Chase Sapphire Preferred, Citi Premier & American Express Premier Rewards Gold Compared

We compared the premium cards that American Express, Chase & Citi offer before and somebody suggested that we do something similar with their entry level annual fee cards: Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP), Citi Premier & American Express Premier Rewards Gold (PRG). I’m sure this article contains errors, so if you spot any then please let us know in the comments below.

Table Comparison

	American Express Personal Rewards Gold	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Citi Premier
Annual Fee	$195 (waived 1st year)	$95 (waived 1st year)	$95 (waived 1st year)
Airline Credit	[$$-C100]100	None	None
Sign Up Bonus	Up to 65,000 points over 2 years	50,000 points	None
Earning rate on airlines	3x	2x	3x
Earning rate on hotels	1x (2x via amextravel.com)	2x	3x
Earning rate on gas stations	2x (U.S. only)	1x	3x
Earning rate on dining	2x (U.S. only)	2x	2x
Earning rate on supermarkets	2x (U.S. only)	1x	1x
Earning rates on all travel	1x (apart from airlines & hotels)	2x	3x
Earning rate on entertainment	1x	1x	2x
Earning rate on all other purchases	1x	1x	1x
Points for travel	None	25% bonus	25% bonus
Travel partners	18 airlines, 4 hotels	7 airlines, 4 hotels	12 airlines, 1 hotel, 1 retailer
Primary Rental Car Insurance	None	Yes	No
Payment network	American Express	Visa	Mastercard
Foreign transaction fees	None	None	None
Roadside assistance	Up to 4 times per year, no fee	Paid access	Paid access
Purchase protection	90 days, up to $10k per claim/$50k per year	120 days, up to $500 per claim & $50k per year	120 days, up to $500 per claim/$50k per year
Price Protection	None	Up to $500 per item/$2,500 per year within 90 days	Up to $500 per item/$2,500 per year within 60 days
Extended Warranty	One additional year on warranties 5 years or less	One additional year on warranties 3 years or less	Two additional years on warranties of five years or less ($50k per year)
Return Protection	$300 per item ($1,000 per year)	$500 per item ($1,000 per year)	$500 per item ($1,000 per year)
Trip Cancellation	None	Up to $5,000	Up to $5,000
Trip Delay Reimbursement	None	12 hrs or overnight stay then up to $500	12 hrs up to $500
Travel Accident Insurance	Up to $250,000	Up to $500,000	Up to $500,000
Baggage Delay Insurance	None	Up to $100 per day for 5 days for delays of 6 hrs or more	Up to $100 total if baggage is delayed for more than 6 hrs
Hotel Benefits	Hotel Collection	Visa Signature Luxury Hotels Collection	Mastercard Travel Services

Annual Fee & Airline Credit

All of these cards come with an annual fee, but the annual fee is waived the first year.

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: $195
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $95
• Citi Premier: $95

Obviously the American Express card has the higher annual fee. This is somewhat offset because the card comes with a $100 airline fee credit (every calendar year), it’s supposed to only work on airline incidentals such as baggage fees but gift card purchases will normally work as well.

Because you can get this every calendar year, you could use it twice without actually paying the annual fee (e.g get it before end of December this year and then again in January the following year). When you take this into account the PRG is actually better than the other cards if you’re only keeping it short term.

If you want to keep one of the cards long term then you’d be better off with the CSP or the Citi Premier in terms of annual fees because $100 cash is always better than $100 in airline credit. Keep in mind that it’s also likely that you’re going to have to pay the annual fee at least once on the PRG due to way the bonus is currently structured.

Sign Up Bonus

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: 40,000  points after $2,000 in spend within the first three months. Another 25,000 points after spending $2,000 the following year.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: 50,000 points after $4,000 in purchases within 3 months of account opening and an additional 5,000 points after you add an authorized user they make their first purchase.
• Citi Premier: Currently none, has been 50,000 points in the past.

Obviously the Premier not having any bonus currently makes it worthless compared to the other two cards. PRG is a higher total bonus (by 20,000 points) than the CSP, but you don’t get it all upfront and you’d be required to pay a $195 fee to really get that full bonus (keep in mind you’d get an extra year of $100 airline credit though).

On Going Spend

All of these cards have bonus categories:

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold:
  • 3x points per $1 dollar spent on airfare purchased directly from airlines
  • 2x points per $1 dollar spent on dining, gas stations and supermarkets in U.S
  • 2x points per $1 spent at AmexTravel.com
  • 1x points per $1 dollar spent everywhere else
• Chase Sapphire Preferred:
  • 2x points per $1 dollar spent on travel & dining
  • 1x points per $1 dollar spent everywhere else
• Citi Premier:
  • 3x points per $1 dollar spent on travel, including gas
  • 2x points per $1 dollar spent on dining & entertainment
  • 1x points per $1 dollar spent everywhere else

Premier has the most broad categories, especially for earning 3x. PRG does earn 2x at supermarkets, but some cards earn at a much higher rate than that.

