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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, deta...
A long-time points and miles student, Jessica is the former Personal Finance Managing Editor at U.S. News and World Report and is passionate about helping consumers fund their travels for as little ca...
Juan has been involved in credit cards, loyalty, travel, and personal finance for more than 10 years. He has worked for several outlets including The Points Guy and Forbes and was previously Editor-in...
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If you’ve searched for a travel rewards card, chances are you’ve considered both Chase and American Express cards. Both issuers are known for providing cards that earn valuable rewards you can redeem for travel and benefits that save money or make travel more enjoyable.
Today we’re highlighting a pair of popular travel rewards cards issued by these financial institutions, either of which could contend for a place in your wallet.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the American Express® Gold Card earn valuable rewards, offer good value at redemption time, and have travel and shopping benefits that add even more value.
While on the surface it may seem that both cards would serve you equally well, the cards do have their differences.
To find out which card is a better fit, we’ll look closely at how rewards are earned on each card. We’ll also check out the differences in redemption options to see which card provides benefits that save you travel dollars or add some comfort to your journey.
So let’s begin our overview of these 2 desirable travel rewards cards and find out which one offers an appropriate package match for you.
The Value of a Welcome Bonus
Card issuers frequently offer incentives to apply for their cards. These welcome bonuses can usually be earned by meeting minimum spending requirements within the first few months after you are approved for the card.
Welcome bonuses change periodically, so you’ll want to check out the most recent offers before applying for any card.
Here’s a snapshot of what welcome bonuses could be worth on our featured cards:
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Ultimate Rewards points earned on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card can be redeemed for travel for 1.5 cents each. Using this valuation, a 50,000-point welcome bonus could be worth $750 in travel when redeemed on the Chase travel portal.
Ultimate Rewards points can also be transferred to Chase airline and hotel partners where you may be able to receive even more value for your points.
Membership Rewards points earned on the Amex Gold card can be redeemed for flights via Amex Travel for 1 cent each. For this reason, we’ll value a 60,000-point welcome bonus at a minimum of $600.
Since Membership Rewards points can also be transferred to the Amex travel partners for potentially increased value, the welcome bonus could offer more than $600 in value. This is why we value Amex points at way more than 1 cent each.
Membership Rewards Points vs. Ultimate Rewards Points
Comparing Earning Potential
Both featured cards earn points for every dollar spent and each has bonus-earning categories that earn multiple points per dollar spent on either card.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card earns Ultimate Rewards points and the Amex Gold card earns Membership Rewards points. Both points currencies are very valuable due to their flexibility at redemption time.
We’ll talk about redemption options next, but first, let’s look at the earning power of each of these cards. Pay particular attention to how each card matches up with your spending patterns.
Card
Earnings
Chase Sapphire Reserve card
10x points on hotels, car rentals, and Chase Dining booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards and Lyft purchases (through March 31, 2025)
5x points on airfare booked through Chase’s travel portal
3x points on travel and on dining worldwide
1x points on all other purchases
Amex Gold card
4x points at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets (limit of $25,000 in purchases calendar year at supermarkets, then 1 point per dollar spent)
3x pointson airfare purchased directly from the airline or on AmexTravel.com
1x points on all other purchases
Terms apply
If you spend a lot on travel, you’ll appreciate the 3x earnings on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. The travel bonus category is defined quite broadly and includes more than just airline tickets and hotels. You’ll find that purchases made at car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel websites, parking garages, campgrounds, and many more count for the 3x bonus earning category.
The Amex Gold card delivers 3x earnings on airfare, but tickets must be purchased directly from the airline or Amex Travel. The card excels at earning in more everyday purchase categories, as supermarket and restaurant purchases receive 4x earnings. Supermarket earnings have a maximum of up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; earning 1x thereafter.
If you’re spending a lot on general travel, you’ll earn more with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. If your spending is focused more on supermarkets and dining out, the 4x earnings on the Amex Gold card could be a better match for you.
