Questions and Answers

I currently live in Germany. I travel once or twice per year from FRA to (usually) PHL, JFK, or EWR. Most of my flights are with United/Lufthansa. I also travel throughout Europe a couple of times per year.

I was thinking about getting the Chase Sapphire as, even with my limited travel, I think it would still pay for itself. However, it seems as if Chase is not affiliated with Star Alliance. What would be the best alternative?

Brian, do you have access to US credit cards (need a US SSN)?

Assuming you do, the Chase Sapphire is a great option. Chase is definitely affiliated with Star Alliance… you can transfer your points to United or Singapore

Yes, I can get a US credit card. I have a SSN and a US address. I noticed that the lounge access does not include guests (even kids, unless they are under two). I wonder if the platinum card from American Express would be a better fit since I nearly always travel with two kids.

If you’re still looking for Star Alliance transfer partners then you should be fine with Amex’s Membership Rewards. Their *A partners are Aeroplan, ANA and Singapore. They also transfer to Virgin Atlantic which is partners with airlines in both *A and SkyTeam.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with a Priority Pass membership with guesting privileges for free. Most would say it’s the most generous of the Priority Pass memberships that come from premium cards

I think the key distinction here is the Sapphire [I]Reserve[/I] over the Sapphire [I]Preferred[/I]. The latter doesn’t offer lounge access.

The Amex Platinum version of Priority Pass has much tighter guest restrictions — that wouldn’t be a reason to choose that card over the CSR.