Two titans come to thoughts when discussing the premium card market: The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) and The Platinum Card® from American Express.
The summer time’s premium card battle continues into the autumn with the Amex Platinum receiving a refresh that options new and enhanced benefits and a better $895 annual price (see rates and fees). These adjustments straight problem the Sapphire Reserve’s own overhaul, which befell earlier this 12 months in June.
With each playing cards present process huge adjustments inside months of one another, let’s talk about which one deserves a spot in your pockets.
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve comparability
| Card | Amex Platinum | Sapphire Reserve |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome provide | Discover out your provide and see if you’re eligible for as excessive as 175,000 bonus factors after spending $8,000 on purchases inside the first six months of card membership. Welcome affords range, and also you might not be eligible for a proposal. | Earn 125,000 bonus factors after spending $6,000 on purchases inside the first three months of account opening. |
| Annual price | $895 | $795 |
| Incomes charges |
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| Notable advantages |
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*Enrollment is required.
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve welcome provide
When contemplating a brand new premium card with a excessive annual price, a big welcome provide will assist to recoup a few of that price. With the Amex Platinum, the present welcome provide is value as much as $3,500 primarily based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations.
In the meantime, the Sapphire Reserve‘s welcome provide is value $2,563 per our September 2025 valuations. It is value noting that the Sapphire Reserve’s bonus is less complicated to achieve because of its decrease spending requirement when in comparison with the Amex Platinum.
Hold bonus eligibility for each playing cards in thoughts.
Amex solely lets you earn a welcome provide on a card once per lifetime, so in the event you aren’t focused for the best provide, it could be value holding off till you might be.
The Sapphire Reserve’s eligibility also changed — in the event you’ve beforehand acquired a welcome provide, no matter how a lot time has handed because you had been final authorized, you might be not eligible to obtain one other welcome bonus on the Sapphire Reserve.
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Winner: Tie. We suggest you go along with the Amex Platinum if focused for at the very least 125,000 bonus factors; in any other case, the Sapphire Reserve is a better option.
Associated: The best credit card welcome bonuses
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve advantages
The Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum are the 2 most costly playing cards within the market.
The brand new Sapphire Reserve advantages can be found instantly to cardholders who opened their accounts after June 23, 2025. For current cardholders, they are going to be obtainable beginning Oct. 26, 2025.
Present Platinum holders have already got entry to the brand new advantages introduced.
Regardless of such excessive annual charges, every card gives advantages that enable you to recoup greater than you are paying. Here is how every card’s advantages examine.
Journey advantages
Each playing cards present related journey perks, together with resort assertion credit, membership credit for journey packages like International Entry, TSA PreCheck and Clear Plus.
The tie-breaker right here, nonetheless, is the Sapphire Reserve’s easy-to-use $300 journey credit score — particularly in comparison with the extra restrictive perks of the Amex Platinum, just like the as much as $200 airline assertion credit score.
Then there’s the airport lounge entry provided by each playing cards.
Eligible Amex Platinum cardmembers have entry to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, together with Centurion Lounges, Precedence Go™ lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when touring on same-day Delta Air Lines flights; limited to 10 visits) and extra. Enrollment required.
Cardmembers can unlock Centurion Lounge visitor privileges after spending $75,000 in a calendar 12 months.
The Sapphire Reserve gives entry to Priority Pass lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club places, and allows you to usher in as much as two friends for no extra price or minimal spend requirement.
Cardholders additionally get access to select Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafes in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Regardless of its smaller footprint, I desire Sapphire Lounges as a result of I can convey as much as two friends, whereas I want to succeed in a minimal spend on the Amex Platinum to earn visitor privileges.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve on account of its approachable assertion credit and visitor privileges at Sapphire Lounges.
Associated: Inside Chase’s stunning new Sapphire Lounge in San Diego
Eating advantages
Premium playing cards additionally present cardmembers with advantages at dwelling, together with meals supply and eating perks.
Sapphire Reserve’s dining-related perks embrace as much as a $300 annual eating credit score at Sapphire Reserve Unique Tables through OpenTable.
