Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Reserve comparison
Is Amex Platinum or Chase Reserve better?
The Amex Platinum is better for frequent travelers who prioritize luxury, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve is better if you’re looking for points on everyday purchases. Neither is objectively better, but the Chase Reserve is probably the more appealing choice for most people.
The table below gives an overview of each card’s details.
Travel perks
Amex Platinum
- $200 credit each year for airline incidentals
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide
- Travel insurance benefits
- Up to $189 CLEAR Plus statement credit per calendar year
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Up to $200 credit when booking with The Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels + Resorts (given in statement credits, min. 2-night stay required)
Chase Sapphire Reserve
- $300 travel credit each year
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide
- Travel insurance benefits
Why should I get the Amex Platinum?
The Platinum Card comes with 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels, so it’s ideal for consumers who travel frequently.
It’s an especially good choice if your home airport has a Centurion lounge, as Platinum Card holders have access to any lounge in the Centurion network. The Amex Platinum Card even gives you access to Delta Sky Clubs when you take a Delta-operated flight scheduled on the same day.
Another reason to consider the Amex Platinum instead of the Chase Reserve is that Chase has a rule that prevents consumers from opening more than five Chase cards in a 24-month period. The Chase offers include many credit products, such as Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Amazon Prime Visa®, Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card® and United Explorer Card®.
United Explorer Card review
If you’re sure you want an American Express card but would prefer one that’s better for everyday spending, you may want to consider getting the American Express® Gold Card. To see how these two cards compare, check out our guide to Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum.
Amex Platinum Card review
Why should I get the Chase Sapphire Reserve?
The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with plenty of travel perks, but it also offers 3X points on dining, making it a good choice if you love to try new restaurants.
Occasionally, Chase increases the number of Chase Ultimate Rewards points available for specific categories, making it easier to maximize your benefits. This card even comes with 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for all hotels and credit cards booked through Chase Travel. Note that you don’t start earning points on travel until after the $300 travel credit is spent each year.
Chase Sapphire Reserve review
Does it make sense to have both Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve?
Due to the high annual fee for each card, it doesn’t make sense to have both the Amex Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
The Amex Platinum has an annual fee of $695, while the Sapphire Reserve has an annual fee of $550, a total of $1,245. Most people won’t get more than $1,245 worth of benefits, so it’s best to pick one card and stick with it.
Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Welcome offer
Winner in this category: Amex
When comparing Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express comes out ahead on its welcome offer.
If you open an Amex Platinum Card, you have the opportunity to earn 80,000 Membership Rewards Points by spending $8,000 within your first 6 months of membership. Chase offers 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points if you spend $4,000 within 3 months.
Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Rewards
Winner in this category: No clear winner
The Platinum Card gives you more points on flights, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve gives you more points on prepaid hotels and rental cars.
If you have the Platinum Card, you get 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels. The Sapphire Reserve only gives you 3X points on flights, but you get 10X points on hotels and rental cars booked through Chase. To get 3X on flights and 10X on hotels and rental cars, you must spend at least $300 per year on travel purchases.
Chase outperforms American Express in other spending categories. For example, you get 3X points on all eligible dining purchases. You also get 10X on Lyft purchases and 10X on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150. With the Platinum Card, you get 1 point per dollar spent on every category other than flights and prepaid hotels.
Which card is better for earning points?
The Platinum Card is better for earning points on flights, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve is better for earning points on your everyday spending.
Which card is better for redeeming points?
In terms of redeeming points, both cards perform about the same. Chase allows you to transfer points to several airline loyalty programs, including Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Emirates, Southwest Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. It also has three hotel partners: World of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
American Express also has multiple airline partners, including Air Canada, Delta, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue. You can transfer points from your Platinum Card to the Choice Privileges, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors loyalty programs.
Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Travel perks
Winner in this category: Chase
The Platinum Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offer similar travel perks, but Chase comes out slightly ahead.
Both cards give you access to travel insurance, airport lounges and hotel perks. However, Chase travel insurance coverage limits are higher than American Express travel insurance. Additionally, Chase has more airport lounges in their network.
