The card_name and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card are two good options for travel credit cards.
The Sapphire Reserve is a premium travel rewards card offering a $300 travel credit, airport lounge access, 3x points on travel and dining, and great travel protections.
The Delta Platinum is a good option for frequent Delta flyers with a free checked bag and priority boarding for cardmembers and eight travel companions, an annual companion certificate, and a 15% award discount.
This article will compare each card based on several factors to help you make an informed decision on which card is the best to add to your wallet.
Full Reviews: Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card.
Overview of Each Card
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Welcome Bonus
The Delta Platinum Amex currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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Earning Rewards
The card_name offers bonus points in the following categories:
- 10 points per dollar on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel;
- 10 points per dollar on dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards;
- 10 points per dollar on Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025);
- 10 points per dollar on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases (through March 2025) of $250 or more, with a maximum of 50,000 points;
- 5 points per dollar on flights purchased through Chase Travel;
- 3 points per dollar on all other travel (excluding the $300 travel credit);
- 3 points per dollar on dining purchases worldwide; and
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible spending.
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The Delta Platinum Amex earns:
- 3 SkyMiles per dollar on purchases made directly with Delta and at hotels;
- 2 SkyMiles per dollar on purchases made at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.;
- 2 SkyMiles per dollar at U.S. supermarkets; and
- 1 SkyMile per dollar on other eligible purchases.
Winner: The card_name offers more valuable rewards in more categories than the Delta Platinum card.
Card Benefits and Perks
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers the following benefits:
- $300 travel credit after making a travel purchase.
- Receive 50% more value on points redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal.
- Priority Pass airport lounge access.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit.
- Free one-year Instacart+ subscription.
- 2 complimentary years of Lyft Pink All Access when activated by Dec 31, 2024—a value of $199/year.
- Free DashPass subscription through December 31, 2024.
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance (up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip).
- Primary car rental insurance.
- Lost luggage reimbursement (up to $3,000 per passenger)
- Baggage delay insurance (up to $100 per day for five days).
- Trip delay reimbursement (up to $500 per ticket for a delay longer than 12 hours or overnight).
- Extended warranty.
- Return protection (90 days of purchase, up to $500 per item, $1,000 per year).
- 120 days purchase protection (up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year).
- Roadside assistance.
- No foreign transaction fees.
The Delta Platinum Amex offers the following benefits for its cardholders:
- First checked bag free and priority boarding for you and up to eight travel companions on your reservation when flying Delta.
- Annual Companion certificate for a round-trip flight within 48 contiguous states (terms apply).
- 20% back on inflight purchases as a statement credit.
- 15% off award redemptions for Delta flights (when paying taxes and fees with this card).
- $100 Delta Flight credit after spending $10,000 or more in a calendar year.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Secondary car rental insurance.*
- Lost luggage reimbursement.*
- Purchase protection.*
- Extended warranty.*
- Access to Amex offers.
- Complimentary ShopRunner membership (enrollment required).
Winner: The card_name wins this category because its great airport lounge access, fee credits, and travel protections.
Value of the Annual Fees
The card_name has an annual fee of $550, which is higher than many other credit cards.
However, the card offers a $300 annual travel credit, effectively reducing the annual fee to $250. The airport lounge access, fee credits, and travel and purchase protections can offset the remaining annual fee.
The Delta Platinum Amex has an annual fee of $250 (rates & fees).
This fee can be offset by taking advantage of the free checked bag, priority boarding, annual companion certificate, and other travel protections.
Winner: Tie. The Chase Sapphire Reserve’s $300 travel credit effectively reduces its $550 annual fee to $250, with the remainder of the benefits helping offset the remainder. While the Delta Platinum’s annual fee can be offset by taking advantage of the free checked bag, priority boarding, companion certificate, and more.
Redeeming Rewards
The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns Ultimate Rewards points.
You can use your points to book flights, hotel stays, and even rent a car through Chase Travel — all at a fixed rate of 1.5 cents per point. For example, 100,000 points are equivalent to $1,500 towards travel.
This rate is higher than Chase’s other cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) at 1.25 cents per point, and the Chase Freedom Flex℠ (review) and Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) with a redemption value of 1.0 cents per point.
You can also get even more value when you transfer to Chase’s airline and hotel transfer partners listed below:
Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
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Aer Lingus
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Air Canada Aeroplan
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British Airways
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Emirates
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Air France/KLM
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Hyatt Hotels
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Iberia
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IHG Hotels
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JetBlue
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Marriott
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Singapore
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Southwest
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United
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Virgin Atlantic
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Delta no longer publishes an award chart for its SkyMiles program. Award flights are instead priced dynamically based on many factors, including routes, travel dates, airline partners, and how far in advance you book the flight.
It is generally very difficult for people to get outsized value when using SkyMiles for business class, like many other points programs, but here’s a few of my recommended ways to redeem SkyMiles:
- Domestic economy flights starting as low as 4,500 SkyMiles.
- Booking one of Delta’s occasional flash sales.
- Flights to Canada on WestJet starting as low as 4,500 SkyMiles.
- Virgin Atlantic to London in Upper Class for 120,000 SkyMiles each way.
- Air France Business Class to Paris for 120,000 SkyMiles each way.
- LATAM Economy Class from the U.S. to South America starting at 25,000 SkyMiles each way.
Winner: The card_name offers better options at redeeming rewards over Delta SkyMiles.
The Verdict
Both the card_name and Delta Platinum Amex are good options.
The Sapphire Reserve is a better option if you fly multiple airlines each year and want airport lounge access.
But the Delta Platinum could be a better option if Delta is your go-to airline and you can take advantage of the checked bag benefit and annual companion certificate.
Personally, I like the combination of the card_name with the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (review) for Delta flyers.
Which card are you going to choose?
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