Three cards scored category by category against terms read from each issuer's own page. No "best overall", because picking one would need a points valuation we cannot show you.
These are the three cards I personally carry: American Express Platinum, American Express Gold, Chase Freedom Unlimited.
That is the only first-hand claim on this page. Everything below is a research-verified comparison — each figure was read off the issuer's own page on the date shown, and where a term could not be read there, it is left out rather than estimated. There are no anecdotes here, no spending stories and no valuations of what the points are worth, because none of that could be verified.
First-hand experience on this page covers only the fact that these three cards are carried — that is all this badge asserts. It does not claim hands-on testing, measured results, or a points valuation. Every figure below is the issuer's own stated term, read on the date shown. No other card here is discussed as first-hand.
Five questions do most of the work when comparing cards on stated terms alone. They are the frame for the table below:
These stack, they do not compete. Each one wins the categories its own stated terms lead, and there is no "best overall" here because choosing one would need a points valuation we have not verified.
| Category | American Express Platinum | American Express Gold | Chase Freedom Unlimited | Leads on stated terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel & lounges | 5/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | American Express Platinum |
| Dining | not verified | 5/5 | 3/5 | American Express Gold |
| Groceries | not verified | 5/5 | 2/5 | American Express Gold |
| Everyday flat rewards | not verified | 2/5 | 5/5 | Chase Freedom Unlimited |
| Credits & perks | not verified | 5/5 | not verified | American Express Gold |
| Points flexibility | not verified | not verified | not verified | no winner — unverified for all three |
| No-fee simplicity | not verified | 2/5 | 5/5 | Chase Freedom Unlimited |
| No foreign-transaction fee | 5/5 | 5/5 | not verified | American Express Platinum & American Express Gold |
| Best for | Booking flights and prepaid hotels, and spending abroad without a foreign-transaction fee. | Restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, plus the only recurring statement credits we could verify. | Everything with no category to think about, at no annual fee. | — |
1–5, derived only from terms I could read on the issuer's own page. "Not verified" means I could not confirm that term on 2026-08-11 — it does not mean the card is weak there, and I have deliberately not filled those cells from memory. The big limitation: points and cash back are not converted into a common unit. That needs a points valuation, I don't have one I can prove, so a category winner "leads on stated terms" rather than "is worth the most money". Anyone claiming 5X points beats 5% cash back without showing their valuation is guessing.
American Express · Referral link
Not verifiable on American Express's page, so omitted: annualFee: not stated on the product page; the application page returned a technical-difficulties message; welcomeOffer: not stated on the product page; credits.Airport lounge access: the lounge-access benefits page returned HTTP 404; not verifiable on 2026-08-11. See the current terms on American Express's own page.
American Express · Referral link
Not verifiable on American Express's page, so omitted: welcomeOffer: not stated on the product page. See the current terms on American Express's own page.
Chase · Issuer's page (referral link pending)
Not verifiable on Chase's page, so omitted: foreignTransactionFee: not stated on the product page; we do not publish an unverified fee either way. See the current terms on Chase's own page.