Amex Green Card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve Card [Detailed Comparison]

Key Takeaways

• The American Express^® Green Card earns 3x points on dining, travel, and transit.
• The Chase Sapphire Reserve^® earns 8x points on travel booked with Chase Travel, 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly, 3x points on dining, and has premium travel perks, including a $300 annual travel credit and Priority Pass membership.
• The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers more benefits, protections, and earning potential than the Amex Green card, although it comes with a higher annual fee.

Both the Amex Green Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card are fantastic travel rewards cards. That said, each card is quite different in the value they offer to cardholders when it comes to their bonus categories, benefits, protections, and fees.

In this guide, we will provide a detailed comparison of everything that both cards have to offer to help you decide which is the better fit for you.

*The information regarding the American Express^® Green Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Overview

Before we do a deeper dive into how these cards stack up against each other, here’s a quick overview of the rewards, perks, protections, and fees of both cards.

While both cards offer compelling rewards and benefits, you’ll notice that the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers significantly more perks. But that is to be expected given its annual fee is much higher than the Amex Green card‘s.

Deciding which card is the better option for you will come down to what type of perks and protections you prefer, how much value you think you can receive from each benefit, and how much you are willing to pay for those perks and benefits.

Welcome Offer Comparison

Immediately after card approval with either the Amex Green card or Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you have the opportunity to earn a welcome bonus offer. You get this by meeting minimum spending requirements within a specified time period and can be a great way to jump-start your earnings.

Here are the most current welcome offers and more information on our featured cards.

Amex Green Card

American Express^® Green Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This card can provide a great way to accumulate Membership Rewards points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.

All information about American Express^® Green Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.

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American Express^® Green Card

This card can provide a great way to accumulate Membership Rewards points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.

Welcome Offer

Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your American Express^® Green Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.

40,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $880

Annual Fee

$150

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The American Express^® Green Card is an excellent all-around travel rewards card thanks to earning 3x Membership Rewards^® points on eligible travel and transit purchases and at restaurants, access to American Express transfer partners, and a reasonable annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3x points per $1 spent at restaurants worldwide, on all eligible travel purchases, and transit purchases
• Up to $209 per calendar year in statement credits after you pay for a CLEAR^® Plus membership with the Card.
• Access to American Express transfer partners

Cons

• $150 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your American Express^® Green Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points on travel, including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, and vacation rentals.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® Points on transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points on eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the US.
• $209 CLEAR Plus Credit: Receive up to $209 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express^® Green Card.
• Payment Flexibility: When it comes to paying your bill, you have options. You can always pay in full. You also have the flexibility to carry a balance with interest or use Plan It^® to split up large purchases into monthly payments with a fixed fee, up to your Pay Over Time Limit. You may be able to keep spending beyond your limit – you’ll just need to pay for any new purchases in full when your bill is due.
• Trip Delay Insurance: If a round-trip is paid for entirely with your Eligible Card and a covered reason delays your trip more than 12 hours, Trip Delay Insurance can help reimburse certain additional expenses purchased on the same Eligible Card, up to $300 per trip, maximum 2 claims per eligible account per 12 consecutive month period. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees: No matter where you’re traveling, when you use your American Express^® Green Card there are no foreign transaction fees.
• $150 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

Bottom Line: Our valuations of Amex Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points are quite close, at 2.2 cents per point and 2 cents per point, respectively. This means the more lucrative bonus usually comes down to which card has a larger welcome offer.

Earning Potential

One of the main goals of any rewards card is to earn as many points as possible on the purchases you make most frequently.

Here’s how you earn rewards on the Amex Green card and Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

The Amex Green card is no slouch when it comes to earning points, offering 3x points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.

That said, the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 8x points on travel that is booked via Chase Travel and 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly with the airline or hotel. The card also earns 3x points on dining worldwide. The Amex Green card, however, has a much lower annual fee.

Hot Tip:

Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders who spend $75,000 or more in a calendar year earn IHG One Rewards Diamond elite Status, Southwest Airlines A-List status, a $500 Southwest Airlines credit (when booked through Chase Travel), and a $250 credit to the Shops at Chase.

