American Express® Gold vs Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Side-by-side comparison
| American Express® Gold | Chase Sapphire Preferred® | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $325 | $95 |
| Welcome offer | 75,000 Ultimate Rewards® Points | |
| Dining | 4x | 3x |
| Groceries | 4x | 3x |
| Gas | 1x | 3x |
| Travel | 3x | 2x |
| Streaming | 1x | 3x |
| Everything else | 1x | 1x |
| Est. yearly rewards* | $598 | $545 |
| Points type | Transfers to airlines & hotels | Transfers to airlines & hotels |
| Network | Amex | Visa |
*Estimated yearly rewards on typical household spending, every point valued at a flat 1 cent. Verified August 2026. See your own numbers in the calculator.
Welcome bonus and value over time
| Over time | American Express® Gold | Chase Sapphire Preferred® |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome bonus | 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points | 75,000 Ultimate Rewards® Points |
| To earn it | $8,000 in 6 months | $5,000 in 3 months |
| Est. first-year value* | $1,697 | $1,430 |
| Est. ongoing value / yr* | $697 | $680 |
The American Express® Gold wins on both fronts: it comes out ahead in year one on the welcome offer and stays ahead every year after. Short term or long, it is the stronger pick on the numbers.
*First-year value counts the welcome bonus, estimated rewards, and annual credits, minus the annual fee; ongoing value is a typical year after. Every point at a flat 1 cent.
Perks, credits, and redemptions
| Perks | American Express® Gold | Chase Sapphire Preferred® |
|---|---|---|
| Lounge access | None | None |
| Annual credits | ~$424/yr (4 credits) | ~$230/yr (4 credits) |
| Points & redemptions | Transferable to airline & hotel partners | Transferable to airline & hotel partners |
On perks and redemptions, the American Express® Gold carries the heavier credit stack (about $424 a year). Weigh those against the fee, since credits and lounge access only count if you will actually use them.
Transfer partners and point value
The American Express® Gold earns Amex Membership Rewards, which transfers to Delta, ANA, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic, plus Hilton and Marriott. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® earns Chase Ultimate Rewards, reaching World of Hyatt, United, Air Canada, Southwest, and British Airways Avios. Most transfers are 1:1 on both, so the partners themselves, not the ratios, are what separate them.
The standout difference is the crown-jewel partner: for the American Express® Gold it is ANA and Virgin Atlantic, the routes behind the famous business- and first-class sweet spots to Asia; for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® it is World of Hyatt at 1:1, widely considered the single best hotel transfer in points. Pick the program whose best partners match the trips you would actually book.
These two get compared constantly despite the fee gap, because both are transferable-points cards aimed at the everyday spender, just at different price points and philosophies.
The Gold bets that your food spending is big enough that 4x earns back its fee through rewards and monthly credits. The Preferred keeps the fee low and leans on category breadth plus World of Hyatt. The deciding number is how much you spend on dining and groceries.
Pros and cons
- 4x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, the best food earning at any tier
- 3x on flights, plus about $400 a year in Uber, dining, Resy, and Dunkin’ credits
- Transfers to Amex partners like ANA, Virgin Atlantic, and Air France-KLM
- Credits can offset much of the fee for regular users
- $325 fee, more than three times the Preferred’s
- Credits are monthly and use-it-or-lose-it
- 1x on travel booked directly and general spend
- No World of Hyatt transfer
- $95 fee, a third of the Gold’s
- 3x on dining, groceries, and gas, and 2x on travel
- Transfers to World of Hyatt and United
- 25% redemption boost and a $100 hotel credit, no credits to juggle
- 3x food trails the Gold’s 4x
- No monthly credit stack, though a much smaller fee to offset
- Amex’s food-specific credits can add up for heavy food spenders
Where each one wins
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Food earning | Amex Gold | 4x dining and groceries vs the Preferred’s 3x. |
| Annual fee | Sapphire Preferred | $95 vs $325. |
| Credits | Amex Gold | ~$400 in monthly credits vs the Preferred’s $100 hotel credit. |
| Transfer partners | Split | Hyatt for the Preferred; ANA and Virgin Atlantic for the Gold. |
| Simplicity | Sapphire Preferred | No monthly credits to track. |
| Best for | Depends | Gold for heavy food spenders; Preferred for low-fee all-around value. |
The verdict
If you spend a lot on dining and groceries, the Gold can be worth the step up, and the fee gap is smaller than it looks. Its 4x on food outruns the Preferred’s 3x, and the roughly $400 in monthly Uber, dining, and Resy credits claw back much of the $325 for anyone who eats out and orders in regularly. For a genuine foodie household, the Gold earns its keep.
For most people, the Sapphire Preferred is the better value, mainly because it does so much for so little. At a third of the fee it still earns 3x on food, adds 2x travel and a $100 hotel credit, and gives you World of Hyatt, all with no monthly credits to babysit. If your food spending is modest or you just want strong all-around value cheaply, the Preferred is the smarter card, and you can always upgrade to the Gold later if your spending grows.