Chase Sapphire Preferred vs American Express Platinum 2024

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Let’s examine two of the top travel cards available—the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express. In recent years, both cards have introduced additional bonus categories to earn more rewards and have established partnerships for added savings. Although they excel as travel rewards cards due to their perks and numerous transfer partners (including leading hotels and airlines), these cards are also suitable for everyday use.

Who wins between the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express? Keep reading to find the answer. But first, you’ll find a preview of the bonus offers below.

Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points (after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months): Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points (after spending $8,000 in the first 6 months): The Platinum Card® from American Express

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Best Perks: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs American Express Platinum

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card comes with no foreign transaction fees and smart chip technology, making it a great international travel option.

There are several Chase Sapphire reward categories. The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns unlimited:

• 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit)
• 3x points on dining (including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out)
• 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target®, Walmart®, and wholesale clubs)
• Also 3x points on select streaming services
• 2x points on all other travel purchases
• 1x point per $1 spent on all non-bonus purchases 

There is a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit. It comes in the form of a statement credit that will automatically be applied to your account when your card is used for hotel accommodation purchases made through the Ultimate Rewards program, up to an annual maximum accumulation of $50.

This can be one of the best hotel credit cards if you want flexibility.

Additional Chase Sapphire Preferred Perks

Plus, on each account anniversary, you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. So, if you spend $25,000 on purchases, you’ll get 2,500 bonus points.

Other perks include primary CDW on car rentals, 10,000 trip insurance, and more Sapphire Preferred benefits explained in this post.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) is also a Visa Signature card, which unpacks more value, like free movies, wine tastings, and additional savings.

American Express Platinum

For starters, cardholders earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, and earn 5x Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.

This can be one of the best miles credit cards.

Cardholders can get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when they pay with their Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.

Also, select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Card.

Plus, American Express has expanded The Centurion® Network to include 40+ Centurion Lounge and Studio locations worldwide. Now there are even more places your Platinum Card® can get you complimentary entry and exclusive perks.

The annual fee is $695 (See Rates & Fees) but can be offset with the perks valued at over $1,400. 

The Platinum Card from American Express Benefits

There’s also a digital entertainment credit, making it a great option for streaming services. Cardholders can get up to $20 in statement credits each month when they pay for eligible purchases with The Platinum Card® from American Express. Enrollment required.

In addition to enjoying TSA PreCheck or Global Entry access, cardholders can also enjoy CLEAR perks. Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues nationwide and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card.

Another exciting benefit is the ability for cardholders to get up to $300 back each year in the form of statement credits on an Equinox+ subscription or any Equinox club membership when they pay with their Platinum Card. Enrollment required.

Plus, get a $155 Walmart+ credit, which covers the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. The cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax.

Related: Amex Gold vs Amex Platinum Review (Best Amex Card?)

Additional Amex Platinum Perks

Additionally, cardholders can get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue on their Platinum Card®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. However, they must be enrolled for this benefit to apply.

Get the full details and learn more in our in-depth The Platinum Card from American Express review.

However, if the fee is still a little too high and you prefer American Express over Chase, consider one of the other great American Express cards.

This is the credit score you’ll need for the Amex Platinum.

Amex Reward Points vs Chase Sapphire Preferred Point Value

I like that the Chase Sapphire Preferred has category bonuses, but the Amex Platinum card offers more robust travel benefits. So the winner in point value between the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs American Express Platinum is: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Best Signup/Welcome Bonus: Chase Sapphire vs Amex Platinum

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

New Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Member FDIC

There is a $95 annual fee.

You’re eligible to receive the bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you don’t currently hold the product and it’s been at least 24 months since you last received a bonus on the card.

Note that you most likely won’t be approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred with a credit score of under 670.

The Amex Platinum

New The Platinum Card® from American Express cardmembers can earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $8,000 on purchases on their new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. 

If you’ve previously had the card, note that the offer terms for the Amex Platinum Card from the application page state:

“This offer is also not available to applicants who have or have had a Platinum Card® account enrolled in the Membership Rewards® program.”

That means you can only receive the welcome bonus once per lifetime on personal American Express cards (this rule does not apply to American Express business cards).

Winner: The Platinum Card® from American Express 

Is Amex Concierge Better than Chase Concierge

The preference between Amex Concierge and Chase Concierge depends on individual needs and priorities. Amex Concierge is known for personalized experiences and exclusive event access. Chase Concierge, typically associated with premium Chase cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, assists with travel, events, and dining reservations. Choosing the “better” service depends on service quality, exclusivity, and alignment with your lifestyle and preferences. Review your specific card’s concierge offerings and consider user experiences to make an informed choice.

