Two titans come to mind when discussing the premium card market: The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) and The Platinum Card® from American Express.
The summer’s premium card battle continues into the fall with the Amex Platinum receiving a refresh that features new and enhanced benefits and a higher $895 annual fee (see rates and fees). These changes directly challenge the Sapphire Reserve’s own overhaul, which took place earlier this year in June.
With both cards undergoing big changes within months of each other, let’s discuss which one deserves a spot in your wallet.
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve comparison
| Card | Amex Platinum | Sapphire Reserve |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome offer | Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer. | Earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. |
| Annual fee | $895 | $795 |
| Earning rates |
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| Notable benefits |
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*Enrollment is required.
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve welcome offer
When considering a new premium card with a high annual fee, a large welcome offer will help to recoup some of that cost. With the Amex Platinum, the current welcome offer is worth up to $3,500 based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations.
Meanwhile, the Sapphire Reserve‘s welcome offer is worth $2,563 per our September 2025 valuations. It’s worth noting that the Sapphire Reserve’s bonus is easier to attain thanks to its lower spending requirement when compared to the Amex Platinum.
Keep bonus eligibility for both cards in mind.
Amex only allows you to earn a welcome offer on a card once per lifetime, so if you aren’t targeted for the highest offer, it may be worth holding off until you are.
The Sapphire Reserve’s eligibility also changed — if you’ve previously received a welcome offer, regardless of how much time has passed since you were last approved, you are no longer eligible to receive another welcome bonus on the Sapphire Reserve.
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Winner: Tie. We recommend you go with the Amex Platinum if targeted for at least 125,000 bonus points; otherwise, the Sapphire Reserve is a better choice.
Related: The best credit card welcome bonuses
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve benefits
The Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum are the two most expensive cards in the marketplace.
The new Sapphire Reserve benefits are available immediately to cardholders who opened their accounts after June 23, 2025. For existing cardholders, they will be available starting Oct. 26, 2025.
Existing Platinum holders already have access to the new benefits announced.
Despite such high annual fees, each card provides benefits that help you recoup more than you’re paying. Here’s how each card’s benefits compare.
Travel benefits
Both cards provide similar travel perks, including hotel statement credits, membership credits for travel programs like Global Entry, TSA PreCheck and Clear Plus.
The tie-breaker here, however, is the Sapphire Reserve’s easy-to-use $300 travel credit — especially compared to the more restrictive perks of the Amex Platinum, like the up to $200 airline statement credit.
Then there’s the airport lounge access offered by both cards.
Eligible Amex Platinum cardmembers have access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, including Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass™ lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when traveling on same-day Delta Air Lines flights; limited to 10 visits) and more. Enrollment required.
Cardmembers can unlock Centurion Lounge guest privileges after spending $75,000 in a calendar year.
The Sapphire Reserve provides access to Priority Pass lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club locations, and lets you bring in up to two guests for no additional fee or minimum spend requirement.
Cardholders also get access to select Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafes in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Despite its smaller footprint, I prefer Sapphire Lounges because I can bring up to two guests, whereas I need to reach a minimum spend on the Amex Platinum to earn guest privileges.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve due to its approachable statement credits and guest privileges at Sapphire Lounges.
Related: Inside Chase’s stunning new Sapphire Lounge in San Diego
Dining benefits
Premium cards also provide cardmembers with benefits at home, including food delivery and dining perks.
Sapphire Reserve’s dining-related perks include up to a $300 annual dining credit at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables via OpenTable.
The Amex Platinum provides an up to $400 Resy statement credit (up to $100 each quarter) per calendar year for dining at eligible U.S. restaurants and access to special reservations at highly acclaimed participating restaurants through the card’s new feature, Platinum Nights by Resy. Enrollment required.
By comparison, the Resy credit can be used at over 10,000 restaurants within the U.S., but the Sapphire Reserve’s $300 credit is only valid at OpenTable restaurants located in 26 U.S. cities.
On a positive note, neither the Amex Platinum nor the Sapphire Reserve requires a reservation to use the dining credits.
Winner: Amex Platinum. Higher dining statement credit value and available at more restaurants across the U.S.
Entertainment and lifestyle benefits
With the card’s latest refresh, the Amex Platinum continues to extend into lifestyle perks.
As noted above, cardmembers earn statement credits with notable brands such as up to $75 a quarter at Lululemon in-store (U.S.) and online (excluding outlets), up to $200 annually for an Oura Ring (hardware only), up to $50 biannually at Saks, up to $120 annually for an Uber One membership (subject to auto-renewal) and up to $12.95 a month plus applicable taxes for a Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal, Plus Up excluded).
Additional lifestyle statement credits include an up to $300 Equinox statement credit (subject to auto-renewal) and an up to $300 SoulCycle statement credit.
Enrollment is required for select benefits.
While Amex overwhelms with niche statement credits, Chase keeps it simple and provides up to a $300 annual statement credit for StubHub or Viagogo (activation required) and complimentary memberships for Apple TV+ and Apple Music (a one-time activation is required per service).
The latest statement credits added to the Amex Platinum appeal to me personally. I love Lululemon, and their athletic wear makes for the best travel outfits.
