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Sep 26, 2023

American Express Gold Card review: Impressive rewards for foodies and travelers

Why we like this card: In addition to earning up to 4X points on eligible

Why we like this card: In addition to earning up to 4X points on eligible purchases, the American Express® Gold Card also comes with valuable perks and benefits that savvy card holders can take advantage of to cancel out the annual fee.

APR

Annual fee: $250

Foreign transaction fee: None

Late payment: up to $40

Pay Over Time: monthly fee up to 1.33%

The American Express® Gold Card is a premium credit card that's widely recognized for its lucrative rewards on dining, grocery, and travel spending. The Gold Card is designed for frequent spenders and travelers, known for its rich rewards structure and flexible redemption options. It provides 4X Membership Rewards® points on restaurants worldwide, as well as U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, then 1X), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, and 1X points on all other eligible purchases.

One of the most notable features of the American Express Gold Card is the dining credit, which offers up to $120 back at selected restaurants and food delivery services annually, in monthly increments. Additionally, you can receive up to $120 Uber credit to use towards rides and food delivery. These perks, along with no foreign transaction fees, make the card appealing for travelers and food enthusiasts. The card also includes comprehensive travel and purchase protections, further adding to its value.

To view rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, see this page.

The Gold Card from Amex provides a generous, tiered rewards structure:

New cardholders also have the opportunity to earn 60,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $4,000 within the first six months of owning the card.

American Express offers several options for redeeming your membership rewards points earned with the Gold Card. The issuer notes that the value of points varies depending how you choose to redeem them. Typically, points can be redeemed for 0.5 cents to 1 cent per point. .

One of the best ways to get the most value out of your membership points is by using them to book flights and hotels, or redeem for upgrades (when available) through Amex or directly with travel partners.

American Express allows you to transfer membership points to various airline and hotel frequent traveler loyalty programs, including British Airways, Delta Skymiles, Hilton Honors, and more.

You can als use your points when checking out at 15 different online retailers. You can also redeem points through PayPal, which allows you to use pay with points at millions of online stores around the world.

You also have the option of redeeming points for gift cards at a number of retail, dining, air, and lodging companies. These include Amazon, Hotels.com, Ticketmaster, and more.

Another way to redeem points is by requesting a credit equal to one or more eligible charges on your monthly Gold Card statement. You must have a minimum of 1,000 points to use this option.

The Amex Gold card is designed for people who do a lot of spending on travel and food purchases. If the rewards structure aligns with your spending habits, the Gold Card can be a great option that provides value far beyond its $250 annual fee.

There are many rewards cards on the market, many of which offer similar benefits to the Gold Card. So before applying, consider comparable alternatives first.

For those who are looking for a travel and dining rewards card without the high annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card may be a good alternative to the Amex Gold Card. It offers a solid rewards program with 5X points on travel booked through Chase and 3X points on dining and groceries purchased online, as well as the ability to transfer points to multiple airline and hotel loyalty programs. The Sapphire Preferred also provides a range of travel benefits, including a $50 annual hotel credit, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and primary rental car insurance.

The American Express Gold Card isn't particularly hard to get, but you will need good to excellent credit to qualify. That means applicants with a credit score below 670 might have a hard time getting approved.

The Gold Card is considered a top-tier rewards card for those who are able to spend strategically and get more value out of this card than they pay in the annual fee.

The Amex Gold Card does not have a preset spending limit. The spending limit is flexible and unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history. The American Express® Gold Card allows you to carry a balance for certain charges, but not all.

Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.

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