chase sapphire reserve versus amex platinum or something else

**myrdale** · 09-29-2021, 06:01 AM

I follow a guy named Graham Stephan on YouTube. He has several excellent videos talking about the pros and cons of each.

Personally I am not sold on either of these for my situation. I am not anti-credit card in the same way I am not anti-alcohol. So long as you're careful and know what you're doing, you'll be fine.

I've got a card with HomeDepot and one with Lowes. The Lowes card offers 5% off all purchases IIRC. The HomeDepot has special financing (which doesn't matter to me since I pay in full each month). Neither of these have an annual cost.

But, I do like Dave's comment of "I never met a millionaire who said they got rich off of their points."

If you run a business where you're making alot of purchases it might make sense, but otherwise I'd avoid any annual fee "deals".

Just be aware you're not going to outsmart Chase or American Express. $650 fee a year will push you to buy more on the card to feel like you're getting your money's worth.

**Like2Plan** · 09-29-2021, 07:34 AM

We have tried both chase sapphire reserve and amex platinum. (The fees have really gone up since we had these cards!)

Amex platinum was okay, but we never really got much traction on all the "benefits" for cost of the fees. One perk I did enjoy was the Centurion Lounge at SeaTac. It was located right on the way to Southwest Airlines gates, so it was very conveniently located. It was one of the best lounges I have ever been in--in terms of the amenities. But, it was the only one in their network that was convenient for us to use.

I liked the Chase Sapphire card. It was really great when we were traveling frequently. I liked that if you charged your rental on the card, they provided primary insurance coverage on the rental. We kept that card an extra year because of that benefit. But, in 2020 our travel dropped to zero. No flights and no rental cars. So, we used our points up (we were able to apply them to grocery purchases) and then we cancelled the card. Turns out that was a good decision, because we haven't traveled very much this year.

I think we derived more benefit from our Southwest airlines card, though, when we were in our traveling mode. The most valuable benefit (to us) was earning a companion pass between flying and points from the credit card spend. The second person could go on the same itinerary for just the cost of the security fee. (Even better, the companion pass holder could purchase the first ticket with points.)

**jenn_jenn** · 09-29-2021, 07:58 AM

We have both.

My husband has his Amex Platinum that he’s had for several years. He initially got this card because it’s free for active duty military and he continues using it because he more than gets his money back in value. He loves the concierge service. That’s his favorite thing. Personally, I don’t like it because I enjoy planning and hunting the best deal - he’d rather call and say book me X and they give him great recommendations. He’s used it to book everything from the best steakhouse in a little village in Japan to Broadway tickets.

We travel fairly regularly so we get the value back on my Chase Saphire Reserve. Even during the pandemic we’re averaging 5-10 RT flights a year each.

My husband also has the Delta card because he loves to fly Delta and gets free upgrades and checked baggage. This works well from him since he is a loyal Delta customer. It also comes with a one free buddy pass per year. I am more prone to taking whatever flight is cheapest but I’m considering getting my own Delta card and booking with Delta going forward just for the convenience of it.

**kork13** · 09-29-2021, 08:07 AM

I have the AMEX Platinum card (plus a couple other AMEX cards), but frankly, it's only because AMEX doesn't charge any annual fees to military members. At least presently, we would otherwise not use the card enough to justify paying the annual fee, or really even justifying the extra credit card. However, we do use it when we travel -- their benefits with airport lounges & airline credits is simply fantastic, and the automatic premier status with hotels & rental car places is nice. We've used many of their periodic incentives for hefty cash back on certain purchases that we were need to make anyway (ex: bought a new house, needed to buy a security system, spent $500 & got something like $150 cash-back from the credit card -- pretty sweet deal. I keep an eye on their offers, and when something comes up that we actually will use, it's well worth my time to make the purchase through the AMEX. That said... When I eventually leave the military, unless I end up traveling VERY frequently, I doubt that I'll retain the card. That annual fee is just too big of a pill to swallow. But in the meantime, I appreciate having it & taking advantage of what it offers periodically.

**kork13** · 09-29-2021, 08:12 AM

Originally posted by jenn_jenn View Post

He loves the concierge service. That's his favorite thing. Personally, I don't like it because I enjoy planning and hunting the best deal - he'd rather call and say book me X and they give him great recommendations. He's used it to book everything from the best steakhouse in a little village in Japan to Broadway tickets.

My husband also has the Delta card because he loves to fly Delta and gets free upgrades and checked baggage. This works well from him since he is a loyal Delta customer. It also comes with a one free buddy pass per year.

I've never understood what the concierge service is good for... or when it's appropriate to use it. Do they charge a booking fee or anything for using it as well? I'm not the fancy sort, so the entire concept of a concierge is totally foreign to me.

