Premium Cards Compared: Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express Platinum & Citi Prestige

A few people have been asking me to compare the benefits, earning rates and other features between the three premium travel credit cards: Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express Platinum & Citi Prestige. So here you go, we’ll start with a table comparing all three cards and then look at some of the bigger differences in more detail.

Table Comparison

	American Express Platinum	Chase Sapphire Reserve	Citi Prestige
Annual fee	$450.00	$450.00	$350*/$450
Sign up bonus	40,000 points after $3,000	100,000 points after $4,000	40,000 points after $4,000 (50,000 points after $5,000)*
Travel credit	$200 (airline incidentals only)	$300 (any travel purchase)	$250 (any airline purchase)
Redeeming Points For Travel	1¢ per point	1.5¢ per point for all travel	1.6¢ per point for AA^, 1.25¢ for all other airlines
Lounge access	American Express Centurion, Delta Sky Club + Priority Pass Select	Priority Pass Select	Priority Pass Select + Admirals Club^
Global Entry/TSA PreCheck	Yes	Yes	Yes
Travel Partners	18 airlines and 4 hotels		11 airlines and 1 hotel
Earning rate on airlines	2x per $1 spent (amextravel.com)	3x per $1 spent	3x per $1 spent
Earning rate on hotels	2x per $1 spent (amextravel.com)	3x per $1 spent	3x per $1 spent
Earning rate on other travel	2x per $1 spent (amextravel.com)	3x per $1 spent	1x per $1 spent
Earning rate on dining	1x per $1 spent	3x per $1 spent	2x per $1 spent
Earning rate on entertainment	1x per $1 spent	1x per $1 spent	2x per $1 spent
Earning rate on all other purchases	1x per $1 spent	1x per $1 spent	1x per $1 spent
Payment network	American Express Centurion, Delta Sky Club + Priority Pass Select	Visa	MasterCard
Foreign transaction fees	None	None	None
Primary rental insurance	Have to pay $19.95/$24.95 per rental up to $100,000	Yes, up to $75,000	Yes, outside the U.S. up to $100,000. Secondary inside the U.S.
Roadside Assistance	Up to 4 times per year	Up to 4 times per year	Yes, no limit
Protections/Insurance Cover Award Trips	No	Yes, as long as some part of the flight is paid for using the card	Yes, partial payment of payment with Citi TYP qualifies
Trip cancellation/interruption	Up to $10,000 per trip	Up to $10,000 per trip	Up to $5,000 per person per trip of non-refundable expenses
Baggage delay insurance	Up to $500 if it doesn't arrive to your destination within 4 hours	Up to $100 per day for five days for essentials when it's delayed for more than 6 hours	Up to $500 of necessary personal and business items if your baggage is delayed for more than 3 hours
Travel accident insurance	Up to $2,500,000 (plus $250 per night for relative if travelling alone)	Up to $1,000,000	Up to $1,000,000
Emergency Evacuation & Transportation	Kind of	Up to $100,000	Up to $100,000
Travel and Emergency Assistance	Yes	Yes	Yes
Emergency Medical & Dental Benefit	No?	Yes, up to $2,500	No?
Car Rental Status/Benefits	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hotel Status	Hilton Hhonors Gold, SPG Gold	Club 5C status if you complete two qualifying nights	None
Other Hotel Benefits	Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts & Hotel Collection	Access To Luxury Hotel & Resorts	4 night free and Luxury Hotels & Resorts portfolio
Exclusive Events	Yes	Yes	Yes
Extended Warranty	Yes, an additional year on warranties of five years or less	Yes, an additional year on warranties of three years or less	Yes, an additional two years on warranties of five years or less. Coverage of up to $50,000 per year.
Purchase Protection	Covers new purchases for 90 days against damage, loss or theft, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year	Covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year	Covers new purchases for 120 days (90 days for New York residents) against damage, loss or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year
Price Protection	None?	Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) if you make a purchase within the U.S. and see it advertised for less in print or online within 90 days of purchase	Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) if you make a purchase and see it advertised for less in print or online within 60 days of purchase
Return Protection	Receive a reimbursement of $300 per item ($1,000 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won't accept as a return	Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($1,000 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won't accept as a return	Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won't accept as a return
Golf Benefit	None	None	Three free rounds^
Cruise Benefits	Access to Cruises Privileges Program	??	MasterCard World Elite Cruise Program

• *Indicates the offer available to CitiGold customers, often possible to get this in branch without having Citi Gold
• ^This benefit is being removed on July 27th, 2017

Annual Fees

All of these cards come with the same annual fee of $450. The only difference is that if you have Citi Gold/Citi Priority or apply in a Citi branch under that offer then the Prestige card’s annual fee is reduced to $350. Because of this the Citi Prestige comes out on top with a tie going to the Platinum & Reserve.

