I have almost 30 credit cards, but I use just one card to earn 40,000 points per year on dining

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• I eat out a lot, and luckily this is a bonus category on several top rewards credit cards, allowing me to earn extra points at restaurants around the world.
• Two of the most rewarding options are the American Express® Gold Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but one of them is the winner in my book thanks to the value of its rewards points and other benefits like airport lounge access and primary rental car insurance.
• I use the Sapphire Reserve to earn somewhere around 40,000 points per year on dining, and use those points to fund my travel.

I'm loathe to admit it, but I eat out a lot. A cafe for breakfast, something quick for lunch, and for dinner, I go out with friends.

While this isn't always healthy for my waistline, I can justify it somewhat by the points I'm earning. Yes, it's an excuse, but I actually do earn a ton of points on dining, and I use those rewards - along with the points and miles I get from the other cards in my inventory of nearly 30 - to book travel around the world.

Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Amex Gold: Two top cards for dining

Two cards really stand out for dining rewards: the Chase Sapphire Reserve, a premium credit card with a $450 annual fee (effectively $150 after you take into account other benefits like up to $300 in statement credits toward travel each year), and the American Express Gold, an upper-middle-tier card with a $250 annual fee (effectively $150 after taking into account up to $100 toward airline incidental fees each year).

The two cards cost essentially the same when you factor in their benefits, so it really comes down to whether you value the perks or the points more.

With the Sapphire Reserve, you get up to $300 back each year as a statement for any travel spending you make with the card. Chase has an expansive definition of "travel" that includes subway fare, transit passes, toll payments, and even parking meters along with airlines, hotels, and travel agencies. I bought a $400 plane ticket immediately after my annual fee posted, and got a $300 credit back on my next statement.

American Express' approach to statement credits isn't as straightforward. You get a $10 per month statement credit for restaurants with the Amex Gold Card, but only at a handful of options, including Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, or participating Shake Shack locations. You can also receive up to $100 in airline incidental fee credits on a single airline. This covers things like meals, drinks, and checked bags.

Points earning and redemption

It may seem as though the Amex Gold is the clear winner here: It offers 4 Membership Rewards points for each dollar spent on dining. Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar. However, I find that Ultimate Rewards points have more flexibility than Membership Rewards points. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, your points are worth 1.5 cents apiece toward airfare, hotels, rental cars and cruises on the Chase portal. They can also be transferred to airline and hotel partners.

Meanwhile, American Express Membership Rewards points can be used to book travel through Amex at rates ranging from 0.7 to 1 cent per point. The best value in Membership Rewards comes from transferring them to airline partners, but this limits the flexibility of spending your points on hotels or rental cars.

Overall, I consider the points-earning ratios to be a wash. Amex has slightly better airline transfer partners than Chase, but Chase has much better redemptions through its travel portal. I find it much easier to spend my Chase points not just for aspirational flights in international premium cabins, but also for things like a flight to Phoenix in economy class to see my mom over Thanksgiving when seats weren't available with airline miles.

Ease of approval

It's easier to get approved for the American Express Gold Card than it is to get approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve. The Sapphire Reserve requires a minimum credit line of $10,000. This card is also subject to Chase's 5/24 rule - which means you won't be approved if you've opened five or more credit cards across all issuers in the last 24 months.

If you don't qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you might consider signing up for its sister card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. This card offers 2x points instead of 3x points on dining and travel, but after holding it for a year, you may qualify to upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Premium benefits

The premium benefits are where the Sapphire Reserve really knocks it out of the park. Chase offers a full slate of industry-leading travel benefits including a Priority Pass Select membership (for free airport lounge visits), worldwide primary rental car insurance coverage (note that like all credit card insurance, this covers comprehensive and collision but not liability), a full slate of travel insurance benefits such as emergency medical coverage and trip interruption insurance, and even towing insurance for your personal vehicle. The benefits are more comparable to those of the Platinum Card® from American Express than to the perks on the Amex Gold card.

Meanwhile, the Amex Gold Card offers lost luggage insurance and secondary car rental insurance that excludes Australia, Italy, and New Zealand. The benefits are rather limited compared to the Sapphire Reserve, and even the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers more.

My favorite card for dining out

I'm a sucker for the benefits that come with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, so of these two cards it's my pick for the best card for dining, and I put most of my restaurant spend on it. Earning 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on all of that spending nets me somewhere around 40,000 bonus points per year, and those points are worth $600 in travel when redeemed through Chase's travel portal.

Click here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve from our partner The Points Guy.

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