Amex Green vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Both cards earn bonus points on dining and travel, but which is best for you?

Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

• The American Express® Green Card has been around for ages, but it only just recently became a rewards card worth considering.
• Amex revamped the card, adding new bonus categories, and introducing new annual statement credits that will reimburse you for purchases with LoungeBuddy and the expedited airport security service CLEAR.
• Though it has a lower annual fee of $150, the new Amex Green card has similar benefits to the ultra-popular Chase Sapphire Reserve, with a $450 annual fee.
• Both cards offer 3x points on travel and dining, and you can use points from either card to book travel directly through Amex or Chase or through their airline and hotel partners.
• Keep reading to learn about the cards' main differences and see which could be better for you.
• Read more personal finance coverage.

The Amex Green card has been around for decades, but it just got a complete makeover, adding new annual statement credits, a bigger welcome bonus, and new bonus categories to complete with premium cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It basically went from being a pretty boring card to a very good option for earning travel rewards.

Like the Sapphire Reserve, the Amex Green card now offers 3 points per dollar spent on dining and travel worldwide, along with more than $100 in annual statement credits. But how do these two cards stack up overall, and which one is a better fit for you? We'll break that all down below.

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.

Amex Green card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: The biggest differences

Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

Welcome bonus

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a substantially higher welcome bonus than the American Express Green card: 50,000 Chase points after $4,000 spent in the first three months, compared to just 30,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after $2,000 spent in the first three months.

The Points Guy values Amex Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points equally - at 2 cents per point. Using that valuation, the Reserve's bonus is worth $1,000, compared to just $600 for the Amex Green card.

Earning points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3 points per dollar spent on dining and travel worldwide and 1 point everywhere else. The American Express Green card pays out 3x points on travel and restaurants worldwide and 1x point everywhere else. Qualifying travel purchases including flights, hotels, transit, taxis and ridesharing services. Chase includes similar merchants in its travel category.

The two cards are pretty much equal when it comes to category bonuses. In fact, the virtually identically bonus categories are what make the Amex Green card an obvious competitor of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Using points

While Chase points and Amex points may have the same value toward travel, the two credit card issuers have different airline and hotel partners, so your options for using rewards are not exactly the same.

Both Amex and Chase points can be redeemed for cash, used toward travel booked directly through Amex or Chase, or transferred to airline and hotel transfer partners. You'll get the most value with the latter two options - and if you're interested in these two cards, chances are you travel at least occasionally.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve wins out when it comes to booking travel without transferring points to a partner, because 50,000 points can be used for $750 worth of travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards Travel site. Chase points are usually worth just 1 cent apiece toward travel booked directly through Chase, but with the Sapphire Reserve card, you get a 50% bonus, making each point worth 1.5 cents each.

Meanwhile, using Amex points to book travel directly through the Amex Travel website will get you a maximum of 1 cent per point in value - 0.7 cents per point toward hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more, and 1 cent per point toward airfare. So the American Express Green card's 30,000-point welcome bonus would get you up to $300 worth of direct travel purchases.

Chase partners with the following airline programs:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore KrisFlyer
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

and these three hotel programs:

• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt

Meanwhile, the Amex Membership Rewards program partners with these airline programs:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• AeroMexico Club Premier
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Alitalia MilleMiglia
• All Nippon Airways Mileage Club
• Avianca Lifemiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Delta SkyMiles
• El Al Frequent Flyer Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia Plus
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Singapore Krisflyer
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

and these hotel programs:

• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors (1:2 ratio)
• Marriott Bonvoy

The two programs have some overlapping partnerships, with one big distinction: American Express frequently runs transfer bonus promotions that get you more points when, while Chase rarely does. Some of American Express' transfer partners are also more desirable than Chase's. All Nippon Airways Mileage Club and Avianca Lifemiles are just one of two programs with sweet spot award redemptions that work out cheaper than what you can book with Chase's partners - but you have to be willing to put the time in to learn the ins and outs of these loyalty programs.

For example, United MileagePlus (a Chase partner) usually requires 70,000 miles one-way for a Star Alliance business-class ticket to Europe. Avianca charges just 63,000 miles for the same award.

At just 40,000 to 55,000 miles round-trip, All Nippon Airways offers one of the cheapest award tickets to Japan. Want to fly to Europe instead? A round-trip business-class ticket will cost you just 88,000 miles round-trip.

Ultimately, your travel preferences will dictate which rewards program is better. However, American Express Membership Rewards offers a wider selection of transfer partners and more opportunities to save on award flights - though again, you'll have to put some time and effort in to uncover the value.

Statement credits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Green card offer various credits that can effectively reduce the annual fee you pay to be a cardholder.

Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders receive up to $300 in annual travel credits and up to $100 in statement credits to cover the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit every four years. The travel credit is automatically applied toward the first $300 worth of purchases that get coded as travel by Chase. It's quite versatile since it can be applied toward airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruise bookings, taxis, toll bridges and more. One thing to keep in mind is that purchases that are covered by the $300 travel credit don't earn points.

The American Express Green card currently offers statement credits with three different merchants: u

• Up to $100 in statement credits each year toward CLEAR membership - CLEAR is an alternative to TSA PreCheck that offers expedited biometric security clearance. In addition to locations at about 30 airports in the US, CLEAR is at some sports stadiums and arenas. It costs $179 per year, so the statement credit won't cover the full cost.
• Up to $100 in statement credits each year toward LoungeBuddy purchases - Day passes for airport lounge access through LoungeBuddy start at about $25, so you could get four lounge passes per year with this benefit.
• Additionally, cardholders who apply by January 12, 2020 can get up to $100 in statement credits to cover eligible Away luggage purchases made within the first three months of card membership.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve's $300 travel credit is much more versatile than the Amex Green card's annual statement credits, since it applies to virtually any travel purchase.

Annual fees

Annual fees are where these two credit cards differ the most. The Chase Sapphire Reserve carries a $450 annual fee, while the American Express Green card charges $150 per year.

The Sapphire Reserve offers up to $300 in annual travel credits to offset this fee, while the American Express Green Card provides annual statement credits (excluding the Away credit, which is only available for a limited time) that total $200. If you can take full advantage of its annual statement credits, the American Express Green card essentially pays for itself, but remember that CLEAR membership costs $179, so you'll have to pay $79 out of pocket to cover the cost.

How the two cards stack up overall, who they are a good fit for, etc.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Green card offer similar benefits in terms of category bonuses, and they both offer annual statement credits - though they work very differently.

The best option really comes down to which rewards currency and statement credits you prefer. The Membership Rewards program has a vast number of transfer partners with potential for huge savings on award redemptions. However, the Amex Green card does have a lower welcome bonus, and the statement credits are limited to specific merchants.

Meanwhile the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a generous welcome bonus and more versatile annual statement credit. The trade-off is a higher annual fee of $450, compared to the $150 with the American Express Green card.

Click here to learn more about the Amex Green card.

Click here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

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