Amex Platinum vs Altitude Reserve: which lounge card fits?

The real difference

Altitude Reserve unlocks a single network, Priority Pass, and Lounge Frog's data flags that access as limited to a set number of visits per year. Once those visits are used, the card no longer opens lounge doors until the allowance resets.

Amex Platinum includes Priority Pass without that cap and stacks Centurion Lounge, Plaza Premium, Escape Lounges, and Delta Sky Club on top. The Sky Club entry applies only when you are flying Delta the same day. So the overlap between the two cards is Priority Pass, but even that overlap is uneven because one side is metered.

Where each card has the edge

The fee gap is wide: $895 for Amex Platinum against $400 for Altitude Reserve. For an occasional traveler who takes a handful of trips a year, the capped Priority Pass on Altitude Reserve may cover every lounge visit they would make anyway, and the savings are real.

Amex Platinum earns its fee when you fly often enough to blow through a visit cap, when your home airport has a Centurion or Escape lounge, or when Delta is your main airline. It is also the stronger pick for international itineraries where Plaza Premium and Priority Pass together give more fallbacks. Frequent guests push the same direction, since every extra person burns through a limited allowance faster.

Make the choice from real trips

Count your realistic lounge visits for the coming year, then map your next three airports on each card page. Confirm enrollment, the same-day boarding-pass rule for Sky Club, the exact Altitude Reserve visit cap, and guest fees. Card terms change, so check current details with each issuer before applying. See our methodology for how access is recorded.