Sign Up Bonus

Citi Prestige & American Express Platinum come with the same 40,000 point bonus (but with a slightly lower minimum spend requirement on the Platinum). It is possible to get 50,000 points on the Citi Prestige in branch though and it’s often possible to get a 75,000-100,000 point bonus on the American Express platinum card as well.

Chase Sapphire Reserve is currently in a league of it’s own with the CSR and it’s massive 100,000 point bonus. I suspect this is just a launch offer though and it’ll be reduced at some point.

Travel Credit

Platinum has the lowest credit ($200) and the most restrictive rules (airline incidentals only, although gift card purchases will usually work as well). Followed by the Prestige ($250 and any airline purchase will trigger it) and finally the Reserve with $300 and any travel purchase will trigger it.

Redeeming Points For Travel

Points are only worth 1¢ when redeeming for travel with the Platinum. On the Prestige they are worth 1.6¢ when redeeming for American Airlines flights and 1.33¢ for all other flights, although this is being reduced to 1.25¢ for all flights in July of next year. The Reserve again offers the best value with 1.5¢ per point for all travel (e.g hotels, airfare, car rentals & cruises).

Lounge Access

• American Express Platinum: Access to the great Centurion lounges, Delta Sky Clubs and also Priority Pass Select (guest access is $27 per guest)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Priority Pass select membership (two free guests and authorized user gets own card)
• Citi Prestige: Gives you priority pass select membership (two free guests + immediate family, authorized user also gets own card) and Admirals Club access (also going away in July of 2017)

Lounge access is really where the Reserve card falls apart, it only offers priority pass select membership.

Travel Partners

Here are the travel partners for each card:

American Express: (18 airlines and 4 hotels)

American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Partners
Airline Partners (1:1 Unless Otherwise Noted)
Delta SkyMiles	AeroMexico Club Premier (1:1)	Air Canada Aeroplan	KLM/AirFrane Flying Blue
Alitalia MilleMiglia Club	ANA	Asia Miles	British Airways Avios
Emirates	EL AL Israel Airlines (50:1)	Frontier	Hawaiian Airlines
Iberia Plus	jetBlue (1.25:1)	Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	Qantas
Virgin atlantic flying club	Etihad	Aer Lingus	Avianca Lifemiles
Hotel Partners (1:1 unless otherwise noted)
Choice Privileges	Hilton Hhonors (1:2)	Marriott (1:1)

Chase (7 airlines and 4 hotels)

Chase Travel Partners (All Transfer 1:1)
Airlines
British Airways Executive Club	Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM	Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards	Aer Lingus
United MileagePlus	Iberia Plus	Emirates
Air Canada Aeroplan
Hotels
Hyatt Gold Passport	Marriott Rewards
IHG Rewards Club

Citi (12 airlines, 1 hotel & shop your way rewards)

Emirates	EVA Air Infinity MileageLands	Malaysia Airlines Enrich
AirFrance-KLM Flying Blue	Etihad Guest	Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Asia Miles	Accor Hotels (1:0.5)	Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus	Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	Qantas
JetBlue (1:0.8 rate, 0.5 with Preferred)	Sears SYWRP (1:12)	Jet Airways JetPrivilege
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles	Avianca LifeMiles	Club Premier Aeromexico
Choice Hotels (1:2)	Leading Hotels of the World (5:1)

I’d argue that Chase has the strongest transfer partners even though they have the least amount of partners. The upside to both Citi & American Express is that they offer transfer bonuses that mean it’s often possible to transfer better than 1:1. You can view a complete list of all transfer bonuses for both card issuers below:

• Complete List Of American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Bonuses
• A Complete List Of Previous & Current Citi ThankYou Point Transfer Bonuses

Earning Rates

Cards earn at the following rates:

• American Express Platinum:
  • 2x points at amextravel.com
  • 1x points on all other purchase
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • 3x points on dining & travel
  • 1x points on all other purchases
• Citi Prestige:
  • 3x points on air travel & hotels
  • 2x points on dining and entertainment

It’s worth remembering that you can earn 1.5x points on all purchases with the Chase Freedom Unlimited and also 1.5x points on all purchases with the AmEx EveryDay Preferred card though. Again, Chase is the clear winner here.