Redemption Options

One of the best benefits of both the Amex Green Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is that they earn flexible rewards points that can be redeemed in a variety of ways.

Amex Green Card

Cardholders of the Amex Green card can use their earned Membership Rewards points to book through the AmexTravel.com portal, transfer them to Amex’s transfer partners, or redeem them for cash-back via a statement credit, gift cards, or shopping with select merchants like Apple and Amazon.

That said, each redemption can offer significantly different value, which is why our favorite redemptions use Amex’s airline and hotel transfer partners. Redeeming your points this way lets you book luxury travel experiences for a fraction of the retail price.

Some of our favorite Amex transfer partners include Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic.

For instance, you could transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program to book a business class ticket from the East Coast to Paris or Amsterdam for as low as 53,000 miles, or even less if you combine it with a Flying Blue Promo Award. Given that these tickets regularly cost around $2,500, this gives you over 4.7 cents per point in value for your Amex Membership Rewards.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you have many of the same redemption options with your Ultimate Rewards points, including Chase’s transfer partners, cash-back, Pay Yourself Back, gift cards, and shopping partners.

One big added perk of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is that you receive up to a 100% bonus when redeeming your points through the Chase Travel portal. Points Boost allows you to redeem your points toward certain travel purchases for up to 2 cents per point.

Both Membership Rewards points and Ultimate Rewards points have a typical base value of 1 cent per point when redeeming through their respective travel portal. While you can often receive greater potential value by strategically using Chase’s transfer partners, the up-to-100% bonus gives your points a baseline value of up to 2 cents each toward select travel redemptions, which is a huge plus.

Chase offers access to one of our all-time favorite transfer partners, the World of Hyatt program. Through the World of Hyatt program, award nights at the very best properties cost between 30,000 and 40,000 points per night, which can be over 50% to 60% less than what competitors like Marriott and Hilton charge for top-tier hotels. Given that your Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer 1:1 to Hyatt, you can get fantastic value at premium properties like the Park Hyatt Sydney, Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, and the Park Hyatt Paris.

Hot Tip: Read more about the best ways to use Amex Membership Rewards points and how to maximize their value and the best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to get outsized value. 

Comparing Statement Credits

No matter which card you pick, you need to pay an annual fee, but both cards offer statement credits to help offset that cost.

Amex Green Card

One of the best benefits of the Amex Green Card is that it offers an annual CLEAR Plus credit to receive up to $209 per calendar year in statement credits after paying for a CLEAR Plus membership with the Amex Green Card. This benefit alone can easily offset the $150 annual fee if you are someone who would have paid for CLEAR Plus anyway.

CLEAR uses biometrics to get you through security faster at certain airports and stadiums in the U.S..

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is loaded with statement credits for select purchases and added value with complimentary subscriptions.

• $300 statement credit for travel purchases each cardmember year
• $500 in statement credits for the Edit annually with 2 separate $250 credits (January through June, and July through December). A 2-night minimum stay is required.
• $300 annual dining credit with Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables, available for booking on OpenTable, delivered in 2 separate $150 biannual credits
• $300 annual StubHub credit for concert and event ticket purchases, delivered in 2 separate $150 biannual credits for StubHub and viagogo
• $250 annual in annual value with complimentary subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music (separate activation required)
• Up to $300 in annual DoorDash credits, including 1 $5 monthly restaurant credit and 2 $10 in credits for purchases besides restaurants
• Up to $120 in annual statement credits toward Peloton memberships
• Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck reimbursement

Annual Travel Credit

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers arguably one of the best annual travel credits of all travel rewards cards. With it, you receive up to $300 toward any travel purchase you make with the card each year. Chase really means it when they say “any travel purchase,” as even ride-sharing services, parking garages, and tolls are eligible, in addition to the more obvious purchases like flights, hotels, and rental cars.

Better yet, the $300 annual credit doesn’t require you to book directly through the Chase Travel portal and applies to any sort of travel purchase, so you can truly use it almost any way you see fit.

