Citi Prestige vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve

If you spend a lot of money on travel each year and find yourself traveling often, it’s smart to pick up a premier travel credit card. The Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Citi Prestige cards both offer superior benefits such as annual travel credits, airport lounge access and the ability to transfer points to airline and hotel loyalty partners.

While the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with a $550 annual fee, the Citi Prestige charges its own high fee at $495. Since neither card waives the annual fee the first year, you need to be sure you can get enough value in return before you sign up for either one.

If you’re ready for a premier travel credit card but unsure which of these two might be ideal for your wallet, keep reading to learn more.

Citi Prestige vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve

	Citi Prestige® Card	Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Rewards rate	5 points per dollar on air travel and restaurants 3 points per dollar on hotels and cruise lines 1 point per dollar on other purchases	10 points per dollar on Lyft purchases (through March 2022) 3 points per dollar on travel and dining (excluding purchases covered through $300 travel credit) 1 point per dollar on other purchases
Sign-up bonus	50,000 points if you spend $4,000 within 3 months	50,000 points if you spend $4,000 within 3 months
Annual fee	$495	$550
Credit required	Excellent	Excellent
Benefits	$250 flexible travel credit Priority Pass lounge membership $100 credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck No foreign transaction fee Transfer points 1:1 to 15 travel partners (no major airlines or hotels) 4th night free at any hotel booked with the card, twice per year	$300 flexible travel credit Priority Pass lounge membership $100 credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck No foreign transaction fee Transfer points 1:1 to 11 travel partners, including United, Southwest and 3 hotel programs 50% bonus on points redeemed through Ultimate Rewards portal Travel insurance, including trip cancellation and primary car rental insurance Free Lyft Pink membership for 1 year Free DashPass membership for 1 year

Both are good flexible rewards cards

When it comes to flexibility, both the Citi Prestige and the Chase Sapphire Reserve are solid options. Not only do both have a handful of transfer partners you can utilize to stretch your points further, but both let you book travel through their respective portals. As a bonus, you can also cash in rewards from either card for options like gift cards or merchandise.

We also like the fact that the Citi Prestige and Chase Sapphire Reserve each offer their own travel credit that is automatically applied to qualified travel purchases. While the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit is slightly higher at $300 (versus the $250 the Citi Prestige offers), both take the sting out of their respective card’s pricey annual fee.

Why choose the Citi Prestige?

Best card for airfare and dining

While both cards offer bonus points on travel, the Citi Prestige really takes it up a notch with its 5x and 3x earning categories. Not only does this card give you 5 points per $1 spent on air travel and dining, but also 3 points per $1 spent on hotels and cruises. If you happen to spend a ton of money on airfare or dining, you can use this card to earn considerably more points over time. In comparison, the Chase Sapphire Reserve only offers 3 points per $1 on travel and dining purchases.

Best card for paid hotel bookings

We the Citi Prestige’s lucrative earning structure for travel purchases, but it’s also a winner if you spend a lot of money on paid hotel bookings each year. Not only do you earn 3 points per $1 spent on hotels, but you can qualify for a complimentary fourth night free hotel benefit every year you have the card.

Why choose the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

Best card for transferring points to hotels

If you are big on transferring points to your favorite hotel brand, you may love that Chase Ultimate Rewards lets you transfer points 1:1 to several hotel loyalty programs, including Marriott Bonvoy, IHG rewards and World of Hyatt.

Citi Prestige, on the other hand, doesn’t have any hotel transfer partners (although you can use your points to book hotels through the Citi travel portal).

Best card for booking travel through a portal

The Chase Sapphire Reserve really stands out for consumers who don’t want to deal with airline or hotel partners but prefer to book travel through a portal instead. Not only can you rack up points quickly by using this card for regular purchases and earning bonus points on travel and dining, but you get 50 percent more travel when you redeem points for travel expenses through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Redeeming points through a travel portal can be beneficial when you cannot find the award space you want on a flight, you prefer to stay in a smaller boutique hotel outside of the big brands or you don’t want to deal with the complexities of airline rewards programs. You can also use the Chase portal to book rental cars, experiences, vacation homes and more.

Best card for frequent ride-share users

If you frequently use ride-shares to get around, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the far-and-away winner. The card will be especially beneficial if you prefer Lyft. Along with the 3 points per dollar you’ll earn on travel purchases – which includes ride-share services like Uber – you’ll earn 10 points per dollar on Lyft purchases (through March 2022). You’ll also get a free membership to Lyft Pink, Lyft’s subscription service, for one year (usually $19.99 per month). Lyft Pink promises 15% in savings on all Lyft rides, priority airport pickups, relaxed cancellations and more.

Best card for cardholder benefits

Recently, Citi announced the removal of most of its cardholder benefits from its credit cards, including the Citi Prestige. As a result, the Citi Prestige no longer includes perks such as auto rental coverage, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, and lost baggage protection.

In light of this news, the Sapphire Reserve has become a clear winner in terms of travel protections. Once you sign up for this card, you’ll receive an array of cardholder benefits and consumer perks such as trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance and primary car rental insurance.

Foodies who often order in will also appreciate the card’s free one-year membership to DoorDash’s DashPass subscription service, (which gets you free delivery and usually costs $9.99 per month) and up to $120 in DoorDash credits ($60 in 2020 and $60 in 2021).

Check out Chase and Citi transfer partners before you decide

At the end of the day, the right card for you out of these two options may depend on the transfer partners you’re able to utilize. As we mentioned already, the Citi Prestige doesn’t have any hotel loyalty partners. They do, however, offer a broad range of airline partners that can be used to fly all over the globe.

On the other hand, Citi’s list of travel partners mainly comprises small, regional airlines and doesn’t include a large international carrier. With United MileagePlus and Southwest Airlines on the Sapphire Reserve’s list of travel partners, you may find it easier to transfer and use points.

Compare and contrast both card’s transfer partners before you decide which travel credit card is right for your wallet:

Also note that you can transfer Citi points to the Sears Shop Your Way program at a 1:12 ratio.

The bottom line

If you can’t decide between the Citi Prestige and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it helps to take a close look at their benefits and rewards. Since both cards offer similar perks, however, your decision may boil down to each card’s transfer partners and how they might fit into your regular travel plans.

See related: How does the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s travel credit work?, Is the Citi Prestige card the best dining rewards card available?, You splurged for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Now what?, Is the updated Citi Prestige card worth it?