Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Amex Platinum 2024: Which Is Best for You?
Updated March 5, 2024 at 2:57 pm
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Methodology Understanding the value of cash back is simple, but valuing airline miles or points redeemable for travel requires digging a bit deeper. At Newsweek, we’ve developed a common language to talk about the value of points and miles: our valuations.
Our valuations translate points into dollars and cents in a way that reflects reality. They are based on actual data across a balance of accessible redemption options, not just the aspirational first and business class redemptions that require a PhD in miles and points to book. The upshot is that our valuations help you understand the actual value you can easily get from your miles and points.
Not all travel cards are created equally. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express offer numerous benefits for card members, but these two cards benefit two different types of travelers.
Expert Take: For those who enjoy traveling in style, the American Express Platinum card offers numerous luxury benefits. However, those benefits come with a high price tag—a $695 annual fee (see rates and fees). For customers who want some travel benefits without the high-end extras, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which charges a $95 annual fee, is a good alternative.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a flexible travel credit card with an accessible $95 annual fee, making it an easier choice for a majority of consumers who can’t fathom spending hundreds of dollars on credit card annual fees. It also offers many other perks, like various travel insurance protections, a hotel credit and partner offers.
Pros
- Earns high rewards on travel and a few everyday spending categories
- Get 25% more points on travel booked through Chase Travel
- Several travel protections available for cardholders, including primary rental car insurance
Cons
- Does not offer an application fee rebate for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS
- No airport lounge access benefit
- Far fewer travel statement credit opportunities compared to premium travel cards
Amex Platinum
The American Express Platinum card has many perks, including annual hotel statement credits, statement credits for airline incidental charges, fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and even Uber Cash. However, access to these perks and many more comes with a high $695 annual fee.
Pros
- High rewards potential for frequent travelers booking through the American Express Travel portal
- Extensive airport lounge access through the Global Lounge Collection
- Over $1,500 worth of value through statement and merchant offers toward travel, dining and more
Cons
- Charges one of the highest annual fees on the market
- No everyday rewards categories
- Could be a challenge to maximize enough offers to justify the annual fee
Vault’s Viewpoints on the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Amex Platinum
The American Express Platinum is a premium travel credit card that’s best for those who like high-end luxury perks, such as access to airport lounges and premium partner benefits. However, those extras come with a pricey $695 annual fee. For frequent travelers who appreciate luxury amenities that make traveling easier, the American Express Platinum card would be a good fit. It’s also a good fit for those who don’t mind paying a high annual fee or spending time to ensure they maximize each perk.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a good option for customers looking for a more simplistic or entry-level travel credit card that earns flexible rewards. Points earned with this card are redeemable in numerous ways through Chase or its 14 transfer partners, and you can boost your points’ value by 25% when booking travel through the Chase Travel portal. With a $95 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is more accessible to the average traveler.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Highlights
- Annual fee: $95
- Welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, equal to $750 when you redeem for travel through Chase Travel
- Foreign transaction fees: None
Earning Rewards With the Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Rewards rates include:
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel
- 5X points on Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025)
- 5X on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 up to 25,000 total points earned (through March 31, 2025)
- 3X points on dining (including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out)
- 3X points on online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3X points on select streaming services
- 2X points on other travel purchases
- 1X points on all other purchases
Other Benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Here are some other benefits included with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card:
- Hotel statement credit: Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel. These hotel purchases that qualify are excluded in the 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel
- Partner perks: Enjoy a complimentary one-year DoorDash Dashpass subscription when you activate by December 31, 2024. Plus, get six months of complimentary Instacart+ membership when you activate by July 31, 2024 (subject to auto-renewal).
- Bonus points on travel: Get 25% more value for your points when you redeem for travel through the Chase Travel portal.
- Travel protections: Insurance protections include trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement and a primary auto rental collision damage waiver.
For more on the benefits of this card we look at, read our Chase Sapphire Preferred review.
Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Worth It?
