Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Amex Platinum: Which Is Best in 2023? (2023)

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The best Chase Sapphire Reserve card benefits are airport-lounge access and up to $300 in annual travel credit. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card also has auto rental collision damage waiver and purchase protection, which are more common perks across Chase credit cards.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Benefits

• Airport-lounge access
• Up to $300 in annual travel credit
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Purchase protection
• Baggage delay insurance
• Return protection
• Extended warranty protection
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Emergency evacuation & transportation
• Roadside assistance

Along with these benefits, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card has a $550 annual fee and gives rewards on all purchases. As long as you have excellent credit, Chase Sapphire Reserve is certainly a card to consider adding to your wallet.

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The best American Express Platinum card benefits are baggage insurance and return protection. The Platinum Card® from American Express also has extended warranty and purchase protection, which are more common perks across American Express cards.

American Express Platinum card Benefits

• Baggage insurance
• Return protection
• Extended warranty
• Purchase protection
• Lowest hotel rates guarantee
• Instant card numbers
• Rental car insurance
• Airport lounge access
• Air travel fees reimbursement
• Statement credits for eligible hotel bookings

Along with these benefits, the American Express Platinum card has a $695 annual fee and gives rewards on all purchases. As long as you have good credit, The Platinum Card® from American Express is certainly a card to consider adding to your wallet.

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You need more than good credit to qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card requires applicants to have excellent credit, which means you need a credit score of at least 750 to get approved for the card.

You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub to see if you're within range of qualifying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

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No, you cannot get the Chase Sapphire Reserve 100k bonus anymore, as it was a limited-time promotion that ran from August 2016 through March 2017. The card now offers a bonus of 60,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. That's still one of the biggest credit card bonuses on the market, though. It also helps offset Chase Sapphire Reserve's $550 annual fee.

So, at the end of the day, the Chase Sapphire Reserve's 100k bonus is no longer available because it was never supposed to be permanent. It was the equivalent of 35% cash back, and that's just not sustainable. Chase offered it to build some buzz for the new Chase Sapphire Reserve Card when it was introduced. Since that seems to have worked, they retired that promotion.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Rewards and Perks

All in all, Chase Sapphire Reserve is an elite travel rewards credit card that's worth it for big-spenders with a credit score of 750+.

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You can log in to your Chase Sapphire Reserve® card account by going to the login page on the Chase website or mobile app and entering your username and password in the appropriate fields. Then, click the “Sign in” to access your online account.

How to Register for Online Access on your Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card Account

1. Register your Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card for online account access. Click “Not enrolled? Sign up now” and enter your account type, card or application number, and Social Security number to verify your credit card account.
2. Choose your Chase Sapphire Reserve card username and password. The username must be between 8 and 32 characters, including special characters, but no spaces. The password must contain at least 8 characters and have at least two of the following: one letter, one number, and one special character. Password can have no more than two identical or sequential characters. The password is case sensitive and may contain special characters.
3. Log in with your new Chase Sapphire Reserve card credentials. From the login page on the Chase website or mobile app for iOS and Android, fill out the Username and Password fields using your new credentials, and click “Sign in” to access your account.

After you have signed up and logged in, you'll be able to manage your Chase Sapphire Reserve card account online. You can pay your credit card bill, see credit card statements, monitor account activity, and change account information such as passwords and automatic payments.

If you forget your login information, click “Forgot username/password?” on the Chase login page. Then, just follow the prompts to reset or retrieve your username or password.

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You can use your Chase Sapphire Reserve for airport lounge access by first enrolling in Priority Pass Select. There is no additional cost to activate your Priority Pass membership and it is a one-time procedure.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass gives you access to 1,300+ airport lounges around the world, including many locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. For example, the 8 largest U.S. airports – including JFK, LAX, DFW, ATL and ORD – all allow Chase Sapphire Reserve airport lounge access. The Chase Sapphire Reserve lounge benefit is provided by a company called Priority Pass and would cost $399 per year without the card.

Here's how to find an airport lounge:

To find a lounge, go to the Priority Pass website and type your destination into the “Find a lounge” bar. You'll be able to see where a lounge is within an airport, as well as its hours, amenities, guest policies and other rules. You can also check the Priority Pass lounge directory. If the airport you are visiting has a Priority Pass lounge, you will just have to show your card there to gain access.

Technically speaking, there aren't any airport lounges solely for Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders. That's important because there are a few crucial details about Priority Pass membership you should keep in mind.

Key things you should know about Chase Sapphire Reserve airport lounges:

• Customers must enroll in Priority Pass Select to access the 1,300+ Chase Sapphire Reserve airport lounges. But you only have to enroll once.
• To enroll, go to Chase Ultimate Rewards and click “Earn Points,” then “Card Benefits.” Under the “Airport Lounge Access” tab, click “Activate Now.”
• Guests may be allowed to accompany you for free, depending on the lounge. If guests do not get complimentary access, the fee will be $27 per person per visit.

Chase Sapphire Reserve airport lounges offer perks like free Wi-Fi, full bars, snacks, and even showers and spas, depending on the particular lounge. To enjoy them, just activate your complimentary Priority Pass Select membership.

