Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum: A Guide
These are two premium cards. And it is basic that you always first look at the amount to be paid to get either card so let’s begin with looking at the annual fee of both cards to kick off Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex platinum. Currently, the Amex platinum card will cost you 695 dollars in annual fees, that is, excluding the applicable taxes. On the other hand, the Chase Reserve Platinum card will cost you 550 dollars in annual fees with the applicable fees excluded. Now when you sign up for a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card you can get 80,000 points as a bonus if you spend more than 4,000 dollars in the first three months of getting the card. On the other hand, Amex Platinum gives you 1,00,000 bonus points when you spend 6,000 dollars using the card in its first six months. When you convert the bonus points by the value of 2 cents you get a sum between 800 to 1,200 dollars on your Sapphire card depending on where and how you spend it while you get 2,000 dollars on the Amex card. So if you are willing to spend close to 150 dollars more initially and then a further 2,000 dollars in 3 extra months, then you have got a better deal with Amex.
Points Per Spending
If we look at the points per spending then Amex Platinum won’t get you 10× points per dollar for any spend whereas Chase Sapphire Reserve gets you 10× points per dollar for Lyft rides till March 2025, hotels, and car rentals availed through the Ultimate Rewards portal and dining purchases made through ultimate rewards portal. For 5× points per dollar on Amex, you need to use the card to book flight tickets using the card and you can do so by booking tickets up to 5,00,000 dollars in a calendar year. You can also use Amex travel to make prepaid hotel bookings to earn 5× points. For a Chase card to get you 5× points you need to book an air ticket using the Ultimate Rewards portal. To get 3× points, Amex again doesn’t have anything on offer while Chase card gives 3× points for money spent on travel and dining. Lastly, there is 1× point where you get 1 point for each dollar spent on other eligible items for both cards. And this makes no difference because each point on both cards has the same value. And this makes no difference because each point on both cards has the same value. So here the Sapphire card emerges victorious because of its more giving nature than Amex. There are no 10× or 3× point earnings on Amex whereas Chase gives all 10×, 5×, 3× and 1× points making them more useful when it comes to earning points.
Some Other Comparisons
To get the Amex Platinum you need a credit score between 670 and 850 which is a more flexible range than that of the Chase Sapphire reserve which needs you to have a credit score between 800 and 850. The annual percentage rate on your Amex Platinum is between 19.74% and 26.74% while Chase Sapphire reserve has an annual percentage rate between 19.99% and 26.99%. The foreign transaction fee on both cards is 0%. So in this segment again Amex emerges victorious courtesy of its marginally lower annual percentage rate and lesser credit score requirement which makes it easier to obtain. If you want to get new people on board, that is, get additional users then the Chase Sapphire credit card charges you 75 dollars for each new addition as opposed to 175 dollars per user for Amex Platinum unless you upgrade to a Platinum gold card. This is again a win for Chase Sapphire reserve in Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex platinum segment which brings the score to 2 each. However, there are still quite a few categories where the two can be compared. Like when it comes to redemption options the Amex platinum card has more partners compared to the Chase Sapphire reserve card but the latter’s transfer ratio of 1:1 means that the value offered is better with this card. No matter how many points you cover there is always bound to be something left out. That is why in our Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum head to head we come to a standstill. However, there still might be a few things to consider or check out for you before making a decision and so feel free to go ahead and do a little bit of your research to come up with a conclusion that helps you make a decision, meanwhile we move to your next clash. Also Read: How to Send Money with Credit Card? 7 Easy ways
Amex Gold vs Chase Sapphire Reserve
So the next match-up sees Amex gold challenge Chase Sapphire reserve. When we do list down points in Amex Gold vs Chase Sapphire reserve category the details for the latter remain the same while for the former we will have new details to look at so bear with repetitive stuff. To get the Amex gold card you will have to shell out 250 dollars in annual fees, that is, excluding the applicable taxes. On the other hand, the Chase Reserve Platinum card will cost you 550 dollars in annual fees with the applicable fees excluded as mentioned earlier as well. Notably, the gold card of Amex is priced at less than half the amount of its Platinum version. To put things into perspective, two gold cards would cost less than a Chase Sapphire reserve card. When signing up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card you get 80,000 points as a bonus if you go ahead and spend more than 4,000 dollars in the first three months of getting the card. In the case of Amex gold, this card gives you 60,000 bonus points when you spend 6,000 dollars using the card in its first six months. This is the number that pulls the card further down as the Platinum card of Amex gave you 1,00,000 points for spending 6,000 dollars in the first six months. So here the Amex gold card takes a beating from both, its Platinum version and also the Chase Sapphire reserve card which means a double blow and behind in score to Chase for now.
