We’ve Expertly Reviewed 6 Ultra-Premium Travel Cards and This One Came Out on Top

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In the world of miles and points, a few cards rise to the top in the ultra-premium category.  These cards typically come with very large welcome bonuses, a slew of great travel perks, and a high annual fee.

But even though the annual fees on these cards are substantial, the value you get from all of the perks and rewards often outweighs the cost of keeping the card!

I’ll take a look at the best premium cards and help you decide which ones are best for you.

When ranking the cards, I took into consideration the welcome bonus, the card’s perks and benefits, and the value you get from the points you earn and how you earn them.

1.   Chase Sapphire Reserve

Apply Here:   Chase Sapphire Reserve

Our Review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card tops our list for a few reasons.

Welcome Bonus:   You’ll earn 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.  That’s worth $750 in travel when you redeem points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal for paid travel.  Or potentially much more when you transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to Chase’s travel partners like United Airlines, Hyatt, or Singapore Airlines!

Rewards Earning:   With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you earn 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per $1 spent on travel (excluding $300 travel credit) and dining worldwide.  And you’ll earn 1 Chase Ultimate Reward point per $1 on all other purchases.

Strongest Additional Perks:   The Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s biggest perks include:

• $300 annual credit every cardmember anniversary for travel purchases such as airfare and hotels
• $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Free Priority Pass Select membership for access to airport lounges

Worth the Annual Fee?   The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with a $450 annual fee.  However, once you factor in the $300 annual travel credit, your net cost is essentially $150 ($450 annual fee – $300 credit).

If you apply for Global Entry, which costs $100, you are only paying $50 the first year.  And that gets you 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points as a welcome bonus (at least $750 in value), access to Priority Pass lounges around the world, 3X points earning potential on dining and travel purchases, and a lot more!  Make sure you read our full review of the Sapphire Reserve to see all the additional perks that come along with the card.

2.   The Platinum Card® from American Express

Apply Here:   The Platinum Card® from American Express

Our Review of the The Platinum Card® from American Express

Welcome Bonus:   With The Platinum Card® from American Express, you’ll earn 60,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.  You could redeem those 60,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points for $600 of travel booked with AMEX Travel.  Or you can transfer your points to AMEX travel partners like Delta and Air Canada to get even more value!

Rewards Earning:   The Platinum Card from American Express earns 5X points per $1 spent on airfare booked directly with airlines or through AMEX Travel.  You’ll also earn 5X points per $1 on prepaid hotels booked through AMEX Travel.  All other purchases will earn 1X point per $1 spent.

Strongest Additional Perks:   The AMEX Platinum comes with great features, including:

• Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidentals with your selected airline (luggage fees, in-flight food & drink, etc.)
• $200 in Uber credit per year
• Airport lounge access to Priority Pass, Centurion, and AirSpace Lounges
• $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Terms apply

Worth the Annual Fee?   The annual fee on the AMEX Platinum card is $550 (See Rates & Fees).  If you plan on using the $200 airline credit and the $200 in Uber credit, your net cost drops to $150 ($550 annual fee – $200 airline credit – $200 in Uber credit).  If you use this card and apply for Global Entry, you’ll essentially be paying a fee of $50 in the first year.

For that $50, you’ll earn 60,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points, Priority Pass and Centurion Lounge access, and hotel status at Hilton and Marriott / Starwood.  I highly recommend reading our full review of the AMEX Platinum card to read about the additional perks that come along with this card.

3.   The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

Apply Here:   The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

Our Review of the Business Platinum® Card from American Express

Welcome Bonus:   When you apply for The Business Platinum® Card from American Express you can earn up to 100,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after meeting tiered minimum spending requirements.

You’ll earn 50,000 points after spending $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening, and another 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 on qualifying purchases within the same time frame.

Rewards Earning:   With the AMEX Business Platinum card, you’ll earn 5X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 when you book airfare and prepaid hotels through the AMEX travel portal.  You will also earn 1.5X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 on single purchases of $5,000+ (up to 1 million additional points per calendar year).  All other purchases earn 1X AMEX Membership Rewards point per $1 spent.

Strongest Additional Perks:   The additional benefits on the business version of the AMEX Platinum differ slightly from the personal version of the card.  With the AMEX Business Platinum you’ll get:

• Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidentals with your selected airline (luggage fees, in-flight food & drink, etc.)
• 10 free Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi passes each calendar year
• Airport lounge access to Priority Pass, Centurion, and AirSpace Lounges
• $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• 35% of your points back for Business and First Class flights (and coach flights on your selected airline) through the AMEX travel portal using Pay With Points
• Terms apply

Worth the Annual Fee?   The AMEX Business Platinum card comes with a $450 annual fee.  If you plan on using the $200 airline credit, your net cost is $250 ($450 annual fee – $200 airline credit).

But Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi passes are normally ~$22 per flight and Global Entry applications cost $100.  If you factor those in, your fee gets closer to ~$100 depending on how many Wi-Fi passes you use.

If you are a small business owner who can meet the minimum spending requirements, this card is an outstanding value!

4.    Citi Prestige® Card

Apply Here:   Citi Prestige® Card

The Citi Prestige card stays in the wallets of Million Mile Secrets team members year after year.  Here’s why.

Welcome Bonus:   Currently, the Citi Prestige does NOT have a welcome bonus.  But it has in the past.

Rewards Earning:   With the Citi Prestige card, you’ll earn 3X Citi ThankYou points per $1 on air travel and hotels, 2X Citi ThankYou points per $1 on dining and entertainment, and 1X Citi ThankYou point per $1 spent on other purchases.

Strongest Additional Perks:   The Citi Prestige card also offers these money-saving benefits:

• $250 statement credit on flight-related expenses charged to your card, including airline tickets, baggage fees, upgrades
• Free 4th night at almost any hotel after a minimum 4-consecutive-night booking through Citi
• $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Free Priority Pass Select membership for access to airport lounges

Worth the Annual Fee?   While the Citi Prestige card has an annual fee of $450 and has no intro bonus, it does have enough behind it to consider opening.  It has good bonus categories and after the $250 flight credit and $100 Global entry credit, you can really get value with the 4th night free perk if you book a couple of 4-night stays per year.  I would personally wait until a welcome bonus was available before applying.

5.   Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express

Apply Here:   Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express

Welcome Bonus:   Currently the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express is offering 100,000 Hilton points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

Rewards Earning:   With the Hilton Honors Aspire, you earn 14X Hilton points per $1 spent at Hilton, 7X Hilton points per $1 on eligible purchases at US restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, and car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and 3X Hilton points per $1 on all other eligible purchases.

Strongest Additional Perks:   In addition to the 100,000 Hilton point intro bonus, you’ll also get:

• Complimentary Diamond elite status
• Enjoy an Annual Weekend Night Reward from Hilton upon approval and every year upon card renewal
• $250 in statement credits each year of card membership for eligible purchases at participating Hilton Resorts
• $250 per calendar year in statement credits per year for airline incidentals
• $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Free Priority Pass Select membership for access to airport lounges

Worth the Annual Fee?   The Hilton Honors Aspire is a no-brainer for folks who stay at Hilton hotels.  The card does have an annual fee of $450, however, it has a $250 airline credit as well as a $250 credit if you use your card for purchases at Hilton resorts such as at restaurants or spas.  However, if you are looking for more flexibility in your premium card, I would take a harder look at the cards I mentioned earlier.

6.   US Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card

Apply Here:   US Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card

Our Review of the US Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card

Welcome Bonus:   With the US Bank Altitude Reserve card, you can earn 50,000 points (worth $750 in travel) after spending $4,500 on qualifying purchases within 90 days of account opening.

Rewards Earning:   With the US Bank Altitude Reserve, you’ll earn 3X points per $1 on travel purchases, 3X points per $1 on mobile wallet purchases (like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay), and 1X points on all other purchases.

Strongest Additional Perks:   In addition to the intro bonus, you’ll also get:

• $325 in travel credit every cardmember year
• 12 free Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi passes each calendar year
• $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Complimentary membership to Priority Pass Select airport lounges, with 4 free entries per year for you and 1 guest

Worth the Annual Fee?   While I think this card has a lot to offer, it does have some restrictions that move it down my list.  The first is you must be an existing US Bank customer to be approved for the card.  Any relationship is fine (checking account, other credit cards, etc.) however, US Bank doesn’t let you open bank accounts with them if you don’t live near a branch.

And they are picky with approvals, so applying for an alternative card then applying for the US Bank Altitude Reserve card probably wouldn’t work either.  If you are already a US Bank customer, I would move this card up to #4 in this list because the $400 annual fee is negated by the $325 travel credit and combination of Gogo Wi-Fi passes and Global Entry statement credit.  Earning 3X points on all mobile wallet purchases is great, because more and more merchants accept Google / Apple Pay.

Bottom Line

For me, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes out on top with its welcome bonus of 50,000 highly valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points after meeting minimum spending requirements, the $300 annual travel credit, and other perks like airport lounge access.

But I also like:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• The Business Platinum® Card from American Express
• Citi Prestige® Card
• Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express
• US Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card

Which premium cards do you have in your wallet?  What helped you make your decision and what perks do you like the most?  Let us know below!

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, please click here.