With the annual fees going up on The Platinum Card® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, many premium credit cardholders are reconsidering whether they want to carry these cards at all. In my household, my boyfriend and I have ultimately decided to keep one of each between the two of us.
For just those two cards, we’ll pay almost $1,700 in annual fees next year. That’s an exorbitant amount of money, but the way I see it, it allows us to travel more often (and more comfortably!) than we ever would by just spending $1,700.
Getting the best of both credit card rewards programs is still worth it for us, and perhaps for some other households like ours. Here’s why.
The credits on the AmEx Platinum can justify the annual fee
Even with an increased annual fee, the new and increased credits on The Platinum Card® from American Express can add up to savings on things I already pay for: my New York Times and Disney+ subscriptions, my monthly Ubers (usually to and from the airport), date nights or takeout at restaurants you can find on Resy, an online restaurant reservation platform.
Between the digital entertainment credit, Uber Cash, my boyfriend’s Uber One subscription and Resy credits on The Platinum Card® from American Express, we’re already getting more than $1,000 in value. (Enrollment required. Terms apply).
And that’s not counting some of the other purchases that we treat ourselves to because the credits on this card will offset it: another cropped Lululemon top for me, the fancy hand soap from Saks that my boyfriend likes, a CLEAR+ membership just because. Enrollment required. Terms apply.
Essentially, using the AmEx credits already cancel out the annual fee for us. Ironically, the ability to earn AmEx points feels like a nice-to-have, not the reason we are keeping this card.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve®’s points are easier to earn and redeem
While The Platinum Card® from American Express’ credits offset a broad range of expenses, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®‘s credits are more limited. The best one is the automatic $300 travel credit, but the new hotel credits through Chase’s travel portal and the dining credits are going to be more difficult to use.
Instead, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is our go-to card for paying for most travel and restaurant purchases because the points we earn are so valuable.
Compared to The Platinum Card® from American Express, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns more points per dollar on hotels booked directly and dining. The bonus category on direct hotel bookings is key for me. I avoid booking hotels through a travel portal or online travel agency because I don’t want to deal with the hassle of making changes through a middleman or losing out on my hotel loyalty benefits.
Chase’s transfer partners are more useful for me. I can reliably get 1.8 cents or more in value when I transfer my Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to World of Hyatt for award redemptions. And there is nothing more satisfying to me than paying 45,000 points or less per night for a luxury hotel stay, as I’ve done many times with the Hyatt award chart.
Now, I know that Chase recently devalued most redemptions in its travel portal and introduced the more limited Points Boost-eligible redemptions. One of my fellow writers even called it a “points bust.” But I do want to point out one bright spot: hotel redemptions in the Chase travel portal.
As someone who loves a higher-end hotel on vacation, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Points Boost properties available through Chase’s travel portal. I was able to book some hotels that are part of Marriott’s boutique brand at a redemption rate of almost 2 cents per point. That redemption rate is almost double the value I would have gotten by booking with Marriott points instead. NerdWallet values Marriott points at just 0.8 cent each.
Compare the list of AmEx’s transfer partners and the redemption rates in the AmEx Travel portal (just 0.7 cent per point on most hotel and flight bookings) to Chase, and it becomes clear that Chase Ultimate Rewards® is the superior transferable currency for most people.
The case for diversifying your cards
Ultimately, holding two premium travel cards is worth it for us. Both cards have some shortcomings, but my boyfriend and I are able to offset the annual fees with the cards’ credits and points. Plus, we have more redemption options with two separate sets of transfer partners.
And importantly, only premium travel cards could give us access to airport lounges and automatic elite status with several different hotel loyalty programs. We can also book travel with confidence, knowing that we can have some of the best travel insurance protections from our cards in case something goes wrong.
The annual fees are high, but the breadth of travel redemptions and credits we get with both is a luxury that I’m not willing to give up just yet.
Top photo by Meghan Coyle/NerdWallet.