DoorDash

The card comes with a DoorDash DashPass subscription, a $9.99 per month value, which includes zero delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders, along with $5 in DoorDash restaurant credits each month and 2 $10 nonrestaurant credits, up to $300 in credits each year. DoorDash specializes in food delivery from restaurants but also offers grocery and alcohol delivery.

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS

Wrapping up the statements credits for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is its Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit. The credit is offered every 4 years and can be applied to any of the 3 programs.

In our view, we think Global Entry is best because it offers an expedited customs experience when you reenter the U.S. and includes TSA PreCheck access, which offers expedited security at every U.S. airport.

Travel Benefits and Protection Analysis

Travel benefits can save you money and travel protections can provide economic relief should a covered event happen during your travels.

Here are the travel benefits and protections on the Amex Green card and Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Once again, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card wins out on every category here, as we would expect it to given the difference in annual fees. Here are a few of the key travel benefits on the card that can add tremendous value to the right cardholder.

With your Priority Pass Select membership, you almost always have a place to relax before your flight. These lounge partners are included in the1,300-plus airport lounges available to cardholders worldwide:

• Chase Sapphire Lounge by the Club (via Priority Pass)
• Priority Pass lounges
• Chase Sapphire Terrace
• Select Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges

Up to 2 guests may accompany the cardholder, subject to club rules and capacity.

When you book a hotel through the Edit by Chase Travel, you get perks like a space-available room upgrade at check-in, late checkout, early check-in when available, a $100 on-site property credit, and daily breakfast for two. Don’t forget to use up to $250 of your $500 annual credit with the Edit during your 2-night-or-longer, stay.

Put simply, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is one of the best cards on the market when it comes to travel benefits and protections.

Comparing Shopping Protection and Benefits

Eligible items purchased with your Amex Green card or Chase Sapphire Reserve card may receive protection that can provide value should something go wrong with a covered purchase. Both cards also come with shopping offers that can save you money or help you earn more rewards. Offers need to be added to the card before making the required purchase.

Amex Green Card

• Amex Offers: Discounts and opportunities to earn more points and statement credits with 100 merchants each month (enrollment required)
• Purchase protection: Coverage 90 days from the date of purchase towards stolen or damaged items for up to $1,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per year
• Extended warranty coverage: Adds 1 year of additional warranty to extended warranties of 5 years or less
• American Express Experiences: Exclusive access to ticket presales

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

• Chase Offers: Discounts with select merchants
• Purchase protection: Covers new purchases against damage or theft for up to 120 days from purchase with up to $10,000 in coverage per claim and $50,000 per account
• Extended warranty coverage: Extends a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year on eligible warranties of 3 years or less
• Return protection: Covers if a merchant will not allow you to return an item 90 days from purchase with up to $500 in coverage per claim and $1,000 per year

Annual Fees and Adding Authorized Users

Annual Fees

The annual fee of the Amex Green card is $150 while the annual fee of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is $795. Since the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s annual fee is significantly higher than that of the Amex Green card, make sure that you can get enough economic value from the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s benefits to justify the higher cost.

Authorized Users

When it comes to authorized users, you can add authorized users to your Amex Green card for no additional cost.

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you need to pay $195 per authorized user. Of course, authorized users don’t receive all of the benefits of the primary cardholder, but they do receive their own Priority Pass membership (which can easily be worth more than $195), and all of the card’s travel and purchase protections.

Final Thoughts

You can get great value out of both the Amex Green card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, but when it comes to a head-to-head comparison, it’s not much of a fair fight.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers more bonus categories, more perks, more statement credits, and better travel and purchase protections. That said, it also comes with a hefty $795 annual fee, so make sure you’ll be able to use enough of those benefits. For those looking for one of the best travel rewards cards on the market, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card would be a great option.

On the other hand, if you don’t travel often enough to take advantage of all of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s perks and don’t want to pay its large annual fee, then the Amex Green card could be more pragmatic, since it still offers great points-earning bonus categories, access to the Amex transfer partners, and an annual CLEAR Plus credit, but with a more reasonable annual fee.

Read our Amex-versus-Chase guide to find a detailed overview of the different rewards and points offered by both credit card providers .

For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the American Express^® Green Card, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.