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AmEx Gold vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred: Gold Wins, If You Can Use Credits
Pick AmEx Gold only if you'll be able to use its credits without overspending.
Claire Tsosie is a managing editor for the Travel Rewards team at NerdWallet. She started her career on the credit cards team as a writer, then worked as an editor on New Markets. Her work has been featured by Forbes, USA Today and The Associated Press.
Kenley Young directs daily credit cards coverage for NerdWallet. Previously, he was a homepage editor and digital content producer for Fox Sports, and before that a front page editor for Yahoo. He has decades of experience in digital and print media, including stints as a copy desk chief, a wire editor and a metro editor for the McClatchy newspaper chain.
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The answer depends on your spending habits. For those who can take advantage of its rich credits, the American Express® Gold Card, which carries an annual fee of $325, generally comes out ahead (see rates and fees).
But if you can’t use those side perks, it's usually a good idea to go with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which has an annual fee of $95.
Here's a look at the cards' main features, side by side:
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted. Terms Apply.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards
American Express® Gold Card
5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com.
4 points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in annual spending.
4 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 per year in purchases.
3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com.
1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Terms apply.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
5 points per dollar spent on travel booked through Chase.
3 points per dollar spent on eligible dining, online grocery purchases and select streaming services.
2 points per dollar spent on all other travel.
1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Other benefits
American Express® Gold Card
$120 dining credit ($10 per month), which can be applied toward purchases made with select partners. Enrollment required. See the list below.
Up to $120 a year in Uber Cash ($10 per month), good toward U.S. Uber Eats orders or Uber rides, when you add your card to your Uber account and pay with an AmEx card.
$100 in annual statement credits (two $50 semiannual credits) after enrolling and using your card on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants on the Resy app or on Resy.com.
$84 in annual statement credits ($7 per month) after enrolling and using your card at Dunkin’ Donuts locations in the U.S. Terms apply.
Hertz Five Star Status, which offers benefits like vehicle upgrades, skipping the counter at select locations and adding an additional driver at no additional cost, among others. Enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration required. Terms apply.
Transfer partners, including Delta, Hawaiian, Hilton, JetBlue, Marriott and more.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
A $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase.
Each account anniversary, card members will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year.
Transfer partners, including United, Southwest, JetBlue, Marriott, Hyatt and more.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
$120 dining credit (split into $10 monthly credits). These monthly credits can be applied toward purchases made with select partners: Buffalo Wild Wing, Wonder, Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory and Five Guys. Terms apply.
Up to $120 a year in Uber Cash. Add your American Express® Gold Card to your Uber account and pay with an AmEx card, and each month you'll automatically get $10 in Uber Cash, good toward U.S. Uber Eats orders or Uber rides. Additionally, through Oct. 30, 2026, the card is also offering an Uber One Membership Credit, for which cardholders will receive a one-time statement credit of up to $96 when they use their card to pay for an annual Uber One membership. Terms apply.
$100 credit (split into two $50 semiannual credits) after enrolling and using your card on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants on the Resy app or on Resy.com. Terms apply.
$84 credit (split into $7 monthly credits) after enrolling and using your card at Dunkin’ Donuts locations in the U.S. Terms apply.
All together, the dining credits, Uber Cash credit and Dunkin' credit add up to more than $400 in annual savings, effectively canceling out this card’s $325 annual fee, and then some. That could make the American Express® Gold Card a more valuable choice than the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for some.
Of course, it’s worth noting that using fringe perks like these isn’t necessarily easy — especially if you don’t normally spend in these categories, which are narrowly defined. If taking advantage of these perks would drive you to spend more than usual, this card isn't the ideal choice for you.
You spend a lot on food in general, not just dining
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the American Express® Gold Card reward spending on dining and travel in some way, though their bonus categories are defined differently.
But the American Express® Gold Card goes a step beyond, offering bonus rewards on spending at U.S. supermarkets up to a yearly cap, which could make it a more valuable choice for some.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
You want to transfer rewards to a domestic airline
Both the American Express® Gold Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card come with several transfer partners, allowing you to move your points earned on your card to various airline and hotel loyalty programs. Generally, you can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio on both cards (although some American Express transfer partners come with different ratios).
But when you’re moving points from the American Express® Gold Card to a U.S. airline transfer partner, you’ll have to pay an excise tax of 0.06 cent per point, up to $99 per transfer. That could make your rewards less valuable.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card doesn’t charge excise taxes for transferring points to any of its partners, and points can always be transferred at a 1:1 ratio. For some travelers, that could make it a stronger choice.
You’re looking for a lower annual fee
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a relatively modest annual fee of $95. You’d have to spend at least $3,800 on the card to make up for that fee in rewards — but for those who spend plenty on travel and dining, that’s an easy bar to clear.
The American Express® Gold Card comes with an annual fee of $325, which may be harder to justify, particularly if you’re not confident you can use the dining and Uber benefits. Those aside, you’d have to spend at least $6,250 annually after the first year on this card to make up for the annual fee. If you can't picture doing that, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card might be a better fit.
You want to redeem points for travel directly
The value of points on both cards varies, depending on how they're redeemed. Chase Ultimate Rewards® points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can potentially get more value when redeemed through Chase's travel portal. Membership Rewards on the American Express® Gold Card can be worth 1 cent each when used to book select travel through American Express, while other travel bookings will only yield 0.6 cents per point.
Nerdy Perspective
AmEx Gold or Sapphire Preferred?
