SBI Elite Credit Card vs American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card

People who live a lavish lifestyle and want the best privileges prefer getting a premium credit card for themselves. American Express is one of the top card issuers, not just in India but the whole world. The Platinum Reserve credit card is its second-most premium offering and charges a joining fee of Rs. 5000 plus taxes and Rs. 10,000 for renewal. There is no shortage of elite-level travel and other lifestyle perks with the card and it also has a decent reward rate.

The SBI Elite credit card also charges Rs. 4999 plus taxes from the cardholder and has various value-added benefits across multiple spend categories. You get a decent welcome benefit, travel perks, lounge access, complimentary golf rounds, and more with the card. One standout feature is the low forex markup fee of 1.99% of the transaction amount.

Read on to see how both these cards compare against each other, and which is the better option out of the two.

American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card

The American Express Platinum Reserve is the card issuer’s second-most premium offering after the Platinum, but this one is not a Charge card. The card has a joining fee of Rs. 5000 plus taxes, and a renewal fee of Rs. 10,000 plus taxes. The card has a decent welcome benefit and offers nice travel perks including the Taj InnerCircle membership and the Hotel Collection program. Not just this, you even get several dining, movie, and golf benefits with the card.

Features and Benefits

The following are the features and benefits offered by the Amex Platinum Reserve credit card –

Welcome Benefit

As a welcome benefit, the card offers bonus 11,000 Membership reward points on spending Rs. 30,000 or more within 3 months of getting the card.

Milestone Benefit

• On spending Rs. 25,000 in a month, you can choose a Flipkart, BookMyShow, or other brands voucher worth Rs. 500.
• Get a Taj Hotels stay voucher worth Rs. 10,000 on spending minimum Rs. 5 Lakhs in the year.

Reward Rate

Earn 1 MR point per Rs. 50 spent with the card. Insurance, fuel, cash, wallet reloads, EMI spends, etc. do not accrue reward points.

Reward Redemption

• The MR points can be redeemed against e-vouchers at the Amex shopping portal, purchases at select online stores, and even card bill payment.
• The MR points can be transferred to airmiles of partner airline and hotel programs.

Travel Benefit

• 12 complimentary domestic lounge access, maximum 3 per quarter
• Priority Pass membership offering international lounge access
• Taj Epicure membership offering exclusive privileges that include 10% off on hotel stays, late check-in check-out, unlimited Taj InnerCircle points
• $100 credit and room upgrade at top hotels through the Hotel Collection program.

Movie and Dining Benefit

• Get any one of a Flipkart and BookMyShow voucher worth Rs. 500 on spending Rs. 25,000 in the month
• Taj Epicure membership offering dineouts at spas, bars, restaurants, etc. at Taj, Vivanta, and SeleQtions, with room upgrade vouchers, 50% off on dining, and happy hours at partner bars.
• Complimentary EazyDiner Prime membership offering 25% off at Prime restaurants, complimentary drinks, and preferential reservation for Prime members.

Golf Benefit

2 complimentary golf rounds per month at top golf courses across India with 100% green fee waiver. Also, golf lessons are at discounted rates for primary and add-on cardholders.

24×7 Concierge Services

Get 24×7 Platinum concierge services with the card and get assistance with –

• Dining reservations
• Flowers and gift delivery
• Golf rounds
• Spa sessions, and more

Insurance Benefit

The card offers personal air accident cover worth Rs. 1 Crore and purchase protection cover offered in partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance.

Fuel Surcharge

• Zero fuel surcharge at HPCL fuel outlets on transactions up to Rs. 5000
• 1% fuel surcharge at IOCL and BPCL fuel outlets and 2.5% surcharge at other outlets

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the card –

• The joining fee on the card is Rs. 5000 plus taxes and the renewal fee is Rs. 10,000 plus taxes
• The interest rate on the card is 3.5% per month
• The forex markup fee on the card is 3.5% of the transaction amount
• The cash advance fee on the card is 3.5% or minimum amount of Rs. 250

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SBI Elite Credit Card

A premium card issued by SBI, the Elite credit card charges a joining fee of Rs. 4999 from the cardholders and is only behind the SBI Aurum credit card in terms of features and benefits. There are various top-notch perks offered by the card that include domestic and international lounge access, shopping vouchers, complimentary movie tickets, and more. Even the reward rate on the card is quite high, and the card comes in three variants – Mastercard, Visa, and American Express.

Features and Benefits

The following are the features and benefits associated with the card –

Welcome Benefit

Rs. 5000 worth gift vouchers from any one of Shoppers Stop, Yatra, Hush Puppies, Pantaloons, Aditya Birla, etc.

