The Chase Sapphire Reserve StubHub Credit, Explained

How the credit works

The Sapphire Reserve gives you up to $300 a year toward tickets on StubHub and viagogo, paid as two separate statement credits: up to $150 for purchases from January 1 to June 30, and up to $150 from July 1 to December 31. Each half closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on its last day, and whatever you have not used by then is gone. Nothing rolls over.

$150January 1 to June 30Unused credit is gone on July 1

$150July 1 to December 31The current half

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecToday

The credit arrived with the card’s June 23, 2025 refresh, the same announcement that raised the annual fee to $795. Chase’s terms say it runs through December 31, 2027. Cardholders who applied before the refresh picked it up on October 26, 2025, when their accounts switched to the new benefits.

Once it is set up, there is nothing to do at checkout: no promo code, no special link. You pay with the Sapphire Reserve on StubHub or viagogo, and Chase applies the statement credit on its own.

Activate it first

This is the one step people miss. The StubHub credit needs a one-time activation, and Chase says purchases made before you activate do not qualify. It takes about a minute:

1. Open the Chase app, or sign in on chase.com. Choose your Sapphire Reserve.
2. Go to the card’s benefits. Find the StubHub and viagogo credit in the list.
3. Activate it. You only do this once; it covers every half-year period until the benefit ends.
4. Then buy the tickets. Pay with the Sapphire Reserve on stubhub.com, viagogo.com or either app.

A few cardholders on FlyerTalk and Doctor of Credit report activating after a purchase but before it posted, and still getting the credit. Do not count on it. Activate now, even if you have nothing to buy yet, so a spur-of-the-moment ticket later still counts.

What counts and what does not

Chase’s terms are narrow about where the money goes: purchases made directly with StubHub and viagogo, on their websites or apps. Everything else is outside the credit.

Gift cards used to be a workaround. StubHub gift cards now post under a separate gift card merchant, and cardholders on FlyerTalk report they stopped triggering the credit in late October 2025.

How much of a ticket it covers

The credit applies to the whole charge on your card, fees and taxes included, up to $150 for the half. There is no minimum purchase, and the $150 is a running total rather than a single use. A few examples of how that plays out:

The best use is an event you were going to buy anyway, priced near $150 once fees are in. Two tickets at $75 each, all in, is the sweet spot for a couple.

Buying for events abroad

StubHub and viagogo are one company now: StubHub runs North America and viagogo runs everywhere else, and when you search for an event outside the US and Canada on StubHub, it sends you to viagogo. Buy on viagogo and the credit applies the same way.

The trap is the old StubHub International business, the sites such as stubhub.co.uk. It is a separate company, sold off in 2021, and Chase’s terms exclude it. If a search for a London show lands you on stubhub.co.uk, switch to viagogo. For Canadian events, buying on stubhub.com has worked for cardholders.

That makes the credit useful on a trip, not only at home. If you are staying at an Edit by Chase hotel in Madrid or Tokyo, a match or a concert on viagogo for the same dates uses a credit that would otherwise go unspent.

When the credit posts

Chase’s terms say the statement credit posts within three business days, and may take up to four weeks. In practice, cardholders and The Points Guy report it usually appears the same day or within 24 hours of the charge posting.

Timing matters most at the edges of the year. The terms warn that merchant delays can push a purchase made in one half into the next, and reports on June 30 and December 31 purchases are mixed. Treat mid-June and mid-December as your real deadlines, not the last day.

Refunds, cancellations and StubHub’s guarantee

Chase may reverse the credit if an eligible purchase is returned, cancelled or changed, and also if you close the account within 90 days of receiving a credit. StubHub’s own policies decide what happens to the tickets:

• FanProtect. StubHub guarantees you get valid tickets in time for the event, comparable replacements, or your money back. It covers purchases on StubHub’s sites and apps, not changes of mind or your travel costs.
• Cancelled events. StubHub offers a wallet credit worth 120 percent of what you paid, valid for a year, or a cash refund to your original payment method within ten business days if you ask for it.
• Postponed or rescheduled events. Your tickets stay valid for the new date, and there is no refund.

Whether Chase claws back the statement credit when you take StubHub’s 120 percent wallet credit rather than cash has not been tested publicly. The terms allow it, so assume a cancellation can cost you the credit.

Getting the most from it

• One event per half. A spring concert and a fall game use both credits with no effort.
• Buy early in the half. The later you leave it, the more likely a slow posting pushes it into the next period, or it simply slips your mind.
• Fold it into a trip. Pair the tickets with an Edit hotel stay and a dinner paid with the Sapphire Reserve dining credit in the same city, and three of the card’s credits land on one weekend.
• Mind the payment method. Apple Pay and PayPal have both worked for cardholders, but a failed PayPal charge is harder to get Chase to fix by hand. Paying with the card directly is the safest route.