AmEx Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: It’s Neck and Neck
These premium travel cards come with premium price tags to match. Take a look at each card’s laundry list of credits to see which one is most worth its hefty annual fee.
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In the rarefied air of premium travel cards, two lead the pack when it comes to offering a chance for big rewards and a ton of travel benefits — for huge price tags. They are The Platinum Card® from American Express, with an annual fee of $695 (terms apply), and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® with an annual fee of $795.
These are cards for people willing to pay a lot because they expect a lot. Both cards offer generous rewards for travel, healthy welcome offers and a slew of benefits. But they have differences, both big and small.
In a head-to-head matchup, the better card will be the one that you, personally, can extract the most value from.
on Chase's website
on American Express' website
Earn 100,000 bonus points + $500 Chase Travel℠ promo credit after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 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.
8 points per dollar spent on travel bookings purchased through Chase, including flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, activities and tours.
4 points per dollar spent on bookings made directly with an airline or hotel.
3 points per dollar spent at restaurants, including eligible food delivery.
1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Through Sept. 30, 2027: 5 points per $1 spent on Lyft.
5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express (on up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked through American Express.
2 points per dollar on other travel booked through AmEx.
1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Terms apply (see rates and fees ).
AmEx Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Deciding factors
Both of these products have fully embraced the “coupon book” trend, in which cards offer tons of credits in exchange for high annual fees. A decision between the two will largely hinge on which card’s credits are the best match for your spending and lifestyle.
Here’s more on that, plus some other factors to consider.
Statement credits
These are key benefits. When credits are used, they essentially help to cover part of the annual fee.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
$300 annually, automatically applied to travel spending.
Up to $120 every four years for application to Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS.
Up to $500 in credit for The Edit, Chase’s high-end hotel portal. This comes in the form of two $250 credits a year, one good in January-June and one in July-December.
Up to $300 in credit at restaurants in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program. This, too, comes as two separate credits — $150 in each half of the year.
Up to $300 in statement credit for StubHub, in the form of two $150 credits a year.
Up to $250 toward Apple TV+ and Apple Music subscriptions.
Up to $120 in credit toward Peloton membership, available at $10 a month.
Two $10 credits every month on non-restaurant DoorDash orders, and a $5 monthly credit for restaurant orders.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
$200 annually for airline incidentals, like bag fees.*
$200 annually for prepaid hotel bookings through American Express at more than 1,700 hotels. (Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection properties.)
$199 annually for CLEAR+® membership.
Fee credit for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Up to $200 a year in credit for U.S. Uber Eats orders and rides, issued as $15 monthly installments (and $35 in December).
Add your Platinum Card to your Uber account, and you'll automatically get $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a $20 bonus, for a total of up to $200 per year
$300 a year for Equinox gym memberships.
$100 a year at Saks Fifth Avenue. You’ll get a $50 credit for January through June and another $50 for July through December.
$12.95 each month for Walmart+.
$240 a year for digital entertainment. Get up to $20 per month toward eligible subscriptions for Peacock, Disney+, The Disney Bundle+, ESPN+, Hulu, the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Terms apply. Enrollment is required.
If you’re deciding between the two cards, you’ll have to figure out which credits have the most value and utility for your lifestyle.
Annual fee
The Chase Sapphire Reserve®s annual fee is exactly $100 more than the AmEx Platinum’s.
If you’re already comfortable spending over $600 on a premium travel credit card, maybe an extra $100 per year isn’t a big deal. But if you’re comparing value, you’ll have to wring out more dollars from the Sapphire Reserve.
Welcome offer
Bonuses can change, so examine the current offers and the required spending. You’ll get big upfront value from both.
Travel bonus reward rates
Both cards incentivize you to book travel through their issuer’s portals with big rewards rates. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® has the edge here. Reserve cardholders get 8 points per $1 on travel booked through Chase. The AmEx Platinum only earns 5 Membership Rewards per $1 on flights and hotel stays booked through American Express, and flights booked directly with airlines. The Platinum also has a cap on this rate, albeit a big one of $500,000 per year. Terms apply.
Redemption value
In this comparison of rewards rates, points aren’t created equal with these cards.
