Difference between revisions of "Premium reward cards"

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|premium cards}} (2021)}}
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{{Page|article|Card Strategies}}  
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{{Page|article|Card Strategies|lounge access}}  
  
 
{{Image|PremiumCards.png|420}}  
 
{{Image|PremiumCards.png|420}}  
  
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Many credit card companies offer “premium” reward cards that have high annual fees, but also provide valuable benefits, such as free airport lounge access. The most famous of these are the Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards, but there are also several lessor-known premium cards available from other banks.
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“Premium” reward cards have high annual fees. But they come with annual credits, lucrative signup bonuses, valuable benefits (such as free airport lounge access), and high bonus reward rates, which can make these fees worthwhile.  
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The most famous premium cards are the Amex Platinum Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but there are also several lesser-known premium cards available from other credit card companies.
  
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
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These premium cards can be very valuable. At a minimum, you’ll want to eventually sign up for all these cards, to collect their extremely lucrative signup bonuses. By spreading these applications out over time, you’ll be able to freely access airport lounges for years to come. And, depending on your travel patterns, it can be worthwhile to make one or more of these cards part of your “permanent” credit card collection.
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The ongoing benefits of premium credit cards can be very valuable. Depending on your travel patterns, you may want to add one or more of these cards to your "permanent" credit card collection.
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 +
Even if you don't, you probably want to eventually apply for each of these cards, if only to collect their extremely lucrative signup bonuses. By spreading your applications over time, you’ll not only earn hundreds of thousands of points, you'll be able to freely access airport lounges for years to come.
 
</blockquote>  
 
</blockquote>  
  
 
{{TOC}}
 
{{TOC}}
 
*[[#What all the premium cards have in common|What all the premium cards have in common]]
 
*[[#What all the premium cards have in common|What all the premium cards have in common]]
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*[[#You should (eventually) sign up for every premium credit card, to collect their signup bonus bonus|Collecting every premium card's signup bonus]]
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*[[#Our recommendation: Sign up for all the premium cards (over time)|Our recommendation: Sign up for all the premium cards (over time)]]
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*[[#Keeping a card for its unique benefits|Keeping a card for its unique benefits]]
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*[[#Keeping one or more cards for the long term|Keeping one or more cards for the long term]]
 
*[[#Obtaining continuous airport lounge access|Obtaining continuous airport lounge access]]
 
*[[#Obtaining continuous airport lounge access|Obtaining continuous airport lounge access]]
 
*[[#Holding onto a premium card for travel and restaurant spending|Holding onto a premium card for travel and restaurant spending]]
 
*[[#Holding onto a premium card for travel and restaurant spending|Holding onto a premium card for travel and restaurant spending]]
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{{Main|article}}
 
{{Main|article}}
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=== What all the premium cards have in common ===
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=== Our recommendation: Sign up for all the premium cards (over time) ===
  
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While each premium card has valuable unique benefits, they also share some general features.  
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If you are comfortable getting credit cards just for their signup bonuses, the answer to "Which premium card you should get?" is easy—you should sign up for "all of them". {{Link|Signup Intro}}
 +
 
 +
When you factor in their signup bonuses and annual credits, every premium credit card is well worth getting, at least for the initial year.  
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''Airport lounge access'''. Each card provides free access to over 1,000 airport lounges through the Priority Pass airport lounge program. You (and some number of additional traveling companions) can freely access airport lounges located all around the world. They aren’t the fanciest lounges around, and there may not be one in the terminal you are using for your flight, but you should still have plenty of opportunities to take advantage of this benefit. {{Link|lounge access}}.</li>
 
  
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{{ImageX|AirportLounge1.jpg}}
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<li>'''Most premium cards have generous signup offers'''. For example, a typical bonus for the Amex Platinum cards ranges from 60,000 to 100,000 Membership Rewards points, valued at {{Value|MR|60000}} to {{Value|MR|100000}}. If you highly value (and are patient enough to redeem) premium cabin frequent flyer tickets, these points are even more valuable.</li>
  
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The Amex Platinum card provides access to some additional lounges, besides the ones that belong to Priority Pass. For example, you get access to Amex’s own collection of Centurion lounges, which are located at a handful of locations around the world, plus access to Delta’s lounges when flying Delta.
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<li>'''Each of the premium cards have travel credits which can offset their expensive annual fees'''. For example, the Sapphire Reserve comes with an automatic $300 travel credit and $120 worth of DoorDash credits that can partially offset the annual fee. While you need to pay out $550 in fees, you’ll receive back $300 in free travel (on top of the signup bonus) and up to $120 in free food, dropping the effective out-of-pocket cost for your initial year to a more reasonable $130-250. </li>
  
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<li>'''Extremely valuable signup bonuses'''. All the premium cards have excellent signup bonuses—typically worth anywhere from $600, to more than $2,000, depending on current promotions, and the way you choose to use the points. Because of the signup bonuses, it is worth signing up fro all of these cards, even if you aren’t interested in holding onto them for the long run.</li>  
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<li>'''In some cases, you can take advantage of the travel credit twice in your initial year'''. For example, the Amex Platinum and Hilton Aspire cards allow you to earn travel credits every “calendar” year. That means you can use the credit twice during your signup year. For example, if you sign up for the card in August, you can use the full credit between August and December, and then again between January and August.</li>  
  
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<li>'''Some sort of credit that reduces the amount of money it costs each year to have the card'''. Every premium reward card comes with a “credit”, which rebates some of the travel charges you put on the card. Except for the Ritz Carlton card, these credits are automatic. For example, the first $300 you spend on travel with your Sapphire Reserve card every year is automatically subtracted from your credit card bill, without having to take any additional action. You pay $450, but you get back $300 in free travel.</li>
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For some premium cards, you can get back more in credits than you need to pay in annual fees—and that doesn’t even include the value of the signup bonus or ongoing benefits.  
  
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With some cards, it is trivial to take advantage of their travel credit. For example, everyone who is reading this is likely to spend at least $300 on travel. As long as you use your Sapphire Reserve card to pay for that travel, you’ll wind up earning the credit. With other cards, it is considerably harder. The $200 credit from the Amex Platinum card only pays for incidental expenses, like checked bag fees and inflight food and beverages, on a single airline (that you have to choose at the beginning of the year). There is a good chance that you won’t have a natural opportunity to take full advantage of this credit. Although, there are ways to maximize the Amex credit using airline gift cards. {{Link|incidental credits}}.
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<li>'''You can earn the signup bonus from multiple different versions of the Amex Platinum card'''. Amex has partnered with a number of other companies, such as Charles Schwab, to offer slightly different versions of their Platinum cards. While you can only earn each Amex signup bonus once per lifetime, you are entitled to earn the bonus from each different version of the Platinum card.</li>
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</ul>
  
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<li>'''Global Entry rebate'''. Each high-end card (and some lower-end cards) will also pay up to $100 for your Global Entry / TSA PreCheck application fee. Since, you only need to pay these fees once every 5 years, each card’s credit can only be used once every four to five years. If you need to pay fees for family members, you may need to take advantage of the TSA fee credit from multiple cards. The Hilton Aspire cards is the only premium card that doesn't offer a TSA credit. </li>  
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<center>'''Signup bonuses and initial year credits'''</center>
  
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{{ImageX|TSAPre.jpg}}
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{{Table|left|6in}}
 +
!style="width: 1.5in;"|Card
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|Signup Points
 +
!style="width: .75in;"|Net Signup Value
 +
!Credit
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|PlatinumCard|short}}''' (multiple versions)||50-100,000||$200-1,700
 +
|A large number of sometimes hard to use credits
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|PlatinumBiz|short}}''' ||75-125,000||$500-2,000
 +
|$200 x2 airline incidental (one airline), $100 x3 Dell, $179 x2 CLEAR
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|SapphireReserve|short}}''' ||50,000||$650
 +
|$300 travel, $60 DoorDash in 2021
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|HiltonAspire|short}}''' ||150,000||$200-1,300
 +
|$250 x2 airline incidental (one airline), $250 Hilton resort, free night certificate
 +
|-
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|'''{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}''' ||100,000||$550
 +
|$300 Marriott
 +
|-
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|'''{{Card|Altitude|short}}''' ||50,000||$675
 +
|$325 travel and dining
 +
{{/Table}}
  
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<li>'''Some sort of elite car rental status'''. Most of the high-end reward cards entitle you to elite status with a few car rental companies. While this is nice to have, it isn’t much of a reason to go out and get the cards. Elite car rental status usually just amounts to a one-car class upgrade, and some extra bonus points from the rental company’s reward program.</li>
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<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''If you plan to apply for all the premium cards (over time), you’ll get a “free” year to decide whether the ongoing benefits are worthwhile'''. You don't need to evaluate these cards ahead of time. You can try out each card for a year, subsidized by the signup bonus. If it delivers enough value, you can hold onto it. If it doesn't, don't. </li>  
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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=== You should (eventually) sign up for every premium credit card, to collect their signup bonus bonus ===
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=== Obtaining continuous airport lounge access ===
  
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The short answer to which premium card you should sign up for is “all of them”.  
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One of the main attractions of premium cards is the airport lounge membership. Every premium card provides free access to airport lounges, for you and some number of additional traveling companies. You'll get a Priority Pass membership that provides access to over 1,000 lounges and restaurants at airport all over the world. They aren’t the fanciest lounges around, and there may not be one in the terminal you are using for your flight, but you should still have plenty of opportunities to take advantage of this benefit on your travels. {{Link|lounge access}}.
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 +
{{ImageX|PriorityPassCard.jpg}}
 +
Most people are going to always want at least one card that provides this benefit.  
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''If want to hold onto one of these cards (for other reasons), you’re all set'''.  For example, if you are planning on holding onto the Sapphire Reserve card to use in conjunction with the Freedom Unlimited as your general purpose reward card or the Hilton Aspire Card for its free night certificate and Diamond status, you'll already have airport access lounge access from those cards. Many premium cards can be worth holding onto for their unique benefits and/or valuable bonus reward rates, giving you ongoing airport lounge access as a side benefit. </li>
  
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<li>'''All the premium cards have generous signup offers'''. For example, a typical signup offer for the Amex Platinum cards ranges from 60,000 to 100,000 Membership Reward points, valued at {{Value|MR|60000}} to {{Value|MR|100000}}. If you highly value premium-cabin frequent flyer awards, the signup bonuses are even more valuable.</li>  
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<li>'''You still may want to spread out your Amex Platinum applications for access to additional lounges'''. The Amex Platinum card provides access to additional lounges, beyond the Priority Pass program, most notably the Amex Centurion lounges. If this is important to you, you should spread out your Platinum card applications.</li>  
  
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<li>'''Annual fees are high, but they can be offset by travel credits'''. For example, the Sapphire Reserve has a $450 annual fee. But, it comes with an automatic $300 travel credit. So, while you need to pay the $450 annual fee to earn the signup bonus, you’ll get back $300 in free travel, dropping your effective out of pocket expense to $150.</li>
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There are currently four different versions of the Platinum card that don’t have daunting access restrictions: the regular, Schwab, Morgan Stanley and small-business versions. By signing up for a different one each year, you’ll have ongoing access to the additional Amex lounges (and the other benefits), while you are offsetting each year's annual fee with each card’s signup bonus. Hopefully, other versions will become available sometime over the next four years, and you can extend this strategy even further.
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<li>'''In some cases, you can take advantage of the travel credit twice in your initial year'''. The Amex Platinum, Citi Prestige, and Ritz Carlton cards allow you to earn the travel credit each “calendar” year. The CNB Infinite card allows you to earn the travel credit each calendar year, and offers separate credits for each authorized cardholder.</li>
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Even if you want to permanently hold onto an Amex Platinum card, you are better off signing up for a different version each year and saving your favorite version until last.  
  
