Fee gap of $600 separates these two cards. Sapphire Preferred is the sweet spot for moderate travelers — strong rewards at $95. Amex Platinum is premium-travel hardware: Centurion Lounges, 5X on flights, and $695 that only makes sense if you travel frequently and will actively redeem the statement credits.
Chase
Best overall travel rewards card under $100 annual fee.
Pros
American Express
Premium travel card with Centurion Lounge access and the highest annual fee.
Pros
Pick Chase Sapphire Preferred if: Regular travelers who want transferable points, strong dining rewards, and a manageable fee.
Pick The Platinum Card® from American Express if: Frequent premium travelers who fly often enough to use Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club access, and $1,000+ in annual statement credits.
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Only for active premium travelers. The Amex Platinum fee earns back through lounge access (Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club), 5X on flights booked directly, and a stack of annual statement credits — totaling $1,000+ in potential value if all credits are used. Chase Sapphire Preferred at $95 is the better pick for moderate travelers who won't use all those credits; the current 100,000-point welcome bonus covers the fee many times over in year one.
No. The Sapphire Preferred ($95/yr) does not include airport lounge access. Lounge access on a Chase card requires the Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550/yr), which includes Priority Pass Select membership. The Amex Platinum ($695/yr) includes Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club access, and Priority Pass — the strongest personal-card lounge package available.
Sapphire Preferred wins on everyday category breadth — 3X on dining, 3X on select streaming, 2X on all other travel, 1X everywhere else. Amex Platinum earns 5X on flights and prepaid hotels through Amex Travel but only 1X on most other purchases. If your spending is diversified beyond travel, Sapphire Preferred returns more points.
Some overlap exists — British Airways, for example, is a partner for both. Chase transfers to ~14 partners (United, Southwest, Hyatt, Marriott, etc.); Amex transfers to ~21 partners (Delta, ANA, Hilton, Marriott, etc.). Chase is generally stronger for U.S. domestic travel (Southwest, United); Amex is stronger for international premium-cabin redemptions (ANA, Air France/KLM). Confirm current transfer partners and ratios at each issuer before transferring points.
Both cards offer substantial welcome bonuses — Chase Sapphire Preferred is currently offering 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points (limited-time elevated offer) after meeting a spending requirement in the first 3 months, and Amex Platinum typically offers 80,000–100,000 Membership Rewards points after a spending threshold. Welcome bonus offers change frequently and are sometimes higher through targeted or referral links. Because both programs value points at approximately 1.5–2 cents per point for premium-travel redemptions, the welcome bonus alone can offset one to several years of annual fees. Verify current bonus offers at chase.com and americanexpress.com — bonuses are subject to one-per-lifetime rules on some cards.
Chase Sapphire Preferred. Its transfer partner list includes Southwest Airlines (ideal for domestic point-to-point travel) and United Airlines, plus Hyatt for hotel stays — three of the most practical programs for U.S.-focused travelers. Amex Platinum is stronger for international premium-cabin redemptions (ANA, Air France/KLM Flying Blue) but less practical for domestic U.S. routes. For most domestic U.S. travelers, the Sapphire Preferred's $95 fee with Southwest and United access is the better value proposition over Platinum's $695. Confirm current partners at chase.com and americanexpress.com.
Both cards typically target applicants with good to excellent credit — generally 700+ FICO for Sapphire Preferred and 720+ for Amex Platinum given its premium positioning. Chase enforces the 5/24 rule: applicants who have opened 5+ new credit cards across any issuer in the past 24 months are typically declined regardless of credit score. Amex does not have a public 5/24 equivalent but may consider your existing Amex relationship and enforces lifetime welcome-bonus limits on some cards. Pre-qualification tools at chase.com and americanexpress.com can check eligibility without triggering a hard inquiry.
Chase Sapphire Preferred includes trip cancellation/interruption coverage up to $10,000 per person/$20,000 per trip for covered reasons when the trip is charged to the card — one of the strongest trip-cancel benefits in its fee tier. Amex Platinum's trip cancellation coverage has historically been more limited and is subject to periodic benefit changes; Amex eliminated or reduced some travel protections for newer accounts starting in 2020. Verify current benefit terms and coverage limits at americanexpress.com/benefits and chase.com before relying on either card for trip insurance. Source: chase.com; americanexpress.com.
Yes. Chase's one-Sapphire rule only prevents holding two Sapphire-family cards simultaneously (e.g., Preferred AND Reserve at once) — it does not restrict holding an Amex card alongside a Sapphire. Many travelers pair Chase Sapphire Preferred for strong domestic travel partners (Southwest, United, Hyatt) and trip delay/cancellation insurance, with Amex Platinum for Centurion Lounge access and international airline transfer partners. The two cards complement rather than duplicate each other for this combined strategy.
For bookings through their travel portals, both earn 5X: Sapphire Preferred earns 5X Ultimate Rewards on hotels through Chase Travel; Amex Platinum earns 5X Membership Rewards on prepaid hotels through amextravel.com. For direct hotel bookings, Sapphire Preferred earns 2X on all travel (including direct hotel charges), while Amex Platinum earns 1X on most direct hotel purchases outside Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts. Chase's World of Hyatt transfer partnership also offers higher cents-per-point redemption value for many U.S. hotel stays than Amex's hotel partners. Verify current multipliers and portal terms at chase.com and americanexpress.com.
Independent editorial comparison. ClearValue Lending is not the issuer of any product compared here; affiliate links may pay a referral commission at no cost to you — selection is independent of compensation.