The Chase Sapphire Reserve® vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express

BY 

Christine Krzyszton

- UPDATED: March 26, 2019

1. Credit Cards  / 
2. Strategies & Guides

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Most frequent travelers appreciate the value of a premium travel rewards credit card. Having the ability to relax in the airport lounge, receive an upgraded hotel room, and earn travel rewards make the value of having such a card quite clear.

Two of the best premium travel rewards credit cards available are the Platinum Card® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Both cards are loaded with travel benefits and earn flexible points that, when redeemed for travel, deliver good value.

If you dig a little deeper, you’ll likely find that one of these cards is a better fit for your travel preferences and spending patterns. Both cards are equally impressive premium travel rewards cards, so how do you decide?

Let’s take a look at both cards comparing benefits and earning power. These comparisons will help paint a clearer picture of which card may be a better fit for you.

Welcome Bonuses

While welcome bonuses change periodically, they are a large factor when selecting which card to apply for.

Here’s a snapshot of current bonuses for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Platinum Card®.

Credit Card

Card Overview

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year 3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants. Access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select Annual Fee: $450

Credit Card

Card Overview

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. Up to $200 Uber Savings Annually. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Annual Fee: $550 For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.

While welcome bonuses are only one element in the cards’ offerings, looking at the long-term value, in addition to the welcome bonus, allows you to pick a card that’s going to work best for you beyond the first year.

Lounge Access

One of the benefits of a premium travel rewards credit card is complimentary airport lounge access to lounges worldwide.

Without this benefit, it’s not unheard of to see rates of $50 per person for a day pass or $700 for an annual membership. Given that paid access to these lounges can be expensive, the value of complimentary lounge access can be quite substantial.

Here’s a comparison of lounge access between the two cards:

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Lounge networks include:

• The Centurion® Lounges
• Priority Pass™ Lounges
• The International American Express Lounges
• Delta Sky Club Lounges
• Plaza Premium Lounges
• Escape Lounges
• Airspace Lounges

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Priority Pass™ Lounges

Both cards provide complimentary access for the cardholder to all of the card’s associated lounges. Additionally, both cards also allow 2 additional guests, at no charge, to most lounges.

While the Sapphire Reserve® only offers access to Priority Pass lounges, the lounge network offers over 1200 locations worldwide. However, one drawback is that Priority Pass can limit access for guests, and even for cardholders, at certain peak times.

When it comes to complimentary lounge access, the Platinum Card® not only offers access to more than 1,200 lounges worldwide with Priority Pass, but to 6 additional lounge networks including the prestigious Centurion Lounges.

Bottom Line: With access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide across several lounge networks, including the exclusive Centurion Lounges, the Platinum Card® provides greater lounge access benefits than the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. 

Hotel and Rental Car Program Elite Benefits

Hotel Program Elite Status

If you frequently stay at hotels, you know the value of an upgraded hotel room, late check out, complimentary breakfast, and many of the other perks that come with hotel program elite status. Having this benefit come complimentary with your credit card is significant if you stay often at the participating hotels.

The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Hilton Honors Gold status
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status

In addition to elite status with Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy, the Platinum Card® also offers special benefits with American Express® Fine Hotels and Resorts that include:

• Room upgrades
• Daily breakfast for 2 guests
• Late check-out/early check-in
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• A unique property amenity (such as a spa, or food and beverage credit) worth a minimum of $100

Additional hotel benefits are available when booking a least a 2-night stay at The Hotel Collection:

• $100 room credit to spend on dining, spa, and resort activities
• Upgraded room when available

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Chase partners with the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection to offer these benefits when booking directly through the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection at one of the over 900 properties worldwide.

• Breakfast for 2
• Late check-out/early check-in
• Upgraded room when available
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Property amenity

Sapphire Reserve® cardholders receive similar benefits at Relais & Chateaux properties as well.

Rental Car Program Benefits

The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Emerald Club Executive Elite status with National Car Rental
• Benefits and discounts with Avis and Hertz

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Emerald Club Executive Elite® status with National Car Rental
• Benefits and discounts with Avis®
• Benefits and discounts with Silvercar by Audi

Bottom Line: The Platinum Card® comes out ahead by offering complimentary elite status with hotel partners. Cardholders receive Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. Rental car program benefits and elite status are similar on both credit cards. 

Earning Power

The Platinum Card® clearly excels in providing airport lounge access and hotel program elite status. However, Platinum Card® is challenged in earning power by the Chase Sapphire Reserve® given you can earn more points in more ways with the Sapphire Reserve®.

The first difference that stands out is that you can only earn big on the Platinum Card® if you purchase flights directly through an airline or if you purchase flights and prepaid hotels through Amex Travel. With the Sapphire Reserve®, you’re going to earn 3 points per dollar spent on all travel regardless of how you purchase.

Here’s a sample spending scenario:

• $5,000 in flights purchased from an airline
• $3,000 in non-prepaid hotels purchased directly through a hotel’s website
• $2,000 in dining
• $2,000 in other travel expenses

Based on this spending mix, you will have earned 32,000 Membership Rewards points with the Platinum Card® and 36,000 Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. This calculation is based on the assumption that flights were qualifying purchases earning 5 points per dollar with the Platinum Card®.

If all hotel purchases were qualifying bookings (prepaid hotel purchases made through Amex Travel), you would earn 44,000 Membership Rewards points versus 36,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

One downside to note when booking hotels through Amex Travel, the hotel program elite status benefits do not apply.