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You can take advantage of the credit twice during your initial sign-up year. For example, if you sign up for the card in August, you can get the full credit for your travel spending between August and December, and then again for your spending between January and August. For some of these cards, you can get back more in credits, than you need to pay in annual fees—and that doesn’t even include the value of the sign-up points or ongoing benefits.
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<li>'''Unless you have a membership from a non-Amex card, you won't get access to Priority Pass restaurants'''. Many of these restaurants are among the best options within the entire program, providing $28 per person of free food and drink that is frequently better than what you could find in a typical Priority Pass lounge. So it is a good idea to spread out your non-Amex cards as well (if you aren't keeping any long term).</li>
  
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<li>'''You can earn the signup bonus from multiple different versions of the Amex Platinum card'''. Amex has partnered with a number of other companies, to offer slightly different versions of their Platinum cards. While you can only earn each Amex signup bonus once per lifetime, you are entitled to earn the bonus from each different version of the Platinum card.</li>
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<li>'''Each person will usually need their own card, if they want to access lounges while travelling separately'''. While each card lets the cardholder bring in at least one guest, this doesn’t let another member of your family access a lounge without you. To do this, they will need their own card, or you will need to add them as an authorized user (which usually requires an extra fee).</li>
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There are three personal versions of the card that are available for most readers. The regular and Ameriprise versions are available to everyone with solid credit (although the Ameriprise version usually doesn't have a signup bonus). The Schwab version is only available to people who have a Schwab account, but you can easily open a Schwab account without any fees. There is also a business version that is available to anyone who has any type of small business.
 
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There are some other versions as well. The Morgan Stanley version requires a Morgan Stanley account that will either require a little effort, substantial fees, or a large amount of assets. The Goldman Sachs version is only available to existing employees or high-value customers. The Ameriprise version waives the first year’s annual fee, rather than providing a substantial signup bonus.  
 
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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=== Keeping a card for its unique benefits ===
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<center>'''Lounge Access Policies'''</center>
  
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'''Every premium card makes sense for the first year, due to their lucrative signup bonuses. The question is whether it make sense to make the card a more permanent part of your core credit card collection'''.  
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{{Table|left|6in}}
 +
!style="width: 2in;"|Card
 +
!style="width: .75in;"|Guests
 +
!Notes
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|PlatinumCard|short}}''' (multiple versions)||2||Access to range of additional lounges, but no access to restaurants and other alternative spaces that are part of the Priority Pass program.
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|PlatinumBiz|short}}''' ||2||Same as above.
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|SapphireReserve|short}}''' ||2||
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|HiltonAspire|short}}''' ||2||No access to restaurants and other alternative spaces that are part of the Priority Pass program. And no access to the extra lounges that are available with the Platinum Card.
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}''' ||2||Same as above.
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|Altitude|short}}''' ||1||Limited to only four visits per year.
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|UBSInfinite|short}}'''||Unlimited||
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|CrystalInfinite|short}}''' ||Cardholder only||
 +
|-
 +
|'''{{Card|Ritz|short}}'''||Unlimited||
 +
{{/Table}}
  
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Several high-end cards have unique benefits that are potentially very valuable. Depending on your travel patterns, the unique feature of each card can be enough to warrant holding onto the card, and paying the annual fee every year.  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''Even if you don't want to hold onto any of these cards, you can obtain free lounge access for years to come'''. By simply spreading out your applications over time, you can make sure you are always within the first year of having a card that provides a lounge access membership. The signup bonuses and travel credits will more than pay the cost of the card for that year.</li>
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''As a result, we don't count lounge access as being a valuable benefit when deciding whether to hold onto a premium card'''. While lounge access is valuable, you are likely to have it available from another card and therefore it isn't a reason to decide to keep any single premium card. You'll need to justify the card based on its unique benefits.</li>  
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<li>'''When deciding whether it is worth holding onto a premium card, you can usually ignore the Priority Pass airport lounge benefit'''. Chances are that you will already have Priority Pass access through another card. For example, if you decide to hold onto the Citi Prestige card for its 4<sup>th</sup> night free benefit, you’ll get no additional value from the Sapphire Reserve’s airport lounge access. Even if you aren’t interested in holding onto one of the other cards, you can get airport lounge access for many years, by simply spreading out your applications over time, collecting the signup bonuses, and then cancelling the cards after the first year.</li>  
 
  
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<li>'''Since you will probably be signing up for these cards to collect the signup bonus, you’ll get a “free” year to decide whether the ongoing benefits are worthwhile'''. Don’t worry to much about evaluating whether you’ll get enough value from the card’s benefits to make it worthwhile to continue to pay the annual fee. When you sign up to collect the bonus, you’ll have the card for a year, and will have plenty of opportunity to evaluate the ongoing benefits.</li>
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There are some exceptions. Only a few cards allow more than 2 guests, if this is important to you, it may be another reason to hold onto one of those cards for the long run. And only the no-longer-available for new signups Ritz card allows you to add free authorized cardholders who also get their own Priority Pass memberships.  
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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==== Citi Prestige Card ====
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=== Keeping one or more cards for the long term ===
  
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'''If you expect to stay four nights or longer at a hotel, at least two times per year, make sure to get the Citi Prestige card'''. Whenever you use this card to book a four night stay at almost any hotel, you’ll get the average cost of one night refunded to your credit card statement. You can use the benefit as many times as you want, at anything from a $70 per night roadside motel to a $800 per night ski lodge.
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Some premium cards have unique benefits which are potentially very valuable. Depending on your travel patterns, it may be worthwhile to make the card part of your core credit collection, keeping it beyond the initial year.  
  
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{{Image|4thNightFree.jpg}}
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====The Sapphire Reserve Card ====
  
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For example, if you pay $1,200 for a four night stay at a beach resort, Citibank will give you $300 back. Later in the year, if you pay $900 for a four night stay at a downtown hotel, Citibank will give you another $225 back. Depending on your travel patterns, this is the most valuable benefit that you can get from any credit card, savings hundreds. or even thousands. of dollars per year. {{Link|4th night free}}
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<blockquote>
−
{{Card|CitiPrestige|guide}}
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If you follow our general recommendation, and decide to use the Chase Unlimited combo for your everyday spending, you'll want to hold onto the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  
 +
</blockquote>
  
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The Citi Prestige card costs $450 per year, but comes with an automatic $250 airfare credit, making the effective annual fee $200. If you are a preferred Citibank customer, you save an additional $100 off the annual fee. The card is also the only credit card (other than its sibling) to give bonus points on entertainment spending.
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{{Card|SapphireReserve|guide}}
  
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If you can use the 4<sup>th</sup> night free benefit a couple of times of year, it is worthwhile to get this card, even if you have other premium cards, and aren’t getting any additional value from its airport lounge benefit, or its travel and restaurant reward rates.
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In order to get full value from your Ultimate Rewards points, you need to have the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Preferred card. If you wind up taking advantage of the Sapphire Reserve, you also get to take advantage of it's other benefits, such as the best reward rate on many travel purchases, airport lounge access, and primary rental car insurance. The Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee, but an automatic $300 travel credit makes the effective annual fee only $250, and for now a $60 per year DoorDash fee can lower it even more. {{Link|general purpose}}.  
  
 
==== Amex Platinum Card ====
 
==== Amex Platinum Card ====
  
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'''The Amex Platinum card can be very attractive to some people, and is much less attractive to others'''. Unfortunately, it is less straightforward to determine whether the unique benefits of the Amex Platinum card are worth the annual fee. Unlike the other cards, it has several different unique benefits, that you will need to value separately. It is also less clear how much value you can get from its travel credits.
+
<blockquote>
 +
The value of holding onto the Amex Platinum card depends on how much you can take advantage of its various benefits and travel credits. It can be very attractive to some people, and less attractive to others. Because it is available in many different flavors, it is possible to get a different version each year, rather than holding onto any one version of the card.  
 +
</blockquote>
 +
 
 
{{Card|platinumcard|guide}}
 
{{Card|platinumcard|guide}}
 +
 +
Unfortunately, it isn't straightforward to determine whether the unique benefits of the Amex Platinum card are worth paying its $695 annual fee (beyond the initial year). It has many different benefits, rather than a main signature feature. Furthermore, some people will struggle to take full advantage of its different credits, while other people will be able to use them to almost completely offset the annual fee.
 +
 +
Regardless of the exact value you place on the card, you have the option of getting a new version each year. That way, you are always receiving a fresh signup bonus (and a double-dose of the airline incidental credit). It may be quite a few years before you have to make the final decision about whether to hold onto an Amex Platinum Card beyond its initial year.
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''The Amex Platinum card gets you into more Airport Lounges than the other cards'''. The Amex card comes with a Priority Pass membership, but also provides access to Amex’s new Centurion lounges, to Delta lounges (when flying Delta), and to a small set of additional lounges. That makes it particularly valuable if you live in a Delta hub, or a city with a Centurion lounge. {{Link|lounge access}}.</li>
+
<li>'''The Amex Platinum card gets you into more Airport Lounges than the other cards'''. Like the other cards, it comes with a Priority Pass membership, but the Amex Platinum also provides access to Amex’s own Centurion lounges, to Delta lounges (when flying Delta), and to a small set of additional lounges. This is a big advantage if you live in a Delta hub or a city with a Centurion lounge. {{Link|lounge access}}.</li>
  
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Just be aware that, unlike most of the other cards, you are limited to 2 free guests when you visit Priority Pass lounges (and when you are visiting one of their own Centurion lounges); and only the cardholders receive free access to Delta lounges. So, if you frequently travel with a family, and don’t pay the $175 additional fee to add authorized cardholders, the Platinum card’s lounge benefit can be less valuable than the lounge benefit from other cards.
+
On the other hand, the Priority Pass membership that comes with this card (and with any other Amex card) does not provide free access to participating restaurants and alternative spaces. It only provides access to traditional airport lounges.
 +
 
 +
In addition, unlike some of the other cards, you are limited to 2 free guests when you visit Priority Pass lounges (and when you are visiting one of their own Centurion lounges); and only the cardholders receive free access to Delta lounges. So, if you frequently travel with a family, and don’t pay the $175 additional fee to add authorized cardholders, the Platinum card’s lounge benefit can be less valuable than the lounge benefit from some of the other cards.
  
