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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
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 |
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Notable benefits |
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*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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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