The best premium credit cards: A side-by-side comparison
Picking the best credit cards for your wallet can be challenging. Each offers different perks, and this is especially true for premium cards. And because issuers keep upping the ante by launching new cards, adding benefits and increasing the cards’ annual fees, there’s more competition in this space than ever.
Here, we’ll compare the benefits and value propositions of some of the best premium credit cards available for new applicants. Here are the eight premium rewards cards we’ll focus on:
The information for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Methodology for comparing the best premium credit cards
For this comparison, we will compare these cards across seven categories:
- Annual fee
- Current welcome offer
- Point-earning potential
- Redemption options
- Statement credits and notable perks
- Lounge access
- Travel and purchase protections
This analysis is based on a generic traveler trying to decide which one of these cards should go in their wallet. When choosing which one is the best, premium credit cards have varying perks and benefits — so the one that’s right for your wallet will depend on your specific wants and needs.
Comparison of the best premium cards
| Card | Annual fee | Additional cardholder fee | Welcome offer | Welcome offer value* | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Platinum Card from American Express | $695 (see rates and fees) | $195 for each additional cardmember (see rates and fees) | Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 in the first six months of card membership, though you may be able to get a higher bonus through the CardMatch tool (terms apply; offer subject to change). | $1,600 |
|
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | $395 | $0 for up to four authorized users | Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. | $1,388 |
|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | $595 | $75 for each additional cardholder | Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. | $1,230 |
|
| Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard | $595 | $175 annual fee for the first three authorized users, $175 for each authorized user after that | Earn 70,000 miles after spending $7,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. | $1,155 |
|
| Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card | $650 (see rates and fees) | $175 per additional cardmember (see rates and fees) | Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. This offer ends April 2. | $1,200 |
|
| Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card |
$550 | $0 for each additional cardmember | Earn 175,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. | $1,050 |
|
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card | $650 (see rates and fees) | $0 for each additional cardholder (see rates and fees) | Earn 95,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. | $665 |
|
| United Club Infinite Card | $525 | $0 for each additional cardholder | Earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. | $1,080 |
|
*Welcome offer value is an estimated value based on TPG’s March 2025 valuations and is not provided by the issuer.
Annual fee
It would be easiest to pick the cards with the lowest annual fees, but that doesn’t tell the full story. You should look at the annual fee and the benefits and statement credits offered by the cards and see whether the value provided by the benefits justifies the annual fee. Some cards with high annual fees can provide you with so much value that you may even net money and come out ahead.
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Whether or not a card charges for additional cardholders also makes a difference. Half of the cards on our list don’t charge a fee for additional cardholders (though some limit how many complimentary users you can add).
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card allows authorized users to enjoy an up-to-$100 property credit for eligible two-night stays at Waldorf Astoria and Conrad properties. Meanwhile, authorized users on the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard receive Admirals Club access for themselves and their immediate family members or up to two traveling companions.
Ultimately, however, the Venture X is the winner of this category. First and foremost, its $395 annual fee is much lower than the rest of the crowd.
Plus, you can add up to four authorized users for no additional charge.
Related: Quick Points: Have good credit? Share it with an authorized user
Welcome offer
All the premium cards listed above come with lucrative welcome offers that can help get you closer to your next big trip.
The Amex Platinum‘s 80,000 point welcome bonus comes out on top, as it’s worth $1,600 based on TPG’s March 2025 valuations — and note that some folks might find an even higher welcome offer on the Amex Platinum by checking the CardMatch tool (offers are subject to change at any time). The Venture X comes in second place with its welcome offer worth $1,388, and the Sapphire Reserve finishes third with its offer worth $1,230.
If we rank this category by return on spending, the Capital One Venture X Rewards card’s bonus of 75,000 miles after $4,000 of spending wins. That’s a 34.7% return on spending based on TPG’s March 2025 valuations.