The Amex Platinum gives an as much as $400 Resy assertion credit score (as much as $100 every quarter) per calendar 12 months for eating at eligible U.S. eating places and entry to particular reservations at extremely acclaimed taking part eating places via the cardboard’s new function, Platinum Nights by Resy. Enrollment required.
By comparability, the Resy credit score can be utilized at over 10,000 eating places inside the U.S., however the Sapphire Reserve’s $300 credit score is simply legitimate at OpenTable eating places positioned in 26 U.S. cities.
On a optimistic notice, neither the Amex Platinum nor the Sapphire Reserve requires a reservation to make use of the eating credit.
Winner: Amex Platinum. Greater eating assertion credit score worth and obtainable at extra eating places throughout the U.S.
Leisure and way of life advantages
With the cardboard’s newest refresh, the Amex Platinum continues to increase into way of life perks.
As famous above, cardmembers earn assertion credit with notable manufacturers corresponding to as much as $75 1 / 4 at Lululemon in-store (U.S.) and on-line (excluding retailers), as much as $200 yearly for an Oura Ring ({hardware} solely), as much as $50 biannually at Saks, as much as $120 yearly for an Uber One membership (topic to auto-renewal) and as much as $12.95 a month plus relevant taxes for a Walmart+ membership (topic to auto-renewal, Plus Up excluded).
Extra way of life assertion credit embrace an as much as $300 Equinox assertion credit score (topic to auto-renewal) and an as much as $300 SoulCycle assertion credit score.
Enrollment is required for choose advantages.
Whereas Amex overwhelms with area of interest assertion credit, Chase retains it easy and gives as much as a $300 annual assertion credit score for StubHub or Viagogo (activation required) and complimentary memberships for Apple TV+ and Apple Music (a one-time activation is required per service).
The most recent assertion credit added to the Amex Platinum enchantment to me personally. I really like Lululemon, and their athletic put on makes for the most effective journey outfits.
Moreover, Amex has elevated the month-to-month assertion credit score to as much as $25 for streaming providers and added Paramount+, YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, (enrollment required). Amex Platinum can also be the king of streaming service suppliers as a result of, as Walmart+ members, cardmembers get entry to both Paramount+ Important (separate enrollment required) or a Peacock premium plan.
It goes with out saying that the Amex Platinum has extra way of life assertion credit, however many of those credit do not imply a lot to each cardmember, and other people merely use them or exit of their approach to make use of them as a result of the cardboard affords them. In any other case, these advantages are usually not on their radar.
Winner: Tie. If the Amex Platinum assertion credit apply to you, it is value it. In any other case, the Sapphire Reserve credit are simpler to make use of.
Journey protections
The Sapphire Reserve comes with its industry-leading travel protections:
Chase has traditionally been the chief in journey insurance coverage, as its choices have beneficiant phrases. Amex has partially closed the gap, including a collection of travel protection benefits to the Amex Platinum Card
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. It affords higher general protection throughout all sorts of safety.
Associated: How to decide if a credit card’s annual fee is worth paying
Incomes factors on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Though the welcome bonus is an efficient method to begin your factors stability, you desire a card that’ll enable you to shortly earn valuable transferable points.
The Amex Platinum earns:
- 5 factors per greenback spent on airfare bought straight with airways or via Amex Journey (on as much as $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar 12 months, then 1 level per greenback)
- 5 factors per greenback spent on pay as you go inns booked with Amex Journey
- 1 level per greenback spent on all different purchases
The Sapphire Reserve affords a broader vary of bonus classes and earns:
- 10 factors per greenback spent on Peloton tools and accent purchases of $150 or extra (via Dec. 31, 2027), with a most of fifty,000 factors
- 8 factors per greenback spent on all Chase Journey purchases
- 5 factors per greenback spent on Lyft rides (via Sept. 30, 2027)
- 4 factors per greenback spent on flights and resort purchases made straight with the service provider
- 3 factors per greenback spent on eating purchases
- 1 level per greenback spent on all different purchases
The Amex Platinum is finest for these with important airfare purchases (because it gives a terrific 10% return primarily based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations), however that is additionally the place the issue lies; it is too centered on airfare purchases.
