I just received my Chairman card yesterday, so haven't even used it yet. I have no way of knowing the various cutoffs for Smith Barney subsidizing all or part of the $400 annual fee, but they picked up $100 of my first year.

While I'm sure Amex Plat and Chairman each have strengths and weaknesses, Chairman suits both my spending and travel style. I had PremierPass Elite before, and I found both the free companion and free TY point air tickets easy to use. It looks like, in addition to all the extra TY and flight points this series of MasterCard gives out, the Chairman gives triple points for pharmacy, gas, grocery, and parking charges.

Even at $400, the card is pretty easy to justify. If PriorityPass looks good to you, that would normally cost $319 to buy separately (discounted). While they haven't hit my hometown - Chicago - yet with the restaurant reservations, I suspect that will come soon enough. The few times I've called Chairman CS, the higher level of service is significant.

Obviously, I'm not yet in a strong position to report fully on the benefits of the card. I expect to report back as I discover both the sweet spots and the disappointments, both of which I suspect I'll experience. I tried Amex Plat for two years quite a while ago, back when it was $250/yr. I just didn't find the benefits attractive enough, especially when they raised it to $300/yr, which is when I said sayonara. This looks good. We'll see.