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Two of the top dogs in the travel rewards credit card world — the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the American Express® Gold Card — bear a lot of similarities.

Both cards have large welcome bonuses of the exact same value (per Insider's points and miles valuations). And they both confer a handful of statement credits worth hundreds of dollars, earn bonus points on dining, and offer lots of valuable ways to redeem rewards.

But there are also key differences. To help you make an informed decision as to which card best fits your wallet, we'll closely compare the most important attributes of each card. If they each sound like they could fit into your travel strategy, there's no reason you can't open both.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve®'s $550 annual fee is higher than the American Express® Gold Card's $250 annual fee, but that doesn't mean one is necessarily more costly than the other. If a card saves you more than you're paying for the annual fee, it's worth it.

Perhaps the biggest difference to consider up top is that they earn different rewards currencies. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you'll earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, while with the Amex Gold Card you'll earn Amex Membership Rewards points. Insider estimates both of these points are worth an identical 1.8 cents each, on average. However, the two programs have different airline and hotel transfer partners, so you'll want to investigate which points are the most useful to you.

With that in mind, let's look at if the Amex Gold Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve is best for you.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Redemption Options

Both Chase and Amex offer varying (though similar) options when it comes to using your points. The value you'll get is dependent on the way you choose to redeem.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Here are the most popular ways to use them:

• Transfer to 14 airline and hotel partners such as Southwest, United Airlines, and Hyatt. Insider estimates you'll get an average value of 1.8 cents per Chase point when redeeming your points for travel.
• Book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal at a rate of 1.5 cents per point
• Redeem for cash in the form of a statement credit or direct deposit at a rate of 1 cent per point
• Buy gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point
• Pay for your Amazon cart at a rate of 0.8 cents per point

The Amex Gold Card earns Amex Membership Rewards points. As with Chase points, the value you'll get varies based on the redemption option you choose. For example, you can:

• Transfer to 20 airline and hotel partners such as Air Canada, Delta, and Hilton. Insider estimates you'll get an average value per Amex point of 1.8 cents when doing this.
• Book flights at a rate of 1 cent per point through American Express Travel (most hotel bookings are 0.7 cents per point)
• Buy gift cards (generally around 1 cent in value per point)
• Redeem for cash in the form of a statement credit (0.6 cents per point)
• Pay for your Amazon cart or at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, and more at a rate of 0.7 cents per point

As you can see, far and away the best use of your points is transferring to travel partners. If you're routinely using your points in any other way, you may do better swiping a cash-back credit card instead of a travel credit card.

Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve

Welcome Bonus Offers

When you open the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That's worth:

• $600 in cash
• $900 in travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal
• $1,080 in travel when transferred to airline and hotel partners, on average

The Amex Gold Card comes with 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $4,000 on purchases on the Card in the first six months of card membership. That's worth:

• $360 in cash
• $600 in flights booked through Amex Travel
• $1,080 in travel when transferred to airline and hotel partners

While these bonuses are nearly equal, the edge goes to Chase points for their ability to be redeemed for cash at a rate of 1 cent per point — and for travel through the Chase Travel Portal at a rate of 1.5 cents per point. 

Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve

Rewards Earning Rates

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns:

• 10 points per dollar on hotels and car rentals reserved through the Chase Travel Portal
• 10 points per dollar on Lyft rides (through March 2025)
• 5 points per dollar on air travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
• 3 points per dollar on dining and all other travel made outside the Chase Travel Portal
• 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases

As you can see, this card is incredible for all things travel — offering an effective return rate between 5.1% and 17%. 

The Amex Gold Card offers can't compete with the Sapphire Reserve's best categories, but it offers a couple of whoppers of its own:

• 4 points at restaurants
• 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 spent per calendar year, then 1x)
• 3 points per dollar on flights booked with the airline or via Amex Travel
• 1 point per dollar on all other purchases

While your potential earning rate is technically less than the Sapphire Reserve, many people will likely earn more rewards with this card. U.S. supermarkets and restaurants account for an enormous portion of an average cardholder's monthly spending. You could rack up well over 50,000 points per year with even modest spending in these categories.

Winner: Tie

Travel Insurance

One of the best parts of the Chase Sapphire Reserve is its elite travel insurance. In nearly every category, you won't find a credit card that can top it. It's just not a fair fight for the Amex Gold Card. You can read more about Chase Sapphire Reserve travel insurance, but let's take a look at each card side-by-side.

Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve

Notable Benefits

Both of these cards come with hundreds of dollars in annual benefits, most of which aren't difficult to use organically. 

The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with up to a $300 travel credit annually. With this, Chase effectively reimburses you for the first $300 in travel you spend on the card each anniversary year. This can be for hotels, rental cars, rideshare services, tolls, and just about any other travel-related expense. The card also offers a statement credit of up to $100 every four years to cover your application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve confers a free Priority Pass Select membership (which retails for over $400 per year), which gets you access to more than 1,300 airport lounges around the world. Plus, you can enter Chase Sapphire Lounges for free (which are currently few and far between but expected to grow in the near future).

The Amex Gold Card features a collection of its own statement credits. You'll get up to $10 in monthly dining credits toward purchases with Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Wine.com, Goldbelly, Milk Bar, and participating Shake Shack locations. You'll also get $10 in monthly credits in Uber Cash by adding your card to your Uber wallet. You can use these credits for rides or for food with Uber Eats.

You'll even receive a complimentary membership with ShopRunner**, a service that gives you free two-day shipping at a wide range of online retailers.

Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve

Annual Fee

The Chase Sapphire Reserve charges a $550 annual fee. The Amex Gold Card charges a $250 annual fee.

However, both cards offer annual statement credits on purchases that — if you would have made those purchases anyway — significantly offset the fees.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve's $300 travel credit effectively reduces the card's annual fee to $250, as long as you spend at least $300 in travel per year anyway. If you'll use the card's airport lounge access and travel insurance, that fee is well worth it.

The Amex Gold Card offers up to $240 in annual statement credits, effectively reducing your annual fee to $10 per year. If the card's other benefits (like its potent earning rate for dining and groceries) are worth that price tag, it's a no-brainer.

Winner: Amex Gold Card

Amex Gold vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Side-by-Side Comparison

*on up to $25,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets per calendar year, then 1x

***up to $10 in statement credits per month when you use the Amex Gold card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Wine.com, Goldbelly, Milk Bar, and participating Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.

****up to $10 in Uber Cash per month (this is only applicable to U.S. Eats orders and Rides, and the Gold Card needs to be added to the Uber app to receive the Uber Cash benefit)

What You Need to Know About the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Amex Gold

Tally up the important categories and you'll find that the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes out ahead — handily. But no matter which card you choose, both the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Gold Card offer hundreds of dollars in annual benefits.

If you think you could make use of both cards, there's no harm in applying for both — just as long as you're willing to make the upfront investment by paying two sizable annual fees.