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, however, you’ll have the flexibility to make travel purchases from any provider. Plus, the broad definition of travel puts more of your purchases into the 3X bonus earning category. For example, purchases such as train tickets, car rentals, parking, tolls, ferries, and much more are included in the travel definition for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Additionally, Ultimate Rewards Points points can be earned on no-annual-fee credit cards such as the Chase Freedom®, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and the Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card. Those points can then be transferred to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for greater travel redemption value.

Bottom Line: While both cards have good earning potential, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has the edge as more categories earn 3 points per dollar spent. Only prepaid hotels and flights purchased from Amex Travel and flights purchased from the airline receive elevated 5X earnings on the Platinum Card®. 

Redeeming Points

Fortunately, both cards offer good value when redeeming for travel, transferring points to travel partners, and offering additional redemption choices.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve’s redemption rate of 1.5 cents per point results in a great value when redeeming for inexpensive flights via the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal, and also when transferring to select airline partners for premium flights.

With 18 airline transfer partners, there are more options for premium-cabin award redemptions with the Platinum Card® versus the 9 airline transfer partners with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

When we look at hotel redemptions, transferring Ultimate Rewards Points earned on the Sapphire Reserve® to hotel partner Hyatt shines as a sweet spot. Free nights at Hyatt start at 5000 World of Hyatt points and with a 1:1 transfer ratio, you would need just 5000 Ultimate Rewards Points for a free Hyatt hotel night.

Bottom Line: With the wide variety of airline transfer partners, Membership Rewards points edge out Ultimate Rewards point for premium flight award redemptions. However, Ultimate Rewards can result in good value for inexpensive fares via Chase’s Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal.

Annual Fees and Adding Additional Users

Note: Please see the tables above for the current fees and pricing information for these cards.

While the Platinum Card’s annual fee is higher, you can add more authorized users for a flat fee. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® has an annual fee of $450, and authorized users can be added for $75 each.

Regardless of which card you select, if you can utilize the offered benefits, you’ll receive value far beyond the cost of either annual fee.

Bottom Line: Unless you want to add authorized users to your card, it’s a draw when it comes to annual fees. This is because the Platinum Card® offers lounge access, hotel elite status, and  global Wi-Fi to additional users.  If these benefits will be utilized, the average cost per user becomes less than $182 per cardholder per year ($725 total for primary cardholder + 3 users). 

Statement and Shopping Credits

One of the card benefits that can directly offset the cost of a credit card’s annual fee is credits you receive after making specific purchases.

Platinum Card® from American Express

• $200 statement credit for airline incidental fees
• $200 Uber Cash credits per year
• $100 Saks Fifth Avenue statement credit per year
• $100 room amenity credit at Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection 
• Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck reimbursement

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• $300 statement credit for travel purchases each calendar year
• Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck reimbursement

If you spend money on checked baggage and other airline incidental fees, use Uber, or shop at Saks, you’ll find value with the Platinum Card®.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve’s $300 travel credit, however, is much easier to utilize because airline tickets, hotels, taxis, and more are considered travel purchases.

Bottom Line: When we compare statement/shopping credits, the Platinum Card® offers more total value. However, you must use all of the benefits to maximize the value. The $300 credit on travel purchases offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve® may be much easier to utilize given Chase’s definition of travel is quite broad. 

Travel Protection and Insurance

It’s nice to experience luxury travel benefits, but occasionally, things do go wrong. When they do, you may turn to your premium travel rewards credit card for coverage and assistance.

Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is known for its comprehensive travel benefits including primary rental car coverage. The Platinum Card® just doesn’t measure up to the Sapphire Reserve® level of offerings when it comes to travel protection and insurance. 

Shopping Protections

When comparing shopping protections and benefits, both cards offer similar coverage:

• Purchase Protection – Qualifying items are covered on both cards for damage up to 120 days from purchase date. Up to $10,000, maximum $50,000/year.
• Extended Warranty – Both cards offer an additional year of manufacturer’s warranty protection. The Platinum Card® offers an additional year on warranties 5 years or less, whereas the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers an additional year on warranties 3 years or less.
• Return Protection – Coverage provided on both cards for up to 90 days from purchase date. Coverage is $300 per item on the Platinum Card® and coverage is $500 per item on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Bottom Line: One does not select a premium travel rewards credit card based solely on shopping related protections. It is good to know, however, that both cards offer similar shopping coverage. 

Complimentary Wi-Fi

The Platinum Card® offers complimentary unlimited-worldwide Wi-Fi through the Boingo American Express Preferred Plan. With access for up to 4 devices, no roaming fees, and more than a million hot spots worldwide, the plan offers significant value.

The Sapphire Reserve® does not offer a complimentary Wi-Fi plan benefit.

Additional Benefits Offered by Both Cards

You will find the following benefits offered on both the Platinum Card® and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®:

• No foreign transaction fees – Neither card charges a foreign transaction fee
• VIP access to events – Chase Sapphire’s “Reserve Experiences” and the Platinum Card’s “By Invitation Only” benefits offer unique experiences available exclusively to cardholders
• Member Concierge Services – Each card has its own concierge service to assist with travel planning, booking event/dining reservations, and arranging VIP access to special events

Final Thoughts

Both cards are designed for the frequent traveler but which card is best for you depends on which benefits you deem most important.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® focuses more on overall earnings, significant redemption values, and travel related protections/insurance.

The Platinum Card® from American Express has strengths that center on luxury travel benefits with elevated earnings narrowed to specific travel purchases. The card is not strong on overall trip benefits/protections.

Both cards offer the flexible option of transferring points to travel partners for the potential of even greater value for your points. There is no clear winner or loser here as both cards offer tremendous value for the right frequent traveler. The card that fits your spending patterns, benefit preferences, and has protections/insurances you can use will be the best choice.

Featured Image: Courtesy of Delta Air Lines