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 modifications immediately problem the Sapphire Reserve’s own overhaul, which occurred earlier this 12 months in June.
With each playing cards present process huge modifications 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 supply | Discover out your supply 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 fluctuate, and also you is probably not eligible for a suggestion. | 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 supply
When contemplating a brand new premium card with a excessive annual price, a big welcome supply will assist to recoup a few of that price. With the Amex Platinum, the present welcome supply is value as much as $3,500 based mostly on TPG’s September 2025 valuations.
In the meantime, the Sapphire Reserve‘s welcome supply is value $2,563 per our September 2025 valuations. It is value noting that the Sapphire Reserve’s bonus is simpler to achieve because of its decrease spending requirement when in comparison with the Amex Platinum.
Preserve bonus eligibility for each playing cards in thoughts.
Amex solely permits you to earn a welcome supply on a card once per lifetime, so if you happen to aren’t focused for the best supply, it could be value holding off till you might be.
The Sapphire Reserve’s eligibility also changed — if you happen to’ve beforehand obtained a welcome supply, no matter how a lot time has handed because you had been final authorized, you might be now 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 no less than 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 present cardholders, they are going to be accessible beginning Oct. 26, 2025.
Current Platinum holders have already got entry to the brand new advantages introduced.
Regardless of such excessive annual charges, every card offers advantages that provide help to recoup greater than you are paying. This is how every card’s advantages evaluate.
Journey advantages
Each playing cards present related journey perks, together with lodge assertion credit, membership credit for journey packages like World 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 offers entry to Priority Pass lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club places, and allows you to usher in as much as two company for no further 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 want Sapphire Lounges as a result of I can convey as much as two company, whereas I would like to succeed in a minimal spend on the Amex Platinum to earn visitor privileges.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve attributable to 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 residence, together with meals supply and eating perks.
Sapphire Reserve’s dining-related perks embody as much as a $300 annual eating credit score at Sapphire Reserve Unique Tables through OpenTable.
The Amex Platinum offers 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 by the cardboard’s new characteristic, 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 just legitimate at OpenTable eating places situated 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. Increased eating assertion credit score worth and accessible 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 equivalent 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 embody 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 offers 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 attraction to me personally. I really like Lululemon, and their athletic put on makes for the perfect journey outfits.
Moreover, Amex has elevated the month-to-month assertion credit score to as much as $25 for streaming companies 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 folks merely use them or exit of their means 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 total 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 effective strategy to begin your factors stability, you need a card that’ll provide help to rapidly earn valuable transferable points.
The Amex Platinum earns:
- 5 factors per greenback spent on airfare bought immediately with airways or by 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 motels 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 (by 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 (by Sept. 30, 2027)
- 4 factors per greenback spent on flights and lodge purchases made immediately 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 greatest for these with important airfare purchases (because it offers a terrific 10% return based mostly on TPG’s September 2025 valuations), however that is additionally the place the issue lies; it is too targeted on airfare purchases.
The Sapphire Reserve is a card relevant to most individuals because it offers no less than a 16% (based mostly on TPG’s September 2025 valuations) return on Chase Journey purchases. It additionally affords extra bonus classes for incomes, equivalent to motels and eating.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. This card affords the perfect 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, in accordance with TPG’s September 2025 valuations.
Chase offers assured worth by providing a 50% bonus when redeeming factors for journey immediately by Chase Journey till Oct. 26, 2027 (for present cardholders earlier than June 23), and as much as a 100% bonus of two factors per greenback spent with choose airways and The Edit motels by 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 Categorical Journey redemptions are just one cent per level for flight bookings and 0.7 cents per level for lodge reservations.
Factors earned from the Amex Platinum and the Sapphire Reserve may be redeemed for nontravel redemptions equivalent to money again, assertion credit and present 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 at all times get higher worth every time transferring your points to airline and lodge loyalty packages. All Chase associate transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, and most of them are instant. A worthwhile switch associate is World of Hyatt, the place you possibly can ebook an award evening for as low as 3,500 points per night.
On the airline facet, in style switch companions embody 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 beneath 1:1, and some transfer times are longer, which may be dangerous when it comes to award area disappearing when you wait.
As somebody who has each the Amex Platinum and the Sapphire Reserve, I want transferring my factors to packages like ANA Mileage Club, Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways Club.
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. Resulting from larger summer time pricing, the price would’ve been nicely 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 supply stellar worth if you happen to use most of their perks, however they differ in key areas.
Selecting the one which most accurately fits you boils all the way down to what particular assertion credit and advantages greatest align together with your way of life, journey habits and spending patterns. It is also value fascinated by the $100 annual price distinction between the 2 merchandise, that are already expensive.
And do not forget that it would not must 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 motels, 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 rapid 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 worthwhile as the advantages you maximize.
To study extra, learn our full critiques 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.