Related: The best welcome offers of the month
Points-earning potential
Another important aspect when comparing premium credit cards is the points-earning potential and the rewards you can earn.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes out on top here. It earns the most valuable currency, on a wide variety of purchases. Ultimate Rewards are worth 2.05 cents apiece, according to TPG’s March 2025 valuations.
Like the Venture X, the Sapphire Reserve racks up more bonus points on various types of travel booked through the issuer’s travel portal. However, the card pulls ahead of Venture X by earning more points on general dining and travel purchases — plus bonus earnings with several partners. That said, Venture X earns a solid 2 miles per dollar on everyday spending, which is pretty easy to maximize without needing to track spending categories.
The Hilton Honors Aspire card takes the third spot, thanks to an incredible 14 points per dollar at Hilton properties and 7 points per dollar on airfare, car rentals and U.S. restaurants. These bonuses represent 8.4% and 4.2% returns on spending, respectively, based on TPG’s March 2025 valuations.
Related: Maximizing credit cards to become points-rich without spending a ton
Redemption options
Another important aspect when comparing premium cards is the redemption options, and the one that provides maximum value is utilizing transfer partners.
| Card | Redemption/transfer options |
|---|---|
| Amex Platinum | You can redeem points for a statement credit (at 0.6 cents per point), travel or transfer them to one of 18 airlines and three hotel partners. |
| Capital One Venture X | You can redeem miles for cash back (at 0.5 cents per mile), travel purchases on your statement (at 1 cent per mile), gift cards, PayPal, Amazon, tickets through Capital One Entertainment or transfer them to one of 15-plus airline and hotel partners. |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | You can redeem points at a rate of 1.5 cents each through Chase Travel, offset some purchases through Chase’s Pay Yourself Back or transfer them to one of 11 airlines and 3 hotel partners. |
| Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard |
You can redeem miles for flights on American Airlines and its various Oneworld alliance partners and nonalliance partners like Etihad Airways, upgrades, hotels, rental cars, experiences and Admirals Club passes.
|
| Delta Reserve | You can redeem miles for flights on Delta and its various SkyTeam or nonalliance partners like WestJet, seat upgrades, Delta Vacations, Delta Stays, car rentals, SkyMiles experiences and magazines.
|
| Hilton Honors Aspire | You can redeem points for stays at hotels in the Hilton Honors portfolio of brands or transfer to one of 26 airline partners.
|
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant | You can redeem points for hotel stays in the Marriott Bonvoy program or transfer them to one of 39 airline partners. |
| United Club Infinite Card | You can redeem miles for flights on United and its various Star Alliance partners.
|
Analysis
The best premium credit cards on this list are the Sapphire Reserve, the Amex Platinum and the Venture X, and they’ve earned their spots thanks to the flexibility of transferable points or miles that won’t lock you into a specific set of airlines or hotels.
Even though the Chase Sapphire Reserve has fewer transfer partners than the Amex Platinum, Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem points for travel directly through Chase’s portal at an elevated rate of 1.5 cents each. Meanwhile, Amex Platinum has 21 airline and hotel transfer partners in total and varied redemption options.
The Venture X takes third place by offering 15-plus airline and hotel transfer partners. While you can transfer to most programs at a 1:1 ratio, there are some exceptions: Accor Live Limitless (2:1), JetBlue TrueBlue (5:3) and EVA Air Infinity MileageLands (2:1.5).
The cobranded premium airline cards generally offer more redemption options, but they don’t have transfer partners and the miles can only be used to book flights on their partner airlines (both alliance and nonalliance).
Which of these three is best for you? That will depend on your preferred transfer partners and their alignment with your travel goals.
