Featured Review: Comparing High-end Credit Cards

Featured Review: Comparing High-end Credit Cards (before August 2016)

Updated August 26, 2016. Please see our updated review here.

In this featured review, we will compare some of most popular high-end cards in the market, which carry annual fees between $300 and $600. If you want to know about the super exclusive "black card", read our Amex Centurion review. All the following cards come with dazzlingly long lists of benefits such as airport lounge access, luxury hotel privileges, 24/7 concierge service, global assistance, by invitation only events, and some offer airline companion pass, elite hotel status, cruise privileges, etc. However, here we want to get down to the core value of each product to make the comparison simple for most readers.

Amex Platinum Card: annual fee is $450 and $175 for up to three additional Platinum Card users. The card used to dominate this niche market, but we have seen its benefits diluted over the years, mostly due to the changes in the airline industry which were out of Amex's control. Amex has been continuing to add benefits to compensate loss to a certain degree; thus it is still considered our benchmark. Since the card comes with the annual $200 airline credit, the effective annual fee is considered to be $250. With that, Amex offers three major perks: 1) Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) which is arguably the best luxury hotel program provided by a credit card, 2) Hilton Gold status which we consider the second best mid-tier hotel status in industry, and 3) access to 100+ domestic lounges (Delta, Alaska, Airspace, Centurion, Priority Pass Select) and 800+ international lounges (American Express International Lounges, and Priority Pass Select), mostly for yourself only. Note that for an extra $175 a year, you can have up to three additional Platinum Card users and each will have airport lounge access, FHR benefits, and Hilton Gold. If you spend more than $100K a year, try to get the Goldman Sachs version which, in addition to all standard Platinum features, offers a 40K Membership Rewards points booster.
Amex Delta Reserve: annual fee is $450. Its three major perks are 1) access to 50+ Delta Sky Clubs for the primary cardholder only, 2) an annual domestic coach/first class companion pass, and 3) a 30K Delta Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) bonus after $60K spending. It makes sense when you make use of the last two perks; otherwise you would be better off with Amex Platinum.
Chase Sapphire Reserve: annual fee is $450 ($75 for each authorized user), but with the annual $300 travel credit it effectively becomes $150. It offers four major perks: 1) Priority Pass Select membership with unlimited access to 40+ domestic lounges and 800+ international lounges for you (primary cardholder or authorized users) and your guests, 2) hotel privileges at 500+ Relais & Chateaux hotels and over 1,000 other luxury hotels worldwide through Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection and Visa Signature Hotel Collection, 3) primary rental car insurance, and 4) 3x Ultimate Rewards points on travel and dining.
Chase United MP Club: annual fee is $450. The five major perks are 1) the full United Club membership allowing access to 50+ domestic lounges and 200+ international lounges for the primary cardholder plus two guests, 2) free checked bags and Premier Access for priority check-in, security screening, boarding, and bag handling, 3) hotel privileges at over 1,000 luxury hotels worldwide through Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection and Visa Signature Hotel Collection, 4) primary rental car insurance, and 5) the highest earning rate for United miles at 1.5 mile per dollar spent.
J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton: annual fee is $450 but with the annual $300 airline incidental credit, it is considered to be $150. The Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite has five major perks: 1) three club level upgrades at Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts each year, 2) complimentary Ritz-Carlton & Marriott Gold status, which we consider the best mid-tier hotel status in industry, for the first year and with $10K annual spending thereafter, 3) $100 companion discount per trip for domestic coach class airfare, 4) unlimited access to 40 domestic lounges and 800+ international lounges for you (primary cardholder or authorized users) and your guests through Priority Pass Select, and 5) primary rental car insurance.
J.P. Morgan Palladium: annual fee is $595 and $99 for each authorized user; this card is only available to J.P. Morgan Private Bank or Chase Private Client customers. Its exclusivity and premium image makes it harder for us to compare with other cards with similar annual fees. However, we still list it here just for the sake of comparison. The major perks are 1) full United Club membership allowing access to 50+ domestic lounges and 200+ international lounges for the primary cardholder plus two guests, 2) Lounge Club membership allowing access to 30+ domestic lounges and 450+ international lounges for you (primary cardholder or authorized users) and guests, 3) Palladium Hotels program which is similar to Amex FHR but has much smaller footprints, 4) primary rental car insurance, and 5) 2x points on travel and an annual 35K points booster after you spend $100K.
Citi Executive/AAdvantage WEMC: annual fee is $450. The two major perks are 1) an annual 10K Elite Qualifying Miles bonus after $40K spending, 2) free checked bags and Priority Access for priority check-in, security screening, boarding, and bag handling, and 3) a full Admirals Club membership allowing access to 50+ domestic lounges (American, select Alaska) and 30+ international lounges (American, Qantas etc.) for the primary cardholder plus two guests, and free access to 40+ domestic or international American Admirals Clubs for the authorized user plus two guests.
Citi Prestige WEMC: annual fee is $450 ($50 for each authorized user), but with the annual $250 airline credit it is considered to be $200. It offers three major perks: 1) access to 40 American Admirals Clubs for the primary cardholder plus two guests and 40+ domestic lounges (including Alaska) and 800+ international lounges through Priority Pass Select for you (primary cardholder or authorized users) plus two guests, 2) hotel privileges including 4th Night Free at any hotel at your choice and at over 1,000 luxury hotels through Ensemble Travel Group and World Elite Luxury Hotels & Resorts, 3) a 3-2-1 ThankYou earning structure with a potential 15%-25% annual relationship bonus.
Diners Club Card Elite: annual fee is $300 and $150 for each additional card. Its three major perks are 1) unlimited access to 18 domestic lounges and over 500 international lounges for the primary and additional card members through Diners Club's airport lounge program, 2) primary rental car insurance, and 3) unlimited 3x Club Rewards points on groceries, gas, and drugstores.
CNB Crystal Visa Infinite: annual fee is $0 for the first year and $400 thereafter. The annual fee is considered $150 for the second and subsequent years after using the $250 annual airline credit. With that, you receive four major perks: 1) Priority Pass Select membership with unlimited access to 900+ airport lounges worldwide for you (primary cardholder and up to one authorized user) and your guests, 2) hotel privileges through Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection and at Relais & Chateaux, 3) 12 GoGo inflight Wi-Fi passes, and 4) $100 companion discount per trip for domestic coach class airfare. It is reported that an authorized user will receive $250 annual airline credit and GoGo passes as well.
MasterCard Black Card by Barclays: annual fee is $495 and $195 for each authorized user, and with $100 annual airline credit the effective annual fee is $395. It offers three major perks: 1) Lounge Club membership with unlimited access to nearly 500 airport lounges worldwide for you and your guests, 2) Black Card VIP Hotel & Travel program through Ensemble Travel Group, Mandarin Oriental, and Villas of Destination, which gives you booking benefits at over 3,000 luxury hotels and villas worldwide, and 3) 2% cash equivalent travel rewards for all expenses.