Additionally, Amex has increased the monthly statement credit to up to $25 for streaming services and added Paramount+, YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, (enrollment required). Amex Platinum is also the king of streaming service providers because, as Walmart+ members, cardmembers get access to either Paramount+ Essential (separate enrollment required) or a Peacock premium plan.
It goes without saying that the Amex Platinum has more lifestyle statement credits, but many of these credits don’t mean much to every cardmember, and people simply use them or go out of their way to use them because the card offers them. Otherwise, these benefits are generally not on their radar.
Winner: Tie. If the Amex Platinum statement credits apply to you, it’s worth it. Otherwise, the Sapphire Reserve credits are easier to use.
Travel protections
The Sapphire Reserve comes with its industry-leading travel protections:
Chase has historically been the leader in travel insurance, as its offerings have generous terms. Amex has partially closed the gap, adding a suite of travel protection benefits to the Amex Platinum Card
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. It offers better overall coverage across all types of protection.
Related: How to decide if a credit card’s annual fee is worth paying
Earning points on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Although the welcome bonus is a good way to start your points balance, you want a card that’ll help you quickly earn valuable transferable points.
The Amex Platinum earns:
- 5 points per dollar spent on airfare purchased directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
- 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel
- 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
The Sapphire Reserve offers a broader range of bonus categories and earns:
- 10 points per dollar spent on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases of $150 or more (through Dec. 31, 2027), with a maximum of 50,000 points
- 8 points per dollar spent on all Chase Travel purchases
- 5 points per dollar spent on Lyft rides (through Sept. 30, 2027)
- 4 points per dollar spent on flights and hotel purchases made directly with the merchant
- 3 points per dollar spent on dining purchases
- 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
The Amex Platinum is best for those with significant airfare purchases (as it provides a terrific 10% return based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations), but that’s also where the problem lies; it’s too focused on airfare purchases.
The Sapphire Reserve is a card applicable to most people as it provides at least a 16% (based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations) return on Chase Travel purchases. It also offers more bonus categories for earning, such as hotels and dining.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. This card offers the best bonus points across several bonus categories.
Related: Best reward credit cards
Redeeming points on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards are similarly valued at 2.05 and 2 cents apiece, respectively, according to TPG’s September 2025 valuations.
Chase provides guaranteed value by offering a 50% bonus when redeeming points for travel directly through Chase Travel until Oct. 26, 2027 (for existing cardholders before June 23), and up to a 100% bonus of 2 points per dollar spent with select airlines and The Edit hotels through Chase Travel, thanks to Points Boost.
Add this to Chase’s list of its 14 airline and hotel transfer partners (13 as of Oct. 16 with the loss of Emirates Skywards).
Meanwhile, the Amex Platinum offers more ways to use your points thanks to 17 airline and three hotel transfer partners. Unfortunately, compared to Chase, American Express Travel redemptions are only 1 cent per point for flight bookings and 0.7 cents per point for hotel reservations.
Points earned from the Amex Platinum and the Sapphire Reserve can be redeemed for nontravel redemptions such as cash back, statement credits and gift cards, but these redemptions generally yield poor value.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. The card has a higher redemption value for travel.
Transferring points on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
You’ll almost always get better value whenever transferring your points to airline and hotel loyalty programs. All Chase partner transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, and most of them are instant. A valuable transfer partner is World of Hyatt, where you can book an award night for as low as 3,500 points per night.
On the airline side, popular transfer partners include Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Southwest Rapid Rewards and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Meanwhile, Amex Membership Rewards has 20 transfer partners, though not all are worthwhile. Some transfer ratios are below 1:1, and some transfer times are longer, which can be risky in terms of award space disappearing while you wait.
As someone who has both the Amex Platinum and the Sapphire Reserve, I prefer transferring my points to programs like ANA Mileage Club, Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways Club.
Recently, I transferred 50,000 points from my Sapphire Reserve to Aeroplan to book a multicity stopover ticket in business class throughout Europe for my family. Due to higher summer pricing, the cost would’ve been well over $2,000 if I had paid cash for the flights.
Winner: Tie. Although the Sapphire Reserve has better transfer ratios, the Amex Platinum has more partners, including some not found with other issuers.
Related: A complete list of transfer bonuses over the past decade — which issuer is the most generous?
Should I get the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve?
Both cards offer stellar value if you use most of their perks, but they differ in key areas.
Choosing the one that best suits you boils down to what specific statement credits and benefits best align with your lifestyle, travel habits and spending patterns. It’s also worth thinking about the $100 annual fee difference between the two products, which are already pricey.
And remember that it doesn’t have to be one or the other — some TPG staffers have both cards because they get outsize value from both. It simply depends on what you need from each product.
Bottom line
The Sapphire Reserve is a straightforward premium credit card with an impressive list of statement credits and perks that feel less like a “coupon book” to me than the Amex Platinum. The Reserve offers comprehensive earning rates for airfare, dining and hotels, something missing on the Amex Platinum.
The Amex Platinum responded strongly to Chase and has elevated the card beyond travel, adding several new statement credits worth over $1,000 in value, and immediate access to new benefits, something Reserve cardholders had to wait a few months for.
With both options, the cards are only as valuable as the benefits you maximize.
To learn more, read our full reviews of the Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum.
Apply here: Amex Platinum
Apply here: Sapphire Reserve
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.
