The other day I was talking about travel credit cards on Instagram and so many of you asked if I would do a post about which travel credit cards we loved and why. Here’s the deal – I know that credit cards aren’t for everyone, so if you fall into the cash-only kind of family – that’s OKAY! I completely respect that. Dane and I have always been responsible with our credit card usage and carry zero debt, so for us, credit cards make sense. I’m not here today to send anyone into unnecessary debt, trust me, but I do want to share how Dane and I are able to travel for free a couple times per year thanks to credit card purchases and responsible use of credit cards. The two cards I’m talking about today are the American Express Platinum card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. One card carries a hefty yearly fee and the other has a very minimal yearly fee. I did this intentionally to share that even cards that don’t offer over-the-top benefits (but also come with a monster yearly fee), can still be a great way to capitalize on reward points. The world of travel credit cards can be confusing and overwhelming, so I hope this is a helpful post if anyone is consider either card! Today I’m sharing a comparison of two of the best travel credit cards we love and why – the American Express Platinum and Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Travel Credit Card Comparison: American Express Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Preferred
First things first – people have asked me why we chose these two cards as opposed to other credit card reward programs. That’s easy – I am a research monster. Dane and I analyzed our priorities in a rewards program and narrowed down the options from there. A lot of people have asked me why we don’t use an airline reward credit card and that’s also easy – we are not loyal to any specific airline. Because we fly internationally quite frequently, narrowing ourselves to only 1 or 2 airlines would probably end up costing us money long term. We didn’t like that idea very much. At one time, we did use an airline loyalty card and it just wasn’t for us. I think they’re probably really great, but it didn’t match our needs. Now, let’s chat American Express and Chase!
SIGN UP BONUS
American Express Platinum offers new cardholders 60,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 in purchases over the course of the first 3 months.
Chase Blue Sapphire Preferred offers new cardholders a sign up bonus of 50,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 over the course of the first 3 months.
YEARLY FEE
The American Express Platinum has a $550 yearly charge. I know this sounds steep, but there are some seriously good perks included that are great for travelers (I talk about them below!)
The fee for the Chase Blue Sapphire Preferred is $95 (waived for the first year). If a yearly fee intimidates you, this may be a good route, because you still get some MAJOR perks!
**IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a military family eligible for SRCA Benefits, all yearly fees are waived on credit cards, which makes the American Express Platinum card a seriously good deal!**
TRAVEL CREDITS GIVEN
American Express Platinum
The first is a $200 airline fee credit each calendar year. Every January, you pick one airline for that credit to apply toward. While the credit doesn’t cover tickets, it covers incidental fees like checked bags, seat assignments on basic economy tickets, change fees, and more. Sometimes you can even be reimbursed for airline gift cards that you can apply toward tickets, even though this is an unpublished benefit — do some Googling to see whether that works on your airline of choice.
$200 to Uber, which is broken down into monthly chunks. Each month, cardholders receive $15 of credits to use on Uber rides or for Uber Eats. In December, that’s boosted to $35.
Chase Blue Sapphire Preferred
There aren’t any travel credits given with the Chase Blue Sapphire Preferred card, BUT! There’s also a very low yearly fee and no fee for the first full year, so it kind of evens out!
AIRPORT LOUNGES
American Express Platinum cardholders gain access to Amex’s Centurion Lounges, which can be found at nine airports (8 in the U.S.) and can enter Delta Sky Club lounges whenever they’re flying with Delta. Additionally, the card comes with with a Priority Pass Select membership, which grants access to a network of more than 1,000 airport lounges all around the world.
The Chase Blue Sapphire Preferred card does not come with airport lounge benefits.
HOW REWARDS POINTS WORK
American Express Platinum
Cardholders earn 5x points on flights purchased directly through the airline and prepaid hotel reservations made through the Amex Travel portal. Cardholders earn 1x points on everything else.
Chase Blue Sapphire Preferred
Chase makes it incredibly easy to rack up points for everyday spending, which is part of the reason Dane and I love it so much. Cardholders earn 2X points on travel and dining, but the best part is that these definitions are incredibly broad. Food trucks, limo rentals, Uber, bakeries, bars and delivery services for food are all included under this definition!
MISCELLANEOUS TRAVEL BENEFITS
American Express Platinum
Gold elite status at Hilton and Starwood/Marriott hotels (you have to combine your account, but it’s very easy to do!)
Access to over 1,000,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in airports + cities around the world with a complimentary Boingo subscription (I’ve used Boingo in-flight which is awesome!)
Various purchase + shopping protections
Concierge service
Baggage loss and damage coverage
Travel accident insurance
A credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry (This can be used for both the primary cardholder and other cardholders on the account)
Chase Blue Sapphire Preferred
Chase offers Blue Sapphire Preferred cardholders primary rental car damage/loss coverage, trip cancellation/delay insurance, lost luggage insurance, and various purchase protections.
REDEEMING CREDIT CARD POINTS
American Express Platinum
The Points Guy breaks down a full year of exclusive earning with the American Express Platinum card and what you have the potential to earn! I really can’t explain it any better than they can (they are a wealth of knowledge on credit cards), but TL:DR — almost 4 roundtrip tickets to Hawaii, business class upgrades and more. It’s definitely the card to have when booking travel.
Chase Blue Sapphire Preferred
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