That said, Amex does give you access to American Express Travel, which allows you to search for and book flights, hotels, cruises and rental cars. If you book through American Express Travel, you also have the opportunity to get additional bonus points on your purchases.
Airport Lounge Access
The Platinum Card gives you access to more than 40 American Express Centurion lounges at airports all over the world. If you fly Delta, you’ll also receive complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs along each route. To access a Sky Club, you must have a same-day boarding pass for a flight operated by Delta Air Lines. Delta Sky Club has more than 50 locations. The Platinum Card even comes ahead of many co-branded Delta Amex credit cards in this respect.
With Chase, you get a complimentary Priority Pass membership, giving you access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide.
As a Chase member, you can also bring two guests to each lounge for no additional charge. American Express members have to pay a $50 fee for each adult guest and a $30 fee for each guest between the ages of 2 and 17.
Travel Insurance
Chase Sapphire travel insurance offers several benefits to give you extra peace of mind every time you leave home.
These benefits include:
- Travel accident insurance: $1 million
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: $75,000
- Baggage delays: $100 per day for a maximum of 5 days
- Emergency evacuation and transport: $100,000
- Emergency medical and dental: $2,500 with a $50 deductible
- Lost luggage: $3,000 per person for each trip
American Express offers the following insurance benefits* to its members:
- Lost baggage: $1,200 per trip
- Delayed/canceled flight: $250 per person for alternative travel expenses, meals or refreshments; $1,000 if your bag is delayed for more than 4 hours and you need to purchase essential clothing
- Emergency dental: $1,000
- Emergency prescription expenses: $1,000
- Emergency medical transportation: $100,000
- Travel accident insurance: $500,000
Chase comes out ahead in this category because it offers double the amount of travel accident insurance and lost baggage insurance.
Hotel Perks
The American Express Platinum Card comes with several hotel benefits.
When you book a hotel that’s part of the Fine Hotels + Resorts collection, you get the following:
- Early check-in
- Room upgrades when available
- Daily breakfast for two
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- $100 experience credit
- Late check-out (4 p.m.)
You also receive a $100 experience credit and a complimentary room upgrade when you book with The Hotel Collection, a group of more than 700 boutique hotels. To sweeten the deal, the Platinum Card gives you a $200 annual travel credit when you book with Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection and use your card to pay the bill. This perk comes in the form of a statement credit.
In addition to 10X points on hotels booked through Chase Travel℠, the Sapphire Reserve comes with a $300 annual travel credit and gives you access to numerous perks at properties in The Luxury Resort & Hotel Collection.
These perks include:
- Early check-in
- Late check-out
- Room upgrades when available
- Daily breakfast for two
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Rates & fees
Winner in this category: Chase
American Express charges as little as 21.24% interest, but Chase comes out ahead in this category due to its lower annual fee.
We outline the rates and fees of each of these cards below.
American Express generally doesn’t waive its annual fees. Still, you may qualify for a statement credit or extra bonus points to offset the $695 fee.
The only way to have your Chase Sapphire Reserve annual fee waived is to provide proof that you’re an active-duty servicemember. However, Chase may give you statement credits, bonus points or other perks to prevent you from downgrading to a less expensive credit card.
Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Eligibility
Winner in this category: Amex
Both cards require good credit scores, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve is slightly harder to get.
Before you apply for the Platinum Card, you should have a FICO score of at least 700. If you have another Amex credit card, you may already even have a pre-approved offer from American Express for the Amex Platinum card.
To be approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you generally need at least a 720.
It’s possible to get approved with slightly lower scores, but neither of these cards is for consumers with poor or average credit scores.
To see if you may be eligible for either of these cards, the CardMatch tool (see below) can help you know if you are pre-qualified, and may even offer you a higher welcome bonus!
Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Security
Winner in this category: Amex
The Amex Platinum Card has a few more security features than the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but both companies do an excellent job guarding your personal information.
With the American Express Platinum Card, you can access the Global Assist Hotline, which provides emergency travel assistance. American Express also sends 24/7 fraud alerts, uses SafeKey to protect you while shopping and replaces lost and stolen cards within 48 hours.
Chase uses chip-enhanced security and offers fraud monitoring.
*Note: 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.