The AMEX Delta card is another one that we have (also the Blue Cash Preferred). Like your husband, I'm fairly loyal to Delta (otherwise Southwest if Delta's too expensive or doesn't work for what we need), though with the Platinum card, I've ended up not using the Delta card much. I do prefer the benefits of the Platinum better, though the buddy pass is a great benefit as well (never ended up using it yet though...that should change this winter).

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 09-29-2021, 09:38 AM

I have never used the concierge service either. Until last year we had the reserve and made good use of the traveling. But now we're not traveling the way we used to and we kept our alaska CC because that we still do use for the companion fare. But I couldn't justify the reserve pricing when we pretty much pulled the plug on traveling. I'm still not sure we are back to traveling the way we used to so I'm not sure it's even worth it to get these cards.

Nope not rich off points but I like to maximize my points and deals and spending. Part of the frugal nature of getting a good deal when I do travel. I have always looked at flying as the low hanging fruit. It's easier to watch flying deals and score a better deal on airline tickets than hunt for grocery coupons. The alaska companion fare I easily use and get around $500 return on it (i only fly to hawaii pretty much and save it for holidays usually). So that always pays for the credit card. That and free luggage.

**jenn_jenn** · 09-29-2021, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by kork13 View Post

I've never understood what the concierge service is good for... or when it's appropriate to use it. Do they charge a booking fee or anything for using it as well? I'm not the fancy sort, so the entire concept of a concierge is totally foreign to me.

There’s no service fee. He uses it for anything
he can think of. They’ve given him great recommendations. Flowers, concerts, shows, dinner reservations, pretty much anything. I think his top two highlights were calling for a sold out concert in Las Vegas and getting side stage tickets (at a fairly reasonable price too) and the Japan steakhouse I referenced earlier. They were in a really small village and not many people spoke English and they had no idea where to go. He called up Amex and said what’s the best steakhouse within an hour of here and made reservations for their group two hours later. He and his buddies arrived at the restaurant and they had a pre-fix menu with a private room waiting for them. He still raves about it. Pretty much anytime my husband makes a reservation for anything, he uses their concierge.

**scfr** · 09-29-2021, 12:52 PM

Originally posted by LivingAlmostLarge View Post

I am also about to apply for a new Wells Fargo active card with 2% cash back for our furnace purchase with 15 month 0%.

... and the $200 sign up bonus?

**scfr** · 09-29-2021, 01:02 PM

Just like a lot of things, the best fit for us has changed over time.
I'm currently in the "it doesn't make sense to pay an annual fee for any card" camp.
At the moment, the Citi Double Cash (no annual fee, 2% cash back, easy peasy) is my all-around favorite.

**Drake3287** · 10-05-2021, 06:46 PM

Common topic on this forum. Obviously, not every credit card is right for everyone. For me, I use the no annual fee BofA Travel Reward Visa card for cash back. The amount of cash back is based on the amount of total deposits with BofA. I'm at the high end with a platinum level card so I get the highest amount of points which in turn are used to get cash back.

Like many here, I charge EVERYTHING, and I mean everything and simply pay it off in full each month. I average close to $3,000 a year in cash back with it. Literally free money. And no, I've never spent a penny on finance charges in all the years I've had it.

**bjl584** · 10-06-2021, 05:28 AM

I have a CITI card. 2% cash back on everything. No annual fee or minimum purchase.

There are probably better cards if I wanted to have better rewards on a niche like gasoline, but the CITI card is convenient, accepted everywhere, and I don't have to think about what I'm using it for

**mo0n** · 10-06-2021, 10:00 AM

I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve a couple years ago (when the fee was $400, or $450, I can't remember) because I knew I was making a fairly large purchase, which would help me hit the spending point to receive 100k ultimate rewards. When I received the rewards, I parlayed them into a three night stay in Nashville during the SEC Tournament, a flight and a 5 day rental car for a separate trip. Then I cancelled the card because the $400/$450 annual fee is too rich for my blood.

I have the hotel credit cards, which help me out on my yearly trips that aren't related to work. I just got back from touring New Mexico, and it was a 6 night venture for the entire trip. All hotels were booked with annual free nights or points, which saved us a ton, especially in Albuquerque during the Balloon Fiesta.

**Greenland9** · 10-07-2021, 04:51 AM

I have the Amex BA card. The rate at which you spend Avios is pretty fast compared to other similar cashback cards, but I guess since the pandemic I've been collecting them with no real use to spend them. Then again, Avios aren't only used as air miles and can also pay for other things, but if you travel at least twice a year I'd say it would be worth it.

chase sapphire reserve versus amex platinum or something else