Chase
Amex
Which Premium Credit Card Is Right for You?
See if the high annual fees on the Chase Sapphire Reserve or American Express Platinum deliver enough travel and other benefits for your spending habits
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express Co. are boosting their premium credit-card offerings to attract and retain customers willing to pay higher fees in exchange for exclusivity and status. Chase lifted the Sapphire Reserve’s annual fee to $795 from $550, and Amex raised the Platinum fees to $895 from $695.
Both tout thousands of dollars in value, but earning that value may not be so easy. The cards deliver most of it in the form of statement credits at specific retailers. And many of these perks cap the amount a cardholder can earn per half year, per quarter or per month.
So are the high fees worth it? See if you can earn value back on each card based on your spending behavior. You’ll be able to compare the full list of perks of both cards at the end.
–$795
Chase Sapphire Reserve
–$895
Amex Platinum
Bloomberg will not store or collect any of your information.
Credits
Here are ways you can gain value by earning up to certain amounts of statement credits back on purchases at specific retailers.
Do you have any of these memberships or subscriptions?
It pays to get a monthly Walmart+ membership instead of an annual one because you can get a $12.95 credit every month with Amex. Those with an annual membership can switch to a monthly one before their annual fee renews to get the Amex credit.
Do you...
Lyft and Uber have scooter and bike shares in select cities.
Amex gives holders an extra $20 credit for Uber in December, on top of the monthly $15 credit.
Amex will only give credit for Oura ring purchases, not for a membership.
Chase recently announced a new $250 hotel credit starting in 2026 for select bookings via its portal.
Do you plan to book at least one stay at a hotel included in the Fine Hotels + Resorts collection, or a stay of at least two nights at a hotel included in the The Hotel Collection booked via the Amex Travel portal...
The Fine Hotels + Resorts collection from Amex luxury hotels cost on average $750 per night; The Hotel Collection includes hotels that run from less than $200 to more than $500 a night.
How many stays of at least two nights do you plan to book at a hotel included in The Edit collection via the Chase Travel portal?
This collection from Chase includes luxury and boutique hotels that run anywhere from $500 to more than $2,000 a night. Chase recently updated its terms so these credits can be applied any time throughout the year.
How much do you spend on travel annually?
Chase's $300 travel credit includes some public transit as well.
How much do you accrue in airline fees for a single airline in a calendar year?
Amex will only cover fees for one specific airline which you must choose before incurring any fees. This only covers incidental fees, which do not include upgrades or mileage redemptions. This credit is counted on a calendar-year basis, so cardholders could get twice this value in the first membership year.
July through December?
This collection includes more than 100 restaurants in New York City and a few dozen restaurants each in a handful of major cities in the US, Mexico and Canada.
How much do you spend at restaurants that offer reservations on Resy...
January through March?
April through June?
July through September?
October through December?
How many DoorDash non-restaurant orders do you make per month?
How much do you spend on subscriptions to Paramount+, YouTube, Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock and/or The Wall Street Journal per month?
How much do you spend on StubHub...
January through June?
July through December?
How much do you spend at Lululemon...
January through March?
April through June?
July through September?
October through December?
How much do you spend at Saks Fifth Avenue...
January through June?
July through December?
Points
Here are ways you can gain value by earning points on spending in certain categories.
How much do you spend on purchases made via your credit card’s travel portal annually?
$8,800 is equivalent to eight $500 roundtrip flights and eight two-night hotel stays at $300 a night.
Amex gives 5x points on purchases of flights and hotels via their portal, while Chase gives 8x points on purchases of flights, hotels and rental cars via their portal.
How much do you spend on flights purchased directly with airlines annually?
$4,000 is equivalent to eight $500 roundtrip flights.
How much do you spend on hotels purchased directly with hotels annually?
$4,800 is equivalent to eight two-night stays at $300 a night.
How much do you spend on dining out, takeout and food delivery annually?
$5,200 is equivalent to two $50 meals every week.
How much do you spend on Lyft annually?
$1,040 is equivalent to one $20 ride every week.
How much do you spend annually on Peloton equipment, not including the first $150?
How much do you spend annually?
$60,000 is equivalent to $5,000 in spending per month.
You get a better value out of the
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
However, your estimated net value still does not break even with the annual fee of –$795.
How your Chase perks stack up:
$120 credit on Peloton (maximum $10 per month)
Complimentary Apple TV+ subscription
Complimentary Apple Music subscription
$120 credit on Lyft (maximum $10 per month)
$60 credit on DoorDash restaurant orders (maximum $5 per month)
$250 credit on bookings at select hotels via the Chase Travel portal, starting in 2026
$500 credit on Southwest Airlines for remainder of the year after reaching $75,000 in spending
$250 credit on The Shops at Chase for remainder of the year after reaching $75,000 in spending
$500 credit on stays of at least two nights at a hotel included in The Edit collection, (maximum of $250 credit per stay)
$300 travel credit (no points earned)
$150 credit on select restaurants on OpenTable, January through June
$150 credit on select restaurants on OpenTable, July through December
$240 credit on DoorDash non-restaurant orders (maximum $10 per order for up to 2 orders per month)
$150 credit on StubHub purchases, January through June
$150 credit on StubHub purchases, July through December
8x points on purchases via the Chase Travel portal, excluding purchases that qualify for the $300 annual travel credit, the $500 annual credit for The Edit or the $250 annual credit for select hotel bookings
4x points on flights purchased directly with airlines, excluding purchases that qualify for the $300 annual travel credit
4x points on hotels purchased directly hotels, excluding purchases that qualify for the $300 annual travel credit
3x points on dining
5x points on Lyft, excluding purchases that qualify for the $300 annual travel credit
10x points on Peloton equipment purchases over $150, up to $5,000
1x points on everything else, excluding purchases that qualify for the $300 annual travel credit or the $500 annual credit for The Edit
Consumers willing to pay hundreds of dollars a year for premium credit cards find appeal in the exclusivity at airport lounges and status at hotels that these cards offer. Chase and Amex also partner with different airlines and hotels and the value of their points can vary. Here’s a comparison of some of the other perks that were not included in the above calculation:
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Amex Platinum
Additional Perks
Sign-up bonus of 125,000 points after $6,000 in spending in the first three months for new accounts
Global Entry or TSA Precheck
Chase Sapphire Lounges
Priority Pass Select lounges
Select Maple Leaf lounges
IHG Platinum Elite status
DoorDash Dashpass
Point multiplier for certain redemptions, such as bookings via the Chase Travel portal
Sign-up bonus of up to 175,000 points after $8,000 in spending in the first six months for new accounts
Global Entry or TSA Precheck
Amex Centurion lounges
Escape Lounges
Delta Sky Club
Lufthansa lounges
Plaza Premium Lounges
Priority Pass Select lounges
Hilton Honors Gold Status
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status
Leaders Club Sterling Status from The Leading Hotels of the World
Point multiplier for certain redemptions, such as bookings via the Amex Travel portal
Point Transfer Partners
Aer Lingus AerClub
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France KLM Flying Blue
The British Airways Club
Emirates Skywards
Iberia Plus
IHG One Rewards
JetBlue TrueBlue
Marriott Bonvoy
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
World of Hyatt
Aer Lingus AerClub
Aeromexico Rewards
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France KLM Flying Blue
Ana Mileage Club
avianca lifemiles
The British Airways Club
Cathay Pacific
Choice Privileges
Delta SkyMiles
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
Hilton Honors
Iberia Plus
JetBlue TrueBlue
Marriott Bonvoy
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club