024 the Priority Pass dining perk is no longer available as a benefit of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.  Please see the issuer site for current product information.

Even though I travel about twice a month, it’s been years since I’ve paid for an airport meal. That’s because I own the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, which comes with a Priority Pass Select membership (enrollment required) that offers access to more than 1,500 airport lounges around the world, with up to two guests. 

And, unlike most other credit cards with a Priority Pass membership, the Sapphire Reserve’s benefit includes a dining credit of around $30 per person which can be used at dozens of airport restaurants in the U.S. and internationally. 

My biggest pet peeve when traveling is buying airport food. The choice is often between greasy fast food or mediocre and overpriced grab-and-go sandwiches and salads. And that’s before you’re asked to tip a cashier 25% after removing it from the refrigerator yourself. With the Sapphire Reserve’s Priority Pass dining credit, I can eat better meals at the airport and get money taken off my bill (at participating restaurants). Here’s how.

How Priority Pass complimentary meals work

Ownership of a Chase Sapphire Reserve card allows you to enroll in a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership. These lounges can range in quality from very basic to quite fancy. However, even the most modest lounges will offer you complimentary snacks and drinks, and the nicest ones will offer generous buffets. For example, the Turkish Airlines lounges in both Washington Dulles (IAD) and Miami International (MIA) airports feature exceptional selections of Middle Eastern food.

Aside from lounges, there are nearly 40 airport restaurants in the United States and more overseas, where you can use your Priority Pass membership (upon enrollment) from your Sapphire Reserve to receive a $28 dining credit each for yourself and a guest ($56 total) toward your bill. Make sure to show your Priority Pass card to your host or server before your meal, to ensure that you receive your $28 credit (or $56 credit if you’re with a guest) in a timely manner. 

Be aware the credit only covers food, beverages and taxes, but not gratuities, which you are expected to pay based on the pre-discounted total. Also, it’s important to know you have to choose one or the other if you’re in a terminal that offers both the restaurant credit and has a Priority Pass lounge. You aren’t technically allowed to eat at the restaurant and then kill time in a lounge before your flight.

Additionally, note that the Priority Pass membership you may have from other cards upon enrollment, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply) and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card * The information for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , only works at airport lounges and does not have the restaurant credit the Sapphire Reserve offers. 

The restaurants offering the credit available range from exceptional to barely acceptable. For example, I’ve been continuously impressed by the food and service at the Mercantile restaurant, conveniently located near the trains on Concourse A in Denver International (DEN), my home airport. Yet I wouldn’t recommend trekking out to the SweetWater Mountain Taphouse, which is a far walk to the end of Denver’s Concourse B.

Other top-notch Priority Pass restaurants include Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Terminal 8 at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), The American Tap Room in Terminal 2 of Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Stephanie’s in both Terminal B and E at Boston’s Logan International Airport (BOS). 

And there are dozens of Priority Pass restaurants overseas in places like London and Sydney. Before you travel, be sure to search for available lounges and restaurants through the Priority Pass app on your phone to see your options.

Beyond complimentary meals

The Priority Pass membership benefit that you receive from owning the Chase Sapphire Reserve also works at a few other airport businesses besides lounges and restaurants. You can also use it at Minute Suites, which are private rooms that you can reserve for an hour to work, relax or take a nap. There are also Be Relax Spas that offer services like back massages, hand massages, foot massages and nail polish changes at over 16 airports in the U.S. And finally, there are Gameway video arcades where Priority Pass members can use their lounge visit entitlement towards a game station for a one hour stay.

Wondering what other perks might come with travel cards you don’t know about? Our list of the best travel credit cards can fill you in.

Bottom line

Traveling is hungry work, but you don’t have to overpay for mediocre meals. Yes, the Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee, but it also offers an up to $300 automatic annual travel credit. Considering that credit, the net cost is $250, and I easily receive double that value through the lounge and restaurant access offered by the card’s Priority Pass benefit upon enrollment.