American Express Gold Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred are both excellent travel credit cards that can offer rewarding earning rates, perks and redemption options. Determining which will work best for your spending habits and travel goals depends solely on you, so read on to learn about each of these exciting offers.

Eligibility

The American Express Gold Card offers an ideal way to earn Membership Rewards points while dining and traveling, with premium benefits such as complimentary Instacart subscription or an up to $100 experience credit when booking through Hotel Collection (source:https://podcast.moneywithkatie.com/how-to-travel-for-free-in-2023/). However, various qualification factors must be met in order to access this card: good to excellent credit score as well as sufficient income must both be present.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card features a significantly lower annual fee and rewards structure than its Amex counterpart, yet still has some key distinctions between them. Most significantly, Amex cards have more potential to accumulate bonus categories like grocery shopping and dining at international restaurants with up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points available annually in each bonus category.

Keep in mind that you may only be eligible to hold five consumer Amex cards at once, with one welcome offer per card. Also, the Amex Gold offers its 60,000-point sign-up bonus only once; once earned with another card it cannot be reclaimed again. If you prefer having higher credit limits then Capital One Venture Card could be an option; its rewards rate is higher, there are no foreign transaction fees, and its welcome offer of 50,000 miles when spending $3,000 within three months could prove quite generous.

Benefits

Before choosing between the Amex Gold Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred cards, take some time to determine which suits your travel spending habits and redemption priorities best. Both provide valuable earning, redemption and travel protections; though Amex Gold provides more bonus categories for dining than Sapphire Preferred.

Both cards offer valuable dining and grocery rewards like these: Amex Gold offers 2x points on restaurant purchases made through eligible delivery services and 3x points at U.S. supermarkets (with an annual cap). Sapphire Preferred gives 5x points for airfare/hotel bookings and 2x points on travel/entertainment expenses while earning 1.5x points across the board – no category caps!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a more stringent application process. You are only eligible for its signup bonus if you haven’t opened five new credit cards within 24 months and received any new Chase Sapphire cardholder bonus within 48 months; otherwise it won’t approve you for their cardholder bonus program.

Fees

Both cards charge annual fees, though the Amex Gold Card charges more. For instance, when researching AMEX gold vs Chase Sapphire preferred, keep in mind that Chase Sapphire Preferred costs $95 while Amex Gold charges $250 annually. Both cards waive their first-year fee, which can make up for those differences in some cases.

The Amex Gold Card’s benefits are more generous, especially when it comes to dining and travel spending rewards and credits. You could earn enough in just one year alone to cover its $250 annual fee, though it is important to determine whether those benefits outweigh its price tag over time.

The Amex Gold Card provides 3X points on dining, online grocery purchases and select streaming services, earning 2X points overall and offering up to $10 in monthly Gopuff credits through March 2025. Plus you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points directly to 14 airlines and hotel partners!

However, the Chase Sapphire Preferred provides superior travel perks than its competitor cards, such as trip cancellation/interruption insurance and primary car rental coverage – in addition to no foreign transaction fees being levied against this card.

Both cards offer generous welcome bonuses, with the Amex Gold Card’s higher rewards rates for restaurants and U.S. supermarkets being especially advantageous. Unfortunately, its minimum spending requirement makes reaching it within three months challenging.

Rewards

American Express Gold Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred offer two lucrative rewards programs that can leave you with an impressive pile of points, but which one is best for you will depend on your spending habits and how you redeem your points – Amex Gold earns more points overall, particularly in grocery and dining out categories, while Sapphire Preferred boasts robust transfer partners and benefits like free airport lounge access and travel protections.

The Amex Gold card earns four times as many points on airfare, hotels and car rentals than two times for dining out and grocery spending – plus 1x on any other purchases which you can redeem towards airfare, hotels or gift cards – making it more lucrative than its Sapphire Preferred counterpart which only earns 2x on travel spending while dining out, earning 1x with groceries but five times via Chase Travel portal!

Both cards offer potential travel rewards credit cards, but both may contain some drawbacks. The Amex Gold’s higher than average annual fee and absence of premium travel perks like airport lounge access or trip interruption insurance is notable. Furthermore, it may not be approved if five or more accounts were opened with any issuer over a 24 months’ time frame.