Which Credit Card Points Are More Valuable for Flights: Amex or Chase?

At Chatflights, we compare the cost of booking flights with points across several different programs as well as cash tickets, and then recommend and book flight solutions for our clients. An ongoing debate with the Chatflights team is which of the two most popular credit card points currencies are the most valuable.

It can sometimes be the case where we can use either Amex or Chase points to book the same flights and you may be wondering which points hold more weight in regards to travel. For a quick comparison, let’s compare travel portals and transfer partners.

Travel Portals

Let me premise this by saying that booking flights with points through a credit card’s travel portal is rarely a great deal. You’ll essentially be paying for a cash-priced ticket with your points and not tapping into true award travel.

That being said, Chase Ultimate Rewards have a slight advantage over American Express Membership Rewards when booking through the respective travel portals. This is due to the fact that Chase offers a few different cardholders a small bonus when booking travel (flights, hotels, or car rentals) through its portal. This means Sapphire Preferred cardholders get 1.25 cents per point and Sapphire Reserve cardholders get 1.5 cents per point.

American Express Membership Rewards are generally redeemed at a standard 1 cent per point ratio through its portal, though Business Platinum cardholders can receive a 35% rebate when booking specific flights.

Transfer Partners

The real value with both Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards is the ability to transfer to airline partners. American Express has a total of 18 airline transfer partners, while Chase only has 10. On top of that, Amex shares all but two of Chase’s transfer partners. The only programs you have access to with Chase that you don’t with Amex are Southwest Rapid Rewards and United Airlines MileagePlus.

With Amex, you’ll have access to all six of our favorite frequent flyer programs, whereas Chase only has access to three. We like these programs for their high-value redemption opportunities and access to luxurious cabins.

• Air Canada Aeroplan (Amex)
• ANA Mileage Club (Amex)
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (Amex)
• Emirates Skywards (Amex and Chase)
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (Amex and Chase)
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (Amex and Chase)

Due to the number and quality of airline transfer partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Amex wins this category, hands down.

And the Winner Is…American Express Membership Rewards

While this is certainly up for debate and is subjective depending on how and where you like to travel, I believe American Express Membership Rewards are the most valuable points you can have when it comes to redeeming points for flights. Since transfer partners hold much more weight than the travel portals, you’ll have more options for high-value rewards with Amex points.

Read the full story from Chatflights here.

About Chatflights

Chatflights is a mobile, human-powered digital concierge and award flight travel agency focused on helping travelers redeem their hard-earned points and miles for flights. For up to 8x fewer points and miles, Chatflights will search for hard-to-find award redemptions and complex routes, diligently working to make sure the best possible travel outcome is found.

Taking the stress and insecurity out of flight booking, Chatflights invites its users to communicate one-on-one with human experts via a chat-based service located right in the app, and then remains available to help if anything is needed leading up to, and throughout the course of the trip. It’s as simple as sending a text. Mention “Ageist” in the chat to receive a 10% discount with Chatflights.