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, you can earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. If you redeem those points for travel through Chase Travel, that’s $750 in value—far surpassing the card’s $95annual fee.
Add in the card’s other benefits, such as its $50 anniversary hotel credit and partner perks, and it’s easy to see that the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers more than enough value to offset this yearly cost.
Amex Platinum Highlights
- Annual fee: $695
- Welcome bonus: Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 in the first six months of card ownership
- Foreign transaction fees: None (see rates and fees)
Earning Rewards With the Amex Platinum
The American Express Platinum earns Membership Rewards points. The card’s highest rewards rates focus on select spending with American Express Travel, limiting its earning potential outside of the Amex ecosphere.
- 5X Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 per calendar year, then 1X points)
- 5X points on eligible prepaid hotels booked on American Express Travel
- 1X points on all other eligible purchases
Other Benefits of the Amex Platinum
When it comes to benefits, the Amex Platinum card delivers, offering a seemingly endless list of features and perks. Here are some of the top benefits included with the American Express Platinum:
- Global Lounge Collection: Get access to everything from Amex Centurion Lounges, Escape Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs and Priority Pass lounges. Restrictions apply to lounge access, and Priority Pass requires enrollment.
- Travel statement credits: Enjoy travel-related statement credits, including up to $200 in airline incidental fee credits each calendar year after incidental fees are charged to a qualifying airline you selected.
- Elite status perks: Receive complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, as well as complimentary status with car rental programs Avis, Hertz and National for being a cardmember.
- Travel insurance: Get protected with trip cancellation and interruption insurance*, trip delay insurance*, secondary car rental loss and damage insurance*, baggage insurance* and much more.
For a closer look of the benefits we examine, visit our Platinum Card from American Express review.
Is the Amex Platinum Worth It?
To justify the $695 annual fee and make subsequent years of card ownership worthwhile, it’s important that you can either spend enough on travel to offset the cost of the annual fee or utilize enough statement credits and perks.
Who Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Best for?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is ideal for frequent travelers who want travel perks without paying hundreds of dollars toward an annual fee. Further, the portal to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points is easy to navigate, which makes it a good card for beginners who are just getting started with travel rewards cards.
On the other hand, this card isn’t the best pick for those seeking luxury travel perks and an overall enhanced travel experience. It’s also not the best option if avoiding an annual fee entirely is your top priority. In that case, you may want to review the best travel cards with no annual fee.
Who Is the Amex Platinum Best For?
The Amex Platinum is best for those who travel frequently and want access to premium perks like airline lounge access and hotel elite status. It’s also a good fit for someone who doesn’t mind the high $695 annual fee, even if they cannot recoup the cost through rewards alone.
The Amex Platinum is one of the most premium credit cards on the market, and if you’re not ready to commit to such a high annual fee, there are plenty of top travel credit cards with lower annual fees and worthwhile perks. The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, for example, charges a lower $395 annual fee but includes airport lounge access and a $300 annual travel credit.
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Amex Platinum Differences
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | Amex Platinum | |
| Annual fee | $95 | $695 |
| Welcome bonus | Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of card ownership | Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 in the first six months of card ownership |
| Annual hotel credit | $50 each account anniversary for hotel stays purchased through the Chase Travel | Up to $200 in statement credits each year for stays booked with Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection using your Platinum card (minimum two-night stay for The Hotel Collection stays) |
| Lounge access | Not included | Access to more than 1,400 airport lounges through the Global Lounge Collection |
| Elite status | Not included | Complimentary status with Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Avis Preferred, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, and National Car Rental Emerald Club |
Who Should Consider an Alternative?
If you want more perks than what’s offered with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and don’t want to pay the high annual fee of the Amex Platinum, rest assured that there are plenty of travel credit card options that fall in between, including the Capital One Venture X, American Express® Green Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Newsweek.com. The American Express® Green Card is no longer available through Newsweek.com.
*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. We may earn a commission from partner links on Newsweek, but commissions do not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations.