The bottom line is that each of these products targets a certain group of consumers and can be of great value even with the seemingly hefty annual fees. Finally, let's summarize our comparison based on the four most sought out perks:

Airport Lounge Access: While they all have some coverage of airport lounges when it comes to international travel, for domestic airport lounge access in U.S. which is harder to obtain through premium cabin travel or elite status, a frequent flyer of a particular airline has very limited choice. If you are a Delta flyer, you can't beat the value and perks of Amex Platinum; however, if you need Delta MQMs in addition to Sky Clubs, Amex Delta Reserve will be a great choice. For American and Alaska flyers, Citi Prestige is the best choice; if you need American EQMs, Executive/AA is an alternative to Citi Prestige. For United flyers, United MP Club Card is a solid option while JPM Palladium is probably the card you will get if you qualify due to its exclusivity and enhanced features.
Luxury Hotel Privileges: All cards come with some sorts of luxury hotel benefits, but you have to look into details to decide which suits your need better. If you frequent luxury hotels, Amex Platinum has long been considered the best bet due to FHR's wide coverage of over 900 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide, consistent benefits, and various promotions. Citi Prestige's offer of 4th Night Free benefit at any hotel and privileges at 900+ luxury hotels through Ensemble Travel Group, provides similar benefits but has its own unique strength. MasterCard Black Card VIP program, via Ensemble Travel Group, Mandarin Oriental, and Villas of Destinations, is another great alternative. Crystal's Visa Infinite Hotel Collection is also worth considering, due to the enhanced benefits over regular Visa Signature cards. Palladium's hotel collection is similar to the aforementioned four programs in benefits but only covers a little more than 100 hotels. If you frequent Ritz-Carlton and Marriott, you will certainly like what JPM Ritz-Carlton Card offers. Finally, you may still get good value out of Visa Signature Hotel Collection (via Chase Sapphire Reserve, United MP Club, JPM Ritz-Carlton, JPM Palladium), World Elite Luxury Hotels & Resorts (via Executive/AA, Citi Prestige, Diners Club Elite, or MasterCard Black), and Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection (via Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United Club).
Rewards: Citi Prestige's 3-2-1 earning structure with great flexibility in redemption (1.6 cents per point when redeeming for American flights or transfer to 10 partners including Singapore, Cathay Pacific, Flying Blue) used to be the best among all high-end cards when it comes to rewards. However, introduced in August 2016, Sapphire Reserve earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points on travel and dining, which beats Citi Prestige's bonus categories, and still offers points transfer capability to 11 partners including United, Singapore, British, Korean, Southwest, and Hyatt. With an annual spending over $100K, JPM Palladium returns 1.35 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent. Diners Club Elite offers 3 points per dollar spent on groceries, gas, and drugstores and Club Rewards points can be transferred to 20+ partners programs including Alaska, Southwest, Delta, British, Air Canada, Singapore, and Korean Air. United MP Club Card returns 1.5 miles per dollar spent and is very attractive when you are collecting United miles. When you spend at least $60K a year, Delta Reserve returns 1.5 miles per dollar spent but Delta miles are generally not as valuable as many other airline miles. When you spend over $100K a year, Goldman Sachs version of Amex Platinum returns 1.4 points per dollar spent and Membership Rewards points can be transferred to 20+ partner programs including Delta, British, Air Canada, ANA, Singapore, etc. MasterCard Black Card returns fixed value 2% cash equivalent travel rewards for all purchases.
Reach Elite Status Faster: While several cards come with some elite like perks such as priority security lanes, priority boarding and waived baggage fees, only two cards offer a way to reach the next level of elite status faster through spending. Delta Reserve's 30K MQMs bonus after $60K spending could be huge to a Delta flyer. Citi Executive/AA's 10K EQMs bonus after $40K may seem not much, but American EQMs are extremely hard to come by thus it may still make sense to some.