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I got the freedom unlimited and Sapphire Reserve (SV) duo going and haven’t run into any problems. The freedom gives me 1.5% cash back on EVERYTHING which I transfer to SV and is multipled by 1.5x in the chase travel portal. So 50,000 point when used in the portal multiples to 75,000 which is about $750. There are other benefits but that’s really that main thing I like about the duo. Also, you get back $300 in travel statement credit from the $550 annual fee from the SV when booking through chase. I personally didn’t go with platinum because it insanely expensive for me and I know a couple people that have it and regret it because they don’t use the card to it’s full potential.
Got it - that's insightful
I have a platinum and I absolutely love it.. but I only recommend it IF you use the perks. For travel, you get 5x points on flights, access to priority pass and amex centurion lounges, status for Marriott/Hilton, free CLEAR, ~$300 hotel statement credit (2 different categories, 1 $100 and 1 $200), $200 flight incidental statement credit (seat upgrade, in-flight purchases, etc), $50 saks credit every 6 months, and there are some more. I’m sure all credit cards offer this, but Amex’s platinum customer service is AMAZING and I’ve always gotten things taken care of quickly. Happy to chat about this more if needed!
Amex plat customer service is second to none
Pro
Currently have CSR, Amex Plat, Amex Gold, Delta Amex Plat & Marriott Boundless in my toolkit.
I’m getting outsized value with the Amex cards and modestly hitting the csr fee as is. Chase purchase protection on expensive items has been awesome over the years and saved me close to $15k in losses so I make peace with winning some years and losing others.
Personally, I’d pass on the delta reserve vs the Amex plat. If the fee structure were that materially different, I might have a different opinion. Almost 1-1 cost with more limited scope makes it less desirable for me.
Best is purely subjective. If you don’t like point transfers and prefer portal ease, chase is tough to beat on value.
Some of the best ever offers are out there for the Amex platform - gold and platinum - at the moment that could help soften the blow of the fee. Since most of their cards are one SUB per lifetime, it’s not a bad idea to test the waters now
Rising Star
Amex typically says one sign up bonus per card per lifetime. A lifetime is ~7 years. So it’s not a product to churn like team blue
I had CSR and was seeing very little value from perks / points usage. And when I went to use the points for a few flights, had the worst time recovering the points (CSR was refusing to refund me until the airline refunded them.. spent HOURS calling customer service over several months. Took a complaint to Department of Travel to get my points back)
Effectively replaced CSR with Amex Plat - the perks are great if you’re diligent to take advantage (as someone posted above). The rental car insurance is amazing too. $20 for the basic coverage (which still covers a lot) every time you rent. I got run off the road in a rental last year, scratched the entire passenger side of the car, $5k in damages fully covered by Amex.
Also have Delta Amex platinum (between gold and reserve). For the price / value, think you get a lot - companion certificate, MQD waiver to delta platinum status, MQM boosts. The companion certificate alone usually covers the value of the fee..
I’ve also got the Bonvoy ($95 annual fee one), mostly because I need a non Amex card). The free night certificate that comes as a perk with the card usually covers the fee. I was hoping to accumulate more marriott points through work travel, but only got two months of that in 2020…may have considered a different visa/MC then..
(I do have the Amex cash back preferred, too- I cook at home a lot so 6% back on groceries adds up quickly for me)
I have the Platinum. I don’t regret it as I try to squeeze the max amount I can out of it. The value you can pull out of it becomes subjective at a certain point and there’s thing such as Amex offers or Chase offers.
This may sound odd, but I foresee myself getting the Sapphire Reserve in the future to hold concurrently with the Platinum as I travel domestically/ internationally frequently and am starting to see a case where I can turn a profit off of each.
Oh wow! Really?
I have the CSR and AMEX Plat. I think both are worth it, but wait for a good sign up bonus to come around.
On top of the obvious benefits, the Plat has good transfer partners. Was able to book some Europe tix at more than half the cost transferring to Avianca and using Lifemiles. That alone was almost worth the annual fee on the card.
On the CSR, I like that the travel credit is easily used, believe it even applies to Lyfts, so it's almost impossible to leave money on the table. The Amex makes you jump through more hoops to get the credits.
For me on AMEX Plat and Reserve (had both), if you’re using these as your primary travel cards, it depends on who’s transfer partners you value more, with the obvious ones being Delta vs United. I was in Chicago (United hub) and had a much easier time finding high value redemptions with the Reserve vs AMEX.
i wrote a very detailed post in the inks! check it out!!
https://joinfishbowl.com/post_1n8ng4g6sm