 
{{Image|CenturionLounge.jpg}}
 
{{Image|CenturionLounge.jpg}}
  
−
<li>'''The Platinum card gives you automatic Gold status at Hilton, Marriott, and Starwood hotels'''. At Hilton that’s good enough for free breakfast, and until the Marriott program transitions to the new unified program in August, free breakfast and lounge access and any Marriott brand hotels. While you can easily get Hilton Gold status from one of the Hilton credit cards, they have a $95 annual fee. {{Link|free breakfast}}.</li>
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<li>'''The Platinum card gives you automatic Gold status at Hilton (and Marriott / Starwood hotels)'''. At Hilton that’s good enough for free breakfast. While you can also easily get Hilton Gold status from one of the Hilton credit cards, they each come with their own annual fees. {{Link|free breakfast}}.</li>
  
 
{{ImageX|ContinentalBreakfast.jpg|480}}
 
{{ImageX|ContinentalBreakfast.jpg|480}}
  
−
<li>'''The Platinum card earns the highest reward rate on airfare'''. You’ll earn a whopping 5x Membership Rewards points on your airfare purchases. For every $1,000 that you spend, you’ll earn approximately $40 in extra rewards by using the Platinum card, instead of using one of the best travel reward cards, like the Sapphire Reserve. On the other hand, the Platinum card doesn't offer the extensive set of free travel protections that you can get from the other premium cards. (The Platinum card's 5x reward rate on hotels isn’t worth much, because of the drawbacks associated with needing to purchase pre-paid rates on a 3<sup>rd</sup> party booking site.)</li>
+
<li>'''The Platinum card earns the highest reward rate on airfare'''. You’ll earn a whopping 5x Membership Rewards points on your airfare purchases. For every $1,000 that you spend, you’ll earn approximately $40 in extra rewards by using the Platinum card, instead of using a card like the Sapphire Reserve. And the travel insurance benefits are almost as good as the Sapphire cards, along as you are taking a round-trip flight. The Platinum card's 5x reward rate on hotels may sound good at first, but isn’t worth much, because of the drawbacks associated with needing to purchase pre-paid rates on a 3<sup>rd</sup> party booking site.)</li>
  
−
If you spend a lot of money on airfare, the extra rewards you earn from the Platinum card will offset a significant portion of the card's annual fee.
+
<li>'''Amex's “Fine Hotels & Resorts” is a valuable program, but you can get similar benefits elsewhere'''. If you stay in luxury hotels, you can get great benefits with the Platinum card’s highly-touted Fine Hotel and Resorts program, especially with the new $200 per year credit. But to be fair, many of the hotels in the program participate in similar programs run by the other credit card programs or luxury travel agents. On the other hand, Amex’s Fine Hotel & Resorts more frequently provides 3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> night free offers. While the potential upside can be high, you might not get any real value from this in any given year, especially if you don’t often pay for the most expensive hotels and resorts. {{Link|luxury hotels}}.</li>
−
 
 
−
<li>'''“Fine Hotels & Resorts” is a great program, but you can often get similar benefits elsewhere'''. If you stay in luxury hotels, you can get great benefits with the Platinum card’s highly-touted Fine Hotel and Resorts program. But to be fair, many of the hotels in the program participate in similar programs run by the other credit card programs or luxury travel agents. On the other hand, Amex’s Fine Hotel & Resorts does more frequently provide 3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> night free offers, compared to the other programs. While the potential upside can be high, you might not get any real value from this in any given year, especially if you don’t often pay for the most expensive hotels and resorts. {{Link|luxury hotels}}.</li>
 
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
The annual fee for most versions of the Platinum card is $550. Like the other high-end cards, it comes with some credits that can offset that fee, but unlike the Citi Prestige, Altitude Reserve, and Sapphire Reserve cards, it isn’t easy to get full value from these credits.  
+
The annual fee for most versions of the Platinum card is $695. Like the other high-end cards, it comes with some credits that can offset that fee, but unlike the Altitude Reserve and Sapphire Reserve Cards, it isn’t easy to get full value from these credits.  
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
<li>'''The Uber credit is automatic, but not everyone uses Uber every month'''. The card comes with up to $200 in Uber refunds per year—$15 per month, and an extra $20 in December. The credits only apply to rides within the US, or food delivered via Uber Eats. If you frequently use Uber, this credit will wind up coming right off your bill, and the effective annual cost of the card will drop by up to $200. However, if you only use Uber infrequently, you’ll only get a partial benefit (you can "gift" your Uber credits to someone else, by letting them register your Platinum card, if you trust them with your card information).</li>  
+
<li>'''You get a $200 "airline incidental" credit, but it hard to take full advantage of it'''. The travel credit on the Amex card is MUCH less useful than the travel credit you get from from the Sapphire Reserve and Altitude Reserve Cards.</li>  
  
−
<li>'''It is hard to get full value from the airline credit'''. The travel credit on the Amex card is much less useful than the travel credit from the Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige, and Altitude Reserve cards.</li>
+
It only covers incidental expenses like baggage fees and onboard food, not airfare, or even seat upgrades. And it only pays for fees on a single airline that you choose at the beginning of the year. Odds are you already have ways to avoid these fees on airlines you fly frequently (such as the airline credit card's free baggage benefit). But if you choose a less frequently flown airline, you might not be able to naturally take full advantage of the credit.
  
−
It only covers incidental expenses like baggage fees and onboard food, not airfare, or even seat upgrades. And it only pays for fees on a single airline that you choose at the beginning of the year. Odds are you have ways to avoid these fees on airlines you fly frequently, and you might not be able to take full advantage of the credit, if you choose a less frequently flown airline. It is very rare for people to be naturally able to take full advantage of this credit.
+
On the other hand, if you are willing to work harder and bend the rules, there are some “tricks” that allows you to receive the "full amount" of incidental airline credit. Small denomination gift card purchases no longer work, but there are a few things that still might. {{Link|incidental credits}}.
  
−
{{Image|DeltaGiftCard.jpg|360}}
+
<li>'''You get a $200 hotel credit each year, but only a very limited selection of hotels'''. You can only use this for prepaid (but often refundable) stays through Amex's Fine Hotels & Resorts or Hotel Collection Programs.</li>
  
−
However, if you are willing to work harder, there is a “trick” that allows you to get full value from the airline incidental credit. Even though it is technically against the terms-of-use, Amex often refunds gift card purchases from certain airlines. You can then use these gift cards to pay for airfare at a later time. So, if a little web research indicates that small-denomination gift card purchases are still being credited for your favorite airline, you take the time to purchase the gift cards, and then remember to use them later, you can easily take advantage of the entire credit, dropping the effective annual fee by another $200. {{Link|incidental credits}}.
+
<li>'''You get $20 per month for "digital entertainment services", but only with a small set of less popular services'''. Most people don't already pay at least $20 per month for Audible, Sirius XM, the New York Times, and/or Peacock.</li>
−
</ul>
 
  
−
Depending on how fully you can use the Uber and Airline Incidental credits, the effective annual fee ranges from $150 - $550. If you don’t frequently use Uber, and don’t want to play gift-card games with the airline incidental credit, you’ll might get very little benefit, and bear the full brunt of the $550 annual fee. On the other hand, if you can take full advantage of both credits, you’ll get the annual fee down to $150—the same range as the other cards.
+
<li>'''You get a $179 credit for CLEAR every year, but most people won't value this at full value'''. If you haven't signed up for enhanced airport security line access, you probably don't value it at face value. If you don't have additional people to enroll, you won't get full face value from the credit, and it is unlikely you can leverage the benefit from multiple cards</li>
  
−
Once you estimate how much of the credits you are likely to use, you should also subtract the amount of extra rewards you expect to earn, by using the card to make your out-of-pocket airfare purchases. Then you need to decide whether you value the extended lounge access, elite hotel status, and Fine Hotel and Resorts program enough to justify whatever is left of the annual fee.
+
<li>'''You get $200 worth of Uber / Uber Eats credits each year, but not everyone uses Uber every month'''. The card gives you a $15 credit per month and an extra $20 in December. The credits only apply to rides within the US or food delivered via Uber Eats. If you frequently use Uber, this credit will wind up coming right off your bill and the effective annual cost of the card drops by up to $200. However, if you only use Uber infrequently, you’ll only get a partial benefit.</li>
  
−
==== Amex Platinum Business Card ====
+
<li>'''You get $50 of Saks credit every six months, but not everyone shops at Saks'''. The card comes with a $50 credit for purchases between January and June and another $50 credit for purchases between July and September. You'll need to spend at least $50 in a single transaction to qualify for the credit. Once you've activated this feature, it works automatically when you use your card at Saks or on Saks online.</li>
−
 
 
−
'''If you decide to get the Amex Platinum card, you should consider the business version instead'''. The business card costs $100 less, and gets all the valuable unique benefits of the personal card, except for the Uber credit. And it gets a few interesting extra benefits, that you only get from the business version.  
 
−
{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}
 
−
 
 
−
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
−
<li>'''It lets you redeem any of your Membership Reward points, to pay for certain airplane tickets, at a value of 1.54 cents each'''. While you should be able to get more value than this, by transferring your Membership points to airline partners to redeem for frequent flyer tickets, having the Business Platinum card gives you the option to get solid value from your points, with hardly any effort. It makes the Membership Rewards program much more attractive for people who don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets.</li>  
 
  
−
<li>'''You’ll also get 10 Gogo Inflight Internet passes per year and a few other minor benefits, that you don’t get with the Personal card'''.</li>
+
<li>'''You get $25 worth of Equinox Fitness credits per month ($300 per year), but most people won't be able to take advantage of these credits'''. Most cities don't have Equinox facilities, it doesn't apply to the more common and less expensive membership plans, and it only provides a discount to their $40/month online app.</li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
'''The annual fee is $450, which is $100 less than the fee for the personal card. However, you don’t get the $200 Uber credit'''. If you would get full value from the Uber credit, the business card will wind up costing you more. If you get no value from Uber credit, the business card will wind up costing you less.
+
Depending on how fully you can use the Airline Incidental, Hotel, Digital Entertainment, CLEAR, Saks, and Equinox Credits, the effective annual fee of the Platinum card ranges from -$720 to $695 (after the initial year). If you won't get much value, you might bear nearly the full brunt of the $695 annual fee. On the other hand, if you can take full advantage of the credits, you'll get more back than the annual fee, before counting the other benefits like enhanced lounge access.
  
