A neck shot is almost always a kill. It is even better than a head shot that may or may not enter the brain cavity. On top of that very little meat is damaged.
In my experience a chest makes a bigger target than the neck, it does not move as fast or as suddenly, and the critical area for a clean kill is much larger.
I agree that most neck shots are fatal, but then so are most gut shots, after few days. The question is, in general, which is the better shot?
All else equal, I’ll take the chest shot.