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No, the American Express Platinum card does not offer a 100K point bonus anymore. The current offer is 80,000 points for spending $6,000 in the first 6 months.Once you've met the spending requirement for the American Express Platinum card's bonus, the points will post to your account within 8-12 weeks.

In addition to the welcome offer, the American Express Platinum card offers many other benefits and extensive ongoing rewards.

American Express Platinum card's Rewards & Perks

All in all, the American Express Platinum card is a good card for high-spending frequent travelers with at least good credit. You can learn more about this card by reading our editors' full review.

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The Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass membership gives cardholders and authorized users free memberships in the airport lounge program Priority Pass Select. Each cardholder and up to two guests get unlimited free access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide as a result. Additional guests cost $32 per visit. Priority Pass Select airport lounges offer free Wi-Fi, snacks and beverages. There's also comfortable seating and other amenities that vary by lounge. The Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass benefit is a $429 annual value. That's what it would cost to buy a membership with unlimited free visits normally.

This special benefit is only available on Chase Sapphire Reserve. You don't get it on Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the discontinued original Chase Sapphire® Card. Keep in mind that the $429 value helps offset Chase Sapphire Reserve's $550 annual fee.

In order to redeem your free Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass membership and start enjoying the lounge benefits, you need to do a one-time “activation” to have your Priority Pass card sent to you. Don't worry, this won't cost you any money and it's very easy to do.

How to activate Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass:

1. Log in to your Chase online account.
2. Click on the tab that says “Chase Ultimate Rewards.”
3. Click on “Card Benefits.”
4. Find “Airport Lounge Access” and click “Activate Now” at the bottom.

Follow those steps, and you'll get membership cards for you and any authorized users on your Chase Sapphire Reserve account within 2-3 weeks by mail. Once you have your Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass membership card, you'll need to show it and a same-day boarding pass to get into a Priority Pass lounge.

You may also be able to bring guests traveling with you. There's no limit set by Priority Pass, but individual lounges have the right to make their own rules. Authorized users have their own memberships and aren't considered guests. Keep in mind that only two of your guests are free – the rest cost $32 each.

Your Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass membership gives you access to a widespread network. There are Priority Pass lounges all over the world, including at the most popular domestic and international airports.

Here are some popular Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass lounges:

• Chicago IL O'Hare International Airport: Swissport Lounge
  Offers refreshments, TV, magazines and Wi-Fi. They may limit guests based on space constraints.
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: The Club at DFWY
  ou have access to refreshments, alcohol, TV, Wi-Fi, fax and showers. There are no stated guest restrictions.
• Beijing Capital International Airport: Air China First & Business Class Lounge
  Offers refreshments, alcohol, internet access, TV, newspapers and telephones. They may limit guests based on space constraints.
• Dubai International Airport: Marhaba Lounge
  Amenities include refreshments, alcohol, TV, magazines, Wi-Fi and flight information, telephone, fax, and shower. There are no stated guest restrictions.

So, as you can see, the Chase Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass benefit gives you a wide range of comforts all over the world. If you take full advantage of this perk, that's an extra $429 in value you get out of your card every year.

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Unfortunately, you cannot get the Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus anymore; this was an offer that gave 10,000 points for each person who applied for this card using your referral link and got approved. Through mid-August, 2018, you were able to get up to 5 Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonuses each year, for a total of 50,000 points. Unfortunately, the Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus offer is not currently available.

Chase still offers referral bonuses on several other cards, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited®. The process is the same for all the eligible cards, and it's good to know the procedure in case the Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus ever comes back.

How to get a Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus (when available):

1. Go to the Chase Refer a Friend page and select a card.
2. Enter your last name, zip code, and card number's last 4 digits (right side of page).
3. Click “Get Started.”
4. Invite people to apply with a special web link, email, Facebook post or Twitter post.

If the Chase Sapphire Reserve referral bonus happens again, your friends can use your referral link to apply for the card. Asking them to do so is definitely worthwhile, too. It doesn't cost you anything, and if you hit the 50,000-point maximum each year, that would put an extra $750 toward travel in your pocket. And that will help offset the card's $550 annual fee. Don't expect to see any bonus points right away, though. It might take one to two billing cycles for them to post to your account.

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Yes, the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card does have travel insurance benefits, the best of which are emergency evacuation and transportation coverage and trip cancellation/interruption insurance. To be eligible to file a travel insurance claim, you'll need to pay for your travel using your Chase Sapphire Reserve Card.

Types of Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Travel Insurance

• Trip delay insurance: This benefit reimburses you for necessary expenses – such as a hotel room, for example – if your trip is delayed for 6 hours or more.
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: This benefit covers your trip for unforeseen cancellations or for interruptions that cut your trip short. It only applies to pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses.
• Lost/damaged baggage insurance: If your luggage is lost or stolen, you can get reimbursed for the contents of the luggage up to $3,000.
• Emergency evacuation and transportation insurance: If you become sick or injured during a trip and need to be evacuated, you can get reimbursed for the medical services and transportation costs up to $100,000.
• Travel accident insurance: This insurance covers cardholders in the event of death or dismemberment during the trip or during transit.
• Rental car insurance: This benefit covers the cardholder for damage to the rental vehicle that results from collision or theft.

Exclusions and coverage limits apply to many of these benefits, so make sure to check your Chase Sapphire Reserve Card's guide to benefits for more details on each type of insurance.