The Best Alternatives to Chase Sapphire Reserve

Has the $795 annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® got you down? Perhaps you're trying to reevaluate your travel rewards strategy or you've heard there are other options. Whether you're a Chase Ultimate Rewards® loyalist or you're ready to try other programs, there are plenty of travel cards with similar benefits.

Here are the best alternatives to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

» Learn more: Chase Sapphire Reserve review: A first-class premium travel card

Cards to consider instead of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®

These four options are worth a closer look if you're ready to swap your card for something else or considering getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for the first time.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

This card has a $395 annual fee, which is lower than that of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and it offers similar perks.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has a $300 annual travel credit (for bookings made through Capital One Travel), an anniversary bonus of 10,000 miles (worth at least $100 towards travel), no foreign transaction fees, access to more than a dozen transfer partners and Hertz rental car elite status. In addition, cardholders will receive access to Priority Pass lounges, as well as Capital One lounges.

The current sign-up bonus is: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

One of the main drawbacks of this card is the bonus rewards categories can be less lucrative than the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. While the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers 4x points on direct bookings with airlines and hotels, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card requires you to book through the Capital One Travel portal to get the huge bonus earnings on travel (10x on hotels and rental cars, 5x on flights and vacation rentals). If you book directly with an airline or hotel, for example, you'll only get 2x miles, which is the same as all other purchases.

However, if lounge access is your goal, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card gets you into all the same Priority Pass lounges — and it's much easier to offset the card’s annual fee. It's relatively easy to use the $300 travel credit and get 10,000 bonus miles automatically. The Chase Sapphire Reserve®, meanwhile, requires close tracking and enrollments to use all the card’s various offerings.

» Learn more: Is the Capital One Venture X worth its annual fee?

The Platinum Card® from American Express

The Platinum Card® from American Express is probably the closest competitor to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. It’s the card that began the “coupon book” trend for credit cards with oodles of statement credits.

Cardholders of The Platinum Card® from American Express get access to money-saving programs like AmEx Offers and Fine Hotels & Resorts. FHR bookings include elite-type benefits like free breakfast, space-available room upgrades, resort credits and complimentary nights. Terms apply. Chase also offers a similar program, called The Edit, although it's not as established as FHR.

The Platinum Card® from American Express offers up to $200 a year in Uber Cash when you use your card to pay for U.S. rides or U.S. Uber Eats orders. That might be more practical than the DoorDash credits that come with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Enrollment required. Terms apply.

The fact that the Uber Cash is issued in monthly installments may not be appealing to everyone, but it works out well for frequent Uber or Uber Eats users. For what it’s worth, the DoorDash credits on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® are not only doled out monthly, but split into three separate orders: one for a restaurant order and two for grocery or retail orders. Depending on how you spend, the Uber Cash might actually be more versatile.

The automatic Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold elite status upgrades with the Platinum card are also an advantage, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers Platinum Elite status with IHG One Rewards. Enrollment required. Terms apply. Of course, having elite status is only meaningful if it’s with a chain where you’ll actually stay, so the usefulness of the elite status benefits are a bit of a toss-up.

» Learn more: Is the Platinum Card from American Express worth its annual fee?

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Some people may opt for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® over the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card because of lounge access and higher earning rates on travel spending. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® also offers a $300 travel credit, which can help bring down the cost of the annual fee.

However, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a worthy alternative to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, because it has a much more reasonable $95 annual fee and still earns generous rewards: 5x points on travel purchased through Chase's travel portal, 3x points on dining and online grocery purchases and 2x points on all other travel expenses. Plus, you don't have to deal with trying to figure out how to use all the credits. There’s just one credit for $50 toward hotel stays booked through Chase's travel portal to remember each card anniversary.

Although you would lose lounge access and Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS card application fee credits, you’ll also save on the card’s annual fee. You might also prefer the Sapphire Preferred’s bonus categories, which include a couple of non-travel categories.

Most importantly, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® will preserve access to Chase Ultimate Rewards® and all the transfer partners available. And like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can pool all your Ultimate Rewards® with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to make them instantly transferable, which makes it a powerful card to have.

» Learn more: Who benefits the most (and the least) from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card lacks a lot of what makes the Chase Sapphire Reserve® unique — and that could be a good thing. Instead, you’ll get a card that’s built for frequent travelers at a much more palatable $95 annual fee.

You’re not going to get lounge access, elite status or a ton of statement credits. Instead, you’ll earn solid rewards on travel: 5x points on hotels, 4x points with airlines and 3x points on restaurants and other travel. This directly competes with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®’s reward rates for booking travel directly and for dining. Plus, you’ll earn 3x points on most “other” travel purchases, where the Chase Sapphire Reserve® only earns 1x.

The card comes with a $50 annual statement credit with a $50 airline purchase, which can easily lower your out-of-pocket cost to $45 a year. There are several travel and purchase protections, and you’ll get concierge and hotel privileges through Visa Signature®.

Wells Fargo points are transferable to a handful of travel partners, which, for now, aren't nearly as robust as Chase Ultimate Rewards®. But if you want a straightforward and affordable travel card with strong rewards, this one’s a surprisingly strong contender for your travel spending.

» Learn more: Wells Fargo Rewards: How to earn and use them