Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Platinum Fight to Be the Best Credit Card

If you arrive on the south side of New York City’s sprawling Flushing Meadows Corona Park in search of the US Open, you’ll know you’re headed in the right direction when you spot the endless parade of men in moisture-wicking polo shirts and women with summer-weight sweaters tied around their shoulders. They’ll lead you on a long, humid walk toward the park’s northern edge, past ball fields and vendors selling pupusas and tamales. Eventually you’ll find yourself at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the US Open has been capping off summers in Queens since 1978.

Over the years the open has played host to legendary matchups—Borg versus McEnroe, Graf versus Seles, Nadal versus Djokovic. Recently, though, competition off the court has become just as intense as it is in Arthur Ashe Stadium. That’s true among attendees, who’ve driven ticket prices into the stratosphere: On the resale marketplace StubHub, demand for the tournament has spiked 144% in the past three years alone. It’s also true among luxury brands; this year, Cadillac, Moët & Chandon and Tiffany, among plenty of others, jostled for the attention of tennis’ largely affluent fan base. But arguably the most heated battle was between companies whose products are often hidden—American Express Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.