Credit cards continue to promise luxury perks, travel credits, and dazzling rewards, but for many of us the real question is simpler: Which of these benefits will I actually use and how much will I really save? Marketing always highlights the maximum possible value, assuming a perfect user who follows every enrollment condition and takes advantage of every perk. It’s also assumed that this perfect user frequents the most expensive restaurants, stays as the best hotels, uses airline lounges many times each month, and follows all of rules required to utilize all of their benefits.
Most of us, however, live in the real world—where convenience matters, where we don’t track every monthly credit, and where the airport lounge visit might happen once or twice a year, if at all.
The issue of premium cards is in the news this week with American Express announcing a new Platinum card offering new benefits at a higher cost, $895.
I set out to compare the American Express Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, a card I have had for the past several years. For twenty years prior I had an Amex Platinum card. This comparison is based on my specific user profile that I define as follows:
- Travel frequency: About five trips per year, a mix of domestic and international.
- Hotel preference: Moderate to better hotels, mainly Marriott. Rarely do I stay at high-end luxury hotels.
- Airport lounge use: Not frequent—occasional at best, mostly when flying internationally, when often the lounge is free.
- Dining habits: Eat out often at casual places, some high-end dining on special occasions; use DoorDash about once a month.
- Lifestyle preference: I prefer simplicity, low friction to use, and dislike jumping through hoops to enroll for benefits or track multiple credits. In short: “set and forget.”
The Case for the Amex Platinum
The Platinum card is well-known for its premium Centurion Lounges, fine hotels & resorts program, and a buffet of lifestyle credits that is akin to a “coupon book” full of deals, but usually with conditions that limit their use. On paper, the company says the credits add up to $3500: $200 for airline fees, $600 in hotel credit, monthly Uber Cash, Saks Fifth Avenue credits, entertainment subscriptions, Equinox memberships, and more.
But in practice, these benefits require close management and need to be used spaced throughout the year. The airline fee credit is limited to one chosen carrier and covers only incidental fees, not the airfare itself. The hotel credit applies only if you book prepaid (non-refundable) stays through Amex’s own portal, often at higher rates than booking direct, and with benefits not always applying. Uber Cash is paid in $15 monthly increments and expire monthly. The Sak credit can be used on-line, but users complain of a $30 shipping charge with whatever they buy using their $50 credit. The $200 Oura ring credit applies to the purchase of a new ring, not their monthly subscription fees.
For someone who stays mostly at Marriotts, doesn’t fly weekly, and doesn’t frequent high-end gyms or Saks, the Platinum’s value shrinks quickly. I might realistically use $100 of the airline credit, $150 of the hotel benefit, and perhaps $75 of the Uber Cash. Lounge access, if used once or twice, might add another $50 in perceived value. Add in some points for airfare fares booked via Amex and everyday spending, and the total value is about $675 per year. Against a $895 annual fee, that’s a net loss.
The Case for the Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Reserve’s most important perk is the $300 annual travel credit, which automatically applies to a wide range of purchases—airfare, hotels, Uber, parking, even tolls. No enrollment, no hoops, no limitation to a single airline. That credit alone knocks the effective annual fee from $795 down to $495.
The card earns 3× points on dining and travel, and 10× points on hotels booked through Chase Travel. Redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards, points are worth 1.5¢ each toward travel, or more if transferred to airline or hotel partners. For someone spending about $1,500 a month, with half of that in dining and travel, the points could be worth around $600 annually.
Additional perks like a $5 monthly DoorDash credit align neatly with my ordering takeout once a month, yielding another $120 in value without much effort. Airport lounge access through Priority Pass is included, but if you rarely visit lounges, it’s just a small bonus.
Total it up, and the Reserve offers about $1,070 in annual value, comfortably ahead of the $795 fee—yielding a positive net benefit of roughly $275 per year.
For frequent car renters, Chase Sapphire Reserve offers primary auto rental insurance (often called collision damage waiver / CDW) — meaning it pays first, before your auto insurance, for covered damage or theft. Amex Platinum’s car rental loss & damage insurance is secondary, meaning Amex covers what your auto insurance doesn’t.
Conclusion and Recommendation
For my specific user profile —five trips per year, Marriott stays, casual dining, and a “set it and forget it” mentality— the Sapphire Reserve comes out ahead of the American Express Platinum in the value offered, $1070 vs $675.
If you do an analysis based on your travel profile and neither show sufficient benefit for the high annual fee, consider the Sapphire Platinum Reserve, The Amex Gold Card, or the Capital One Venture X cards,each offering a some similar benefits at a fraction of the price.