Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. The Platinum Card from American Express

If you spend a lot of time flying, you may want to consider investing in a travel rewards card with an annual fee. Most top travel cards are packed with so many high-value benefits that it’s relatively easy to recoup your annual investment.

The harder decision is narrowing down which travel card is best for you: Should you invest hundreds of dollars in a premium credit card that’s known for showering cardholders with luxurious perks? Or would you be just as happy with a beginner-level travel card that offers a more modest collection of travel-friendly benefits? The answer largely depends on how often you travel and how much you care about high-end perks like airport lounge access and travel credits.

Two of the most well-known travel cards are the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express. The American Express Platinum card charges an eye-popping $695 annual fee, but it’s packed with valuable benefits and travel credits that help justify its expense. In comparison, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has an annual fee of just $95 — and it gives the average cardholder more opportunities to rack up rewards while still offering solid value for frequent travelers.

If you’re trying to decide whether the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Amex Platinum is a better fit for you, here’s what to think about when comparing the two cards.

Card details

Card	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	The Platinum Card® from American Express
Rewards	5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards 5X points on Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025) 3X points on restaurants, select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs) 2X points on other travel purchases 1X points on all other purchases	5X points on directly booked airfare and flights booked through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 per calendar year) 5X points on prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel 1X points on all other purchases
Annual fee	$95	$695
Welcome bonus	Earn 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months	Earn 80,000 points when you spend $6,000 in the first 6 months
Introductory APR	N/A	N/A

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. American Express Platinum

Welcome offer

The winner: The Platinum Card from American Express

When it comes to scoring a generous welcome bonus, both the Amex Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer tons of value. That said, the Amex Platinum provides cardholders with the chance to earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of card membership, which is worth around $800 when redeemed through American Express Travel.

On the other hand, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 60,000 bonus points after cardholders spend $4,000 in the first three months, which is worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

The Amex Platinum’s card bonus is a little easier to obtain — cardholders must spend approximately $1,000 per month for six months. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, cardholders need to spend around $1,333 a month for three months to earn the welcome bonus.

Rewards rate

The winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

While the Amex Platinum used to win this battle, the 2021 changes to the Chase Sapphire Preferred has made this card the clear winner. Both cards earn 5X points when travel is booked through their respective rewards portals. While the Amex Platinum earns more on directly-booked airfare, the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns more on general travel purchases, Lyft rides, restaurants, select streaming services and online grocery purchases.

Unless you’d prefer the Amex Platinum’s boosted rewards rate on directly booked airfare, you’ll generally earn a comparable or higher rate of rewards with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Annual fee

The winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred’s $95 annual fee beats the Amex Platinum’s $695 annual fee, hands down. Although the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s premium counterpart — the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card — is a more equivalent comparison to the Amex Platinum in terms of its annual fee ($550) and top-tier travel perks, the Chase Sapphire Preferred can stand its ground depending on your travel needs, and its affordability is one of its most appealing features.

However, considering the monetary value behind the Amex Platinum’s various annual credits, exclusive airport lounge access and complimentary hotel elite statuses, the $695 annual fee is essentially an admission fee that you’ll recoup if you take advantage of all the credits.

Additional perks

The winner: The Platinum Card from American Express

The Amex Platinum shines when it comes to additional perks and travel benefits. If you travel frequently and can afford to spend hundreds of dollars upfront, a premium travel card like the Amex Platinum will offer you more than enough value to make up for the annual fee. The obvious catch is that you need to actually use the benefits and credits it offers to make that fee worth it.

Most of the Amex Platinum’s benefits — such as the up to $200 airline incidentals credit, up to $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit, up to $200 credit for select hotel bookings and complimentary hotel elite status — are travel perks that either cut the cost of travel or make your time at the airport or hotel more luxurious or convenient.

You’ll also get unlimited access to some of the most lavish airport lounges in the world — a perk that’s worth hundreds of dollars just by itself. Plus, you’ll get non-travel perks like up to $200 in Uber Cash, up to $240 in annual digital entertainment credits and so much more.

While the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a good number of benefits — like a 25 percent points boost on select redemptions and an anniversary points bonus — it doesn’t stand a chance against all that the Amex Platinum offers. Similar perks that the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers are its $50 hotel credit each account anniversary and one free year of DoorDash DashPass (if activated by Dec. 31, 2024).

Which card should you get?

The main difference between these two rewards credit cards lies in how you approach travel. If you don’t jet-set or hotel-hop enough to justify paying the Amex Platinum’s steep annual fee, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred might be your speed. However, it’s hard to beat the Amex Platinum if you’re looking for top-of-the-line perks and reimbursements to make travel a lot more convenient and luxurious.

• If you are new to travel cards: Start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which comes with a much lower annual fee, a solid welcome bonus and rewards structure, numerous redemption options and 1:1 points transfers.
• If you want both travel and everyday perks: The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers boosted rewards on select travel purchases, Lyft rides, restaurants, select streaming services and online grocery purchases, making it a solid choice for a travel card with everyday perks.
• If you want luxury travel perks: Pick the American Express Platinum if you’re an avid traveler who wants access to the finer side of travel like airport lounge access, numerous travel and shopping credits, 1:1 points transfers to travel partners and automatic hotel elite status.

Bottom line

Overall, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is more flexible, affordable and accessible for the average traveler. If you don’t want to make a big commitment but you do want to earn a sizable amount of rewards in numerous bonus categories, this is a good card to use for both travel and everyday purchases.

However, the Platinum Card from American Express’ supersized benefits are hard to beat. Plus, it offers quite more in ongoing value, thanks to all of the statement credit benefits it comes with. If you crave more luxury when you travel — or if you just want to get more value from your flights — the Amex Platinum might be a smarter pick.