Bottom Line: The best rewards earning card for your situation will depend on your spending profile. If general travel and dining are your largest expenses, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card will be the better card. If your spending is more in everyday categories such as supermarkets (and dining), the Amex Gold card will earn more and still offer you nice travel redemption options.
Comparing Redemption Options
Regardless of how you earn your rewards, you’ll have several desirable redemption options with either card:
Card
Best Redemption Options
Additional Redemption Options
Chase Sapphire Reserve card
Transfer to airline and hotel partners
Redeem for travel at 1.5 cents per point on the Chase travel portal
Statement credits, Chase experiences, gift cards, shopping on Amazon, and with Apple
Amex Gold card
Transfer to airline and hotel partners
Redeem for 1 cent per point for flights on Amex Travel
Terms apply
Book travel through Amex Travel, statement credits, gift cards, airline upgrades, shopping with partners such as Amazon and Uber
Terms apply
Transferring points earned on either card has the potential to earn the most value for your rewards.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card, being one of the best premium credit cards, comes with some extraordinary travel benefits. One such benefit is worldwide airport lounge access to over 1,300 lounge properties.
The complimentary Priority Pass Select membership allows complimentary access for the cardholder plus up to 2 guests. Additional guests can gain access for $35 per person, per visit.
We find this one of the key benefits of having the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, as Priority Pass membership generally costs $469 for an annual pass. Also, unlike the Priority Pass Select membership that comes with the card, the annual purchased membership does not include complimentary guest access.
Amex Gold Card
The Amex Gold Card does not come with any airport lounge access membership.
Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with complimentary worldwide airport lounge access for the cardholder and 2 guests. This Priority Pass Select membership, which grants access to over 1,300 properties, can be valued at a minimum of $469 (the cost of purchasing a single annual membership). The Amex Gold card does not offer any lounge access.
Hotel Program Benefits
Receiving perks during your hotel stay is always a welcome experience. Both cards have teamed up with hotel program partners to deliver complimentary benefits when you book with your eligible card.
Here are some of the benefits you can expect:
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with several hotel program benefits that will make you feel like a VIP.
Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
You’ll have over 1,000 worldwide properties to choose from in the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection. To receive benefits, just use your card to book your stay directly with the program. There’s no minimum number of required nights for these benefits:
A special welcome amenity that is unique to the property: examples include a complimentary airport transfer, a complimentary lunch or dinner, or even a spa treatment
Receiving hotel perks at Ennismore hotels is as simple as selecting an eligible property, using your Chase Sapphire Reserve card to book, and enjoying these benefits:
Receive your fourth hotel night free when you book 4 consecutive hotel nights (even suites)
$30 food and beverage credit per stay
Complimentary daily breakfast for 2
Free Wi-Fi for as many devices as needed
Room upgrade and late checkout, when available
Amex Gold Card
Amex Gold Card members receive several hotel program benefits including guest privileges at The Hotel Collection and the lowest rate guarantee.
The Hotel Collection
Amex Gold cardmembers enjoy privileged benefits at American Express Hotel Collection properties. Pay for your 2-night stay, or longer, with your Amex Gold card and receive the following benefits:
$100 credit per stay that can be used for on-site amenities such as spa services, dining, and more (limit of 1 credit per room, per stay, but you can book up to 3 rooms and receive the credit for each room)
Room upgrade, when available
Pay with points for prepaid bookings or pay with your card and receive 2x earnings
Terms apply
Lowest Hotel Rate Guarantee
Book your hotel room on Amex Travel using your Amex Gold card, and if you find an identical room for less, before taxes and fees, you could receive a refund for the difference.
Bottom Line: If you like booking independent and boutique hotels, either card will meet those desires as both provide elite-type perks with their partner hotel programs. Note that when booking through these programs, however, you may not receive elite status benefits, as many hotel loyalty programs exclude benefits when booking through a third party versus directly through the hotel chain.
