WHICH PREMIUM CREDIT CARD IS THE BEST?

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 blog 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. Amex Platinum leads the way at $695, Chase Sapphire Reserve follows at $550, 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, 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.

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 do use the DashPass and Global Entry/TSA credits, but the hotel credit of $50 is hit or miss. So with the travel credit I’m down to a cost of about $100-$150 annually.

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.

Bonus Points and Multipliers

The advertised bonuses of each card are similar, with American Express 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 apart from 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 3x points on all travel expenses and 3x points at restaurants, and the Capital One Venture X, which earns 2x points on everything. The points tend to add up much more quickly on those two cards. A monthly spend of $1,500 on the Venture X card 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 Centurion and Capital One lounges at both Reagan and Dulles Airports, but no Chase lounges.

While Centurion lounges are more plentiful than their competitors, they have become quite popular and, as a result, quite crowded. Space is not always available. To help alleviate this, Amex has tightened up their guest policy. Guests are no longer welcomed free of charge in the Centurion lounges. Adult guests cost $50, and children $30. At both Chase and Capital One lounges, two guests are still free. Access can be increased through adding authorized users to a card, but this costs a hefty $195 per user for the Amex Platinum. $195 gets the authorized user lounge access and credit toward the Global Entry/TSA Precheck with their card, but the rest of the platinum benefits remain at the account level, meaning they are shared between the cardholder and authorized users. Conversely, authorized users can be added to the Venture X card at no extra charge.

Elevated Status

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

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.