Payment Network

• American Express Platinum: Runs on the American Express payment network
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Runs on the Visa payment network
• Citi Prestige: Runs on the MasterCard payment network

Primary Rental Car Insurance

• American Express Platinum: Offers primary insurance up to $100,000 but you have to pay $19.95/$24.95 per rental. Coverage is up to $100,000 worldwide with exclusions in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica and New Zealand
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Offers primary insurance up to $75,000 worldwide
• Citi Prestige: Offers primary insurance up to $100,000 outside of the U.S. and secondary insurance within the U.S.

Roadside Assistance

• American Express Platinum: Up to 4 times per calendar year when card member is present. Towing up to 10 miles, winching, jump starts, flat tire change when you have a workable spare, lockout service when key is in vehicle and delivery of up to 2 gallons of fuel. 
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: You’re allowed to call for a tow, jumpstart, tire change, locksmith or gas up to 4 times per calendar year and you’ll receive a reimbursement up to $50 per incident
• Citi Prestige: No limit on number of times it can be used. Includes towing up to 10 miles, winching, jump stars, flat tire changes (when a spare is available), lockout service (when key is in vechicle), delivery of up to 2 gallons of fuel. You must be in the car in a regularly travelled area to be eligible.

Protections/Insurance Cover Award Trips

• American Express Platinum: I don’t believe so, please let us know in the comments.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Yes, award tickets are covered as long as some portion of the trip is purchased using the card. For example taxes and fees. You’re also covered if you’re using points/miles from an affiliate loyalty program (including Chase Ultimate Rewards).
• Citi Prestige: Yes: “To be eligible for coverage under this benefit, your Citi card and/or ThankYou® Points must be used to purchase at least a portion of the Trip.”

Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance

All three cards offer this insurance, Platinum & Reserve offer up to $10,000 and the Prestige offers up to $5,000 per person per trip.

Baggage Delay Insurance

• American Express Platinum: Up to $500 if it doesn’t arrive to your destination within 4 hours
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Up to $100 per day for five days for essentials when it’s delayed for more than 6 hours
• Citi Prestige: Up to $500 of necessary personal and business items if your baggage is delayed for more than 3 hours

Trip Delay Reimbursement

• American Express Platinum: None
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: If your common carrier is delayed more than 6 hours OR requires an overnight stay then you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses up to $500 per ticket)
• Citi Prestige: Valid if your flight is delayed 3 hours or more.

Travel Accident Insurance

• American Express Platinum: Covereage up to $2,500,000. If you are travelling alone then they will also pay up to $250 a night for a relative to come and visit.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Coverage up to $1,000,000
• Citi Prestige: Coverage up to $1,00,000.

Emergency Evacuation & Transportation

• American Express Platinum: They do offer some sort of benefit, but it’s not exactly straight forward. Read this for more information
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: If you or a member of your immediate family are injured or become sick during a trip far from your home and it results in an emergency evacuation then you’re covered for medical services and transportation up to $100,00
• Citi Prestige: If you have a serious medical emergency and need help getting home or to the right medical facility, we’ll cover up to $100,000 in costs for your medical evacuation. This coverage also applies if you lose your life, and your remains need to be returned home. This is secondary insurance so if you have another policy that covers this then this will only cover what those policies do not.

Travel and Emergency Assistance

All three cards will provide you with travel and emergency assistance (call the number on the back of your card to be put through to the right department). This includes things such as medical referrals and interpreters.

Emergency Medical & Dental Benefit

As far as I know only the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers this benefit. If you’re more than 100 miles from your home then you can be reimbursed up to $2,500 for medical and dental expenses if you or your immediate family member become sick or injured.