Rental Car Program Benefits
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Discounts and benefits with Avis and Audi on demand
Emerald Club Executive Elite status with National Car Rental
It also comes with a complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership with a $5 monthly credit (activate by December 31, 2024), and a $10 monthly Gopuff credit through December 31, 2023.
Lastly, this card earns 10x points on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025.
Amex Gold Card
The Amex Gold card comes with $10 Uber Cash per month (up to $120 annually).
Up to $10 monthly dining credit with Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations (up to $120 per year). Enrollment required.
Up to $10 monthly in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S. when you add your Gold Card to your Uber account (up to $120 per year)
The shining star of this comparison is the $300 travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. This benefit is easy to use and directly offsets some of the card’s higher annual fee.
Travel Benefits and Protections
While earning and redeeming rewards may be the prime motivation for selecting a specific card, travel benefits and protections can provide significant economic benefits when you need them.
Here are the travel benefits and protections offered by our featured cards:
Travel Benefit/Protection
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Amex Gold Card
Car Rental Insurance Coverage
Primary rental car insurance
Secondary rental car insurance with the ability to purchase primary rental car insurance through Amex
Trip Interruption/Cancellation/Delay
Receive up to $10,000 per person, per trip, up to $10,000 per incident, trip delays over 6 hours, up to $500 in coverage per trip
If your trip is delayed more than 12 hours for a covered loss, you could receive up to $300 for reasonable additional expenses
Baggage Insurance
Up to $3,000 per person, per trip for lost, stolen, or damaged luggage (checked or carry-on)
Up to $500 in coverage for delayed baggage over 6 hours
Pay for your common carrier ticket with your card and receive coverage for lost, stolen, or damaged luggage up to $1,250 for carry-on and $500 for checked
Emergency Medical and Dental
Up to $2,500 in coverage for emergency medical and dental, up to $75 for 5 days at a prescribed hotel
None
Roadside Assistance
4 free service calls per year, up to $50 each
None
Emergency Evacuation
Up to $100,000
None
Concierge Service
24/7 included
24/7 included
Emergency Travel Assistance
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services hotline
Global Assist Hotline
Foreign Transaction Fees
None
None
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers primary rental car insurance versus the Amex Gold card’s secondary coverage. But a simple inexpensive purchase of Amex’s Premium Car Rental Protection gives you the same primary car rental insurance on the Amex Gold card. Coverage ranges from $12.25 to $24.95 and covers you for the entire rental period.
Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is loaded with valuable travel benefits. With primary rental car insurance, trip interruption/cancellation/delay coverage, roadside assistance, emergency evacuation, and emergency medical coverage, the card is a better choice for travel benefits and protections over the Amex Gold card.
Shopping Benefits and Protections
While you wouldn’t select a travel rewards card for the shopping benefits and protections, there’s value in knowing what each card offers.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers a few shopping benefits and protections:
Extended Warranty — On manufacturer’s warranties of 3 years or less, the warranty is extended by 1 year
Purchase Protection — Eligible items are covered for 120 days from the purchase date, up to $10,000 per item, for damage, theft, and “involuntary and accidental parting” (up to $50,000 per calendar year)
Return Protection — Items not accepted for return by the selling merchant are covered for 90 days from the date of purchase, up to $500 per item
The Amex Gold card comes with the following shopping benefits:
American Express Auto Purchasing Program — Receive up to thousands of dollars off the purchase price of your new vehicle, plus be able to charge at least $2,000 on your Amex Gold card
ShopRunner Membership — Receive free 2-day shipping and returns at hundreds of participating retailers via Shoprunner
Annual Fees and Adding Additional Users
Annual Fees
While the Chase Sapphire Reserve card has a fee that is significantly higher than the Amex Gold card at $550 compared to $250, it also comes with more usable benefits including worldwide lounge access and the $300 travel statement credit which more than make up for the annual fee difference.