Best Points? Chase Ultimate Rewards vs American Express Membership Rewards

Ultimate Rewards

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns valuable Ultimate Rewards (UR) points, which can be redeemed through their online portal for flights, hotels, car rentals, and cruises. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you will get a 25% bonus for using your UR points this way.

The real value of Ultimate Rewards points is found by transferring them out to one of their travel partners.

My favorite UR transfer partners are British Airways, Southwest, Hyatt, Singapore, and United. I can use my UR points for hotels or flights in the United States or abroad.

Examples

Here are a couple of examples of what I’ve done in the past (prices and awards may have changed since the time of writing):

You can stay at the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris for 30,000 points a night. Standard rooms at this posh hotel are $1,000 a night.

I fly on the cheap domestically with British Airways Avios since they have a distance-based chart. You can fly American Airlines with British Airways Avios since they are in the OneWorld alliance, and award flights start at just 4,500 Avios one-way. Heck of a deal. I can fly from Austin to Chicago for 7,500 Avios and $5!

Flying to Europe is easy with United Airlines. The Star Alliance (which United is a part of) has a great economy and business class award availability to Europe. You can fly round-trip to Europe with United miles for only 60,000 miles in economy. Business-class flights on United metal are 57,500 each way, or 70,000 on one of their partners, like Lufthansa.

Chase Transfer Partners

This Chase Sapphire Preferred vs American Express Platinum wouldn’t be complete without comparing transfer partners.

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Air France KLM Flying Blue
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Chase Hotel Partners

• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt

Membership Rewards

American Express Membership Rewards points can also be transferred out to multiple travel partners. A perk with transferring Amex MR points out to travel partners is that they frequently offer transfer bonuses.

I like to transfer my American Express Membership Rewards points out to Delta, Aeroplan, ANA, British Airways, or Singapore Airlines.

Examples

Here are a couple of examples of what I’ve done, though things may have changed since the time of writing:

Air Canada’s loyalty program, Aeroplan, is a part of the Star Alliance, so it’s great for award flights to Europe. You have to watch out for fuel surcharges, but they don’t impose any on United flights. And one-way business class award flights on United are only 45,000 miles!

Another option is to transfer your MR points out to ANA. You do have to book round-trip tickets with ANA miles, but you can add three stopovers on your flight, and a round-trip ticket to Europe in economy is only 55,000 miles.

I love flying Singapore Airlines (also a transfer partner UR points) premium cabin flights. It’s a thrill. You can fly their Suites Class from NYC to Frankfurt for only 57,375 miles, or in business class from Houston to Moscow for only 48,875 miles.

Related: The Best Premium Credit Cards To Use For Rewards

American Express Transfer Partners

Here are the Amex partners for comparison in this Chase Sapphire Preferred vs American Express Platinum review.

• Aer Lingus
• Aeromexico
• Air Canada
• Air France KLM
• Alitalia
• ANA
• Avianca
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Delta Air Lines
• EL AL Israel
• Emirates
• Etihad
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia
• Jetblue
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic

American Express Hotel Partners

• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Bonvoy

Related: How Hard Is It To Get The American Express Platinum Card? (Review)

Are American Express or Chase Points Better?

American Express Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points are extremely valuable and can be used for insane travel experiences. I prefer the Chase Ultimate Rewards program because it has better hotel and flight options that work better for me.

However, both options are worthwhile.

Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Ultimate Rewards Points)

Wrap-Up of Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Preferred

In conclusion, you can’t go wrong with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or The Amex Platinum Card from American Express. While I prefer to earn Ultimate Rewards points because they suit my travel goals best, that doesn’t stop me from earning Membership Rewards points as well.

The Amex Platinum card has superior travel benefits and is worth the annual fee if you travel frequently. However, if you’re not using those benefits, the Sapphire Preferred with its lesser annual fee of $95 will make much more sense for you.

Either way, both products are excellent and worth thinking about if you’re looking for travel rewards to use soon or in the future.

60,000 bonus points offer: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

80,000 bonus points offer: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Related Articles:

• The Best Rewards Portals Comparison
• Best Travel Credit Cards for Beginners
• American Express Gold Card Review
• Chase Sapphire Reserve vs American Express Platinum

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.