American Express Gold Card vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which is the best for your needs?

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The American Express® Gold Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are two premium rewards cards that rank on our lists for the best travel, rewards and dining cards. Both cards offer first-in-class rewards programs, generous annual statement credits, travel protections and high annual fees — $250 (see rates and fees) and $550, respectively.

Below, Select reviews the two cards side-by-side, so you can choose the one that provides the most benefit for your spending habits.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve charges a $550 annual fee compared to the American Express Gold Card's $250.

The $300 difference may sway you to choose the American Express Gold Card, but if you take advantage of all the benefits offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve, such as the $300 annual travel credit and Priority Pass lounge access, you can offset the costs.

If you're not taking full advantage of the benefits, you need to spend approximately $25,629 a year to earn enough rewards to break even on the $550 annual fee. This assumes you spend $2,154 on travel, $3,365 on dining and $20,110 on other spending and redeem rewards for travel with Chase Ultimate Rewards®, receiving 50% more value.

Similarly, the American Express Gold Card has annual statement credits, which can effectively reduce the annual fee. But if you don't take full advantage of the benefits, you need to spend approximately $6,250 a year on combined dining and groceries to earn enough rewards to break even on the $250 annual fee.

The American Express Gold Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve are both geared toward individuals who can pay their bills on time and in full each month. Neither of the cards offers an intro 0% APR period and their APRs can be quite high.

The APR for the American Express Gold Card is *See Pay Over Time APR (see rates and fees) and 21.24% to 29.24% variable for the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Note that the American Express Gold Card does not allow balance transfers.

Both cards have rewards geared toward travel and dining. The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 5X total points on air travel and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. You can also earn 3X points on all dining and travel (immediately after earning your $300 travel credit), 10X points on Chase Dining bookings, 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025 and 1X points on all other purchases.

The American Express Gold Card offers 4X Membership Rewards® points when you dine at restaurants and shop at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, 1X points on all other purchases.

Rewards earned with both cards can be redeemed in similar ways, such as travel, gift cards and merchandise. But the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a unique bonus: If you redeem points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal, they're worth 50% more.

For example, 60,000 points are worth $600. But if you pay for your hotel or flight through the rewards portal, the value of your points increases 50% to $900.

The American Express Gold Card doesn't offer a bonus redemption on points.

Both cards also allow you to transfer points to participating airline and hotel partners, such as JetBlue and Marriott.

The number of points or miles needed to redeem for rewards varies based on the redemption you choose. For example, 1 point is worth $0.015 toward travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards (such as airfare and hotels) with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but 1 point can be worth a penny when redeemed for gift card.

With the American Express Gold Card, 1 point is worth a penny for flights booked through American Express Travel, but 1 point is only worth $0.006 when redeemed for statement credits.

New Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after they spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. However, points are worth 50% more when you redeem for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards®, so the bonus is worth up to $900.

The American Express Gold Card offers 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months  of card membership. This can be worth $600 toward airfare and $420 toward lodging when booked through American Express Travel.

Both cards offer many of the same travel-related perks, but also a variety of other unique benefits. Here's a breakdown of the perks offered by both cards:

Consumers with either card can benefit from:

• No foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty protection
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Baggage delay insurance
• Travel and emergency assistance services

American Express® Gold Card holders enjoy these added perks:

• Amex Offers, where you can earn statement credits or bonus Membership Rewards® points at select retailers
• Free 2-day shipping on eligible items at over 100 online stores with ShopRunner (one-time enrollment required)
• Entertainment access to exclusive presales and premium seating at concerts, plays, sporting events and more
• Up to $120 to cover restaurant charges ($10 per month) at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations
• Get a $100 experience credit with a minimum two-night stay when you book The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel. Experience credit varies by property.
• Travel discounts and amenities for those who enroll with The Travel Collection by Travel Leaders Group at no extra cost

Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders enjoy these added perks:

• Up to $300 annual travel credit
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit of up to $100 every four years
• Up to $10 in monthly Gopuff credit
• Up to $15 in monthly Instacart credit
• Priority Pass Select lounge access at 1,000+ VIP lounges in over 500 cities worldwide
• Special benefits at The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, such as complimentary room upgrades, early check-in and late check-out
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Travel accident insurance
• Roadside assistance
• Return protection
• Emergency evacuation and transportation
• 24/7 direct access to customer service specialists

The American Express Gold Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve are two top-rate rewards cards that can provide numerous benefits for frequent travelers and foodies. Depending on how you spend your money and the type of perks you're looking for, one of these cards may be a better fit than the other.

If you're looking for luxury travel benefits, such as lounge access and an annual $300 travel credit, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the better option. Plus, you can take advantage of the card's added 50% value for points redeemed for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards.

If you spend more money on dining out and grocery shopping, the American Express Gold Card provides a rewards program geared toward those purchases with 4X Membership Rewards® points at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X). And you receive up to $120 to cover restaurant charges ($10 per month) at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory and other participating restaurants.

While both of these cards are good options for travelers, there are alternative options that may be a better fit for your needs. Check out Select's roundup of the best credit cards for travel, dining out and restaurants and grocery shopping. If those categories aren't part of your major expenses, you might want to consider our lists of the best cash-back credit cards and best rewards credit cards.

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For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/ benefitsguide for more details.  Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.