Two titans come to thoughts when discussing the premium card market: The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see charges and costs) and The Platinum Card® from American Categorical.
The summer season’s premium card battle continues into the autumn with the Amex Platinum receiving a refresh that options new and enhanced advantages and a better $895 annual price (see charges and costs). These modifications immediately problem the Sapphire Reserve’s personal overhaul, which passed off earlier this yr 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 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 throughout the first six months of card membership. Welcome gives range, and also you will not be eligible for a suggestion. | Earn 125,000 bonus factors after spending $6,000 on purchases throughout 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 value. 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 simpler to realize because of its decrease spending requirement when in comparison with the Amex Platinum.
Preserve bonus eligibility for each playing cards in thoughts.
Amex solely means that you can earn a welcome provide on a card as soon as per lifetime, so in case you aren’t focused for the best provide, it could be value holding off till you might be.
The Sapphire Reserve’s eligibility additionally modified — in case you’ve beforehand acquired a welcome provide, no matter how a lot time has handed because you had been final authorised, you might be not eligible to obtain one other welcome bonus on the Sapphire Reserve.
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Winner: Tie. We advocate you go together with the Amex Platinum if focused for not less than 125,000 bonus factors; in any other case, the Sapphire Reserve is a better option.
Associated: The most effective bank card welcome bonuses
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve advantages
The Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum are the 2 costliest 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 out there 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 make it easier 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 applications like International Entry, TSA PreCheck and Clear Plus.
The tie-breaker right here, nevertheless, 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 supplied by each playing cards.
Eligible Amex Platinum cardmembers have entry to the American Categorical International Lounge Assortment, together with Centurion Lounges, Precedence Cross™ lounges, Delta Sky Golf equipment (when touring on same-day Delta Air Traces flights; restricted to 10 visits) and extra. Enrollment required.
Cardmembers can unlock Centurion Lounge visitor privileges after spending $75,000 in a calendar yr.
The Sapphire Reserve gives entry to Precedence Cross lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Membership places, and allows you to herald as much as two visitors for no extra price or minimal spend requirement.
Cardholders additionally get entry to pick 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 carry as much as two visitors, whereas I want to succeed in a minimal spend on the Amex Platinum to earn visitor privileges.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve because of its approachable assertion credit and visitor privileges at Sapphire Lounges.
Associated: Inside Chase’s beautiful 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 gives an as much as $400 Resy assertion credit score (as much as $100 every quarter) per calendar yr for eating at eligible U.S. eating places and entry to particular reservations at extremely acclaimed collaborating eating places by 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 throughout 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 word, 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 out there 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 reminiscent of 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 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 newest 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 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 other people merely use them or exit of their approach to make use of them as a result of the cardboard gives 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 journey protections:
Chase has traditionally been the chief in journey insurance coverage, as its choices have beneficiant phrases. Amex has partially closed the hole, including a collection of journey safety advantages to the Amex Platinum Card
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. It gives higher total protection throughout all forms of safety.
Associated: Tips on how to resolve if a bank card’s annual price is value paying
Incomes factors on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Though the welcome bonus is an effective strategy to begin your factors steadiness, you desire a card that’ll make it easier to rapidly earn invaluable transferable factors.
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 yr, then 1 level per greenback)
- 5 factors per greenback spent on pay as you go accommodations booked with Amex Journey
- 1 level per greenback spent on all different purchases
The Sapphire Reserve gives a broader vary of bonus classes and earns:
- 10 factors per greenback spent on Peloton gear 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 resort 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 finest for these with vital 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 targeted on airfare purchases.
The Sapphire Reserve is a card relevant to most individuals because it gives not less than a 16% (primarily based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations) return on Chase Journey purchases. It additionally gives extra bonus classes for incomes, reminiscent of accommodations and eating.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. This card gives the most effective bonus factors throughout a number of bonus classes.
Associated: Greatest reward bank cards
Redeeming factors on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Chase gives 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 accommodations by Chase Journey, because of Factors Enhance.
Add this to Chase’s record of its 14 airline and resort switch companions (13 as of Oct. 16 with the lack of Emirates Skywards).
In the meantime, the Amex Platinum gives extra methods to make use of your factors because of 17 airline and three resort switch companions. 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 resort reservations.
Factors earned from the Amex Platinum and the Sapphire Reserve could be redeemed for nontravel redemptions reminiscent of 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 virtually all the time get higher worth every time transferring your factors to airline and resort loyalty applications. All Chase associate transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, and most of them are on the spot. A invaluable switch associate is World of Hyatt, the place you may e-book an award night time for as little as 3,500 factors per night time.
On the airline aspect, fashionable switch companions embody Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Southwest Speedy Rewards and Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership.
In the meantime, Amex Membership Rewards has 20 switch companions, although not all are worthwhile. Some switch ratios are beneath 1:1, and a few switch occasions 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 want transferring my factors to applications like ANA Mileage Membership, Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways Membership.
Lately, I transferred 50,000 factors from my Sapphire Reserve to Aeroplan to e-book a multicity stopover ticket in enterprise class all through Europe for my household. Because of larger summer season pricing, the fee would’ve been effectively 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: An entire record of switch bonuses over the previous decade — which issuer is essentially the most beneficiant?
Ought to I get the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve?
Each playing cards provide stellar worth in case you use most of their perks, however they differ in key areas.
Selecting the one which most accurately fits you boils right down to what particular assertion credit and advantages finest align along with your way of life, journey habits and spending patterns. It is also value serious about the $100 annual price distinction between the 2 merchandise, that are already expensive.
And keep in mind that it would not should be one or the opposite — some TPG staffers have each playing cards as a result of they get outsize worth from each. It merely depends upon what you want from every product.
Backside line
The Sapphire Reserve is a simple premium bank card with a powerful record of assertion credit and perks that really feel much less like a “coupon e-book” to me than the Amex Platinum. The Reserve gives complete incomes charges for airfare, eating and accommodations, 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 invaluable as the advantages you maximize.
To be taught 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 right here.
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