Why the Chase Sapphire Reserve May Be a Better Luxury Travel Card Than the Amex Platinum
For years, the American Express Platinum Card has been viewed as the gold standard of luxury travel cards. Airport lounges, elite status benefits, luxury hotel perks, and a long list of credits have helped it build a reputation as the ultimate premium travel card.
But there’s a problem.
Most people aren’t actually earning many points on the purchases they make every day with the Platinum Card. And if we’re being honest, many cardholders struggle to use all of those credits that justify the card’s hefty annual fee.
Meanwhile, the newly refreshed Chase Sapphire Reserve is quietly making a strong case for itself. It earns bonus points in categories people actually use, offers credits that are remarkably easy to redeem, and for many travelers, may provide better real-world value.
After adding the new Chase Sapphire Reserve to our wallet this week, I’m genuinely impressed. Let me show you why.
The Biggest Difference: How You Actually Earn Points
The first thing that stands out is the earning structure.
The Amex Platinum earns:
5x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines
5x points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
1x point on most everyday purchases
That’s great if you’re constantly booking flights, but it doesn’t do much for your daily spending.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve, on the other hand, rewards spending that many people make every week:
8x points on Chase Travel purchases
4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
3x points on dining worldwide
5x points on Lyft
10x points on Peloton purchases
1x point on everything else
The most important category here is dining.
If you’re carrying an Amex Platinum and want meaningful rewards on restaurant spending, you’ll need to add another card. The Amex Gold earns 4x on dining, but that means paying an additional annual fee.
With the Sapphire Reserve, 3x dining rewards are already built in.
For many people, that makes it much easier to accumulate valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points without changing spending habits.
The Annual Fee Is High—But Easier to Justify
Let’s address the elephant in the room.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve carries a $795 annual fee.
Adding an authorized user costs another $195.
That’s certainly not cheap.
However, the Amex Platinum starts at $895 annually, plus $195 for authorized users.
While neither card is inexpensive, the Sapphire Reserve comes in about $100 lower before you even start factoring in the credits.
And that’s where things get interesting.
Chase Keeps the Credits Simple
One of the things that impressed me most after receiving the card was how easy Chase makes it to understand and use the benefits.
American Express often feels like a coupon book.
There’s a dining credit.
An airline incidental fee credit.
A digital entertainment credit.
A shopping credit.
A fitness credit.
And many of them require enrollment, activation, tracking, or remembering which merchant qualifies.
With Chase, most of the card’s value comes from a handful of credits that are straightforward and easy to use.
$500 Edit Collection Hotel Credit
One of the standout benefits is the annual $500 Edit Collection hotel credit.
This can be used as two separate $250 credits throughout the year on qualifying hotel stays of at least two nights.
While some Edit Collection properties are ultra-luxury resorts costing thousands per night, there are also surprisingly affordable options.
For example:
The Wave Hotel near Orlando often runs between $200 and $250 per night.
Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate frequently falls in the $250 to $300 range for standard rooms.
When I compared refundable rates directly through Omni versus Chase Travel, the pricing was virtually identical.
The difference?
The Chase booking included benefits such as:
Complimentary breakfast for two
Potential room upgrades
Early check-in
Late checkout
In some cases, booking through Chase actually provided more value than booking direct.
An Additional $250 Hotel Credit
Certain hotel brands qualify for an additional $250 credit through Chase Travel.
These include select:
Omni Hotels
IHG Hotels
Virgin Hotels
Pendry Hotels
What’s particularly interesting is that some properties qualify for both hotel credits.
That means a stay could potentially receive up to $500 in credits while still receiving premium hotel benefits.
For travelers who enjoy occasional resort stays, these credits alone can offset a substantial portion of the annual fee.
The Easiest $300 Travel Credit in the Industry
This remains one of my favorite premium card benefits.
Spend money on travel.
Get reimbursed.
That’s it.
No enrollment.
No activation.
No special booking requirements.
No hunting through terms and conditions.
Hotels, rental cars, airfare, parking, tolls, and many other travel expenses qualify automatically.
It’s refreshingly simple.
Dining Credits: Not Perfect, But Manageable
The Sapphire Reserve includes up to $300 annually in dining credits through Chase’s exclusive OpenTable experiences.
The credit is split into two $150 opportunities throughout the year.
Finding participating restaurants can vary depending on where you live.
In Orlando, there are only a handful of participating locations.
However, major cities like:
New York
Washington D.C.
Philadelphia
Charleston
offer significantly more options.
While the credit isn’t quite as flexible as some competitors, I actually prefer the structure.
You only need to remember it twice per year.
Compare that to Amex’s quarterly dining credits, where missing a quarter means losing value permanently.
The Other Credits
Not every credit will matter to everyone.
Here’s how I personally value them:
StubHub Credit
The card offers up to $300 annually through StubHub.
My wife and I rarely attend concerts or sporting events, but friends and family certainly do.
Even if we only extract half the face value, it’s still meaningful.
Apple Services
This one is easy for us.
My wife already pays for Apple Music.
That means we’re receiving value from a service we would have paid for anyway.
Those are the best kinds of credits.
DoorDash and Lyft
Personally, I don’t place much value on the grocery delivery credits.
Others may love them.
That’s why credit valuations are always personal.
The Power of Chase Ultimate Rewards
The Sapphire Reserve becomes even more compelling when you factor in Chase’s transfer partners.
Most notably:
Hyatt
United
Southwest
Air Canada Aeroplan
British Airways
Hyatt remains one of the strongest hotel transfer partners available despite recent award pricing changes.
When used strategically, Ultimate Rewards points can still generate exceptional value.
A Huge Welcome Bonus
Right now, Chase is offering:
150,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $6,000 within three months.
That’s one of the strongest public offers we’ve seen on the Sapphire Reserve.
For comparison:
Amex Platinum public offers often start around 75,000 points
Targeted Platinum offers can reach 175,000 points
Whether Chase or Amex wins here largely depends on which offer you’re eligible for, but 150,000 Ultimate Rewards points is undeniably compelling.
International Travel: Another Area Where Chase Wins
The Sapphire Reserve is a Visa.
That means it works virtually everywhere.
When my wife and I travel to:
Edinburgh
Copenhagen
Santiago, Chile
the Sapphire Reserve will likely be our primary card.
American Express acceptance has improved globally, but Visa remains the safer option when traveling internationally.
If you’re only carrying one premium travel card abroad, Chase has a significant advantage.
Where the Amex Platinum Still Shines
To be fair, the Platinum Card still has strengths.
Its Fine Hotels + Resorts program remains excellent.
Airport lounge access is arguably stronger.
Some cardholders can extract tremendous value from credits like:
Saks Fifth Avenue
Walmart+
Digital Entertainment
Equinox
Airline incidental credits
But that’s the key point.
You have to actively work to maximize those benefits.
The Sapphire Reserve feels different.
Much of its value comes from spending you’re already doing.
Travel.
Dining.
Hotels.
That’s why it feels less like managing a coupon book and more like simply having a premium travel card.
Final Thoughts
After only a few days with the new Chase Sapphire Reserve, I’m genuinely impressed.
The earning rates are stronger for everyday spending.
The travel credit is effortless.
The hotel credits appear surprisingly usable.
And the overall value proposition feels easier to capture than what’s offered by the Amex Platinum.
The Platinum Card is still an excellent product.
But if you’re looking for a luxury travel card that rewards how you actually spend money—and doesn’t require a spreadsheet to track every credit—the Chase Sapphire Reserve may be the better choice.
What do you think?
Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve finally giving the Amex Platinum serious competition, or is the Platinum still the king of premium travel cards?
Let me know in the comments.