Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which premium travel card is right for you?

Two titans come to mind when talking about the
premium card
market: The
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
(see
rates and fees
) and the
American Express Platinum Card®
.
Both cards provide top-tier
benefits
to enhance the travel experience and useful
statement credits
with savings at popular merchants. But which one deserves a spot in your wallet?
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of all the perks that come with the Amex Platinum and Sapphire Reserve to help you make that decision.
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve comparison
Card
Amex Platinum
Sapphire Reserve
Welcome offer
Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. (Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.)
Earn up to 175,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

(You must check to see if you’re eligible for the 175,000 point offer via the Chase pre-qualification widget. There is no impact to your credit score. This offer is only available via this tool. If you are not eligible for this elevated offer, you may still be eligible to earn the standard 125,000-point offer with the same spending requirement.)

Annual fee
$895 (see rates and fees)
$795
Earning rates

• 5 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or via American Express Travel® (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
• 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel
• 1 point per dollar spent on other eligible purchases

• 10 points per dollar spent on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases of $150 or more (through Dec. 31, 2027)
• 8 points per dollar spent on all Chase Travel℠ purchases, including The Edit
• 4 points per dollar spent on flights and hotels booked directly
• 3 points per dollar spent on dining
• 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases

Notable benefits

• Hotel: Up to $600 annual hotel statement credit per calendar year (up to $300 biannually), valid on prepaid Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings (of two nights or more) when you pay with your Amex Platinum; cardmembers also get complimentary Gold status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy as well as complimentary Leaders Club Sterling Status from The Leading Hotels of the World*
• Resy: Up to $400 annual Resy statement credit per calendar year (up to $100 quarterly) for dining at eligible U.S. restaurants*
• Digital streaming: Up to $300 digital entertainment statement credit per calendar year (up to $25 monthly)*
• Lululemon: Up to $300 annual statement credit for Lululemon purchases (up to $75 quarterly) at U.S. stores (excluding outlets) and online*
• Clear Plus: Up to $209 Clear Plus statement credit per calendar year to cover your annual membership (subject to auto-renewal)*
• Airline credit: Up to $200 annual airline incidental statement credit with your selected airline per calendar year*
• Oura Ring: Up to $200 annual statement credit per calendar year (on hardware purchases only)*
• Uber: Up to $200 in annual Uber Cash for U.S. services per calendar year (disbursed as $15 monthly, with a $20 bonus in December; Uber Cash will only be deposited into one Uber account when you add the Amex Platinum Card as a payment method and redeem with any Amex card)
• Uber One: Up to a $120 statement credit that fully covers an auto-renewing $96 annual or $9.99 monthly membership*
• Walmart+: Up to $155 statement credit per calendar year to cover the cost of a monthly Walmart+ membership when paying with your Amex Platinum (up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes on one membership monthly; subject to auto-renewal; Plus Up benefits are excluded)*
• Saks Fifth Avenue: Up to $100 annual Saks statement credit per calendar year (up to $50 biannually)*

• Hotel: Credits for up to $500 annually for hotel bookings of two nights or more via The Edit (up to $250 biannually), plus an additional $250 credit for the 2026 calendar year when booking select Chase Travel hotels
• Travel: $300 annual travel credit
• Dining credit: $300 annual dining credit with the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program (up to $150 biannually)
• Entertainment: $300 annual statement credit for StubHub or Viagogo (up to $150 biannually; through Dec. 31, 2027; activation required)
• Apple TV+/Apple Music: Up to $288 annually in complimentary subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music (through June 22, 2027; one-time, individual activation required)
• DoorDash: Complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription (activate by Dec. 31, 2027) and up to $25 in DoorDash promos each month when you have an active DashPass membership
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus: Up to $120 application fee credit every four years
• Lyft: Up to $10 monthly credit in-app (does not apply to Wait & Save, bike or scooter rides; through Sept. 30, 2027)
• Peloton: Up to $120 for a Peloton membership credit (up to $10 monthly; through Dec. 31, 2027; activation required)
• IHG elite status: Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status (through Dec. 31, 2027)

