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 Offers
While welcome offers change periodically, they can be a large factor when selecting which card to apply for.
Here’s a snapshot of current offers and pricing for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and the Amex Platinum card.
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Amex Platinum Card
While welcome bonuses are only 1 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
Enjoy complimentary Priority Pass lounge access with the Amex Platinum card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Image Credit: Priority PassOne 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 complementary lounge access can be quite substantial.
Here’s a comparison of lounge access between the 2 cards:
The Amex Platinum Card
Lounge networks include:
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
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 Chase Sapphire Reserve card only offers access to Priority Pass lounges, the lounge network consists of over 1,300 locations worldwide. However, 1 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 Amex Platinum card not only offers access to more than 1,300 lounges worldwide with Priority Pass, but to 6 additional lounge networks including the prestigious Centurion Lounges.
Bottom Line: With access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide across several lounge networks, including the exclusive Centurion Lounges, the Amex Platinum card provides greater lounge access benefits than the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
Hotel and Rental Car Program Elite Benefits
Enjoy upgraded rooms, with a view, (when available) with Marriott Bonvoy elite status. Image Credit: MarriottHotel 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 elite status benefit come complimentary with your credit card is significant if you stay often at the participating hotels.
Amex Platinum Card
In addition to elite status with Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy, the Amex 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 Card
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 over 900 properties worldwide.
- Breakfast for 2
- Late check-out/early check-in
- Upgraded room when available
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Property amenity
Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders receive similar benefits at Relais & Chateaux properties as well.
Rental Car Program Benefits
Amex Platinum Card
- Emerald Club Executive Club status with National Car Rental
- Benefits and discounts with Avis and Hertz
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
- Emerald Club Executive Club status with National Car Rental
- Benefits and discounts with Avis
- Benefits and discounts with Silvercar by Audi
Bottom Line: The Amex 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 insurance program benefits and elite status are similar on both credit cards.
Earning Power
Earn rewards on every travel purchase with a premium travel rewards credit card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve card or the Amex Platinum card. Image Credit: SWISSThe Amex Platinum card clearly excels in providing airport lounge access and hotel program elite status. However, the Amex Platinum card is challenged in earning power by the Chase Sapphire Reserve card given you can earn more points in more ways with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
Earning Category | Amex Platinum Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve Card |
Flights and Flight/Hotel Packages | - 5 Membership Rewards points per $1 when purchased through Amex Travel or for flights purchased directly with the airlines
- All other flights/travel earn 1 point per $1
| - 3 Ultimate Rewards points per $1
- 5x points per $1 when booked via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
|
Hotels | - 5 points per $1 spent on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
- 2 points per $1 all other hotels booked through Amex Travel
- All other hotel purchases earn 1 point per $1
| - 10 points per $1 when booked through the Chase travel portal
- 3 points per $1
|
Dining and Restaurants | | - 3 points per $1
- 10 points per $1 on Chase dining booked through the Chase travel portal
|
Rental cars | | - 10 points per $1 on rental cars booked through the Chase travel portal
|
All other travel expenses | - 2 points per $1 for qualifying travel booked through Amex Travel
- 1 point per $1
| - 3 points per $1
- 10 points per $1 spent on Lyft purchases (through March 2025)
|
All other purchases | | |
The first difference that stands out is that you can only earn big on the Amex Platinum card if you purchase flights directly through an airline or if you purchase flights and prepaid hotels through Amex Travel. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, 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 Amex Platinum card and 36,000 Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. This calculation is based on the assumption that flights were qualifying purchases earning 5 points per dollar with the Amex 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.
1 downside to note when booking hotels through Amex Travel is that hotel program elite status benefits do not apply.
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, 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 card.
Both cards offer the option to earn rewards points on affiliated Amex and Chase no-annual-fee cards, then transfer and redeem with travel partners for potentially greater redemption value.
Bottom Line: While both cards have good earning potential, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card 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 Amex Platinum card.
Redeeming Points
You’ll have several options for redeeming your rewards with either card. Image Credit: American ExpressFortunately, both cards offer good value when redeeming for travel, transferring points to travel partners, and offering additional redemption choices.