Car Rental Benefits

• American Express Platinum
  • Avis Preferred
  • Hertz Gold Plus Rewards
  • National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • National Car Rental
    • Emerald Club Executive Level membership
    • Save up to 25%
  •  Avis
    • Save up to 30%
  •  Silvercar
    • Save 30% on rentals of 2 days or more
• Citi Prestige
  • Avis First membership
  • Sixt Platinum status

Hotel Status

• American Express Platinum:
  • Hilton HHonors Gold
  • Starwood Preferred Guest Gold
• Chase Sapphire Reserve:
  • Club 5C status if you complete two qualifying nights
• Citi Prestige: None

Other Hotel Benefits

• American Express Platinum
  • Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts
    • Noon check-in, when available
    • Room Upgrade upon arrival, when available *
    • Daily breakfast for two people
    • Complimentary Wi-Fi
    • Guaranteed 4pm late checkout
    • Unique amenity valued at US$100, such as a spa or food and beverage credit
  • Access to Hotel Collection (for stays of two nights or more)
    • $75 Hotel Credit, to spend on qualifying dining, spa, and resort activities
    • Room upgrade upon arrival, if available
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • Access to Luxury Hotel & Resorts Collection
    • Best available rate guarantee
    • Automatic room upgrade upon arrival, when available
    • Complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, when available
    • Complimentary continental breakfast
    • $25 USD food or beverage credit
    • VIP Guest status
    • 3PM check-out upon request, when available
• Citi Prestige
  • 4th night free benefit
  • Access to Luxury Hotels & Resorts portfolio
    • Complimentary room upgrades
    • Early check-in and late check-out upon availability
    • Daily breakfast for two
    • Exclusive amenities
    • Access to our Luxury Hotels & Resorts Portfolio ebook

4th night free benefit for the Citi Prestige is the clear leader in this category.

Internet Access

• American Express Platinum
  • Unlimited Boingo access
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: None
• Citi Prestige: None

Exclusive Events

• American Express Platinum
  • By invitation only
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • Exclusive Events & Experiences
• Citi Prestige: Private Pass Beynd

Extended Warranty

• American Express Platinum: Yes, an additional year on warranties of five years or less
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Yes, an additional year on warranties of three years or less.
• Citi Prestige: Yes, an additional two years on warranties of five years or less. Coverage of up to $50,000 per year.

Purchase Protection

• American Express Platinum: Covers new purchases for 90 days against damage, loss or theft, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year
• Citi Prestige: Covers new purchases for 120 days (90 days for New York residents) against damage, loss or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year

Price Protection

• American Express Platinum: None
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) if you make a purchase within the U.S. and see it advertised for less in print or online within 90 days of purchase.
• Citi Prestige: Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) if you make a purchase and see it advertised for less in print or online within 60 days of purchase.

 Return Protection

• American Express Platinum: Receive a reimbursement of $300 per item ($1,000 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won’t accept as a return
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($1,000 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won’t accept as a return
• Citi Prestige: Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won’t accept as a return

Golf Benefit

• American Express Platinum: None
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: None
• Citi Prestige: Three free rounds of golf, benefit is going away July 27th, 2017.

Cruise Benefits

• American Express Platinum: Access to Cruises Privileges Program. Gives you the following benefits on cruises of five nights or more (must be booked through them or through one of the affiliate agencies):
  • $100 – $300 per stateroom shipboard credit
  • Additional exclusive amenities unique to each cruise line
  • Receive one extra Membership Rewards® point on each dollar you spend per booking with American Express Travel
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Unknown? Probably some sort of Visa Infinite perk, let us know in the comments.
• Citi Prestige: MasterCard World Elite Cruise Program, you must book through Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Benefits depend on cruised booked.

Our Verdict

I’m sure this post contains errors in it, I tried my best to ensure there aren’t any but it was difficult. Please correct any mistakes in the comments section below. Also let me know if you think anything needs to be added/modified. Each card excels in different areas, so it would be possible to make a case for each card to be the ‘best’, although I’d say that the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the most complete card – but it does have extremely poor lounge access.

Let me know what you think the best card is and why in the comments.