The Sapphire Reserve is a card relevant to most individuals because it gives at the very least a 16% (primarily based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations) return on Chase Journey purchases. It additionally affords extra bonus classes for incomes, corresponding to inns and eating.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. This card affords the most effective bonus factors throughout a number of bonus classes.
Associated: Best reward credit cards
Redeeming factors on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards are equally valued at 2.05 and a couple of cents apiece, respectively, based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations.
Chase gives assured worth by providing a 50% bonus when redeeming factors for journey straight via Chase Journey till Oct. 26, 2027 (for current cardholders earlier than June 23), and as much as a 100% bonus of two factors per greenback spent with choose airways and The Edit inns via Chase Journey, because of Points Boost.
Add this to Chase’s checklist of its 14 airline and hotel transfer partners (13 as of Oct. 16 with the loss of Emirates Skywards).
In the meantime, the Amex Platinum affords extra methods to make use of your factors because of 17 airline and three hotel transfer partners. Sadly, in comparison with Chase, American Specific Journey redemptions are just one cent per level for flight bookings and 0.7 cents per level for resort reservations.
Factors earned from the Amex Platinum and the Sapphire Reserve could be redeemed for nontravel redemptions corresponding to money again, assertion credit and reward playing cards, however these redemptions usually yield poor worth.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. The cardboard has a better redemption worth for journey.
Transferring factors on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
You will nearly all the time get higher worth every time transferring your points to airline and resort loyalty packages. All Chase associate transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, and most of them are instant. A priceless switch associate is World of Hyatt, the place you may ebook an award night time for as low as 3,500 points per night.
On the airline facet, in style switch companions embrace Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Southwest Rapid Rewards and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
In the meantime, Amex Membership Rewards has 20 switch companions, although not all are worthwhile. Some switch ratios are under 1:1, and some transfer times are longer, which could be dangerous by way of award house disappearing when you wait.
As somebody who has each the Amex Platinum and the Sapphire Reserve, I desire transferring my factors to packages like ANA Mileage Club, Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways Club.
Just lately, I transferred 50,000 factors from my Sapphire Reserve to Aeroplan to ebook a multicity stopover ticket in enterprise class all through Europe for my household. Because of greater summer time pricing, the fee would’ve been properly over $2,000 if I had paid money for the flights.
Winner: Tie. Though the Sapphire Reserve has higher switch ratios, the Amex Platinum has extra companions, together with some not discovered with different issuers.
Associated: A complete list of transfer bonuses over the past decade — which issuer is the most generous?
Ought to I get the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve?
Each playing cards provide stellar worth in the event you use most of their perks, however they differ in key areas.
Selecting the one which most closely fits you boils all the way down to what particular assertion credit and advantages finest align together with your way of life, journey habits and spending patterns. It is also value fascinated about the $100 annual price distinction between the 2 merchandise, that are already dear.
And keep in mind that it does not need to be one or the opposite — some TPG staffers have each playing cards as a result of they get outsize worth from each. It merely relies on what you want from every product.
Backside line
The Sapphire Reserve is an easy premium bank card with a powerful checklist of assertion credit and perks that really feel much less like a “coupon ebook” to me than the Amex Platinum. The Reserve affords complete incomes charges for airfare, eating and inns, one thing lacking on the Amex Platinum.
The Amex Platinum responded strongly to Chase and has elevated the cardboard past journey, including a number of new assertion credit value over $1,000 in worth, and quick entry to new advantages, one thing Reserve cardholders needed to wait a couple of months for.
With each choices, the playing cards are solely as priceless as the advantages you maximize.
To be taught extra, learn our full evaluations of the Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum.
Apply right here: Amex Platinum
Apply right here: Sapphire Reserve
For charges and costs of the Amex Platinum, click on here.
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