Milestone Benefit

Get up to 50,000 bonus reward points on reaching the target spend milestones with the card –

• 3 Lakhs – 10,000 bonus RPs
• 4 Lakhs – 10,000 bonus RPs
• 5 Lakhs – 15,000 bonus RPs
• 8 Lakhs – 15,000 bonus RPs

Travel Benefits

The card offers the following travel benefits to the cardholder –

• Complimentary Club Vistara Silver tier and Trident Privilege Red Tier membership
• 2 complimentary domestic lounge access per quarter
• 6 complimentary international lounge access, max 2 per quarter, with the Priority Pass
• 15% off at the best available price on F&B, Lalit hotels
• 10% discount on Hertz and 35% off on Avis car rentals
• Tablet Plus membership offering access to VIP privileges and upgrades at hotels in India and abroad

Movie and Dining Benefit

• Discount on movie tickets per month, with maximum benefit of Rs. 6000 per year, and Rs. 250 per movie ticket
• Up to 25% discount at partner restaurants with the Amex card variant

Golf Benefit

Up to 50% off on golf games and 4 complimentary green fees rounds, along with one complimentary golf lesson per month.

Renewal Fee Waiver

The renewal fee of the credit card can be waived off on spending Rs. 10 Lakhs or more with the card in the previous year.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

Get 1% fuel surcharge waiver at transactions between Rs. 500 to Rs. 4000 with the card, maximum benefit capped at Rs. 250.

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the card –

• The joining and renewal fee on the card is Rs. 4999 plus taxes that can be waived off on spending Rs. 10 Lakhs or more in the year
• The interest rate on the credit card is 3.5% per month
• The card charges a forex markup fee of 1.99% of the transaction amount
• The cash advance fee on the card is 2.5% of the amount or Rs. 500, whichever is higher

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SBI Elite Credit Card vs American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card – Quick Comparison

The following table features a side-by-side comparison of both the credit cards –

Category	SBI Elite Credit Card	American Express Platinum Credit Card
Joining/Annual Fees	Rs. 4999 plus taxes	Rs. 5000 plus taxes
Welcome Benefits	Rs. 5000 worth gift vouchers from Yatra, Hush Puppies, Shoppers Stop, or Pantaloons, etc.	Bonus 11,000 MR Points on spending Rs. 30,000 within three months of getting the card
Reward Earning	2 RPs per Rs. 100 spent on retail 5x RPs on departmental stores, dining, grocery, etc.	1 MR Point per Rs. 50 spent except on select few spend categories
Reward Redemption	RPs can be redeemed against different choices on the SBI Card website or against the outstanding card balance	MR points can be redeemed against shopping vouchers, offline purchases, transfer to airmiles, card bill payment, etc.
Movie and Dining Benefits	Complimentary movie tickets per month with max benefit capped at Rs. 250 per ticket. Dining offers with 25% discount at partner restaurants	Rs. 500 worth vouchers from BookMyShow on spending Rs. 25,000 monthly Complimentary Taj Epicure membership Complimentary EazyDiner Prime membersh
Travel Benefits	Complimentary CV Silver tier membership, complimentary Trident Privilege Red Tier membership Complimentary domestic and international lounge access	Complimentary domestic as well as international lounge access with the Priority Pass Complimentary Taj Epicure membership
Renewal Fee Waiver	NA	Renewal fee waiver on spending Rs. 10 Lakhs or above

Also Read: SBI Elite Credit Card vs HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card

Bottom Line

For individuals who are looking for a premium credit card for themselves, the SBI Elite as well as the American Express Platinum Reserve is a great option. Both the cards come at a joining fee of Rs. 4999 plus taxes, but the Amex Platinum Reserve has a higher renewal fee of Rs. 10,000 from the second year onwards. Talking about the perks and benefits offered by these cards, there is no shortage in either of them.

With the Platinum Reserve card, you get a decent reward rate and various travel benefits including lounge access, and complimentary Taj Epicure membership. You can also enjoy complimentary golf rounds and other premium privileges. The card is great but we recommend the SBI Elite card because of several reasons.

The card has the same joining and renewal fee of Rs. 4999 plus taxes and offers CV Silver Tier and Trident Privilege Red Tier membership. You also get more number of golf rounds, lounge access, etc. The best part is that people who regularly make foreign currency spends with their card can benefit from the 1.99% forex markup fee on the card.

Let us know which card out of the two you will prefer between both of them.