−
You need to have some sort of business to be entitled to get this card. It can be a part-time gig, and you don’t need a special Tax ID number. Amex requires that the business revenue is at least $1,000 per year, but many people believe that is a projection of revenue over the next year, and not a summary of revenue over the previous year. {{Link|business cards}}.
+
==== Amex Platinum Business Card ====
  
−
There is one other consideration. '''With the business version, it costs $300 to add an authorized user. With the personal version, you can add up to 3 authorized users for $175 total'''. If you need to add someone else on the card, so that they get airport lounge access when they are traveling alone, the pendulum can swing back to the personal card.
+
<blockquote>
 +
If you decide you want to hold onto an Amex Platinum card, you should consider the business version instead.
 +
</blockquote>
  
−
==== Altitude Reserve ====
+
{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}
  
−
'''The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card is the least expensive high-end card, and can earn back its cost, with extremely high rewards on mobile wallet payments'''. The Altitude Reserve’s signature feature is a 4.5% reward rate whenever you use a mobile wallet, like Apple Pay or Google Pay, to make a payment. This is much higher reward rate than you would get from any other card. For each $1,000 you spend with your mobile wallet (at brick and mortar stores, in apps, or online), you’ll earn somewhere between $15-25 in extra rewards. {{Link|mobile wallet}}.
+
The business card costs $50 more, provides all the valuable core benefits of the personal card, but not most of the extra credits (You do get the airline incidental, CLEAR, and TSA credits). On the other hand, you do get a few interesting extra benefits that are not available from the personal card:
−
{{Card|altitude|guide}}
 
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
<li>'''Plus, you’ll get 12 Gogo Inflight Internet passes per year'''. The Altitude Reserve costs $400 per year, but comes with an automatic $325 travel credit, making the effective annual fee $75.</li>  
+
<li>'''You can redeem your Membership Rewards points to pay for certain airplane tickets at a value of 1.54 cents each'''. While you should be able to get more value than this by transferring your Membership points to airline partners to redeem for frequent flyer tickets, having the Business Platinum card gives you the option to get solid value from your points with hardly any effort. It makes the Membership Rewards program much more attractive for people who don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets.</li>
 +
 
 +
This only works for tickets from a single airline of your choice (plus business and first class tickets on any airline). Choosing the airline you frequently fly may limit your ability to take full advantage of the airline incidental credit. 
  
−
<li>'''Keep in mind that this card only has limited airport lounge access'''—you only get 4 visits per year (and 4 total guest visits). Since you are likely to want at least one of the other cards that offers full access, this isn’t a big deal. But if this is going to be your only premium card, you’ll need to live with more limited lounge access.</li>  
+
<li>'''You'll receive a $100 credit towards purchases from Dell every six months'''. You can use this a total of three times during your initial year.</li>  
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
For many people, the unique benefits aren’t amazing, but they easily outweigh your $75 in out-of-pocket expenses.  
+
The annual fee is $595, which is $100 less than fee for the personal card. If you would get a lot of value from the personal card's extra credits, the business card will wind up being a lot more expensive. If you get little value from them, the business card will wind up being a better deal.  
  
−
'''We consider it indispensable for people who can spend at least $5,000 on mobile wallet payments each year, and who want to fully optimize their reward earning. But it is an easy card to pass on, if you don’t want to deal with the added complexity of integrating this card into your point-earning routine.'''
+
You need to have some sort of business to be entitled to get this card. It can be a part-time gig and you don’t need a special Tax ID number. Amex requires that the business revenue is at least $1,000 per year, but many people believe that is a projection of revenue over the following year and not a summary of revenue over the previous year. {{Link|business cards}}.
  
−
==== The Hilton Aspire Card ====
+
There is one other consideration. With the business version, it costs $300 to add an authorized user. With the personal version, you can add up to 3 authorized users for $175 total. If you need to add someone else on the card (so that they get airport lounge access when they are traveling alone), the pendulum can swing back to the personal card.
  
−
'''The Hilton Aspire card provides good value for anyone who can take advantage of its free night certificate and various annual credits'''.  You get an annual $250 airline incidental credit, that is otherwise identical to the one from the Amex Platinum card, an annual $250 credit for paying your bill at a Hilton Resort, and an annual free weekend night certificate good at almost any of Hilton's most expensive hotels.
+
==== Altitude Reserve ====
  
−
{{Card|hiltonaspire|guide}}
+
<blockquote>
 +
Anyone who can make $5,000 or more of mobile wallet purchases each year, should hold onto the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card for its 4.5% reward rate on these purchases. Plus you'll get 12 Gogo Inflight Internet passes per year.
 +
</blockquote>
  
−
If you are willing to use the "gift-card trick", or can otherwise get good value from the Amex Incidental Airline Credit, and can expect to use the resort credit and free hotel night certificate every year, you can easily get more value than the $450 annual fee. The credits alone are worth $500 per year, and the free hotel night can be worth even more than that. In addition, you'll get automatic Hilton Diamond status, good for free breakfast and lounge access.
+
{{Card|altitude|guide}}
  
−
==== The SPG Luxury Card ====
+
The signature feature of the Altitude Reserve card is a 4.5% reward rate whenever you use a mobile wallet, like Apple Pay or Google Pay, to make a payment. This is much higher reward rate than you would get from any other card. For each $1,000 you spend with your mobile wallet (at brick and mortar stores, in apps, or online), you’ll earn somewhere between $15-25 in extra rewards. If you one of many Samsung phones or the Gear S3 smart watch, you can use your mobile wallet at any location that has a credit card swipe machine. {{Link|mobile wallet}}.
  
−
'''The SPG Luxury Card is somewhat interesting for its annual free night certificate. For some people it also provides a possible path towards high-level Marriott / SPG Status, and/or can be the most cost-effective way to get airport lounge access.'''  Its $300 Marriott / SPG credit can be used to offset actual room charges, and not just incidental expenses. Most people should be able to take full advantage of this credit, and lower their out-of-pocket cost for the card to $150.  
+
Depending on your overall rewards strategy, you might also take advantage of the card's 4.5% reward rate on travel purchases.  
  
−
{{Card|SPGLuxury|Guide}}
+
The Altitude Reserve costs $400 per year, but comes with an automatic $325 travel and dining credit, making the effective annual fee $75. This makes it the least expensive of the premium cards. But U.S. Bank will usually deny your application if you've gotten too many recent cards. So if you want this card, you'll need to get it early.
  
−
Every year, you'll receive a free night certificate. Unlike the certificates from the "regular" Marriott and SPG cards, the Luxury card's certificate is capped at 50,000 points. 50,000 Marriott / SPG points are valued at {{Value|Marriott|50000}}, and can be used for free nights at many nice hotels, even in expensive locations. Of course, the certificate is less valuable, because it has less flexibility than 50,000 actual points, and expires in 1 year. You also get Marriott / SPG Gold status, which comes with some minor benefits.  
+
Keep in mind that this card only has limited airport lounge access—you only get 4 visits per year (and 4 total guest visits). Since you are likely to want at least one of the other cards that offers full access, this isn’t a big deal. But if this is going to be your only premium card, you’ll need to live with more limited lounge access.
  
−
Given that the annual free night certificate and hotel credit are somewhat more valuable than the annual fee, the SPG Luxury card can be a very inexpensive way to get airport lounge access, if you don't already have it from other cards. However, it would be worthwhile to investigate the Hilton Aspire card as a potentially better alternative.
+
==== The Hilton Aspire Card ====
  
−
Marriott / SPG Platinum status is the level that comes with free breakfast and lounge access (at most hotels), and free room upgrades to the best available room (including regular suites) at check-in. The Luxury card allows you to receive Platinum Status by spending $75,000 with the card in a year. Assuming you have a way to generate this amount of spending, it could conceivably be worthwhile to take this path, as this is a compelling status level and can last for up to two years. You'll need to stay frequently enough to get enough benefit, but not so frequently that you would naturally earn this level of status.
+
<blockquote>
 +
If you can take full advantage of its various "credits", you'll definitely want to hold onto the Hilton Aspire card.  
 +
</blockquote>
  
−
==== CNB Infinite Card ====
+
{{Card|hiltonaspire|guide}}
  
−
'''Some people should consider the CNB Visa Infinite card (if you can get it) for its reusable $100 airfare credit'''. This card is one of only three cards, along with the other cards discussed below, that comes with the valuable “Visa Infinite $100 Airfare Benefit”. Every time you book a domestic economy airplane reservation for two or more people, you get a $100 refund. For example, if you booked a quick getaway for two people on flights that cost $180 each, you would wind up paying $260, instead of $360. If you fly as a couple or family on several domestic flights per year, these rebates can really add up. You’ll also get 12 Gogo Inflight Internet passes per year. {{Link|Visa Infinite}}
+
The Hilton card provides an annual $250 airline incidental credit, an annual $250 Hilton Resort credit, and an annual free weekend night certificate (good at almost any of Hilton's most expensive hotels). If you use fully use the two credits, you'll already receive $500 back, which is more than the $450 annual fee. And you can get hundreds of dollars of additional value from the free night certificate. In addition, you'll get automatic Hilton Diamond status, good for free breakfast and lounge access (and a better chance of an upgraded room, particularly overseas). In this case, holding onto the card is an easy decision.  
−
{{Card|CrystalInfinite|guide}}
 
  
−
However, it can be difficult to get this card. You need to apply in-branch. Most of the branches are in California and Nevada, but they have “entertainment industry” branches in New York City, Nashville, and Atlanta, and a trust office in Wilmington. You are also likely to have to produce paperwork detailing your financial position, rather than just filling in a quick application form.
+
The problem is that you may struggle to take full advantage of the annual credits. The $250 airline incidental credit follows the same rules as the credit from the Amex Platinum card—it only covers "incidental expenses" (not ticket purchases) from a single airline of your choice. Unless you make the effort to use "tricks", it is very hard to naturally take advantage of this credit. The $250 Hilton resort credit covers room rates, but it only works at "resort" hotels. If you don't have an opportunity to visit a Hilton resort in any given year, it doesn't provide any value. If you don't wind up getting value from these credits, the free night certificate and Diamond status may not be worth the annual fee.  For example, if you get $50 in value from the Airline incidental credit and you only stay in a Hilton Resort every other year, the effective annual fee is $275. That may be worthwhile for the free night and Diamond status or it may not.
  
−
The annual fee is $400, but you get a $250 automatic airline incidental credit on domestic flights (per cardholder). Unlike Amex’s credit, this works for any airline. Depending on how much money you spend on these purchases, or how willing you are to try to get around the terms-of-use by buying airline gift cards, this credit can put a big dent into the annual fee. Uniquely, every authorized user of the Crystal Infinite card gets their own travel credit. Therefore, it is possible to take advantage of multiple credits per year, and more than completely offset the annual fee. {{Link|incidental credits}}.
+
==== The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card ====
  
−
Unless you frequently stay in Ritz hotels, the Crystal Infinite card is a better option than the Ritz card, for taking advantage of the Visa Infinite $100 Airfare Benefit. Unlike the Ritz card, the CNB Infinite’s airline incidental benefit is automatic, and is available on a per cardholder basis. You are likely to pay less per year for the card, you get 12 Gogo passes, and the card has potentially interesting reward earning rates.
+
<blockquote>
 +
Holding onto the Bonvoy Brilliant card (old SPG Luxury card) allows you to get a valuable hotel certificate each year for the equivalent of $150. For some people it also provides the only possible path towards very valuable high-level Marriott status.</blockquote>
  
−
==== Ritz Carlton Card ====
+
{{Card|SPGLuxury|Guide}}
  
−
'''The Ritz Carlton card is interesting for anyone who frequently pays to stay at Ritz hotels, and is another option for the $100 airfare credit'''. Along with the CNB Infinite card discussed above, this is one of the other cards that has access to the Visa Infinite $100 credit.  
+
The card's $300 hotel credit can be used to offset actual room charges and not just incidental expenses. Given the number of hotels in the Marriott program, many people will naturally spend more than $300 at Marriott hotels over the course of the year and get full value from this credit (unlike the Hilton Aspire card's credit that must be used at a limited number of Resort hotels). This lowers the card's out-of-pocket cost to $150.  
−
{{Card|ritz|guide}}
 
  
−
If you regularly pay for stays at Ritz hotels, this card is very attractive. You get three certificates per year that you can use to access their hotel club on paid stays of up to seven days. Ritz's clubs are very nice, with substantial food offerings that change throughout the day. You’ll also get a $100 hotel credit for every paid stay of at least two days.
+
$150 is a worthwhile price to pay for a free night certificate every year, especially since, unlike the certificates from the "regular" Marriott cards, it is capped at 50,000 points (rather than 35,000). 50,000 points are valued at {{Value|Marriott|50000}}, and can be used for free nights at many nice hotels, even in more expensive locations. Of course, the certificate is less valuable than the points, because it has less flexibility and expires after one year.  
  
