A consultant who travels every week shares why the Amex Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Reserve are his go-to cards for benefits and rewards

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A consultant who travels every week shares why the Amex Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Reserve are his go-to cards for benefits and rewards
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Traveling for work doesn't make this consultant (who preferred not to share his name or company to protect his privacy) any less excited about doing it for fun in his free time. He uses two premium cards to book work travel when he can, and for his everyday spending to maximize his rewards.

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"I use the cards to make my business travel less of a hassle and earn rewards so that I can enjoy aspirational travel in my personal time with my wife and my family," he tells Business Insider.

This consultant, who works for a top consulting firm, travels weekly for work. His favorite cards are two high-end travel rewards cards: the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum card. While both have high annual fees, he finds that the combination of fast rewards and luxury perks make them well worth the cost. using them to earn free travel, achieve status with hotel chains, and more.

Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It's important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers top-tier earning potential

This consultant loves his Sapphire Reserve because he finds it easy to rack up rewards. "I really enjoy that card because it offers more points on the categories that I use the most: travel and restaurants or dining," he says. "On the weekends, I'm usually going out with my wife to dinners and to bars. A large portion of our expenditures on the weekend are for restaurants and dining."

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The Sapphire Reserve might come with a hefty fee - the annual fee recently increased to $550 - but it racks up 3 points per dollar on travel spending and dining. Travel spending includes both vacationing and everyday expenses, ranging from airfare and cruises to subway fare, and dining points can be earned on anything from DoorDash orders to high-end restaurants. The card also offers up to $300 in annual statement credits that are automatically applied whenever you use the card to make eligible travel purchases.

Click here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve »

The Amex Platinum offers lots of luxury benefits

The Amex Platinum is another staple in this consultant's wallet, thanks to a long list of travel perk.

"I really like the American Express Platinum card because of the status and benefits for both myself as well as my family," he says. Like the Sapphire Reserve, this card has an annual fee of $550.

"It helped me kick start status with hotel chains and car rental services until I had enough nights and points to actually get the status myself," he says. The Amex Platinum offers Gold elite status with Hilton and Mariott, giving cardholders complimentary upgrades, late checkouts, and more.

In addition to hotel status, he finds that the airport lounge access benefits make travel easier. "I have Delta Sky Club access, which I value quite a bit, especially if my flights get delayed," he adds. For frequent travel in and out Atlanta, which is a Delta hub, the Amex Platinum's free Delta Sky Club lounge access (when you have a same-day Delta flight) is very useful.

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The consultant also said that Amex's concierge services have helped him out quite a bit, both when traveling and at home. "Their concierge services have helped me get restaurant reservations at some restaurants that I couldn't get reservations at myself," he says.

Click here to learn more about the Amex Platinum »

It's all about the rewards, and these two cards help them add up

By using two cards, there are two sets of rewards at play: Amex Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with putting all of your spend on a single rewards credit card," he says. "But I think for me, I enjoy looking at how I can optimize my spending across credit cards. I'm willing to put in the time and the effort."

"It's not that much effort to be honest, but it does involve checking every day, making sure that things are on track, and having a long-term strategy in place," he says. Most importantly, rewards credit cards are only worth it if they're paid in full each month, as carrying a balance will negate any rewards you earn.

Elite status and airport lounge access benefits: Learn more about the Amex Platinum »

Earn 3x points on travel and dining: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve »

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.

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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.

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