Through Chase’s Points Boost redemption program, 1 point with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is worth 2 cents each when redeemed through Chase for travel — a reasonable redemption option to expect for people who use a premium travel card. (Non-Points Boost redemptions earn just 1 cent per point.)
In addition, Chase has a program called Pay Yourself Back, in which points are also worth 50% more when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories or the annual membership fee.
Generally, points earned with The Platinum Card® from American Express are worth 1 cent each. Notably, if you redeem your points for most hotel stays through AmEx Travel, they'll only be worth 0.7 cent a piece.
Airport lounge access
The Platinum Card® from American Express gives access to American Express' own well-regarded Centurion Lounges, as well as Delta Sky Clubs and Airspace Lounges. You also get complimentary membership in Priority Pass Select when you enroll, which grants access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide. Terms apply.
The offering is somewhat sparse by comparison for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. It offers Priority Pass Select membership and access to Chase Sapphire-branded lounges — but at the moment, only a handful of the latter are open yet (though more are on the way). The American Express card wins here, especially for Delta Air Lines flyers, when it comes to seeking refuge from the usual commotion at the boarding gates.
Hotel status
If you’re getting a luxury card because you expect preferred treatment at hotels, The Platinum Card® from American Express is the better choice. It offers complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold Status and Gold Elite status with Marriott, which can grant you things like bonus points on each stay, plus other perks like complimentary Wi-Fi. Terms apply and enrollment is required.
By contrast, the Sapphire Reserve offers complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status, but only through Dec. 31, 2027. You can bump up to Diamond Elite status — but you'll need to spend $75,000 on the Sapphire Reserve per year.
Transfer partners
Tough call here because it depends on which transfer partners you prefer, based on what airlines and hotel companies you use. Compare these lists to see which partners appeal more to you.
Card ecosystem
If you’re considering one of these cards, you might be willing and savvy enough to use multiple credit cards to optimize rewards within the American Express Membership Rewards program or the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program. They’re both good programs, so this might hinge on cards you already have. For example, Chase has a suite of cards that work well together.
Meanwhile, the American Express® Gold Card's high rewards on restaurants and U.S. supermarkets dovetails nicely with The Platinum Card® from American Express.
Restaurant rewards
Outside of travel, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® wins easily for its triple points on spending on dining, including eligible food delivery, a useful bonus category even when you’re not jetting off somewhere.
The Platinum Card® from American Express has no bonus rewards for restaurants.
AmEx Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Minor features to consider
Both cards offer a slew of travel and purchasing protections.
For example, while both have car rental perks, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers primary rental car insurance, meaning you might not have to use your personal auto insurance.
On the other hand, The Platinum Card® from American Express offers complimentary cell phone protection when you use the card to pay your monthly cell phone bill. Coverage for a stolen or damaged eligible cellular wireless telephone is subject to the terms, conditions, exclusions and limits of liability of this benefit. The maximum liability is $800, per claim, per eligible card account. Each claim is subject to a $50 deductible. Coverage is limited to two (2) claims per eligible card account per 12-month period.
Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.
Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers no cell phone protection.
Credit required
Neither card is appropriate for someone with poor credit. But they differ in the credit score ranges that will be accepted.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Your credit should be firmly in the excellent range (above 720) before you apply for this card. If you've opened five credit cards in the past 24 months, Chase may reject your application.
The Platinum Card® from American Express: This card is available to a wider range of applicants. Credit needs only to be good, not excellent, to have a reasonable chance of approval.
Overseas acceptance
American Express cards are widely accepted, but less so abroad. The Visa network, which the Chase Sapphire Reserve® runs on, has near-universal acceptance where you can use payment cards.
A split decision
There’s hardly any overlap in the key benefits of each card such as the statement credits and transfer partners. That’s why it’s nearly impossible to declare a winner between The Platinum Card® from American Express and Chase Sapphire Reserve®. If your goal is luxury travel and perks, either can be a solid addition to your wallet — as long as you don’t mind putting in the work to extract full value out of the card, or paying a triple-digit annual fee.
*More from American Express
American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details
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