−
The Ritz card has a $450 annual fee, and comes with a $300 airline incidental credit. But, not only can’t you use it for airfare or seat upgrades (like the other cards that only pay for incidental expenses), you’ll also have to remember to call in to claim each use. So, this is generally the least useful of all of the premium card's travel credits. Nevertheless, a determined travel enthusiast may still be able to take advantage of its full value.
+
Marriott Platinum status is the status level that comes with free breakfast and lounge access (at most hotels), as well as free room upgrades to the best available room (including regular suites) at check-in. The Bonvoy Brilliant Card allows you to receive Platinum Status by spending $75,000 with the card in a year. Assuming you have a way to generate this amount of spending, doing this could conceivably be worthwhile, as this is a compelling status level and can last for up to two years. You'll need to stay frequently enough to get enough benefit, but not so frequently that you would naturally earn this level of status.
  
−
Unless you can get good use of the Ritz benefits, the CNB Infinite card is the better option for taking advantage of the Visa Infinite $100 flight credit—assuming you can get it. Whether you should get either of the cards depends on how many times you expect to be able to use the $100 airfare benefit per year.
+
=== Holding onto a premium card for travel and restaurant spending ===
  
−
==== UBS Infinite Card Guide ====
+
{{ImageX|Restaurant3.jpg}}
  
−
'''The UBS Infinite Card is a less desirable option for taking advantage of the Visa Infinite $100 airfare credit'''. It has a $495 annual fee and a $250 airline incidentals credit that is good on only a single airline. While the Ritz card has a $450 annual fee and a $300 credit good on all airlines. In addition, there is no online access to manage your card or your points, unless you have a separate cash management account with UBS (and no online applications either).  
+
It may be worthwhile to hold onto at least one premium reward credit card to earn its bonus category rewards and not just to take advantage of its ongoing benefits.  
−
{{Card|ubsinfinite|guide}}
 
  
−
On the plus side, it does come with up to 24! free authorized users, primary rental car insurance, 12 Gogo inflight wi-fi passes, and airport lounge access.
+
The right strategy depends on what type of points you want to earn. Our normal recommendation is to focus on points that provide good value for easy reward redemptions. However, if you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, and especially if you highly valuable premium-cabin award seats, you generally want to earn as many transferable points as possible.  
  
−
====The Sapphire Reserve Card ====
+
==== Strategy 1: Easy redemptions ====
  
−
'''The main reason to hold onto the Sapphire Reserve card is for its reward earning rates'''. If you’ve read our {{Link|General Purpose|recommendation for the best general-purpose reward card}}, you know that we recommend that most people get the Sapphire Reserve / Freedom Unlimited combination to earn great reward rates on travel, restaurants, and any purchases which doesn’t qualify for a category bonus on your other credit cards. The Sapphire Reserve has a $450 annual-fee, but an automatic $300 travel credit makes the effective annual fee only $150.  
+
<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''Our normal recommendation is to use the Sapphire Reserve for your travel and restaurant spending'''. Ultimate Reward points are the easiest to use and the Sapphire Reserve card comes with the best travel insurance. If you don't need the lounge access and are willing and able to get a business card, you might use the Ink Preferred and Freedom Unlimited Combo instead.</li>
  
−
'''If you decide on an alternative option for your general-purpose reward card, it can still make sense to get the Sapphire Reserve, just for the high reward rates on travel and restaurant spending'''. However, unless you spend a lot of money in these categories, or don’t expect to have lounge access through another card, you may be better off using other cards instead. For example, the {{Card|Uber|only}} has no annual fee and earns 4% on dining. For every $1,000 you spend on restaurants, you are only getting an extra $20 on rewards from the Sapphire Reserve. The {{Card|CitiPrestige|only}} and {{Card|Altitude|only}} earn compelling rewards on travel. If you are getting either of these, you’ll get less value from the Sapphire Reserve’s bonus rewards.
+
<li>'''If you don't spend very much and don't value the airport lounge benefit, there are some no-annual-fee options'''. For example, you can earn 4% at restaurants with the {{Card|AltitudeGo|only}} and 3% on travel with the {{Card|Costco|only}}. </li>
−
 
+
</ul>
−
=== Obtaining continuous airport lounge access ===
 
−
 
 
−
Free access to airport lounges is one of the most valuable benefits of premium credit cards. Most people are going to always want one card that provides this benefit.
 
−
 
 
−
{{ImageX|PriorityPassCard.jpg}}
 
  
 +
==== Strategy 2: Maximum transferable points ====
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
<li>'''If you decide you want to make one of these cards part of your core credit card collection, you’re all set'''. If you are planning to hold onto the Citi Prestige for its 4<sup>th</sup> night free benefit, the Amex Platinum or Ritz cards for their unique blend of benefits, the Sapphire Reserve for its reward earning rates, and/or one of the Infinite cards for the Visa Infinite Air Credit, you’ll already have a card that gives you ongoing lounge access.</li>
+
<li>'''If you already have an Amex Platinum card for other reasons, you might want to use it for your airfare purchases instead'''. You can earn the same 5x points from a variety of Chase cards, but you'll need to buy your tickets through Chase, instead of directly with the airline. We would never recommend getting the Amex Platinum card primarily to bump up the rewards on your airfare spending, but if you already have the card anyway, you'd rather buy your tickets directly from the airline, and you are booking a round-trip, you might as well use it. And if you are cycling through different versions of the Platinum card, there is a good chance you'll have one to use.</li>  
−
 
−
<li>'''You may want to spread out your Amex Platinum applications for access to additional lounges'''. The Amex Platinum card provides access to additional lounges, beyond the Priority Pass program, most notably the Amex Centurion lounges. If this is important to you, you should spread out your Platinum card applications.</li>  
 
  
−
There are currently four different versions of the Platinum card that don’t have access restrictions, and that either have a valuable signup bonus or a waived first-year annual fee—the regular, Schwab, Ameriprise, and small-business versions. By signing up for a different one each year, you’ll have ongoing access to the additional Amex lounges (and the other benefits), while you are collecting each card’s signup bonuses. Hopefully, other versions will become available sometime over the next five years, and you can extend this strategy even further. Alternatively, you could try cancelling the Ameriprise version after the initial year, waiting a few months, and then re-applying.  
+
<li>'''An Amex-only option isn't usually worth it'''. You'll need the Amex Green card, with a $150 annual fee, to earn rewards on a wider variety of travel purchases and on restaurants. Assuming you can get it, the Sapphire Reserve is a better option for around the same effective cost and the Citi Premier is cheaper and also provides bonus points on groceries and gas. Plus both cards can be used with businesses that don't take Amex.</li>
−
 
−
Even if you want to permanently hold onto an Amex Platinum card, you are better off signing-up for a different version each year, and saving your favorite version untill last.  
 
  
−
<li>'''Each person will need their own card, if they want to access lounges while travelling separately'''. While each card lets the cardholder bring in at least one guest, this doesn’t let another member of your family access a lounge without you. To do this, they will need their own card, or you will need to pay to add them as an authorized user. Only the Ritz Carlton card allows you to add authorized users for free, and gives them lounge access.</li>
+
If you are planning on spending $25,000 at grocery stores, you can use the Amex Gold card to boost your restaurant spending up to 4x MR points, without needing to absorb even more in annual fees.  
−
 
 
−
<li>'''If you need lounge access for more than two people, you may need to spread out your non-Amex applications'''. The Platinum card provides access to the largest number of lounges, but it only allows two guests per visit. Many of the other cards allow an entire family, or even an unlimited number of travelling companions. If both adults have access to their own Platinum card, you are set. However, if that isn’t possible, and you aren’t holding onto another premium credit card, like the Citi Prestige, you can spread out your applications, to extend the period of time, when you have at least one card that provides the right level of guest privileges.</li>
 
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
=== Holding onto a premium card for travel and restaurant spending ===
+
=== Other benefits available from most premium cards ===
  
−
The best reward rates for travel (and restaurant) spending are primarily available from high-end reward cards.  
+
While each premium card has valuable unique benefits, they also share some general features, beyond airport lounge access.  
−
 
 
−
{{ImageX|Restaurant3.jpg}}
 
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
<li>'''If you have an Amex Platinum card, you probably want to use it for your airfare purchases'''. You’ll earn 5x Membership Reward points, valued at {{Value|mr|5}} cents per dollar, which is much higher than any other card. However, unlike other options, such as the Sapphire Reserve and Citi Prestige card, the Platinum card doesn’t provide most automatic travel insurance benefits. So, depending on the risk of covered trip cancellation or delays, you may want to settle for a lower reward rate. Also, unless you have the business version of the Platinum card, there are no good redemption options other than frequent flyer tickets.</li>
 
  
−
<li>'''It can be worth getting the Sapphire Reserve card, just for it's bonus rewards on travel and restaurant purchases'''. It earns 3x Ultimate Reward points, valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar, on both of these categories. For every $1,000 you spend on restaurants, you'll earn an extra $10 in rewards, compared to the no annual fee {{Card|Uber|only}}. For every $1,000 you spend on travel, you'll earn an extra $20 in rewards, compared to the Uber card, or an extra $5 in rewards compared to the Altitude Reserve card. Even if you already have the Citi Prestige card, it is somewhat better to earn 3x Ultimate Reward points, than 3x Thank You points.</li>
+
<li>'''Global Entry rebate'''. Each high-end card (and some lower-end cards) also pays up to $100 for Global Entry / TSA PreCheck application fees. Since, you only need to pay these fees once every five years, each card’s credit can only be used once every four to five years. If you need to pay fees for family members, you may need to take advantage of the TSA fee credit from multiple cards. The Hilton Aspire cards is the only premium card that doesn't offer a TSA credit. </li>  
  
−
Depending on how much you spend on restaurants and travel, it can be easy to earn more in additional rewards, than the Sapphire Reserve's effective annual fee of $150. For example, if you use your Sapphire Reserve for $5,000 restaurant spending, and $3,000 of travel spending, you will be around breaking even.
+
{{ImageX|TSAPre.jpg}}
−
 
 
−
<li>'''If you can't get the Sapphire Reserve, don't spend enough money on travel per year, and already want to get the Citi Prestige or Altitude Reserve card, you’ll probably want to use one of them for your travel spending'''. However, you’ll need to avoid the Citi Prestige card, if you aren’t interested in redeeming your points for frequent flyer tickets, as that is its only reasonable redemption option.</li>
 
  
−
<li>'''If you can't get the Sapphire Reserve, and don’t have one of these cards, you might want to get one just for your travel spending'''. For every $1,000 you spend on travel, you'll earn about $15 in extra rewards compared to the Uber card. For example, if you spend at least $5,000 on travel with the Altitude Reserve card, you'll earn enough extra rewards to offset the card's $75 effective annual fee. </li>
+
<li>'''Some sort of elite car rental status'''. Most of the high-end reward cards entitle you to elite status with at least one car rental company. While this is nice to have, it isn’t much of a reason to go out and get these cards. Elite car rental status usually just amounts to a one-car class upgrade, and some extra bonus points from the rental company’s reward program.</li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
 
=== Side-by-side comparison ===
 
=== Side-by-side comparison ===
−
 
+
<br/>
−
{{Table|basic|6in}}
+
{{Table|basic|5in}}
 
!
 
