[Leanna]

2 different currencies. You need both

[Taryn]

Amex is the better program. It’s easier to earn points, larger subs, better value with its airline partners, more lenient on rules, better-cobranded cards. Amex all day.

[Aliza]

Membership Rewards are much more difficult to use for base value. MR are only worth .8 cpp to about 1.3 cpp when you’re redeeming for a statement balance or transferring. You really have to understand how to leverage partner award sweet spots (and usually be planning to fly abroad) to get good value out of MR. Their hotel partners are absolute crap for average redemptions.

UR have much better base value through the Chase Portal (1.25 – 1.5 cpp), and they have Hyatt as a transfer partner, which is hands down the best hotel awards program for their points value. They also have most of the same airline transfer partners as MR, and United can offer pretty great value under certain circumstances, especially if you know how to leverage their excursionist perk.

As for points, yes, AmEx has historically been generous with welcome bonuses, but the new family language that they’ve been adding to their cards has cut down on a lot of people’s ability to get multiple large SUBs. Chase on the other hand seems to have really loosened up their grip on their Ink cards and you can get many larger UR SUBs before running up against limits with Chase.

Lastly, as an advanced points game player, I would never pick one over the other. Both currencies have their advantages and disadvantages and you should really be collecting both if cheap travel is your end goal.

[Isobel]

If I’m going somewhere that doesn’t have Marriott, Chase usually has a lot of good cheap point options through their portal for a little boutique type hotels. Amex has the same ones, but it cost a lot more points almost always. 

[Noelia]

Depends on what your travel goals are and how much work you want to put in. Chase is generally more beginner-friendly and people love UR for the good base value and Hyatt redemptions.

AmEx MR has the best transfer partners for airlines, but you really, really have to know what you’re doing to get good value out of them.

If you’re a beginner or you don’t want to work that hard to get value out of your points, either do UR or cashback. MR are for intermediate to advanced players. Eventually, ideally, you’ll want both for different reasons.

[Israel]

I like Chase cause they make it easier for average members to combine their points into one account. That makes it easier to book flights without jumping through hoops.

[Magdalen]

That’s like asking which is better, apples or oranges. One is not better than the other, they are just different. However due to Chase application rules, many people suggest beginning with Chase.

[Edy]

I agree with most of the others here: It’s ideal to have both, but starting with Chase is a good idea for at least a few different reasons.

One of the big reasons to start with Chase is the 5/24 rule where they will not approve you for a new card if you’ve opened 5 cards (from any bank) within the last 24 months.

And, for Chase UR, you really only need one card that you’ll pay an annual fee on (generally either CSP or CSR) and then you can augment earning points to use through it with cards that have no annual fees, such as Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited (and, if you have even a small business, Ink Cash is also a great addition.)

You’ll likely eventually want to pick up some airline or hotel-specific cards and Chase’s 5/24 rule also applies to those (e.g. Hyatt, United, Southwest, Marriott, etc.)

That said, you can get just as much, if not more, value our of Amex MR points as Chase UR and it’s ideal to eventually have a decent amount of both, especially with Amex’s wide range of airline transfer partners.

[Nathan]

Start with Chase due to their rules about # of cards allowed. Chase also is easier to redeem so better for beginners

[Garret]

Chase has the infamous 5/24 rule, which states that if you have at least 5 approvals for personal credit cards through any issuer within the past 24 months (not just Chase) you will very likely be denied for a new personal card with Chase. Business credit cards do not fall under this rule.

Therefore, it makes sense to apply for any Chase cards early on, as you will likely be locked out from Chase if you have several successful applications in the past 2 years. The only exception would be the Capital One Venture X, as Capital One is known for rejecting applicants with several new cards – even those with a high credit score (including 800+).

Due to this, I took advantage of an elevated 90k miles SUB and applied for the Venture X as my 2nd slot in 5/24 in September 2023 (the Chase Freedom Unlimited was my first card in July 2023) and was approved! The Venture X has a $300 annual travel credit (via their portal) and a 10k miles anniversary bonus, which fully offsets the $395 annual fee and makes the card essentially free. (Technically better than free, as the miles are worth $185 per TPG’s valuation, meaning Capital One is paying you $80 yearly just to hold tge card!)

I plan on applying for 3 more Chase cards to finish my 5/24 slots, starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve in November/December 2023, then moving onto a hotel card a few months later (likely the IHG Premier), and finally ending with the Chase Freedom Flex.

Besides that, the more premium American Express cards (especially the Platinum & Gold) are lifestyle-oriented cards, and get most of their value through memberships and credits with partners (i.e. Saks Fifth Avenue, Uber, GrubHub, partner restaurants). If you can take advantage of the credits, you can offset most, if not all, of their annual fees.

For instance, the Amex Gold Card had a $250 annual fee, but includes $120 in yearly Uber credits and $120 in yearly credits for participating chain restaurants & delivery services (i.e. Cheesecake Factory, Shake Shack, GrubHub). If you can use all of those credits, your effective annual fee is reduced to just $10, making the card nearly free.

However, I prefer Lyft as a rideshare service, use the Divvy bike-share system in Chicago, and avoid chain restaurants, preferring to support local businesses. Therefore, I would get more value out of a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which has an automatic $300 travel credit and a Lyft Pink membership (normally $199, includes 5% off Lyft rides and free Lyft bikes [including Divvy, CitiBike, etc.]) to mostly offset the $550 annual fee, effectively bringing it down to $51 on my end. Compare that to the Amex Gold, which would still have a $250 annual fee (since I am not interested in their partner credits), and the CSR is a better fit for my needs. As the saying goes “your mileage may vary”.

I hope all that information helps!