Points Per Spending
If we look at the points per spending then Amex Gold won’t get you 10× points per dollar for any spend just like its Platinum version didn’t, whereas Chase Sapphire Reserve as mentioned already gets you 10× points per dollar for Lyft rides till March 2025, hotels, and car rentals availed through the Ultimate Rewards portal and dining purchases made through ultimate rewards portal. 5× points per dollar is again a category that’s missing from the Amex Gold card whereas the Platinum version had it for airplane tickets and prepaid hotel booking. From the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you get 5× points when you book an air ticket using the Ultimate Rewards portal. Amex gold gets you 4× points per dollar when you spend it on dining or at supermarkets, however, this is only valid for amounts up to 25,000 dollars in a year after which you start getting one point for a dollar. 4× points is the only category missing from the Sapphire reserve card when compared to the Amex platinum and gold cards. Chase card gives 3×points for money spent on dining and travel once you earn your 300-dollar credit on travel. Whereas to earn 3× points on your Amex gold card you need to spend money on flight tickets which you can book directly from the airline or website. Lastly, there is 1× point where you get 1 point for each dollar spent on other eligible items for both cards. So here again it is the same amount of minimum points for common sends. This time it is the Sapphire card that emerges victorious because it has more point categories than Amex. There are no 10× or 5× point earnings on Amex whereas Chase gives all 10×, 5×, 3× and 1× points and just misses out on 4× points that its competitor offers. This gives them the upper hand when it comes to earning points.
Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus that you get in your Amex gold card when converted to cash gives you a sum between 420 dollars and 600 dollars whereas the welcome bonus given by Chase Sapphire reserve card comes between 800 dollars and 1,200 dollars. When it was Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum the upper hand was with Amex as their welcome bonus converted to 2,000 dollars but here Amex gold card bows down to its competitor. The foreign transaction fees are again zero for both cards. To get yourself an Amex gold card you just need to have a credit score between 700 and 749 and you are eligible for it, this is less score requirement than Chase Sapphire reserve’s 800 to 850 and Amex Platinum’s 670 to 850 scores which makes the gold card easier to obtain. The annual percentage rate for Amex gold and Platinum is also the same at 19.74% and 26.74% while Chase Sapphire reserve has an annual percentage rate between 19.99% and 26.99% making it slightly pricier. When we look at adding additional users to the card, Amex gold allows you to add up to 5 people without charging you an extra fee but starting from the sixth person you pay 35 dollars per person. On the other hand, you pay 75 dollars for every extra member you want to get on board as an additional member. So if we combine these few points mentioned above then Amex gold emerges victorious of the two and poses to be the better card as compared to its competitor. Again we have covered stuff to the best of our knowledge but that by no means gives the whole picture. The Amex gold card is more of an entry-level card trying to act like a premium card, a job which it does well. However, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is more of a premium card of the two and if you spend more on air tickets and want to enjoy lounge access and other such stuff then this might be the better option for you.
Amex vs Chase Sapphire
So now that we have seen Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum and Amex Gold what remains for us is to compare or rather look at Amex vs Chase Sapphire.
Amex
Amex is short for American Express which is an American Multinational corporation. The company has been in the payment card service industry since it was founded in 1850 on March 18th. The company headquarters are in New York City, US. This is a public company with 64,000 employees on its payroll. Last year the company’s revenue was 43.66 billion dollars. Apart from credit cards the company also provides charge cards and traveler’s cheques. Their services include corporate banking, finance, insurance, and travel aspects. Amex cards first came out in 1958, next was the gold card that came out in 1966, and then the platinum card came out in 1984. On the other hand, the first Chase Sapphire card came out in 2009. It was the Chase Sapphire preferred credit card. Chase Sapphire was introduced to change the perceived image of credit cards and to attract the younger audience segment which also saw the company release the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card in 2016.
Chase Bank
Chase Bank is an American bank that was founded on 1st September 1799. The company headquarters are in New York City, US. The company has 2,50,355 people on its payroll and its revenue this year was 124.54 billion dollars. The bank offers financial services to the people and they also offer retail financial services and commercial banking services apart from card services. The bank is a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase. Now, this by now means was supposed to be a comparison like Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum or gold but for the sake of it, we can say that when it comes to being bigger in revenue and age as per the founding year, then Chase emerges the winner over Amex. Even when we compare the people employed by both companies, the former wins. However, Sapphire is just another brand of credit card introduced by Chase whereas Amex themselves are the brand that introduces credit cards. Also, Amex enjoys more popularity worldwide as compared to Chase Sapphire which is popular just in America, which levels the score. However, again it’s just what we deduce from the data available to us but that does not mean that it is the final verdict. Each person will have their preference and liking which plays an important part in them choosing one card over the other. Also Read: Is Credit Karma or Credit Sesame more accurate?
Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card
So far in this article, we have seen Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex platinum and gold. This means we have covered three credit cards which leaves us with one last card to introduce to you which is the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card by Chase. This was the first card in the Chase Sapphire series and was launched in 2009. For an annual fee of 95 dollars, this card is the cheapest on this list. And as a welcome gift, you get 60,000 bonus points if you spend 4,000 dollars in 3 months using the card. This converts to 7,500 dollars in cash. So far this card performs well to compete with other cards in the article. The card does not have any 10× point offers and directly starts with 5× point offers. To get 5× points you need to use the card to spend money on travel through the chase ultimate rewards. To get 3× points you need to use the card for dining purposes at eligible restaurants. Also, this is the first card on the list to have a 2× point offer and no 1× point offer. To get 2× points you need to use the card on other travel purchases. The annual percentage rate on this card comes between 18.99% and 25.99%. This is again less than all the other cards on the list. The card also joins the other card in the category of charging no foreign transaction fees. This card has partnered with Lyft, Instacart, DoorDash, and Gopuff which gets you point benefits as well as subscription benefits. Aer Lingus, AerClub, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards®, Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM, Iberia Plus, JetBlue True Blue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®, United MileagePlus®, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club are the airline travel partners of this credit card. While IHG® Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy®, and World of Hyatt® are hotel travel partners.