Kenley Young
editor, credit cards
"If you have a family, then groceries and dining out are likely two huge line items in your household budget — maybe the biggest monthly expenses beside shelter. In that case, the American Express® Gold Card offers a nearly unbeatable rewards combination for foodies of all stripes. Yes, there's a hefty annual fee, but it's easy to offset thanks to its rich rewards and valuable credits. If, on the other hand, you're the only mouth you need to feed, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the better — and cheaper — option. (If you're not much of a traveler, skip both of these and opt for a cash-back credit card instead.)"
"If you have a family, then groceries and dining out are likely two huge line items in your household budget — maybe the biggest monthly expenses beside shelter. In that case, the American Express® Gold Card offers a nearly unbeatable rewards combination for foodies of all stripes. Yes, there's a hefty annual fee, but it's easy to offset thanks to its rich rewards and valuable credits. If, on the other hand, you're the only mouth you need to feed, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the better — and cheaper — option. (If you're not much of a traveler, skip both of these and opt for a cash-back credit card instead.)"
Kenley Young
editor, credit cards
Caitlin Mims
contant management specialist, credit cards and travel rewards
"A good portion of my monthly budget goes towards food, so the rewards on the Gold card are compelling. But the card's benefits just aren’t worth its $325 annual fee to me. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee of $95 will get you solid rewards, primary rental car insurance and a $50 hotel credit."
"A good portion of my monthly budget goes towards food, so the rewards on the Gold card are compelling. But the card's benefits just aren’t worth its $325 annual fee to me. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee of $95 will get you solid rewards, primary rental car insurance and a $50 hotel credit."
Caitlin Mims
contant management specialist, credit cards and travel rewards
Kenley Young
editor, credit cards
"If you have a family, then groceries and dining out are likely two huge line items in your household budget — maybe the biggest monthly expenses beside shelter. In that case, the American Express® Gold Card offers a nearly unbeatable rewards combination for foodies of all stripes. Yes, there's a hefty annual fee, but it's easy to offset thanks to its rich rewards and valuable credits. If, on the other hand, you're the only mouth you need to feed, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the better — and cheaper — option. (If you're not much of a traveler, skip both of these and opt for a cash-back credit card instead.)"
"If you have a family, then groceries and dining out are likely two huge line items in your household budget — maybe the biggest monthly expenses beside shelter. In that case, the American Express® Gold Card offers a nearly unbeatable rewards combination for foodies of all stripes. Yes, there's a hefty annual fee, but it's easy to offset thanks to its rich rewards and valuable credits. If, on the other hand, you're the only mouth you need to feed, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the better — and cheaper — option. (If you're not much of a traveler, skip both of these and opt for a cash-back credit card instead.)"
Kenley Young
editor, credit cards
Caitlin Mims
contant management specialist, credit cards and travel rewards
"A good portion of my monthly budget goes towards food, so the rewards on the Gold card are compelling. But the card's benefits just aren’t worth its $325 annual fee to me. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee of $95 will get you solid rewards, primary rental car insurance and a $50 hotel credit."
"A good portion of my monthly budget goes towards food, so the rewards on the Gold card are compelling. But the card's benefits just aren’t worth its $325 annual fee to me. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee of $95 will get you solid rewards, primary rental car insurance and a $50 hotel credit."
Caitlin Mims
contant management specialist, credit cards and travel rewards
Kenley Young
editor, credit cards
"If you have a family, then groceries and dining out are likely two huge line items in your household budget — maybe the biggest monthly expenses beside shelter. In that case, the American Express® Gold Card offers a nearly unbeatable rewards combination for foodies of all stripes. Yes, there's a hefty annual fee, but it's easy to offset thanks to its rich rewards and valuable credits. If, on the other hand, you're the only mouth you need to feed, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the better — and cheaper — option. (If you're not much of a traveler, skip both of these and opt for a cash-back credit card instead.)"
"If you have a family, then groceries and dining out are likely two huge line items in your household budget — maybe the biggest monthly expenses beside shelter. In that case, the American Express® Gold Card offers a nearly unbeatable rewards combination for foodies of all stripes. Yes, there's a hefty annual fee, but it's easy to offset thanks to its rich rewards and valuable credits. If, on the other hand, you're the only mouth you need to feed, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the better — and cheaper — option. (If you're not much of a traveler, skip both of these and opt for a cash-back credit card instead.)"
Kenley Young
editor, credit cards
Caitlin Mims
contant management specialist, credit cards and travel rewards
"A good portion of my monthly budget goes towards food, so the rewards on the Gold card are compelling. But the card's benefits just aren’t worth its $325 annual fee to me. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee of $95 will get you solid rewards, primary rental car insurance and a $50 hotel credit."
"A good portion of my monthly budget goes towards food, so the rewards on the Gold card are compelling. But the card's benefits just aren’t worth its $325 annual fee to me. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee of $95 will get you solid rewards, primary rental car insurance and a $50 hotel credit."
Caitlin Mims
contant management specialist, credit cards and travel rewards
Which card is right for you?
If you're all about dining and travel, deciding between the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the American Express® Gold Card generally boils down to one question: Can you take full advantage of the credits on the American Express® Gold Card without spending more than usual? If your answer is "yes," the American Express® Gold Card is your card. If not, go with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
Whether you want to pay less interest or earn more rewards, the right card's out there. Just answer a few questions and we'll narrow the search for you.