!
 
!style="width: 1in;"|Chase Sapphire Reserve
 
!style="width: 1in;"|Chase Sapphire Reserve
 
!style="width: 1in;"|Amex Platinum Card
 
!style="width: 1in;"|Amex Platinum Card
−
!style="width: 1in;"|Citi Prestige card
 
 
!style="width: 1in;"|U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve
 
!style="width: 1in;"|U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve
 
!style="width: 1in;"|Hilton Aspire
 
!style="width: 1in;"|Hilton Aspire
−
!style="width: 1in;"|Ritz Carlton card
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
| colspan="7" style="background-color: ghostwhite;"|Points Earning
+
| colspan="5" style="background-color: ghostwhite;"|Points Earning
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Type of points  
 
|Type of points  
 
|Ultimate Rewards
 
|Ultimate Rewards
 
|Membership Rewards
 
|Membership Rewards
−
|ThankYou
 
 
|Altitude
 
|Altitude
 
|Hilton
 
|Hilton
−
|Marriott
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Bonus Categories
 
|Bonus Categories
−
|3x Travel
+
|5x Airfare through Chase
  
−
3x Restaurants
+
10x Hotels and Car Rentals through Chase
−
|5x Airfare, prepaid hotels through Amex travel
 
−
|3x Airfare
 
  
−
3x Hotel
+
3x Other Travel
  
−
2x Restaurants
+
3x Restaurants
−
 
+
|5x Airfare, prepaid hotels through Amex
−
2x Entertainment
 
 
|3x Travel
 
|3x Travel
  
 
3x Mobile Wallet
 
3x Mobile Wallet
−
| 7x Flights and rental cars with Amex travel
+
| 7x Flights and rental cars with Amex
  
 
7x Restaurants
 
7x Restaurants
Line 299: Line 336:
 
14x Hilton
 
14x Hilton
  
−
|2x Airfare
 
−
 
−
2x Car Rental
 
−
 
−
2x Restaurants
 
−
 
−
5x Marriott / SPG
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
| colspan="7" style="background-color: ghostwhite;"|Lounge Access
+
| colspan="5" style="background-color: ghostwhite;"|Lounge Access
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Locations
 
|Locations
Line 316: Line 346:
  
 
Delta
 
Delta
−
|Priority Pass
 
 
|Priority Pass (4 times only)
 
|Priority Pass (4 times only)
−
|Priority Pass
 
 
|Priority Pass
 
|Priority Pass
 
|-
 
|-
Line 324: Line 352:
 
|2
 
|2
 
|2 (none at Delta)
 
|2 (none at Delta)
−
|Family or 2
 
 
|1 per visit
 
|1 per visit
 
|2
 
|2
−
|Unlimited
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
| colspan="7" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Other Benefits
+
|Restaurant Access
 +
|Yes
 +
|
 +
|Yes
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| colspan="5" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Other Benefits
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Primary Rental Car Insurance
 
|Primary Rental Car Insurance
 
|Yes
 
|Yes
 
|
 
|
 +
|Yes
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|Includes Travel Insurance
 +
|Yes
 +
|In 2020
 +
|Yes
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|Cell Phone Insurance
 
|
 
|
 +
|Yes
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|Free Roadside Assistance
 +
|Yes
 
|Yes
 
|Yes
 
|
 
|
Line 340: Line 388:
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Global Entry Fee Credit
 
|Global Entry Fee Credit
−
|Yes
 
 
|Yes
 
|Yes
 
|Yes
 
|Yes
 
|Yes
 
|Yes
 
|
 
|
−
|Yes
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Hotel Elite Status
 
|Hotel Elite Status
Line 354: Line 400:
  
 
SPG Gold
 
SPG Gold
−
|
 
 
|
 
|
 
| Hilton Diamond
 
| Hilton Diamond
−
|Marriott / SPG Gold first year, or with $10,000 spend
 
−
|-
 
−
|Gogo inflight Internet passes per year
 
−
|
 
−
|10 (business version only)
 
−
|
 
−
|12
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
−
|-
 
−
|$100 off domestic coach airfare for 2 or more people
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
−
|Yes
 
−
|-
 
−
|4<sup>th</sup> night free at any hotel
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
−
|Yes
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Other notable benefits
 
|Other notable benefits
−
|
+
|DashPass and Lyft Pink memberships
 
|Fine Hotel Resorts  
 
|Fine Hotel Resorts  
  
Line 389: Line 410:
  
 
Discount Airfare Program
 
Discount Airfare Program
−
 
+
|12 Gogo inflight Wi-Fi passes per year
−
Boingo Wi-Fi
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
 
|Annual free night certificate
 
|Annual free night certificate
−
|Ritz Club certificates, 3/yr
 
−
 
−
$100 stay credit at Ritz
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
| colspan="7" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Credits
+
| colspan="5" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Credits
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Travel Credit Applies
 
|Travel Credit Applies
 
|$300, any travel
 
|$300, any travel
 
|$200, airline incidentals w/1 airline
 
|$200, airline incidentals w/1 airline
−
|$250, any airfare
+
|$325, any travel or dining
−
|$325, any travel
 
 
|$250, airline incidentals w/1 airline
 
|$250, airline incidentals w/1 airline
−
|$300, airline incidentals
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Per Year
 
|Per Year
 
|Cardholder year
 
|Cardholder year
−
|Calendar year
 
 
|Calendar year
 
|Calendar year
 
|Cardholder year
 
|Cardholder year
−
|Calendar Year
 
 
|Calendar Year
 
|Calendar Year
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Other credits
 
|Other credits
−
|
+
|$60 DoorDash credit in 2020 and 2021
−
|$15/month ($35 in December) for Uber rides or Uber eats
+
|Many other credits
−
|
 
 
|
 
|
 
|$250 resort credit (cardholder year)
 
|$250 resort credit (cardholder year)
Line 429: Line 439:
 
|Automatically
 
|Automatically
 
|Automatically
 
|Automatically
−
|Automatically
 
−
|Call-In
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
| colspan="7" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Signup Bonus
+
| colspan="5" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Signup Bonus
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Bonus  
 
|Bonus  
 
|50,000 points
 
|50,000 points
 
|40-100,000 points
 
|40-100,000 points
−
|40-50,000 points
 
 
|50,000 points
 
|50,000 points
 
|100,000 points
 
|100,000 points
−
|2 free nights Tier 1-4 Ritz Hotels
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Spending Requirement
 
|Spending Requirement
 
|$4000
 
|$4000
 
|$5000
 
|$5000
−
|$4000
 
 
|$4500
 
|$4500
−
|$4000
 
 
|$4000
 
|$4000
 
|-
 
|-
−
| colspan="7" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Annual Fee
+
| colspan="5" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Annual Fee
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Base Fee
 
|Base Fee
−
|$450
 
 
|$550
 
|$550
−
|$450, $350 for Citigold
+
|$695
 
|$400
 
|$400
−
|$450
 
 
|$450
 
|$450
 
|-
 
|-
Line 463: Line 465:
 
|$75
 
|$75
 
|$175 for up to 3  
 
|$175 for up to 3  
−
|$50
 
 
|$75
 
|$75
−
|$0
 
 
|$0
 
|$0
 
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Latest revision as of 00:15, 12 August 2021

  Credit Card Reference, Get Free Airport Lounge Access from a Credit Card

PremiumCards.png

“Premium” reward cards have high annual fees. But they come with annual credits, lucrative signup bonuses, valuable benefits (such as free airport lounge access), and high bonus reward rates, which can make these fees worthwhile.

The most famous premium cards are the Amex Platinum Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but there are also several lesser-known premium cards available from other credit card companies.

The ongoing benefits of premium credit cards can be very valuable. Depending on your travel patterns, you may want to add one or more of these cards to your "permanent" credit card collection.

Even if you don't, you probably want to eventually apply for each of these cards, if only to collect their extremely lucrative signup bonuses. By spreading your applications over time, you’ll not only earn hundreds of thousands of points, you'll be able to freely access airport lounges for years to come.


Jump to



Our recommendation: Sign up for all the premium cards (over time)

If you are comfortable getting credit cards just for their signup bonuses, the answer to "Which premium card you should get?" is easy—you should sign up for "all of them". Credit Card Signup Bonuses: The Easiest Path to Free Airplane Tickets and Hotel Nights

When you factor in their signup bonuses and annual credits, every premium credit card is well worth getting, at least for the initial year.

  • Most premium cards have generous signup offers. For example, a typical bonus for the Amex Platinum cards ranges from 60,000 to 100,000 Membership Rewards points, valued at $900 to $1500. If you highly value (and are patient enough to redeem) premium cabin frequent flyer tickets, these points are even more valuable.
  • Each of the premium cards have travel credits which can offset their expensive annual fees. For example, the Sapphire Reserve comes with an automatic $300 travel credit and $120 worth of DoorDash credits that can partially offset the annual fee. While you need to pay out $550 in fees, you’ll receive back $300 in free travel (on top of the signup bonus) and up to $120 in free food, dropping the effective out-of-pocket cost for your initial year to a more reasonable $130-250.
  • In some cases, you can take advantage of the travel credit twice in your initial year. For example, the Amex Platinum and Hilton Aspire cards allow you to earn travel credits every “calendar” year. That means you can use the credit twice during your signup year. For example, if you sign up for the card in August, you can use the full credit between August and December, and then again between January and August.

    • For some premium cards, you can get back more in credits than you need to pay in annual fees—and that doesn’t even include the value of the signup bonus or ongoing benefits.

