Which Credit Card Is Worth the $450 Annual Fee?

Ever since the Chase Sapphire Reserve became available, comparisons have been made between this card and the Citi Prestige, The Platinum Card from American Express, and The Business Platinum Card from American Express. All of these credit cards offer similar travel benefits and carry the same $450 annual fee. So which of these credit cards gives you the most bang for your buck? Here’s a breakdown by category:

	The Platinum Card® from American Express Add to Favorites	$450 first year $450 after first year	40,000 points After you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months Read Review »
Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.

	The Platinum Card® from American Express
Apply Now Add to Favorites
Sign Up Bonus $450 first year $450 after first year 40,000 points After you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months Annual Fee Already have this card? Maximize your rewards.
Read the FTG Review »

	The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN Add to Favorites	$450 first year $450 after first year	40,000 Membership Rewards® points After you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership Read Review »
Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.

	The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN
Apply Now Add to Favorites
Sign Up Bonus $450 first year $450 after first year 40,000 Membership Rewards® points After you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership Annual Fee Already have this card? Maximize your rewards.
Read the FTG Review »

Sign-up Bonus

Chase Sapphire Reserve – 100,000 points after $4,000 spent in 3 months

Citi Prestige – 40,000 points after $4,000 spent in 3 months

	Citi Prestige® Card Add to Favorites	$450 first year $450 after first year	40,000 Points After $4,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open. Read Review »
Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.

	Citi Prestige® Card
Apply Now Add to Favorites
Sign Up Bonus $450 first year $450 after first year 40,000 Points After $4,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open. Annual Fee Already have this card? Maximize your rewards.
Read the FTG Review »

The Platinum Card from American Express – 40,000 points after $4,000 spent in 3 months

The Business Platinum Card from American Express – 40,000 points after $5,000 spent in 3 months

At the moment, the Sapphire Reserve offers, hands down, the highest sign-up bonus at 100,000 points after $4,000 spent in 3 months. Occasionally,  American Express will offer a 100,000 sign-up bonus on their Amex Platinum cards, but that doesn’t work out so well because 1.) Amex’s transfer partnerships aren’t as great at Chase’s, and 2.) recently a bunch of people took advantage of a 100k offer only to have their points revoked and accounts shut down by American Express. The reason given? They were buying cash equivalents to meet the spending requirement. Not cool, Amex. Not cool at all.

Annual Travel Credits

Chase Sapphire Reserve – $300 towards all travel

Citi Prestige – $250 air travel credit

The Platinum Card from American Express – $200 airline fee credit at one airline

The Business Platinum Card from American Express – $200 airline fee credit at one airline

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers the absolute best annual travel credit benefit, both in terms of quantity and what it can be used for. Sapphire Reserve cardholders receive $300 towards any travel purchase, which is much more flexible than Amex and Citi, which restrict their credits for air travel use.

Global Entry/TSA Fee

Chase Sapphire Reserve – $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit every 4 years

Citi Prestige – $100 Global Entry or $85 TSA PreCheck credit every 5 years

The Platinum Card from American Express – $100 Global Entry or $85 TSA PreCheck credit every 5 years

The Business Platinum Card from American Express – $100 Global Entry or $85 TSA PreCheck credit every 5 years

Once again, the Sapphire Reserve offers the best benefit when it comes to reimbursing Global Entry/TSA fees. Cardholders receive a $100 Global Entry or $85 TSA PreCheck credit every 4 years, as opposed to 5 years with every other credit card.

Lounge Access

Chase Sapphire Reserve – Priority Pass Select

Citi Prestige – Priority Pass Select

The Platinum Card from American Express – Centurion Lounge, International American Express lounges, Delta Sky Club, Priority Pass Select, Airspace Lounge

The Business Platinum Card from American Express – Centurion Lounge, International American Express lounges, Delta Sky Club, Priority Pass Select, Airspace Lounge

When it comes to airport lounge access, the American Express Platinum credit cards come out ahead. Not only do they offer access to more lounges than the Sapphire Reserve and Citi Prestige, but cardholders have exclusive access to the Centurion Lounge, which are some of the best lounges you’ll find domestically.

Category Bonuses

Chase Sapphire Reserve – 3 points per $1 on travel and dining

Citi Prestige – 3 points per $1 on air travel and hotels; 2 points per $1 on restaurants and entertainment

The Platinum Card from American Express – 2 points per $1 on travel booking on the Amex Travel website

The Business Platinum Card from American Express – 2 points per $1 on travel booking on the Amex Travel website

The Sapphire Reserve wins when it comes to category bonuses, because of its generous 3 points per $1 on dining and travel. More important is what you can redeem those bonus points for, which brings me to my next point …

Transfer Partnerships

Chase Sapphire Reserve – 11 partners that transfer at a 1:1 ratio

Citi Prestige – 12 partners that transfer at a 1:1 ratio

The Platinum Card from American Express – 15 partners that transfer at a 1:1 ratio

The Business Platinum Card from American Express – 15 partners that transfer at a 1:1 ratio

The American Express Membership Rewards program has the most transfer partners, but in my opinion, Ultimate Rewards has the most quality partnerships. Besides, most of the transfer partners that matter (FlyingBlue, Singapore Krirsflyer, Virgin America Elevate) overlap with Chase’s partnerships and Chase offers a more favorable transfer ratio to VA Elevate than American Express does. More importantly, Chase offers a good mix of both valuable airline and hotel partners. Citi, meanwhile, only has a single hotel transfer partner (Hilton HHonors) and many of their airline partnerships are with foreign carriers, some of which impose fuel surcharges on award bookings. Chase Ultimate Rewards is the clear winner here.

Travel Redemption Value

Chase Sapphire Reserve – 1.5 cents per point at the Ultimate Rewards Travel portal

Citi Prestige – 1.25 cents towards airline redemptions

The Platinum Card from American Express – 1 cent per point for airfare, 0.75 – 0.85 cents per point for hotels, vacations, cruises

The Business Platinum Card from American Express – 1 cent per point for airfare, 0.75 – 0.85 cents per point for hotels, vacations, cruises

When it comes to redeeming points for direct travel bookings, the Chase Sapphire Reserve once again offers the best value. Points can be used at the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal at a rate of 1.5 cents each. Not only that, but the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal also offers tremendous savings on everything from hotel bookings to airfare and even activities.

Thanks to a high sign-up bonus, generous recurring travel benefits, and a strong rewards program, the Chase Sapphire Reserve presents the best value for its $450 annual fee. However, everyone’s travel needs are different, so I’d love to get your feedback.

Which of these credit cards do you think is worth the annual fee?

[Image via Getty]