Two titans come to thoughts when discussing the premium card market: The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see charges and charges) and The Platinum Card® from American Specific.
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 the next $895 annual charge (see charges and charges). These modifications instantly problem the Sapphire Reserve’s personal overhaul, which came about earlier this 12 months in June.
With each playing cards present process massive modifications inside months of one another, let’s focus on 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 in case you are eligible for as excessive as 175,000 bonus factors after spending $8,000 on purchases throughout the first six months of card membership. Welcome presents fluctuate, and also you is probably not eligible for a proposal. | Earn 125,000 bonus factors after spending $6,000 on purchases throughout the first three months of account opening. |
| Annual charge | $895 | $795 |
| Incomes charges |
|
|
| Notable advantages |
|
|
*Enrollment is required.
Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve welcome supply
When contemplating a brand new premium card with a excessive annual charge, a big welcome supply will assist to recoup a few of that price. With the Amex Platinum, the present welcome supply is price as much as $3,500 primarily based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations.
In the meantime, the Sapphire Reserve‘s welcome supply is price $2,563 per our September 2025 valuations. It is price noting that the Sapphire Reserve’s bonus is less complicated to realize due to 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 as soon as per lifetime, so when you aren’t focused for the very best supply, it might be price holding off till you might be.
The Sapphire Reserve’s eligibility additionally modified — when you’ve beforehand acquired a welcome supply, no matter how a lot time has handed because you had been final permitted, you might be now not eligible to obtain one other welcome bonus on the Sapphire Reserve.
Reward your inbox with the TPG Day by day e-newsletter
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
Winner: Tie. We suggest you go together with the Amex Platinum if focused for no less than 125,000 bonus factors; in any other case, the Sapphire Reserve is a more sensible choice.
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 current cardholders, they are going to be obtainable 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 comparable journey perks, together with resort assertion credit, membership credit for journey applications 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 supplied by each playing cards.
Eligible Amex Platinum cardmembers have entry to the American Specific World Lounge Assortment, together with Centurion Lounges, Precedence Move™ lounges, Delta Sky Golf equipment (when touring on same-day Delta Air Strains flights; restricted 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 Precedence Move lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Membership areas, and allows you to usher in as much as two friends for no extra charge 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 desire Sapphire Lounges as a result of I can convey as much as two friends, whereas I would like to achieve a minimal spend on the Amex Platinum to earn visitor privileges.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve as a result 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 dwelling, 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 collaborating eating places via 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 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 constructive 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 obtainable 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 comparable 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).
Further 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 newest assertion credit added to the Amex Platinum attraction to me personally. I like Lululemon, and their athletic put on makes for one of the best journey outfits.
Moreover, Amex has elevated the month-to-month assertion credit score to as much as $25 for streaming providers 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 method to make use of them as a result of the cardboard presents them. In any other case, these advantages are typically not on their radar.
Winner: Tie. If the Amex Platinum assertion credit apply to you, it is price 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 presents higher general protection throughout all varieties of safety.
Associated: How you can determine if a bank card’s annual charge is price paying
Incomes factors on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Though the welcome bonus is an efficient solution to begin your factors steadiness, you need a card that’ll provide help to shortly earn invaluable transferable factors.
The Amex Platinum earns:
- 5 factors per greenback spent on airfare bought instantly with airways or via 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 presents a broader vary of bonus classes and earns:
- 10 factors per greenback spent on Peloton gear and accent purchases of $150 or extra (via 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 (via Sept. 30, 2027)
- 4 factors per greenback spent on flights and resort purchases made instantly 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 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 offers no less than a 16% (primarily based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations) return on Chase Journey purchases. It additionally presents extra bonus classes for incomes, comparable to motels and eating.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. This card presents one of the best bonus factors throughout a number of bonus classes.
Associated: Finest reward bank cards
Redeeming factors on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
Chase Final Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards are equally valued at 2.05 and a couple of cents apiece, respectively, in keeping with TPG’s September 2025 valuations.
Chase offers assured worth by providing a 50% bonus when redeeming factors for journey instantly via Chase Journey till Oct. 26, 2027 (for current 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 via Chase Journey, due to Factors Enhance.
Add this to Chase’s listing 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 presents extra methods to make use of your factors due to 17 airline and three resort switch companions. Sadly, in comparison with Chase, American Specific 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 might be redeemed for nontravel redemptions comparable to money again, assertion credit and present playing cards, however these redemptions typically yield poor worth.
Winner: Sapphire Reserve. The cardboard has the next redemption worth for journey.
Transferring factors on the Amex Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
You will virtually at all times get higher worth at any time when transferring your factors to airline and resort loyalty applications. All Chase accomplice transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, and most of them are on the spot. A invaluable switch accomplice is World of Hyatt, the place you possibly can guide an award evening for as little as 3,500 factors per evening.
On the airline aspect, standard 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 under 1:1, and some switch instances are longer, which might 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 desire transferring my factors to applications like ANA Mileage Membership, Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways Membership.
Not too long ago, I transferred 50,000 factors from my Sapphire Reserve to Aeroplan to guide a multicity stopover ticket in enterprise class all through Europe for my household. As a consequence of increased summer season pricing, the fee 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.
Ought to I get the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve?
Each playing cards supply stellar worth when you use most of their perks, however they differ in key areas.
Selecting the one which most closely fits you boils all the way down to what particular assertion credit and advantages greatest align along with your way of life, journey habits and spending patterns. It is also price eager about the $100 annual charge distinction between the 2 merchandise, that are already dear.
And keep in mind that it does 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 depends upon what you want from every product.
Backside line
The Sapphire Reserve is an easy premium bank card with a formidable listing of assertion credit and perks that really feel much less like a “coupon guide” to me than the Amex Platinum. The Reserve presents 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 price over $1,000 in worth, and quick entry to new advantages, one thing Reserve cardholders needed to wait just a few months for.
With each choices, the playing cards are solely as invaluable as the advantages you maximize.
To be taught extra, learn our full evaluations of the Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum.
Apply right here: Amex Platinum
Apply right here: Sapphire Reserve
For charges and charges of the Amex Platinum, click on right here.