Redemption Option | Amex Platinum Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve Card |
Redeem for travel | Redeem for 1 cent per point on Amex Travel | Redeem for 1.5 cents per point on Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal or Pay Yourself Back when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories |
Transfer points to travel partners | 21 airline/hotel partners, most with a 1:1 transfer ratio; a small fee applies to transfers | 13 airline/hotel partners, 1:1 transfer ratio |
Other redemption options available | Statement credits, gift cards, Amazon, Uber, Ticketmaster, redeem with shopping partners | Statement credits, gift cards, Amazon, Apple, Chase experiences |
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card’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, for Pay Yourself Back qualifying purchases, 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 Amex Platinum Card versus the 9 airline transfer partners with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
When we look at hotel redemptions, transferring Ultimate Rewards points earned on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card to hotel partner World of Hyatt shines as a sweet spot. Free nights at Hyatt start at 5,000 World of Hyatt points and with a 1:1 transfer ratio, you would need just 5,000 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 points 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 Amex Platinum card’s annual fee is higher, you can add more authorized users (3) for a flat fee of $175 (rates and fees). The Chase Sapphire Reserve card has an annual fee of $550, 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 Amex 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
Statement credits can help offset a card’s annual fee. Image Credit: Northfoto via ShutterstockOne of the card benefits that can directly offset the cost of a credit card’s annual fee is the credits you receive after making specific purchases.
Amex Platinum Card
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
- $300 statement credit for travel purchases each calendar year
- Up to $100 Global Entry, Nexus, or TSA PreCheck reimbursement
- Enroll in complimentary Spot Club Platinum status at The Parking Spot for 2 years and receive 20% off of your first reservation and points for 1 free day of parking
If you spend money on checked baggage and other airline incidental fees, use Uber, or shop at Saks, you’ll find value with the Amex Platinum card.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card’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 Amex 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 card may be much easier to utilize given Chase’s definition of travel is quite broad.
Rideshare Benefits
Amex Platinum Card
The Amex Platinum card includes up to $200 Uber Cash, split up into up to $15 increments each month (sans December which gets up to $35 credit). This is added to your Uber account as Uber Cash and can be used towards any Uber ride or Uber Eats delivery in the U.S.
Likewise, you’re automatically enrolled in Uber VIP when you add your Amex Platinum card to your Uber account. This gives you access to exclusive discounts and UberX VIP and Uber Black VIP rides. When you select this option, you’re only paired with the highest-rated drivers in your city at no additional cost.
These benefits only apply to the card’s primary cardholder and not any authorized users.
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Lyft purchases earn 10 points per dollar spent (through March 2025) when they’re charged to your Chase Sapphire Reserve card — this means that a $10 ride would earn 100 Ultimate Rewards points!
Hot Tip: Are you considering both of these credit cards? Be sure to consider the reasons you may (or may not) want 2 premium credit cards before deciding.
Travel Protection and Insurance
Primary car rental coverage provides peace of mind when renting a vehicle. Image Credit: Garsya via ShutterstockIt’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.
Benefit | Amex Platinum Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve Card |
Car Rental Coverage | | |
Premium Roadside Assistance | | - 4 service calls per year, maximum benefit $50 each call
|
Emergency Medical and Dental | | - $2,500 medical/dental coverage ($50 deductible per day), $75 per day for prescribed hotel needed due to covered loss for up to 5 days
|
Trip Cancellation/Interruption | - Up to $10,000 per trip, and a maximum limit of $20,000 per card per 12-month period
| - Up to $10,000 per trip per person, $20,000 per incident
|
Trip Delay | - Up to $500 for trip delays more than 6 hours
| - Up to $500 for trip delays more than 6 hours
|
Baggage Delay | | - Up to $100/day for up to 5 days for delays more than 6 hours
|
Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Luggage | - Up to $3,000 for carry-on, $2,000 for checked
| - Up to $3,000 per person per trip checked or carry-on
|
Emergency Transportation/Evacuation | - Included, no stated limit
| |
Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is known for its comprehensive travel benefits including primary rental car insurance and limited medical/dental coverage. The Amex Platinum card offers cardholders travel insurance benefits like complimentary emergency transportation and evacuation with no stated limit but does not offer roadside assistance or baggage delay.
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 90 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 Amex Platinum card offers an additional year on warranties of 5 years or less, whereas the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers an additional year on warranties 3 years or less
- Return Protection — coverage provided on both cards for up to 90 days from the purchase date; $300 per item on the Amex Platinum Card and $500 per item on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card
Bottom Line: While one does not select a premium travel rewards credit card based solely on shopping-related protections, it is good to know that both cards offer similar shopping coverage.
Food Delivery Benefits
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
The card offers a free DoorDash DashPass subscription so long as it’s activated by December 31, 2024. This subscription is usually $9.99 monthly and includes free delivery and discounted service fees on select DoorDash orders over $12. There’s also a $5 monthly DoorDash credit available.
Additional Benefits Offered by Both Cards
You will find the following benefits offered on both the Amex Platinum card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card:
- No foreign transaction fees — neither card charges a foreign transaction fee
- VIP access to events — the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s “Reserve Experiences” and the Amex 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 card focuses more on overall earnings, significant redemption values, and travel-related protections and insurance.
The Amex Platinum card has strengths that center on luxury travel benefits with elevated earnings narrowed to specific travel purchases. The card provides valuable no-stated-limit emergency transportation or evacuation benefits that can provide peace of mind when traveling.
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.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.