*Enrollment required
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve welcome offer
When considering a new premium card with a high annual fee, a large welcome offer will help you recoup some of that cost.
With the
Amex Platinum
, new cardmembers can find out their offer to see if they are eligible for as high as 175,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. (Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.)
The Amex Platinum bonus is worth up to $3,500 based on TPG’s December 2025
valuations
.
Meanwhile, new
Sapphire Reserve
cardholders can earn up to 175,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. You must check to see if you’re eligible for the 175,000-point offer via
Chase’s pre-qualification widget
. (The offer is only available through the tool.)
The Sapphire Reserve bonus is worth up to $3,588, per our December 2025
valuations
.
It’s worth noting that the Sapphire Reserve’s bonus is easier to attain thanks to its lower spending requirement when compared to the Amex Platinum.
THE POINTS GUY
Keep bonus eligibility for both cards in mind.
Amex only allows you to earn a welcome offer on a card
once per lifetime
, so if you aren’t targeted for the highest offer, it may be worth holding off until you are.
Chase also
limits bonus eligibility
. If you’ve previously received a Sapphire Reserve welcome offer, regardless of how much time has passed since you were last approved, you are no longer eligible to receive another welcome bonus on that card.
Winner
: Tie. Both cards are offering targeted bonuses of 175,000 points, and they’re close in value. It’s worth considering which card gives you the highest offer.
Related:
The best credit card welcome bonuses
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve benefits
The
Sapphire Reserve
and the
Amex Platinum
are two of the most expensive products in the credit card market.
HINTERHAUS PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES
Despite such high annual fees, each card provides benefits that help you recoup more than you’re paying. Here’s how each card’s benefits compare.
Travel benefits
Both cards provide similar travel perks, including hotel statement credits, membership credits for travel programs like
Global Entry
,
TSA PreCheck
and
Clear Plus
.
Kasmil area of the Albanian Riviera. ASCENTXMEDIA/GETTY IMAGES
The tie-breaker here, however, is the
Sapphire Reserve
‘s easy-to-use $300
travel credit
— especially compared to the more restrictive perks of the Amex Platinum, like the up to $200 airline statement credit (enrollment required).
The Amex Platinum provides complimentary Gold status in
Hilton Honors
and
Marriott Bonvoy
and
Leaders Club Sterling Status
from The Leading Hotels of the World (enrollment required).
The Sapphire Reserve provides complimentary
IHG One Rewards
Platinum Elite status (through Dec. 31, 2027).
Plus, if you spend at least $75,000 on your Sapphire Reserve in a previous calendar year, you can unlock:
IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite Status
World of Hyatt Explorist status
(from mid-2026; exact date unknown)
Then there’s the airport lounge access offered by both cards.
Eligible
Amex Platinum
cardmembers receive access to the
American Express Global Lounge Collection
, including
Centurion Lounges
, Priority Pass™ lounges,
Delta Sky Clubs
(when traveling on same-day Delta Air Lines flights; limited to 10 visits) and more (enrollment required). Cardmembers can unlock Centurion Lounge guest privileges after spending $75,000 in a calendar year.
AMERICAN EXPRESS
The Sapphire Reserve provides access to
Priority Pass lounges
and
Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club
locations, and lets you bring in up to two guests for no additional fee or minimum spending requirement.
Cardholders also get
access to select Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafes
in Canada, Europe and the U.S.
Despite its smaller footprint, Sapphire Lounges could be more preferable for those who travel with companions since you can bring up to two guests into the lounge, whereas you’d have to reach a minimum spending requirement on the Amex Platinum to earn guest privileges.
Winner:
Sapphire Reserve. This is due to its approachable statement credits and guest privileges at Sapphire Lounges.
Dining benefits
Premium cards also provide cardmembers with benefits at home, including food delivery and dining perks.
The
Sapphire Reserve’s
dining-related perks include up to a $300 annual dining credit at
Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables
via OpenTable.
The
Amex Platinum
provides an up to $400
Resy statement credit
(up to $100 each quarter) per calendar year for dining at eligible U.S. restaurants and access to special reservations at highly acclaimed participating restaurants through Platinum Nights by Resy (enrollment required).
MEREDITH JENKS/AMERICAN EXPRESS
By comparison, the Resy credit can be used at over 10,000 restaurants within the U.S., but the Sapphire Reserve’s $300 credit is only valid at OpenTable restaurants located in just over 25 U.S. cities.
On a positive note, neither the Amex Platinum nor the Sapphire Reserve requires a reservation to use the dining credits.
Winner:
Amex Platinum. It has a higher dining statement credit value and is available at more restaurants across the U.S.
Entertainment and lifestyle benefits
The
Amex Platinum
‘s benefits extend into lifestyle perks.
As noted above, cardmembers earn statement credits with notable brands such as up to $75 a quarter at
Lululemon
in-store (U.S.) and online (excluding outlets), up to $200 annually for an
Oura Ring
(hardware only), up to $50 biannually at
Saks
, up to $120 annually for an
Uber One
membership (subject to auto-renewal) and up to $12.95 a month (plus applicable taxes) for a
Walmart+ membership
(subject to auto-renewal, Plus Up excluded).
Additional lifestyle statement credits include an up to $300
Equinox
statement credit (subject to auto-renewal) and an up to $300 SoulCycle statement credit.
Enrollment is required for select benefits.
DELTA AMEX
While Amex overwhelms with niche statement credits, Chase keeps it simple and provides up to a $300 annual statement credit for
StubHub or Viagogo
(activation required) and complimentary memberships for
Apple TV+ and Apple Music
(a one-time activation required per service).
Additionally, Amex provides up to $25 in monthly statement credits for
streaming services
(enrollment required). Amex Platinum is also the king of streaming service providers because, as Walmart+ members, cardmembers get access to either Paramount+ Essential (separate enrollment required) or a
Peacock Premium plan
.
The Amex Platinum clearly offers more lifestyle-oriented credits, but many of these credits don’t mean much to every cardmember, and people simply use them or go out of their way to use them because the card offers them. Otherwise, these benefits are generally not on their radar.
Winner:
Tie. If the Amex Platinum statement credits apply to you, it’s worth it; otherwise, the Sapphire Reserve credits are easier to use.
Travel protections
The
Sapphire Reserve
comes with its industry-leading
travel protections
:
Baggage delay insurance
Emergency medical
and dental benefits
Primary car rental insurance
Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
Trip delay insurance
An airport flight departures board at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
Chase has historically been the leader in travel insurance, as its offerings have generous terms. Amex has
partially closed the gap
, adding a suite of
travel protection benefits
to the
Amex Platinum Card
Winner:
Sapphire Reserve. It offers better overall coverage.
Related:
How to decide if a credit card’s annual fee is worth paying
Earning points on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Although the welcome bonus is a good way to start your points balance, you want a card that’ll help you quickly earn
valuable transferable points
.
The
Amex Platinum
earns:
5 points per dollar spent on airfare purchased directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel
1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
The
Sapphire Reserve
offers a broader range of bonus categories and earns:
10 points per dollar spent on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases of $150 or more (through Dec. 31, 2027), with a maximum of 50,000 points
8 points per dollar spent on all Chase Travel purchases, including The Edit
4 points per dollar spent on flights and hotel purchases made directly with the merchant
3 points per dollar spent on dining purchases
1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
The Amex Platinum is best for those with significant airfare purchases (as it provides a terrific 10% return based on TPG’s December 2025 valuations), but that’s also where the problem lies — it’s too focused on airfare purchases.