  • You can earn the signup bonus from multiple different versions of the Amex Platinum card. Amex has partnered with a number of other companies, such as Charles Schwab, to offer slightly different versions of their Platinum cards. While you can only earn each Amex signup bonus once per lifetime, you are entitled to earn the bonus from each different version of the Platinum card.
Signup bonuses and initial year credits
Card Signup Points Net Signup Value Credit
Amex Platinum Card (multiple versions) 50-100,000 $200-1,700 A large number of sometimes hard to use credits
Amex Platinum Business Card 75-125,000 $500-2,000 $200 x2 airline incidental (one airline), $100 x3 Dell, $179 x2 CLEAR
Chase Sapphire Reserve 50,000 $650 $300 travel, $60 DoorDash in 2021
Hilton Aspire 150,000 $200-1,300 $250 x2 airline incidental (one airline), $250 Hilton resort, free night certificate
Marriott Brilliant 100,000 $550 $300 Marriott
US Bank Altitude Reserve 50,000 $675 $325 travel and dining
  • If you plan to apply for all the premium cards (over time), you’ll get a “free” year to decide whether the ongoing benefits are worthwhile. You don't need to evaluate these cards ahead of time. You can try out each card for a year, subsidized by the signup bonus. If it delivers enough value, you can hold onto it. If it doesn't, don't.

Obtaining continuous airport lounge access

One of the main attractions of premium cards is the airport lounge membership. Every premium card provides free access to airport lounges, for you and some number of additional traveling companies. You'll get a Priority Pass membership that provides access to over 1,000 lounges and restaurants at airport all over the world. They aren’t the fanciest lounges around, and there may not be one in the terminal you are using for your flight, but you should still have plenty of opportunities to take advantage of this benefit on your travels. Get Free Airport Lounge Access from a Credit Card.

PriorityPassCard.jpg

Most people are going to always want at least one card that provides this benefit.

  • If want to hold onto one of these cards (for other reasons), you’re all set. For example, if you are planning on holding onto the Sapphire Reserve card to use in conjunction with the Freedom Unlimited as your general purpose reward card or the Hilton Aspire Card for its free night certificate and Diamond status, you'll already have airport access lounge access from those cards. Many premium cards can be worth holding onto for their unique benefits and/or valuable bonus reward rates, giving you ongoing airport lounge access as a side benefit.
  • You still may want to spread out your Amex Platinum applications for access to additional lounges. The Amex Platinum card provides access to additional lounges, beyond the Priority Pass program, most notably the Amex Centurion lounges. If this is important to you, you should spread out your Platinum card applications.

    • There are currently four different versions of the Platinum card that don’t have daunting access restrictions: the regular, Schwab, Morgan Stanley and small-business versions. By signing up for a different one each year, you’ll have ongoing access to the additional Amex lounges (and the other benefits), while you are offsetting each year's annual fee with each card’s signup bonus. Hopefully, other versions will become available sometime over the next four years, and you can extend this strategy even further.

    Even if you want to permanently hold onto an Amex Platinum card, you are better off signing up for a different version each year and saving your favorite version until last.

  • Unless you have a membership from a non-Amex card, you won't get access to Priority Pass restaurants. Many of these restaurants are among the best options within the entire program, providing $28 per person of free food and drink that is frequently better than what you could find in a typical Priority Pass lounge. So it is a good idea to spread out your non-Amex cards as well (if you aren't keeping any long term).
  • Each person will usually need their own card, if they want to access lounges while travelling separately. While each card lets the cardholder bring in at least one guest, this doesn’t let another member of your family access a lounge without you. To do this, they will need their own card, or you will need to add them as an authorized user (which usually requires an extra fee).
Lounge Access Policies
Card Guests Notes
Amex Platinum Card (multiple versions) 2 Access to range of additional lounges, but no access to restaurants and other alternative spaces that are part of the Priority Pass program.
Amex Platinum Business Card 2 Same as above.
Chase Sapphire Reserve 2
Hilton Aspire 2 No access to restaurants and other alternative spaces that are part of the Priority Pass program. And no access to the extra lounges that are available with the Platinum Card.
Marriott Brilliant 2 Same as above.
US Bank Altitude Reserve 1 Limited to only four visits per year.
UBS Infinite Unlimited
CNB Crystal Infinite Cardholder only
Ritz Carlton Unlimited
  • Even if you don't want to hold onto any of these cards, you can obtain free lounge access for years to come. By simply spreading out your applications over time, you can make sure you are always within the first year of having a card that provides a lounge access membership. The signup bonuses and travel credits will more than pay the cost of the card for that year.
  • As a result, we don't count lounge access as being a valuable benefit when deciding whether to hold onto a premium card. While lounge access is valuable, you are likely to have it available from another card and therefore it isn't a reason to decide to keep any single premium card. You'll need to justify the card based on its unique benefits.

    • There are some exceptions. Only a few cards allow more than 2 guests, if this is important to you, it may be another reason to hold onto one of those cards for the long run. And only the no-longer-available for new signups Ritz card allows you to add free authorized cardholders who also get their own Priority Pass memberships.

Keeping one or more cards for the long term

Some premium cards have unique benefits which are potentially very valuable. Depending on your travel patterns, it may be worthwhile to make the card part of your core credit collection, keeping it beyond the initial year.

The Sapphire Reserve Card

If you follow our general recommendation, and decide to use the Chase Unlimited combo for your everyday spending, you'll want to hold onto the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

In order to get full value from your Ultimate Rewards points, you need to have the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Preferred card. If you wind up taking advantage of the Sapphire Reserve, you also get to take advantage of it's other benefits, such as the best reward rate on many travel purchases, airport lounge access, and primary rental car insurance. The Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee, but an automatic $300 travel credit makes the effective annual fee only $250, and for now a $60 per year DoorDash fee can lower it even more. Get a Great General Purpose Reward Card and Use It for All of Your Spending.

Amex Platinum Card

The value of holding onto the Amex Platinum card depends on how much you can take advantage of its various benefits and travel credits. It can be very attractive to some people, and less attractive to others. Because it is available in many different flavors, it is possible to get a different version each year, rather than holding onto any one version of the card.

Unfortunately, it isn't straightforward to determine whether the unique benefits of the Amex Platinum card are worth paying its $695 annual fee (beyond the initial year). It has many different benefits, rather than a main signature feature. Furthermore, some people will struggle to take full advantage of its different credits, while other people will be able to use them to almost completely offset the annual fee.

Regardless of the exact value you place on the card, you have the option of getting a new version each year. That way, you are always receiving a fresh signup bonus (and a double-dose of the airline incidental credit). It may be quite a few years before you have to make the final decision about whether to hold onto an Amex Platinum Card beyond its initial year.

  • The Amex Platinum card gets you into more Airport Lounges than the other cards. Like the other cards, it comes with a Priority Pass membership, but the Amex Platinum also provides access to Amex’s own Centurion lounges, to Delta lounges (when flying Delta), and to a small set of additional lounges. This is a big advantage if you live in a Delta hub or a city with a Centurion lounge. Get Free Airport Lounge Access from a Credit Card.

    • On the other hand, the Priority Pass membership that comes with this card (and with any other Amex card) does not provide free access to participating restaurants and alternative spaces. It only provides access to traditional airport lounges.

    In addition, unlike some of the other cards, you are limited to 2 free guests when you visit Priority Pass lounges (and when you are visiting one of their own Centurion lounges); and only the cardholders receive free access to Delta lounges. So, if you frequently travel with a family, and don’t pay the $175 additional fee to add authorized cardholders, the Platinum card’s lounge benefit can be less valuable than the lounge benefit from some of the other cards.

    CenturionLounge.jpg
  • The Platinum card gives you automatic Gold status at Hilton (and Marriott / Starwood hotels). At Hilton that’s good enough for free breakfast. While you can also easily get Hilton Gold status from one of the Hilton credit cards, they each come with their own annual fees. Get Free Breakfast or Club Floor Access with the Right Credit Card.
    • ContinentalBreakfast.jpg
  • The Platinum card earns the highest reward rate on airfare. You’ll earn a whopping 5x Membership Rewards points on your airfare purchases. For every $1,000 that you spend, you’ll earn approximately $40 in extra rewards by using the Platinum card, instead of using a card like the Sapphire Reserve. And the travel insurance benefits are almost as good as the Sapphire cards, along as you are taking a round-trip flight. The Platinum card's 5x reward rate on hotels may sound good at first, but isn’t worth much, because of the drawbacks associated with needing to purchase pre-paid rates on a 3rd party booking site.)
  • Amex's “Fine Hotels & Resorts” is a valuable program, but you can get similar benefits elsewhere. If you stay in luxury hotels, you can get great benefits with the Platinum card’s highly-touted Fine Hotel and Resorts program, especially with the new $200 per year credit. But to be fair, many of the hotels in the program participate in similar programs run by the other credit card programs or luxury travel agents. On the other hand, Amex’s Fine Hotel & Resorts more frequently provides 3rd and 4th night free offers. While the potential upside can be high, you might not get any real value from this in any given year, especially if you don’t often pay for the most expensive hotels and resorts. Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks.

The annual fee for most versions of the Platinum card is $695. Like the other high-end cards, it comes with some credits that can offset that fee, but unlike the Altitude Reserve and Sapphire Reserve Cards, it isn’t easy to get full value from these credits.

  • You get a $200 "airline incidental" credit, but it hard to take full advantage of it. The travel credit on the Amex card is MUCH less useful than the travel credit you get from from the Sapphire Reserve and Altitude Reserve Cards.

    • It only covers incidental expenses like baggage fees and onboard food, not airfare, or even seat upgrades. And it only pays for fees on a single airline that you choose at the beginning of the year. Odds are you already have ways to avoid these fees on airlines you fly frequently (such as the airline credit card's free baggage benefit). But if you choose a less frequently flown airline, you might not be able to naturally take full advantage of the credit.

    On the other hand, if you are willing to work harder and bend the rules, there are some “tricks” that allows you to receive the "full amount" of incidental airline credit. Small denomination gift card purchases no longer work, but there are a few things that still might. Get Full Value from Your Airline Incidental Credits.

  • You get a $200 hotel credit each year, but only a very limited selection of hotels. You can only use this for prepaid (but often refundable) stays through Amex's Fine Hotels & Resorts or Hotel Collection Programs.
  • You get $20 per month for "digital entertainment services", but only with a small set of less popular services. Most people don't already pay at least $20 per month for Audible, Sirius XM, the New York Times, and/or Peacock.
  • You get a $179 credit for CLEAR every year, but most people won't value this at full value. If you haven't signed up for enhanced airport security line access, you probably don't value it at face value. If you don't have additional people to enroll, you won't get full face value from the credit, and it is unlikely you can leverage the benefit from multiple cards
  • You get $200 worth of Uber / Uber Eats credits each year, but not everyone uses Uber every month. The card gives you a $15 credit per month and an extra $20 in December. The credits only apply to rides within the US or food delivered via Uber Eats. If you frequently use Uber, this credit will wind up coming right off your bill and the effective annual cost of the card drops by up to $200. However, if you only use Uber infrequently, you’ll only get a partial benefit.
  • You get $50 of Saks credit every six months, but not everyone shops at Saks. The card comes with a $50 credit for purchases between January and June and another $50 credit for purchases between July and September. You'll need to spend at least $50 in a single transaction to qualify for the credit. Once you've activated this feature, it works automatically when you use your card at Saks or on Saks online.
  • You get $25 worth of Equinox Fitness credits per month ($300 per year), but most people won't be able to take advantage of these credits. Most cities don't have Equinox facilities, it doesn't apply to the more common and less expensive membership plans, and it only provides a discount to their $40/month online app.