Redeeming Points For Travel

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: None
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Points worth an additional 25% when redeemed for airfare or hotels
• Citi Premier: Points worth an additional 25% when redeemed for airfare or hotels

Travel Partners

American Express: (18 airlines and 3 hotels)

American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Partners
Airline Partners (1:1 Unless Otherwise Noted)
Delta SkyMiles	AeroMexico Club Premier (1:1)	Air Canada Aeroplan	KLM/AirFrane Flying Blue
Alitalia MilleMiglia Club	ANA	Asia Miles	British Airways Avios
Emirates	EL AL Israel Airlines (50:1)	Frontier	Hawaiian Airlines
Iberia Plus	jetBlue (1.25:1)	Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	Qantas
Virgin atlantic flying club	Etihad	Aer Lingus	Avianca Lifemiles
Hotel Partners (1:1 unless otherwise noted)
Choice Privileges	Hilton Hhonors (1:2)	Marriott (1:1)

Chase (7 airlines and 4 hotels)

Chase Travel Partners (All Transfer 1:1)
Airlines
British Airways Executive Club	Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM	Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards	Aer Lingus
United MileagePlus	Iberia Plus	Emirates
Air Canada Aeroplan
Hotels
Hyatt Gold Passport	Marriott Rewards
IHG Rewards Club

Citi (12 airlines, 1 hotel & shop your way rewards)

Emirates	EVA Air Infinity MileageLands	Malaysia Airlines Enrich
AirFrance-KLM Flying Blue	Etihad Guest	Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Asia Miles	Accor Hotels (1:0.5)	Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus	Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	Qantas
JetBlue (1:0.8 rate, 0.5 with Preferred)	Sears SYWRP (1:12)	Jet Airways JetPrivilege
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles	Avianca LifeMiles	Club Premier Aeromexico
Choice Hotels (1:2)	Leading Hotels of the World (5:1)

Keep in mind that American Express & Citi both frequently offer transfer bonuses, this gives you a better than 1:1 exchange rate for most programs. You can view a current and historical list of transfer bonuses on the following pages:

• Complete List Of American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Bonuses
• A Complete List Of Previous & Current Citi ThankYou Point Transfer Bonuses

Who has the strongest travel partners largely depends on where you live and also your travel goals.

Payment Network

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: Runs on the American Express payment network
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Runs on the Visa payment network
• Citi Premier: Runs on the MasterCard payment network

American Express has the lowest acceptance, but it also gives you access to AmEx offers. I think this more than makes up for the lower acceptance rates.

Primary Rental Car Insurance

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: Secondary rental insurance
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Primary rental insurance
• Citi Premier: Secondary rental insurance

CSP is the only card that offers primary rental insurance, but it does exclude luxury and exotic cars.

Foreign Transaction Fees

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: None
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: None
• Citi Premier: None

Roadside Assistance

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: Up to 4 times per calendar year when card member is present. Towing up to 10 miles, winching, jump starts, flat tire change when you have a workable spare, lockout service when key is in vehicle and delivery of up to 2 gallons of fuel. 
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Access to Visa’s roadside dispatch ($59.95 for up to 5 miles towing and other features).
• Citi Premier: Access to Roadside Assistance Dispatch Service

The PRG is the only card to give free access to roadside assistance, the CSP & CP both provide paid access.

Purchase Protection

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: Covers items that are damaged, stolen or lost for up to 90 days from date of purchase. Claims up to $10,000 are covered per occurrence (up to $50,000 per year)
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Covers theft, damage, or involuntary and accidental parting with property for up to 120 days from date of purchase. Claims up to $500 per occurence (up to $50,000 total)
• Citi Premier: Covers damage and theft of items for up to 120 days (90 days for New York residents). Claims up to $500 per occurence (up to $50,000 per year).

American Express is the clear winner here, they cover items that damaged/lost and up to $10,000 per item. Plus they are just easier to deal with when it comes to purchase protection.

Price Protection

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: None
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) if you make a purchase within the U.S. and see it advertised for less in print or online within 90 days of purchase.
• Citi Premier: Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) if you make a purchase and see it advertised for less in print or online within 60 days of purchase. (they call it price rewind)

Extended Warranty

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: Yes, an additional year on warranties of five years or less
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Yes, an additional year on warranties of three years or less.
• Citi Premier: An additional two years on warranties of five years or less. Coverage of up to $50,000 per year.

Return Protection

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: Receive a reimbursement of $300 per item ($1,000 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won’t accept as a return
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($1,000 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won’t accept as a return
• Citi Premier: Receive a reimbursement of $500 per item ($2,500 per year) for items purchases within 90 days that stores won’t accept as a return

Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: None
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Covers up to $5,000 (includes award tickets)
• Citi Premier: Covers up to $5,000 (includes award tickets)

Trip Delay Reimbursement

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: None
• Chase Sapphire Preferred:  If your common carrier is delayed more than 12 hours OR requires an overnight stay then you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses up to $500 per ticket
• Citi Premier:  If your common carrier is delayed more than 12 hours then you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses up to $500 per ticket

Travel Accident Insurance

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: Coverage up to $250,000 (doesn’t cover award trips)
• Chase Sapphire Preferred:  Coverage up to $500,000 per person (covers award trips)
• Citi Premier: Coverage up to $500,000 per person (covers award trips)

Baggage Delay Insurance

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: None
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Up to $100 per day for five days for essentials when it’s delayed for more than 6 hours (includes award tickets)
• Citi Premier: Up to $100 total if your baggage is delayed for more than 6 hours (includes award tickets)

Hotel Benefits

• American Express Premier Rewards Gold: Access to the Hotel Collection
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Access to Visa Signature Luxury Hotels Collection
• Citi Premier: Access to Mastercard Travel Services

Our Verdict

What’s the best card? Honestly I don’t think any of these make sense for the majority of people to hold long term (although there are obviously exceptions and I’d love to hear them in the comments). The Chase Sapphire Preferred is probably my all around pick, but that might be mostly because the Citi Premier doesn’t have a sign up bonus currently and I think the $100 higher annual fee on the Premier Rewards Gold card should mean it has significantly better benefits than it does.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments and as mentioned at the top, I’m sure this article has a lot of mistakes in it so please feel free to let me know what is wrong and I’ll make an effort to fix it.