Introduction

If you travel a lot then you know you need to have a great travel credit card to help you earn miles and points and benefit your experience overall. Today I will be comparing two of the best travel credit cards, the American Express Platinum and Chase Saphire Reserve Don’t get me wrong both of these cards are great but which one is right for you. 

Chase Saphire Reserve

The Chase Saphire Reserve has a 450$ annual fee which is hefty but it has many ways to offset it. Let’s talk about its point earning multipliers first then move on to the perks and benefits. The Chase Saphire Reserve earns Chase UR points and when redeemed through Chase’s travel portal is worth 50% more! For example, if you have 50,000 points at a valuation of 1 cent per point the value of your points would be 500$,  but if they were UR points and were redeemed through the sapphire travel portal they would be worth 750$ at the same evaluation. The Reserve has these point-earning multipliers.

  • 3x points on dining worldwide
  • 3x points on airfare
  • 1x points on everything else

Note that all points are worth 50% more when booked through the  Chase travel portal. The CSR also comes with all Visa infinite benefits like a global entry credit every 4 years. The CSR comes with a free membership to priority pass select which gives you access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. Visa Infinite concierge is available with the CSR, but many people have remarked it as mediocre. Now onto the Amex Platinum.

Amex Platinum 

The Amex Platinum has a large 695$ annual fee but comes with many exclusive benefits as well. Starting off,  the Amex Platinum currently has an offer of 125,000 Membership reward points with a value of 1250$ granted you spend 6,000$ in the first six months of card membership. 

The Amex Platinum has the following point multipliers:

  • 5x Points on Flights (booked directly through airlines or through American Express travel)
  • 5x points on Prepaid Hotels (booked on amextravel.com)
  • 1x points on everything else

While the point multipliers for the Platinum are good, the benefits of the card are what make it truly stand out. Coming with 1500$ of various credits. Including a 200$ Uber Eats credit, 200$ Airline Fee Credit, 300$ Equinox Credit, 189$ credit for CLEAR, and a fee Credit towards Global Entry or TSA Precheck. Aside from monetary benefits, the Amex Platinum comes with Priority Pass just like the CSR but also grants you access to the Amex Centurion Lounges. Which are regarded as some of the best in the travel industry and are a major selling point of the card.  

Conclusion

In conclusion, both cards have hefty annual fees but offer great perks and benefits to offset this cost. In a direct comparison, I would recommend the Amex Platinum to someone who is a very frequent traveler 6-12 times a year to get the true value of the card. While for the Chase Saphire Reserve I would recommend it for somebody who travels from 4-8 times a year to get their value out of it.