Depending on how fully you can use the Airline Incidental, Hotel, Digital Entertainment, CLEAR, Saks, and Equinox Credits, the effective annual fee of the Platinum card ranges from -$720 to $695 (after the initial year). If you won't get much value, you might bear nearly the full brunt of the $695 annual fee. On the other hand, if you can take full advantage of the credits, you'll get more back than the annual fee, before counting the other benefits like enhanced lounge access.

Amex Platinum Business Card

If you decide you want to hold onto an Amex Platinum card, you should consider the business version instead.

The business card costs $50 more, provides all the valuable core benefits of the personal card, but not most of the extra credits (You do get the airline incidental, CLEAR, and TSA credits). On the other hand, you do get a few interesting extra benefits that are not available from the personal card:

  • You can redeem your Membership Rewards points to pay for certain airplane tickets at a value of 1.54 cents each. While you should be able to get more value than this by transferring your Membership points to airline partners to redeem for frequent flyer tickets, having the Business Platinum card gives you the option to get solid value from your points with hardly any effort. It makes the Membership Rewards program much more attractive for people who don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets.

    • This only works for tickets from a single airline of your choice (plus business and first class tickets on any airline). Choosing the airline you frequently fly may limit your ability to take full advantage of the airline incidental credit.

  • You'll receive a $100 credit towards purchases from Dell every six months. You can use this a total of three times during your initial year.

The annual fee is $595, which is $100 less than fee for the personal card. If you would get a lot of value from the personal card's extra credits, the business card will wind up being a lot more expensive. If you get little value from them, the business card will wind up being a better deal.

You need to have some sort of business to be entitled to get this card. It can be a part-time gig and you don’t need a special Tax ID number. Amex requires that the business revenue is at least $1,000 per year, but many people believe that is a projection of revenue over the following year and not a summary of revenue over the previous year. Unlock Extra Reward Points with Business Credit Cards.

There is one other consideration. With the business version, it costs $300 to add an authorized user. With the personal version, you can add up to 3 authorized users for $175 total. If you need to add someone else on the card (so that they get airport lounge access when they are traveling alone), the pendulum can swing back to the personal card.

Altitude Reserve

Anyone who can make $5,000 or more of mobile wallet purchases each year, should hold onto the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card for its 4.5% reward rate on these purchases. Plus you'll get 12 Gogo Inflight Internet passes per year.

The signature feature of the Altitude Reserve card is a 4.5% reward rate whenever you use a mobile wallet, like Apple Pay or Google Pay, to make a payment. This is much higher reward rate than you would get from any other card. For each $1,000 you spend with your mobile wallet (at brick and mortar stores, in apps, or online), you’ll earn somewhere between $15-25 in extra rewards. If you one of many Samsung phones or the Gear S3 smart watch, you can use your mobile wallet at any location that has a credit card swipe machine. Maximizing the Altitude Reserve Card's Mobile Wallet Rewards.

Depending on your overall rewards strategy, you might also take advantage of the card's 4.5% reward rate on travel purchases.

The Altitude Reserve costs $400 per year, but comes with an automatic $325 travel and dining credit, making the effective annual fee $75. This makes it the least expensive of the premium cards. But U.S. Bank will usually deny your application if you've gotten too many recent cards. So if you want this card, you'll need to get it early.

Keep in mind that this card only has limited airport lounge access—you only get 4 visits per year (and 4 total guest visits). Since you are likely to want at least one of the other cards that offers full access, this isn’t a big deal. But if this is going to be your only premium card, you’ll need to live with more limited lounge access.

The Hilton Aspire Card

If you can take full advantage of its various "credits", you'll definitely want to hold onto the Hilton Aspire card.

The Hilton card provides an annual $250 airline incidental credit, an annual $250 Hilton Resort credit, and an annual free weekend night certificate (good at almost any of Hilton's most expensive hotels). If you use fully use the two credits, you'll already receive $500 back, which is more than the $450 annual fee. And you can get hundreds of dollars of additional value from the free night certificate. In addition, you'll get automatic Hilton Diamond status, good for free breakfast and lounge access (and a better chance of an upgraded room, particularly overseas). In this case, holding onto the card is an easy decision.

The problem is that you may struggle to take full advantage of the annual credits. The $250 airline incidental credit follows the same rules as the credit from the Amex Platinum card—it only covers "incidental expenses" (not ticket purchases) from a single airline of your choice. Unless you make the effort to use "tricks", it is very hard to naturally take advantage of this credit. The $250 Hilton resort credit covers room rates, but it only works at "resort" hotels. If you don't have an opportunity to visit a Hilton resort in any given year, it doesn't provide any value. If you don't wind up getting value from these credits, the free night certificate and Diamond status may not be worth the annual fee. For example, if you get $50 in value from the Airline incidental credit and you only stay in a Hilton Resort every other year, the effective annual fee is $275. That may be worthwhile for the free night and Diamond status or it may not.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card

Holding onto the Bonvoy Brilliant card (old SPG Luxury card) allows you to get a valuable hotel certificate each year for the equivalent of $150. For some people it also provides the only possible path towards very valuable high-level Marriott status.

The card's $300 hotel credit can be used to offset actual room charges and not just incidental expenses. Given the number of hotels in the Marriott program, many people will naturally spend more than $300 at Marriott hotels over the course of the year and get full value from this credit (unlike the Hilton Aspire card's credit that must be used at a limited number of Resort hotels). This lowers the card's out-of-pocket cost to $150.

$150 is a worthwhile price to pay for a free night certificate every year, especially since, unlike the certificates from the "regular" Marriott cards, it is capped at 50,000 points (rather than 35,000). 50,000 points are valued at $350, and can be used for free nights at many nice hotels, even in more expensive locations. Of course, the certificate is less valuable than the points, because it has less flexibility and expires after one year.

Marriott Platinum status is the status level that comes with free breakfast and lounge access (at most hotels), as well as free room upgrades to the best available room (including regular suites) at check-in. The Bonvoy Brilliant Card allows you to receive Platinum Status by spending $75,000 with the card in a year. Assuming you have a way to generate this amount of spending, doing this could conceivably be worthwhile, as this is a compelling status level and can last for up to two years. You'll need to stay frequently enough to get enough benefit, but not so frequently that you would naturally earn this level of status.

Holding onto a premium card for travel and restaurant spending

Restaurant3.jpg

It may be worthwhile to hold onto at least one premium reward credit card to earn its bonus category rewards and not just to take advantage of its ongoing benefits.

The right strategy depends on what type of points you want to earn. Our normal recommendation is to focus on points that provide good value for easy reward redemptions. However, if you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, and especially if you highly valuable premium-cabin award seats, you generally want to earn as many transferable points as possible.

Strategy 1: Easy redemptions

  • Our normal recommendation is to use the Sapphire Reserve for your travel and restaurant spending. Ultimate Reward points are the easiest to use and the Sapphire Reserve card comes with the best travel insurance. If you don't need the lounge access and are willing and able to get a business card, you might use the Ink Preferred and Freedom Unlimited Combo instead.
  • If you don't spend very much and don't value the airport lounge benefit, there are some no-annual-fee options. For example, you can earn 4% at restaurants with the Altitude Go Card and 3% on travel with the Costco Credit Card.

Strategy 2: Maximum transferable points

  • If you already have an Amex Platinum card for other reasons, you might want to use it for your airfare purchases instead. You can earn the same 5x points from a variety of Chase cards, but you'll need to buy your tickets through Chase, instead of directly with the airline. We would never recommend getting the Amex Platinum card primarily to bump up the rewards on your airfare spending, but if you already have the card anyway, you'd rather buy your tickets directly from the airline, and you are booking a round-trip, you might as well use it. And if you are cycling through different versions of the Platinum card, there is a good chance you'll have one to use.
  • An Amex-only option isn't usually worth it. You'll need the Amex Green card, with a $150 annual fee, to earn rewards on a wider variety of travel purchases and on restaurants. Assuming you can get it, the Sapphire Reserve is a better option for around the same effective cost and the Citi Premier is cheaper and also provides bonus points on groceries and gas. Plus both cards can be used with businesses that don't take Amex.

    • If you are planning on spending $25,000 at grocery stores, you can use the Amex Gold card to boost your restaurant spending up to 4x MR points, without needing to absorb even more in annual fees.

Other benefits available from most premium cards

While each premium card has valuable unique benefits, they also share some general features, beyond airport lounge access.

  • Global Entry rebate. Each high-end card (and some lower-end cards) also pays up to $100 for Global Entry / TSA PreCheck application fees. Since, you only need to pay these fees once every five years, each card’s credit can only be used once every four to five years. If you need to pay fees for family members, you may need to take advantage of the TSA fee credit from multiple cards. The Hilton Aspire cards is the only premium card that doesn't offer a TSA credit. 
    • TSAPre.jpg
  • Some sort of elite car rental status. Most of the high-end reward cards entitle you to elite status with at least one car rental company. While this is nice to have, it isn’t much of a reason to go out and get these cards. Elite car rental status usually just amounts to a one-car class upgrade, and some extra bonus points from the rental company’s reward program.

Side-by-side comparison


Chase Sapphire Reserve Amex Platinum Card U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Hilton Aspire
Points Earning
Type of points Ultimate Rewards Membership Rewards Altitude Hilton
Bonus Categories 5x Airfare through Chase

10x Hotels and Car Rentals through Chase

3x Other Travel

3x Restaurants

5x Airfare, prepaid hotels through Amex 3x Travel

3x Mobile Wallet

7x Flights and rental cars with Amex

7x Restaurants

14x Hilton

Lounge Access
Locations Priority Pass Priority Pass

Centurion

Delta

Priority Pass (4 times only) Priority Pass
Guests 2 2 (none at Delta) 1 per visit 2
Restaurant Access Yes Yes
Other Benefits
Primary Rental Car Insurance Yes Yes
Includes Travel Insurance Yes In 2020 Yes
Cell Phone Insurance Yes
Free Roadside Assistance Yes Yes Yes
Global Entry Fee Credit Yes Yes Yes
Hotel Elite Status Hilton Gold

Marriott Gold

SPG Gold

Hilton Diamond
Other notable benefits DashPass and Lyft Pink memberships Fine Hotel Resorts

Amex Offers

Discount Airfare Program

12 Gogo inflight Wi-Fi passes per year Annual free night certificate
Credits
Travel Credit Applies $300, any travel $200, airline incidentals w/1 airline $325, any travel or dining $250, airline incidentals w/1 airline
Per Year Cardholder year Calendar year Cardholder year Calendar Year
Other credits $60 DoorDash credit in 2020 and 2021 Many other credits $250 resort credit (cardholder year)
Applies Automatically Automatically Automatically Automatically
Signup Bonus
Bonus 50,000 points 40-100,000 points 50,000 points 100,000 points
Spending Requirement $4000 $5000 $4500 $4000
Annual Fee
Base Fee $550 $695 $400 $450
Authorized card Holder $75 $175 for up to 3 $75 $0



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