WHICH PREMIUM CREDIT CARD IS THE BEST?

A comparison of the American Express Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, and Citi Strata Elite credit cards.

Craig Turck

3/24/20256 min read

In this blog I’m taking on the premium cards; the American Express Platinum card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, and the Capital One Venture X. Each has a unique offer and promises elevated benefits and travel comfort. Does one stand out above the others? Let’s have a look at what they all offer, including characteristics which differentiate them from each other.

This article covers:

Annual Fees and Credits
Bonus Points and Multipliers
Lounge Access
Elevated Status
Additional Benefits (reimbursement, insurance, protection coverage)
Summary
Comparison Table

Annual Fees and Credits

Each card comes with hefty annual fees. Chase Sapphire Reserve leads the way at $795, American Express Platinum follows at $695, and the Capital One Venture X is at $395. Each of them, however, offers credits toward purchases which can offset those fees. When evaluating which card is right for you, those credits should only be considered if you would have spent money on them anyway. For example, a monthly Uber credit should only be considered if you normally use Uber for transport. Taking Uber when you normally don’t, only to earn the credit, is NOT saving money.

American Express boasts over $1,400 in available credits for their Platinum card, more than fully offsetting the annual cost of the card. Personally, I frequently use Uber and have the Disney bundle, and our family Saks bill easily tops the $50 semiannual credit, so we enjoy $540 in credits annually before considering the travel credits. I can safely say I fully offset the cost of the card each year.

Chase boasts over $2,700 in available credits for the Sapphire Reserve card. Again, the credits only save money if you would use the services anyway. The Chase $300 travel credit is easy to use because it is not necessary to use Chase Travel to earn it, and their definition of the travel category is broad, including parking and taxis. I will say that I was surprised I didn’t qualify for a credit when I used a travel agent, which are advertised as travel related expenses, so be sure to manage expectations as some vendors may be misclassified. I provide a full analysis of the Sapphire Reserve credits in my blog Is the New Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card Worth Keeping? In total, the credits save me $780 annually, almost entirely offsetting the cost of the card. In a nutshell, I'm paying $15 annually for lounge access and other benefits, well worth the annual fee for me.

With Capital One, the math is fairly easy. They offer a $300 credit for travel booked through Capital One Travel. I’m not normally a fan of the travel services for booking airfare or rental cars, but Capital One has put several layers of protection in place to ensure your flight price is competitive, and I find their hotel pricing to be competitive, and the treatment and perks associated with booking through the service are worth it. Combine the $300 credit with the annual bonus of 10,000 miles, which has a minimum value of $100, and the cost of the card is more than completely offset.

Citi boasts nearly $1,500 in value with their Strata Elite card. To use most of their credits, however, would require lifestyle changes for me. In other words, I would need to spend money I normally don’t to gain the hotel and the Blacklane credits. I might use the Splurge credit with Best Buy, but not with the other brands. So, in the end, I would recover very little of the annual fee. In my case, the credits for this card do not bring value like those of the others.

Bonus Points and Multipliers

The advertised bonuses of each card are similar, with American Express and Citi at 80,000, Captial One at 75,000, and Chase at 60,000. If you’re looking at the Amex Platinum card, though, I would encourage patience until you find an increased sign-up bonus offer. I’ve seen it as high as 150,000.

While the Amex sign up bonus can set them well above the others, the card fails to stand up to the others with ongoing use. Amex offers only 1x points on purchases not booked through Amex Travel. Compare that to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which earns 4x points on hotels and flights booked directly and 3x points at restaurants, The Citi Strata Elite which earns 3x-6x points at restaurants and 1.5x points on everything else, and the Capital One Venture X, which earns 2x points on everything. The points tend to add up much more quickly on those cards. A monthly spend of $1,500 on the Venture X card, for example, equals 9,000 additional points per year over the Amex Platinum.

Lounge Access

With a much broader network of lounges, it would seem the American Express Platinum card would be the hands down preferred card in this area. They all share the base of 1,300+ lounges with the Priority Pass collection, but beyond these, Amex has many more options. Chase and Capital One are opening more lounges, but American Express still has them at least doubled in Centurion Lounge locations. Add on top of this the Delta Sky Club, Lufthansa, and Plaza Premium lounge access and it is clear the Amex network is second to none. The size of the network may not matter as much as the locations, based on a traveler’s home base. As an example, a Washington, D.C. based traveler will find a Centurion lounge at Reagan Airport and a Chase lounge at Dulles (Etihad Airways Lounge), but will find Capital One lounges at both Reagan and Dulles Airports. Citibank does not have any airport lounges but offers 4 Admirals Club passes annually with the Strata Elite card. There is a good network of Admirals Club lounges, but for the frequent or family traveler, those passes may be used up quickly.

While Centurion lounges more than double those of their competitors, they have become quite popular and, as a result, quite crowded. Space is not always available. As a result, Amex has tightened up their guest policy a bit. Guests are no longer welcomed free of charge in the Centurion lounges. Adult guests cost $50, and children $30. Capital One has followed suit, and charge $45 for adults and $25 for children. At Chase lounges, two guests are still free. Access can be increased through adding Authorized Users to a card, but this costs a pricey $195 per user for the Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve, and $125 for the Capital One Venture X (if lounge access is desired). This fee gets the Authorized User lounge access with their card, but most the other card benefits remain at the account level. Authorized Users can be added to the Strata Elite card at $75, with no apparent benefits at the card level.

Elevated Status

Status brings perks such as early check in, late check out, and shorter lines. Here the Platinum card stands apart from the others. It offers elevated status at Marriott, Hilton, Avis, Hertz, and National. Venture X offers elevated status with Hertz, and Sapphire Reserve with IHG Hotels. No such status is provided by Citi.

Additional Benefits (reimbursement, insurance, protection coverage)

Each card provides extensive coverage, not only in travel insurance, but also in purchase and return protection, as well as extended warranty. We've listed the benefits at a high level in the table below. For a more detailed analysis, see our blog: PREMIUM CARD COMPARISON - THE FINE PRINT | Max Your Plastic

Summary

So, which one is the best? It depends on your location, travel habits and spending habits. The table below gives a good side-by-side comparison of each. If you seek guidance as to which card is best for you, or for a plan on how to maximize your returns on the credit cards in your wallet, send us an email at email@maxyourplastic.com.

What do you think of this blog? Let us know your thoughts, any positive or negative experience you have had with lounge access, or any experiences with any of the other benefits each of the cards has to offer.