Adding Additional Users
You can add authorized users to your Chase Sapphire Reserve card at $75 each. While this may seem expensive, keep in mind that authorized users receive many of the benefits as the primary cardholder. These benefits include Priority Pass Select membership, trip interruption/cancellation/delay insurance, and car rental insurance. However, authorized users do not receive their own $300 travel credit.
There is no additional annual fee for adding up to 5 authorized users to the Amex Gold card. The sixth card and beyond will cost $35 per year.
Final Thoughts
While the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is a premium credit card with plenty of earning power, flexible redemption options, and a long list of benefits, the Amex Gold card presents a respectable alternative with a much lower annual fee.
If you value worldwide lounge access, spend a lot on travel in general, and want to redeem your rewards for travel, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is an excellent choice.
The Amex Gold card provides a balance between being an everyday spending card and a travel rewards card. If your spending is focused on groceries and dining out, the card allows you to earn plenty of rewards on those purchases. However, you can also earn multiple times rewards on flight purchases. You can also redeem your points for travel.
You can’t go wrong with either card when your biggest spending matches the card’s specific bonus categories and your travel goals can be realized with the redemption options available.
You’ll also want to evaluate which statement credits, benefits, and protections you’ll take advantage of to determine which card provides greater bottom-line value to you.
For the car rental collision damage coverage benefit of the American Express® Gold Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car rental loss or damage coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. For the trip cancellation and interruption insurance and trip delay insurance benefits of the American Express® Gold Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company. For the baggage insurance plan benefit of the American Express® Gold Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. For the extended warranty and purchase protection benefit of the American Express® Gold Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. For the Global Assist Hotline benefit of the American Express® Gold Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here. For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
Featured Image Credit: Upgraded Points
Frequently Asked Questions
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card has a higher annual fee than the Amex Gold card, so the better card for you will be the one where you earn the most rewards, receive benefits that offset the annual fee, and are able to redeem rewards for your preferred travel.
The Amex Gold card will reward your supermarket, dining, and spending for flights while the Chase Sapphire Reserve card focuses earnings more on rewarding general travel purchases. The better card for earning will be the one that matches your spending habits.
Each card earns different rewards currencies as well. The Amex Gold card earns Membership Rewards, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve card earns Ultimate Rewards. Fortunately, both currencies can be transferred to airline and hotel partners where you have the potential for excellent value.
Membership Rewards points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for flights on Amex Travel, while Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for 1.5 cents per point for travel.
When it comes to travel benefits, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers a better collection of benefits, including primary car rental insurance and trip interruption/cancellation coverage. However, it does have a higher annual fee.
When you make a qualifying purchase using your card, you will receive a statement credit. Statement credits show up on your monthly bill just like a payment would, but as a credit on your account.
For example, if your card comes with a $300 travel statement credit, once you have used your card for a qualifying purchase (like an airline ticket) you’ll receive a credit for the same amount. If the purchase was $179, you will receive an offsetting credit for that exact amount. Each subsequent travel purchase will continue to trigger a statement credit until the $300 limit is exhausted.
Some credits are valid for a calendar year and some for a card anniversary year. Once the applicable time frame has expired, a new credit will be available.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with complimentary Priority Pass Select membership. Membership allows access to over 1,300 Priority Pass airport lounge properties throughout the world, plus dining credits at select airport restaurants and access to Minute Suites.
A Priority Pass membership would normally cost $429 per year for a single membership that does not include guest access. The Priority Pass Select membership that comes with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card includes access for the cardholder and up to 2 guests.
You must register for the Priority Pass Select membership when you receive your new Chase Sapphire Reserve card, as the credit card cannot be used to access the lounges. To do this, just access your online Chase card account and register under Benefits. You will then be given a digital Priority Pass membership card and mailed one to use for access.
Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, detailed content for UP.
Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.
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