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Chase; American Express; Insider
Platinum Card® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card are very different cards, but they can both be very useful if you travel a lot.In fact, if you travel a lot it could be worth having both. But if you’re just looking to earn rewards on your spending, the Sapphire Preferred is likely a better bet.On the other hand, if you’re primarily looking for perks over rewards, the Amex Platinum is the winner thanks to annual statement credits, airport lounge access, and more.See Business Insider’s list of the best rewards credit cards you can get »
Two of the cards I’m asked about most frequently are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Platinum Card. While we’ve compared the beefier Chase Sapphire Reserve to the Platinum Card before, let’s switch gears to take a look at the more accessible Sapphire Preferred in the context of the ultra-premium Amex Platinum.
To be honest, they’re such different cards that it’s hard to say which is better: Depending on your spending habits and how you travel, it could even be worth having both. But keep reading for the full breakdown on each.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Points earning
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 2x points on all other travel purchases, 3x points on dining. Dining includes everything from bars and restaurants to fast food, and travel includes everything from taxis, parking, and trains, to travel agencies, flights, hotels, vacation rentals, cruises, and more. It recently added a new bonus category: 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2025. It earns 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.
The Platinum Card offers 5x points on flights , but only if you book directly with the airline or through Amex Travel (starting January 1, 2021, earn 5X points on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year). If you book through a website like Expedia or Orbitz, you only get 1 point per dollar. You’ll also get 1 point per dollar on everything else.
Benefits
The Sapphire Preferred offers trip delay and baggage delay coverage for any travel you book through the card (you can read more about that here). The Amex Platinum, on the other hand, only offered major trip cancellation coverage — not delay insurance — but recently added trip delay and cancellation insurance.
The Platinum Card offers a much longer list of benefits and perks than the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It offers extensive access to airport lounges, a yearly credit up to $200 for incidental airline fees**, up to $200 of annual credits for Uber** (or UberEats), and up to $100 in annual credits for Saks Fifth Avenue**. It also offers free elite status at Hilton and Marriott hotels**, and a few other perks. Without spending much on the card, I got $2,000 worth of value from it in my first year.
Why I have the Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Preferred
I personally hold the Platinum Card for the perks and services — especially lounge access and hotel elite status — but do most of my spending on a Chase card, since it earns better rewards faster (and makes it easier to spend them). I use a Sapphire Reserve, rather than a Preferred, though that means I pay $1,000 in annual fees for the two cards.
While that’s the best option for my personal case, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is still an excellent card — with a substantially lower annual fee, and a strong sign-up bonus. You can read more about why you might want to choose the Sapphire Preferred over the Reserve.
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