Related: How to transfer credit card rewards to partner programs
Statement credits and notable perks
All these premium card options have many statement credits and perks meant to provide value to cardholders. In some cases, if you utilize the full value of the credits and perks, you can recover your annual fee and even receive positive value.
| Card | Statement credits and benefits |
|---|---|
| Amex Platinum |
Enrollment is required for select benefits. |
| Capital One Venture X |
|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve |
|
| Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard |
|
| Delta Reserve |
Enrollment is required for select benefits. |
| Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card |
Enrollment is required for select benefits. |
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant |
Enrollment is required for select benefits. |
| United Club Infinite Card |
|
**Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at that status level through the duration of the offer. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply
Analysis
Amex has added a plethora of new lifestyle- and travel-focused credits to the Platinum over the past couple of years. The total value of these credits is over $1,600, which makes the Platinum card the best premium card in this category. If you can get all or most of the benefits, you will more than offset the card’s annual fee. However, the value they can provide in your situation can vary.
The Sapphire Reserve is close behind. For starters, the $300 travel credit is higher than most competitors and applies to any travel purchase (as opposed to just fees or airfare, like some of its competition). In addition, the credit posts very quickly, while other cards require you to wait an entire statement period or even force you to call and have customer service manually issue you a credit.
The Venture X also has a $300 credit, though it’s more limited: It only applies to bookings made through the Capital One Travel portal. Plus, with the anniversary 10,000 bonus miles, and if you utilized the full value of the travel credit, you would net positive value every year.
The cobranded hotel cards offer substantial value when staying at Hilton or Marriott properties and offer useful hotel-related statement credits and benefits like elite status and free night awards.
The cobranded airline cards provide modest statement credits, but the inflight discounts and free checked bags can be very useful if you frequently fly on one of those airlines.
Related: The best credit cards to reach elite status
Lounge access
Analysis
This category is much tougher to rank, given that the value of lounge access is based on many factors — from your typical departure airport(s) and your preferred airline(s) to how frequently you travel with guests.
The Amex Platinum provides access to the most lounges for the primary account holder; if you travel with others, the value changes. You may need to pay to add authorized users if you aren’t spending enough on your card to earn guest privileges.
The Venture X has Priority Pass and Capital One Lounge access. The issuer debuted its first lounge at Dallas Forth Worth International Airport (DFW) in 2021 and has grown to have five locations (one of which is branded a Landing).
The Sapphire Reserve also comes with Priority Pass membership and provides access to the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club, which has eight locations.
The three airline cards will be the handiest for folks who fly one carrier regularly and can take advantage of its lounges.
Related: Best credit cards for airport lounge access
Travel and purchase protections
All of these cards also provide various coverages and protections when you’re traveling or making purchases, which can make your life easy if things go awry. They all have some combination of the following protections and insurance:
Analysis
The Sapphire Reserve takes the cake here as the best premium credit card with its slew of protections like primary car rental insurance, emergency evacuation insurance and travel accident insurance. The Venture X comes in second, thanks to fairly comprehensive protections that include cellphone coverage. The Amex Platinum offers significant travel insurance coverage*, but note that the rental car benefit provides secondary coverage**, and there is no baggage delay coverage. If you’re a United flyer, the United Club Infinite also offers a robust slate of protections you may want to consider.
*Terms, conditions and limitations apply for travel insurances and protections. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details.
**Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered, and geographic restrictions apply. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
While many of these benefits look similar overall, your best bet is to examine the differences and gaps and then determine how likely those are to affect your trips. All of these cards offer various protections and insurances, so analyze what is best for your needs.
Related: Your complete guide to travel protections on American Express cards
Bottom line
You may think paying $395 or more for a card’s annual fee is prohibitive. As you can see, however, the best premium credit cards carry numerous benefits that can easily cover that annual fee and then some. As always, tailor your choice based on what’s most important to you. This guide should provide a framework to use as you decide which of the best premium credit cards are good fits for your wallet.
Apply here: The Platinum Card from American Express
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Reserve
Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card
Apply here: Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
Apply here: United Club Infinite
Apply here: Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
Learn more: Capital One Venture X
Learn more: Hilton Honors Aspire
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card, click here.
