Chase Sapphire Reserve® vs The Platinum Card® from American Express
Two premium travel cards, and their fees now nearly match: $795 a year for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, $895 for the Amex Platinum. Both charge 0% on foreign transactions, both hand out a long list of statement credits, and both lead with a big welcome bonus (100,000 points on the Reserve, as high as 175,000 on the Platinum). What separates them is how they earn and where the credits actually spend. The Reserve rewards flexible travel and dining you would book anyway; the Platinum piles on more credits but ties most of them to specific merchants and enrollment.
| Spec | Chase Sapphire | The Platinum |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $795/yr | $895/yr |
| Welcome bonus | 100,000 points bonus | 175,000 points bonus |
| Base rate | 1x | 1x |
| Top earn rates |
|
|
| Foreign tx fee | None | None |
| Statement credits | 9 credits | 12 credits |
| Rewards | Chase Ultimate Rewards | American Express Membership Rewards |
Choose Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Pick the Reserve if you want rewards on spending you already do. It earns 3x on dining worldwide, 4x on flights and hotels booked directly, and 8x on travel booked through Chase Travel. The Platinum earns above 1x only on flights (5x) and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel (5x); every restaurant charge and everything else earns 1x. The Reserve also carries the lower annual fee ($795 versus $895), and its bonus asks for only $6,000 of spend in the first 3 months, against $12,000 in 6 months on the Platinum. Its $300 annual travel credit reimburses any travel purchase automatically, with no merchant list to work around.
Full details →Choose The Platinum Card®
Pick the Platinum if you will work its credits and want the larger bonus. The welcome offer runs as high as 175,000 points (an estimated $3,500 in value) against 100,000 on the Reserve, though the amount you are approved for may be lower. Its credit stack is deeper: $600 in annual hotel credits, $400 at Resy restaurants, $300 for digital entertainment, $200 in Uber Cash, $200 in airline fee credits, and $219 for CLEAR Plus, among others. As a charge card it carries no set purchase APR, where the Reserve's runs 19.74%-28.24% variable, so it fits someone who pays in full each month. Most of those credits require enrollment and only spend at named merchants, so you have to use the list to come out ahead.
Full details →Verdict
Get the Sapphire Reserve for flexible 3x dining and 4x travel earning at a $795 fee; get the Platinum only if you will fully use its deeper credit stack and land near the top of its as-high-as 175,000-point offer.