The Sapphire Reserve is a card applicable to most people as it provides a more than 16% return on Chase Travel purchases (based on TPG’s December 2025 valuations). It also offers more bonus categories for earning, such as dining and hotels.
Winner
: Sapphire Reserve. This card offers the best bonus points across several bonus categories.
Related:
Best rewards credit cards
Redeeming points on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Chase Ultimate Rewards
and
Amex Membership Rewards
are similarly valued at 2.05 and 2 cents apiece, respectively, according to TPG’s December 2025 valuations.
Chase provides an
additional bonus
for booking through the Chase Travel portal, thanks to
Points Boost
.
Add this to Chase’s list of
its 13 airline and hotel transfer partners
, and you have many options to choose from.
OLEG BRESLAVTSEV/GETTY IMAGES
Meanwhile, the Amex Platinum offers more ways to use your points thanks to
17 airline and three hotel transfer partners
. Unfortunately, compared to Chase, American Express Travel redemptions are only 1 cent per point for flight bookings and 0.7 cents per point for hotel reservations.
Points earned from the Amex Platinum and the Sapphire Reserve can be redeemed for nontravel redemptions such as cash back, statement credits and gift cards, but these redemptions generally yield poor value.
Winner
: Sapphire Reserve. The card has a higher redemption value for travel.
Transferring points on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
You’ll almost always get better value whenever
transferring your points
to airline and hotel loyalty programs. All Chase partner transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, and
most of them are instant
. An especially valuable transfer partner is
World of Hyatt
, with which you can book an award night for
as low as 3,500 points per night
.
On the airline side, popular transfer partners include
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
,
Southwest Rapid Rewards
and
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
.
ROCKAA/GETTY IMAGES
Meanwhile, Amex Membership Rewards has 20 transfer partners, though not all are worthwhile. Some transfer ratios are below 1:1, and
some transfer times are longer
, which can be risky in terms of award space disappearing while you wait.
TPG credit cards writer
Danyal Ahmed
has both the
Amex Platinum
and the
Sapphire Reserve
and prefers transferring his points to programs like
Air Canada Aeroplan
,
ANA Mileage Club
and
British Airways Club
.
Recently, he transferred 50,000 points from his Sapphire Reserve to Aeroplan to book a multicity stopover ticket in business class throughout Europe for his family. Due to higher summer pricing, the cost would’ve been well over $2,000 if he had paid cash for the flights.
Winner
: Tie. Although the Sapphire Reserve has better transfer ratios, the Amex Platinum has more partners, including some not found with other issuers.
Related:
A complete list of transfer bonuses over the past decade — which issuer is the most generous?
Should I get the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve?
Choose the Amex Platinum if you maximize credits and luxury perks; choose the Sapphire Reserve if you value flexibility and hassle-free rewards.
The Platinum is ideal for frequent flyers who want premium travel benefits, elite hotel status and a wide range of lifestyle credits that can easily outweigh the annual fee when fully used.
The Sapphire Reserve is better for travelers who want simplicity, flexible redemptions and strong everyday earning on dining, travel and Chase Travel bookings. Its easy-to-use $300 annual travel credit and industry-leading travel protections make it the more practical premium card for most people.
Bottom line
If your lifestyle revolves around high-end travel, frequent flights and you love using statement credits for hotel stays, dining, streaming and memberships — the
Amex Platinum
can offer massive value.
But if you prefer a simpler, more versatile rewards structure that works reliably for flights, hotels, dining and travel — with fewer hoops and broader redemption flexibility — the
Sapphire Reserve
is the more pragmatic choice.
If you travel often and spend heavily, combining both can maximize benefits. But for most people, the Reserve will deliver the best balance of rewards, flexibility and ease.
To learn more, read our full reviews of the
Amex Platinum
and the
Sapphire Reserve
.
Apply here:
Amex Platinum
Apply here:
Chase Sapphire Reserve
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click
here
.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.