The winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Up to $900
In welcome offer value
- Not just for travel: Get DoorDash perks,10x points on Lyft and 3x on dining
- Signup bonus worth $900 with Chase Ultimate Rewards
- $300 annual travel credit
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Chase Sapphire Reserve® vs The Platinum Card® from American Express
Amex offers raw value power, while Chase offers excellent flexibility.
The Platinum Card® from American Express offers a top rewards rate of 5x points, but only on eligible flights and hotels, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers a lower rate — 3x points on dining and travel after earning your annual travel credit — but on a wider variety of travel purchases. Your 5x points on flights with the Amex Platinum will be capped on up to $500,000 annually, reverting to 1x points after that. However, this is a lofty spending cap that shouldn’t limit your earnings too much.
Both cards require a high annual fee – $550 for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and $695 for the Amex Platinum Card. However, this high cost is offset by each card’s perks and statement credits: Amex Platinum Card offers up to $200 in annual airline fee credits on top of countless other credit opportunities. Meanwhile, Chase’s card offers a $300 annual travel credit. Here’s a closer look at how these cards compare.
The winner: Amex Platinum Card
This showdown of the titans previously came down to a tie. With Amex’s most recent refresh to the Amex Platinum Card, however, Chase simply can’t keep up with the number of perks, features and overall value you can find on Amex’s offering. Even with the Amex Platinum Card‘s annual fee increase, the value of the credits and perks far outweigh what you’ll need to pay each year to use the card. The Chase card is, of course, still excellent, but true luxury travel fans will undeniably find more value in the Amex Platinum Card.
If you’re not in the market for a top-tier luxury card though, keep comparing travel cards until you come across the one that you fall in love with. With so many unique credit cards out there, you should be able to find the perfect piece of plastic with the help of our head-to-head comparisons.
Who should get the Chase Sapphire Reserve®?
Consumers who value flexible earning capabilities more than pure earning power will find a lot to love with the Sapphire Reserve. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is also the final piece of the puzzle for the Chase trifecta earning strategy.
Who should get The Platinum Card® from American Express?
If you value utmost earning power and doing a little extra work to gain those points, the Amex Platinum Card is the card for you. This is also the card of choice if you love an unmatched smorgasbord of highly valuable perks and don’t mind paying a higher annual fee for those perks. Just bear in mind you’ll need to also put in a bit more work to make sure you’re using these perks year after year.
Best for rewards: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® takes a win over the Amex thanks to some temporary earning bonuses. In addition to standard earning bonuses, Chase cardholders currently earn 10x points on Lyft purchases through March 2022, 3x points on Instacart and gas station purchases, and 10x points on streaming services until September 30, 2020. While some of these bonuses end soon, Chase is likely to cycle them out for similar bonuses for the duration of the pandemic.
While Amex has also introduced measures to help cardholders maintain card value through the pandemic, you won’t find these measures in the Platinum’s rewards categories as of this writing.
Best for features and perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Both The Platinum Card® from American Express and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are chock-full of features and benefits perfect for travelers. These include various statement credits, access to airline lounges, travel protections and more. However, Amex’s recent refresh has given it the clear edge here. You’ll find up to $1,400 in statement credits alone with the Platinum Card, something you simply won’t find with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Combine this with a few unique features available on The Platinum Card® from American Express, such as gold elite status in Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors, as well as access to the premier Centurion Lounge and Amex rests comfortably ahead.
Best for welcome offer: The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Platinum Card® from American Express sports one of the leading general travel card welcome offers on the market as of this writing. While some cobranded cards might offer a higher number of points, Amex Membership Rewards points are valuable on their own and can be stretched even further if you transfer them to a partner airline.Compare Chase Sapphire Reserve® vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express
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