Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which premium card is best for you?
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- The
Chase Sapphire Reserve® andThe Platinum Card® from American Express are popular premium cards. - Both offer lucrative rewards and benefits that can be worth much more than their annual fees.
- The Platinum offers a bigger welcome bonus, but the Reserve earns rewards on more types of purchases.
- Read Insider’s guide to the best rewards credit cards.
The
Both the
The cards have a lot in common, but there are also distinct features unique to each of them. Here’s a guide to help you compare
Card comparison: Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Reserve
|
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| Annual fee |
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| Welcome bonus |
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| Rewards rate |
10x points on Lyft rides through March 2022 3x points on travel (after earning the $300 travel credit) and dining 1 point per dollar on everything else |
5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel (starting January 1, 2021, earn 5x points on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year) 5x points on prepaid hotels booked on Amex Travel 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases* |
| Card benefits |
Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit Primary car rental insurance Complimentary elite status with Avis, National, and Silvercar car rental agencies Emergency medical/dental Medical evacuation/transportation insurance Trip interruption/cancellation Trip delay insurance Baggage delay insurance Lost luggage reimbursement Extended warranty Purchase protection |
Gold elite status with Hilton and Marriott** Airport lounge access (Priority Pass**, Centurion lounges, and more) Perks through the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program Secondary car rental insurance Trip interruption/cancellation Trip delay insurance Extended warranty Purchase protection |
| Statement credits |
Up to $300 in statement credits each cardmember year toward travel purchases (through December 31, gas and grocery purchases also qualify) Up to $120 back on an eligible Peloton Digital or All-Access Membership through December 31, 2021 Complimentary year of Lyft Pink membership when you activate by March 31, 2022 Complimentary year of DoorDash DashPass membership (activation required by December 31, 2021) |
Up to $200 in annual airline fee credits** Up to $100 in annual shopping credits at Saks** Up to $200 in annual Uber credits** Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit Up to $300 annually (up to $25 per month) in Equinox credits** $179 per year in credits for CLEAR membership** Up to $200 in credits per year toward prepaid hotel bookings through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection Up to $240 in annual credits (up to $20 per month) toward eligible digital subscriptions*** |
| Foreign transaction fee |
No |
No |
| Review | Amex Platinum card review |
*
***Eligible digital subscriptions include Audible, SiriusXM, The New York Times, and Peacock**
The
One key difference is that the
Also, while both the
Welcome bonuses
With either card, you can earn a ton of extra points when you open a new account and meet the requirements.
- The
Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening - The
The Platinum Card® from American Express has a welcome offer of60,000 points after your spend at least $5,000 in your first 3 months of account opening .
Both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards points are transferable – which is the most valuable type of points – although there are some other ways to use them, too. For example, you can redeem points for statement credits or use them toward travel booked through each card’s travel website – however, Chase will value your points at a higher rate in these scenarios than Amex will. Because of that, even though the Amex bonus is higher, I’d consider them a tie on value.
If we consider the welcome bonuses as equal, there are two other things to consider: First, do you think you’ll spend $6,000 in the next few months? If not, you might want to go for the
Second, do you already have a stock of either rewards currency from another card? Since you can pool points from different cards in the same rewards program, it could be worth opening another card from that issuer so you can build up your balance.
Winner: Tie
Travel and shopping credits
Both cards come with generous travel and shopping credits that go a long way toward offsetting the annual fee. Of course, you’ll still have to pay the fee upfront before making some of it back from the credits.
The
Due to the pandemic, Chase added the ability to use the
The
The
- Up to $200 in annual credit toward prepaid hotels booked through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection
- Up to $179 per year in credit toward CLEAR membership (expedited security screening at select airports and stadiums)
- Up to $240 per year in digital entertainment credits, broken in up to $20 per month chunks (Audible, SiriusXM, The New York Times, and Peacock subscriptions qualify)
- Up to $300 per year in Equinox credits, split into up to $30 per month (also valid for on-demand fitness classes through the Equinox+ app)
Other benefits include up to $200 in airline fee credit each calendar year. Every January, you pick one airline for that credit to apply toward. While the credit doesn’t cover airfare or airline gift cards, it covers incidental fees like checked bags, seat assignments on basic economy tickets, change fees, and more.
Cardholders also get up to $200 in Uber Cash credits each cardmember year, which is broken down into monthly chunks. Each month, cardholders receive $15 in Uber Cash to use on Uber rides or for Uber Eats. In December, that’s boosted to $35.
Read more: The Amex Platinum increased its annual fee to $695 – are the new benefits worth it?
You can get up to $100 in Saks shopping credits each calendar year, broken into two chunks: You’ll get up to $50 during the first six months of the year, and another $50 during the second.
When you subtract all of these credits, you can offset the Platinum card’s entire annual fee and then some. And since the airline fee is each calendar year, you can actually collect it twice if you open your card mid-year and maximize the credit before and after January of that first cardmember year.
Many of the Amex Platinum’s benefits require activation, so be sure to check this list of things to do when you receive your card to avoid missing out on perks.
Winner:
Airport lounge access
Both cards come with a Priority Pass Select membership, which grants access to a network of more than 1,300 airport lounges all around the world. However, if you’re mostly flying within the US, you may be better off with the
That’s because many Priority Pass lounges within the US are in international terminals. Fortunately for domestic flyers, the Platinum Card also comes with access to Amex’s proprietary Centurion Lounges, which can be found at some of the busiest airports in the US – plus Hong Kong – with more locations on the way. In addition, cardholders can enter Delta Sky Club lounges whenever they’re flying with the airline.
Winner: If airport lounge access is important to you, especially when flying within the US, or if you frequently fly Delta, the
Rewards on everyday spending
The
You’ll also earn 10x points on Lyft rides through March 2022, as part of the latest batch of new card benefits.
The
Winner: Unless you spend more money on flights than other travel and dining, the
Other travel benefits
Both cards come with other benefits, too, which are worth considering. While these are generally discussed less often, they’re still valuable features of the cards.
The
- Primary car rental insurance
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance (covering you for up to $10,000 per ticket if a trip is canceled or interrupted due to things like illness, personal sickness, etc.)
- Trip delay insurance (which reimburses up to $500 per covered ticket when your travel is delayed 6+ hours or overnight)
- Baggage delay coverage
- Various purchase and shopping protections
- Baggage loss and damage coverage
- Travel accident insurance
- Up to a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
- A year of complimentary Lyft Pink membership (activate by March 31, 2022)
The
- Gold elite status at Marriott and Hilton hotels
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance (up to $10,000 per ticket if a trip is canceled or interrupted due to things like illness, personal sickness, etc.)
- Trip delay coverage (up to $500 per covered ticket when your travel is delayed 6+ hours or overnight)
- Various purchase and shopping protections
- Concierge service
- Baggage loss and damage coverage
- Up to a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
These perks are all potentially useful, and even though they differ between cards, both offer strong options. The
Read more: 4 credit cards with the most comprehensive travel insurance – from trip cancellation to lost luggage
The
Winner: Tie – it depends on which benefits are the most important to you.
Bottom line
The best option for you depends on the benefits you care about. If you want complimentary hotel elite status, statement credits for things like Uber, Saks, and digital subscriptions, and as many airport lounge access options as possible, the
No matter which card you choose, both the
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