Chase Sapphire and Amex Platinum are premium travel charge cards, which give you the standard charge card payment option. They offer a host of features and benefits geared towards travelers that don’t mind paying a lot to get a good range of travel and purchase benefits.

Customers that want more local benefits and a more comprehensive range of benefits over a longer time may prefer Amex Platinum. While users that want more travel-specific benefits faster may prefer what Chase Sapphire Reserve offers.

Both of these cards have a high annual fee and will require you are trying to maximize your benefits to make the fees worthwhile, if you decide not to travel or dine out often, then it can be a costly mistake, so let’s review the cards to see if either one of these will be right for you.

	Amex Platinum	Chase Sapphire Reserve
Annual Cost	$695	$550
APR In Second Year	16.99% – 23.99% variable	15.99% – 22.99% variable
Signup Bonus	100,000 points at $6,000 spent in first six months	50,000 points at $4,000 spent in first three months
Travel Rewards	5x	3x
Extra Rewards Available	10x points on gas and groceries at certain stores	5X points on air travel 10X total on hotels and car rentals through Chase Ultimate Rewards after the first $300 spent on travel annually
Ridesharing Rewards	$15 in Uber Cash every month and $20 in December, $200 annually	10x Lyft points
Regular Purchase Rewards	1x	1x
Extra Credits	$200 airline fee credit for qualifying airlines access AirSpace and American Express International lounges  Up to $100 at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com, and up to $50 on a semi-annual basis	Up to $120 on Peloton membership

Chase Sapphire vs. Amex Platinum: Pricing

When making purchases with both cards, it’s important to remember to pay off the card every month. Otherwise, you’re paying high fees, which don’t make sense, then you’re only left with the yearly fee where Chase Sapphire is significantly lower, so it wins the pricing category.

While the annual fee may be quite different, it’s important to consider all of the features and benefits of each card as you can get the fees back in rewards and signup bonuses, so if you can get the most of each card, the annual fee will not matter.

	Chase Sapphire	Amex Platinum
Cost	$550 / Year	$695 / Year
APR After First Year	16.99% – 23.99% variable	15.99% – 22.99% variable

Who is Chase Sapphire Best Suited For?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is best suited for frequent travelers who spend a lot of money dining out at restaurants while traveling. Many of your perks and benefits are related to redeeming more travel perks rather than local rewards or perks.

Who is Amex Platinum Best Suited For?

The Amex Platinum card is best suited for an avid traveler who spends a lot of money while at home, especially on gas and groceries, with a 10x points reward for these types of purchases, which can add up over time.

Chase Sapphire vs. Amex Platinum: Eligibility

Being approved for both cards is not guaranteed. You need a good credit score for both and need to ensure you haven’t been switching between many different cards. Amex Platinum doesn’t limit how many cards you apply for and has a lower credit score requirement, so it wins the eligibility category.

Chase requires a much better credit score, around 720 minimum, and checks how many cards you’ve been applying for, with 5 in 24 months being the maximum. Anybody trying to switch between cards too often will find that any Chase cards won’t get approved. 

Chase Sapphire vs. Amex Platinum: Perks and Benefits

The cards have a lot in common. Which card is better will definitely depend on what sort of traveler and at-home spender you are. Amex Platinum has access to a broader range of partners to redeem points, making the Amex Platinum the winner for perks and benefits overall.

The Amex Platinum card lets you redeem points through the Amex Membership Rewards Program, which gives you access to 18 airline partners and three hotel partners. While the Chase Sapphire Reserve card only offers ten airline partners and three hotel partners.

Welcome Bonus

Both offer a welcome bonus, though Amex Platinum gives you double the points with slightly less purchasing required and double the time to hit the requirement, which is a much better and easier to attain level. If you aren’t spending $6,000 in 6 months, then you’ll miss out on the bonus.

Travel and Shopping

The Chase Sapphire card gives you an upfront $300 travel credit each year, lowering the annual fee to $250. The Amex Platinum gives you a wider choice of credits at different places, including:

• $200 annually for hotels
• $240 annually for entertainment perks such as Audible, SiriusXM, newspaper subscriptions, and more.
• $300 per year in Equinox fitness credits
• $200 in airline fees from 1 airline, for additional baggage costs, seat assignments, etc
• $200 in Uber credit annually
• $100 in Saks shopping credits

Both Chase and Amex are continually adding and modifying the credits. Still, Amex has a superior list of credits at different locations, so as long as you can use them all, then Amex offers much more and can cover your annual fee easily if you use them all and even get more back than what you’re paying.

Everyday Spending

Chase Sapphire Reserve does beat Amex Platinum in additional travel points from hotels and car bookings. So if you’re spending a lot of money on hotels and rental cars, then Chase Sapphire can start providing you with many points to redeem for free air travel and other perks.

Chase Sapphire vs. Amex Platinum: Verdict

Amex Platinum costs significantly more than the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. However, the benefits provided long term by Amex Platinum far outweigh anything that Chase Sapphire can offer. So if you can use all of the benefits that Amex offers, your annual fee will be paid for, and you’ll get a wider selection of airlines to choose from when booking travel.

Both cards offer similar benefits but with different partners that you redeem points with. So while you may be able to get more points with one card over the other, you need to ensure that the partners available through that program match what you actually want to use.

You need to ensure that just because you can get more benefits or more credits that you would actually use those if you didn’t have this card. The annual fee is high, so using the credits for the sake of using them doesn’t make sense with such a high annual fee.

You also need to be working and reviewing all benefits from the card you select to maximize your return on the initial investment of getting the card.

Chase Sapphire vs. Amex Platinum: Which is Better?

Amex Platinum is a much better choice for customers who travel but also want an extensive range of local benefits. If you can use all of the benefits throughout the year, it covers your annual fee easily. However, these should be things you actually want and not just use because you can.

With Amex Platinum, you get 10x points for local purchasing at grocery stores and gas stations, which is a fantastic way to increase your points for travel by using local services throughout the year.

You earn more points than Chase Sapphire for your airline purchasing, so if you’re traveling more often and for longer distances, then it’s also a better option to gain more points, and access to more airlines means you have more chances to earn points.

Click here to get your Amex Platinum credit card now.

Chase Sapphire Reserve is better for customers that just want a standard credit added back to their card and don’t want to have to use a bunch of other services to make the annual fee more reasonable, which is required with Amex Platinum.

You also earn more points for hotel bookings and rental cars, so if you travel shorter distances and stay in hotels with a rental car, you may get a better return with the Chase Sapphire card to then redeem on airline travel. 

Click here to get your Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card now.