Up to $50/yr on hotel stays booked through Chase Travel (anniversary year).
AnniversaryVerified
Effective annual fee
What it really costs
The sticker fee is what the card charges. The effective annual fee is what it costs — after the statement credits you would actually use.
Primary
American Express Gold CardAmerican Express
Annual fee$325
At face value, used in full−$349
Your effective fee−$12
Estimate — every credit set to Maybe
Compared againstLower for you
Sapphire PreferredChase
Annual fee$95
At face value, used in full−$125
Your effective fee−$15
Estimate — every credit set to Maybe
Which credits count
Answer once per credit, on both cards
Nobody uses every credit. Pick a category, see both cards side by side, and mark what you would use — the effective annual fee above recomputes against your answers, not the issuer's best case.
Which credits you'd actually use
Travel
Hotel, airline and portal credits.
American Express Gold Card—
Nothing in travel on this card.
Sapphire Preferred$100
Dining
Restaurants, delivery and grocery credits.
American Express Gold Card$304
Up to $10/month at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Five Guys. Enrollment required.
MonthlyEnroll firstVerifiedUp to $50 Jan–Jun and $50 Jul–Dec on Resy restaurant purchases.
Twice a yearEnroll firstVerifiedUp to $7/month at Dunkin'. Enrollment required.
MonthlyEnroll firstVerifiedSapphire Preferred$120
Complimentary DashPass + $10 monthly member promo (through 2027; activate).
MonthlyEnroll firstVerifiedand nothing else — American Express Gold Card carries 2 more here
Transit
Rides, transit passes and parking.
American Express Gold Card$120
$10/month in Uber Cash ($120/yr). Add card to Uber wallet.
MonthlyEnroll firstVerifiedSapphire Preferred—
Nothing in transit on this card.
Entertainment
Streaming, tickets and single-retailer credits.
American Express Gold Card$250
Enrollment required (add offer to Card); 10% back on qualifying food and beverage concessions purchases at stadiums and arenas in the American Express Venue Collection; offer ends 12/31/2026. (official terms)
YearlyEnroll firstVerifiedSapphire Preferred—
Nothing in entertainment on this card.
That's every credit on both cards.
Maybe is scored at 50% of annual value.Every figure is annualized.
Rates normalised to cents of value per dollar spent, so different point currencies compare. Useful once you hold the card; it is not what decides whether the fee is worth paying.
| American Express Gold Card | Sapphire Preferred | |
|---|---|---|
| Dining & restaurants | 4× Restaurants (worldwide) / Dining | 3× Dining |
| Groceries | 4× U.S. supermarkets / Grocery Stores | 3× Grocery Delivery / Online groceries & select streaming |
| Flights (booked direct) | 3× Airfare / Flights (direct / Amex Travel) | 2× Travel |
| Hotels (booked direct) | — | 2× Travel |
| Other travel | — | 3× Vacation Homes |
| Gas & EV charging | — | 3× Gas Stations |
| Transit & rideshare | — | 5× Lyft |
| Streaming | — | 3× Online groceries & select streaming / Streaming Services |
| Issuer travel portal | 2× amextravel.com | 5× All Travel (Ultimate Rewards) / Chase Travel bookings |
| Everything else | 1× Everything else | 1× Everything else |
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Where these figures come from
How we verify our data
Figures come from our card database and can lag issuer changes — always verify against the issuer's current terms.
- Solid borders: Verified issuer terms.
- Dashed borders: Estimated, pending final issuer sync.