Two of the most popular entry-level travel credit cards are the American Express gold
card and the chase sapphire preferred but which one is the best option for you?(CHANNEL
INTRO) As per usual I've made separate reviews on both of these products that I’ll link
to down below the like button along with some links where you can learn more but let's start
with the most important variable…cost!
The American Express gold card comes in at $250 per year making it the more expensive
of the two products but is still significantly less than its more premium counterpart to
the American Express platinum card which is $695 per year.
As I said the sapphire preferred is much more affordable at just $95 per year which makes
sense since it's more premium counterpart the chase sapphire reserve is also less expensive
at $550 per year.
Both the American Express gold card and chase sapphire preferred offer identical 60,000
points signup bonuses after you spend $4000 but the gold card gives you six months while
the sapphire preferred gives you just three months to hit that spending threshold.
And for the sake of simplicity let's say that one point equals 1 cent throughout this video
but we will compare each travel portal later on and your different redemption options to
help maximize the point value.
In terms of spending multipliers, the gold card gives you four points at restaurants
worldwide including takeout and delivery services compared to the sapphire preferred’s 3 points
per dollar in the exact same category.
The gold card also gives you three points per dollar on flights booked directly with
the airline or through the American Express travel site while the sapphire preferred gives
you five points per dollar for travel booked through the chase ultimate rewards portal.
When it comes to grocery store purchases the gold card gives you four points per dollar
at US supermarkets on up to $25,000 in purchases each year compared to the sapphire preferred’s
three points per dollar which only applies to online grocery purchases and excludes targets
Wal-Mart and wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam's Club.
Outside of that both products give you one point per dollar on all other eligible purchases
and as a last minor benefit, the sapphire preferred gives you three points per dollar
on select streaming services and two points on other travel purchases outside of chase
ultimate rewards.
So fairly similar across the board with the biggest differences being the gold cards higher
rewards on restaurants and supermarkets and the sapphire preferred’s higher rewards
on travel through the ultimate rewards portal and additional point multipliers on streaming
services.
In terms of additional benefits, it's really no contest with the American Express gold
card giving you a $120 dining credit at select locations including cheesecake factory, Shake
Shack, and Grubhub on top of an additional $120 Uber cash credit that you can use on
Uber eats or on the Uber ridesharing platform.
Now as I've talked about in previous videos those are given to you as $10 monthly statement
credit so you're not able to spend all of them at once but if you are able to effectively
use each of those credits then that lowers your effective annual fee from $250 per year
to just $10 per year but again you've got to use those credits to replace things that
you would otherwise be paying for out of pocket in order to get a true benefit.
The sapphire preferred honestly offers you very little in terms of credits but they do
throw in a few benefits like point multipliers on the Lyft ride-sharing platform, a free
trial on Instacart plus and dash pass as well as a $10 monthly statement credit towards
goPuff delivery but again these are things that you probably wouldn't be using otherwise
and therefore they aren't really giving you a net benefit.
Both products have no foreign transaction fee, car rental insurance, extended warranty
protections, and purchase protections, as well as baggage insurance of some kind and
a travel assistance service which work in pretty much the exact same way.
Now from a broader point of view, I've personally always been more impressed with the customer
service from American Express and that's not surprising considering their clientele on
average is probably a higher spender when compared to Chase's average user.
But I have products from both companies I have experience with both customer service
phone lines and they're both exactly what you would expect with higher-end clients receiving
faster and better customer service.
So far things are looking very similar and you may be more confused than when you first
clicked on this video but we still haven't talked about the biggest differentiator in
my opinion and that is the travel portals and transfer partners.
Now if you want a deep dive into maximizing point values and transfer partners I have
made videos on that very topic for both chase and American Express but to give you a high-level
overview, since both of these products offer you points instead of flat cash back, it is
important to maximize the value you're getting out of those points.
Not the most common way people do this is by redeeming points directly through the provider's
travel website which in this case is chase ultimate rewards and the American Express
travel site.
And from that perspective, things are once again fairly similar and in my experience
prices for identical flights are exactly the same from both companies.
If I had to pick one I personally like the American Express travel portal a little bit
better and have found it easier to navigate.
But this difference is only magnified when we get into transfer partners and again as
a high-level overview, transferring your American Express or chase points to one of these transfer
partners is the best way to maximize their value and what I mean by that is if you book
a flight directly through chase, for example, using your points then you're probably looking
at 1 cent per point which is the equivalent of 1% cash back and honestly that's not that
great.
But if you strategically transfer these points to one of these transfer partners you could
easily get 3 to $0.05 per point and in some cases much higher than that.
So what's important in the world of transfer partners is having as many options as possible
and with American Express you're looking at 19 total transfer partners compared to chases
11.
You can see the whole comparison here but some of the most notable differences where
American Express transfers and Chase does not would be the ANA mileage club, Etihad
Airways, and Delta SkyMiles.
And when it comes to hotel partners, American Express transfers to Hilton honors and choice
privileges while chase does not.
However, this goes both directions because chase transfers to partners like southwest
rapid rewards and united's mileage plus programs while American Express does not and they also
transfer to World of Hyatt and the IHG rewards club which once again American Express does
not.
So yes the total number of transfer partners with American Express is quite a bit higher
but that decision is ultimately going to depend on where you are most frequently transferring
your points.
I'll leave this whole chart up on the screen here and it is worth pointing out that these
transfer partners are constantly changing so before making a decision you'll definitely
want to get the most up-to-date list of transfer partners but the biggest deal breaker for
me and the reason that I prefer the American Express partners is I frequently transferred
to the delta SkyMiles club and Hilton honors.
Now truthfully transferring the points to hotel partners is not a great way to maximize
the point values and that's a well-known fact but delta SkyMiles first class which is called
Delta One is one of the best ways I have found to get $0.10 or more per point and have a
premium travel experience that I would otherwise never be able to afford since these tickets
can easily run $5,000 or more depending on the route.
Just recently on my honeymoon to Europe, my wife and I flew first class multiple times
on tickets that we would never dream of paying for out of pocket but thanks to our American
Express points and their strategic transfer partners, we were able to fly first class
on five different occasions while paying virtually nothing out of pocket.
So getting back to which product is best the American Express gold card or the chase sapphire
preferred, for me personally I prefer the gold card because I'm able to justify the
slightly higher annual fee and I frequently transfer points to Delta and Hilton honors,
two areas that chase does not currently cover.
But the sapphire preferred is still a fantastic option considering it is less than half the
cost of the gold card and gives you a majority of the same transfer partners.
The sapphire preferred is also slightly more travel focused giving you five points per
dollar on bookings through the chase ultimate reward system while again the gold card only
gives you three points on equivalent purchases.
But other than that these two products are nearly identical across the board so take
a close look at the most up-to-date transfer list and if you're still not able to make
a decision after that then the last thing I'll say to you is the sapphire preferred
is a normal blue plastic card while the gold card is a beautiful metal product that comes
in both yellow and rose gold so not that that is helpful information at all but maybe that's
a deal breaker for you one way or another.
Let me know what you think of these two products down in the comments and again I'll leave
links below the like button to the full reviews that I've done on both of these products and
be sure to check out this video for the ultimate comparison of every American Express credit
card or this video for the ultimate comparison of every chase credit card.
As always take it easy and I'll see you in the next one!