On Thursday, it was announced that the American Express Gold Card would be refreshed. At Amex, that pretty much always means a higher annual fee, and this refresh is no exception. The Amex Gold Card sits between the Amex Platinum Card and the Amex Green Card. And it’s fully distinct from the Delta Gold Card that I talked about two posts ago.
The annual fee for this card increased from $250 to $325, so let’s unpack what that extra $75/year gets you.
I provide the information here just to give readers a vague idea if the rewards offered by the card might make sense for them to consider the card. The information on this page has been collected independently, and all information should be confirmed with the card company before applying.
Welcome Offer
At the time of posting, the Amex Gold Card has a 60 000 bonus point offer after spending $6 000 in 6 months as well as 20% back on restaurant purchases in the first 6 months… but only up to $100 back (which would be after spending $500). I’ve generally found Amex points to be worth around 1.4 ¢/pt for me recently, as I use them generally for Delta domestic flights or BA flights. These valuations make the welcome offer worth around $940, which covers the annual fee for just under 3 years.
Earnings
The Gold card has several excellent bonus categories that are likely high spend categories for most people. The card earns 4x points/$ on dining, which includes restaurants worldwide (but only up to $50k in spend now), and 4x points/$ on groceries in US supermarkets (on up to $25k/year). In addition, the card earns 3x points/$ on flights booked through Amex Travel or directly with airlines and now 2x points/$ on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel. All other purchases earn 1x point/$. This card is more a food-focused card, as the airline category is noticeably more restrictive than the Green Card‘s transit category.
Benefits
Like other Amex cards, this card offers a series of credits to roughly offset the annual fee, if the credits are actually of interest. The Gold Card still offers 2 credits worth $10/month. The first is $10/month Uber Cash (that also can be used for Uber Eats). This credit can stack with the Uber credit on the Platinum Card. The second credit is $10/month that can be used at a handful of restaurants and takeout services (e.g. Grubhub). These existing credits represent a value of $240 if you’d use the services anyway every month. The new credits are a $7/month Dunkin’ credit and a $50 semi-annual Resy credit for a total of $184 in new credits in exchange for a $75 increase in annual fee. Amex is really pushing these Resy credits hard. They now offer them on the Delta Reserve, Delta Platinum, and now the Amex Gold card.
Holding the card also gives you access to benefits at Amex’s ‘The Hotel Collection’- which can give you, for example, a $100 onsite credit for incidentals like dining/spa treatment- as long as your stay is 2+ nights.
How to use the points
There are two primary ways to use Membership Rewards Points. The first way is to redeem them for flights at a rate of 1 pt = 1¢. Redeeming the points this way has the big plus of the tickets counting as revenue tickets for the purpose of earning redeemable and tier qualifying points on the airline.
The second way is to transfer them to a partner to redeem them for reward travel. Amex sometimes has transfer bonuses to partners, which is a great way to get even more value out of the points. Based on how I’ve redeemed transferrable points in the past, I peg the value of Amex points at around 1.4¢/pt on average when used to book travel.
Examples of using the card
These examples don’t take into account the numerous credits associated with the card. The earnings assume your grocery spending is in the US but that you don’t book hotels through Amex Travel.
Spend per month
| Example A | Example B | Example C | Example D | |||||
| Groceries (4x) | $300 | 1 200 | $200 | 800 | $600 | 2 400 | $400 | 1 600 |
| Gas (1x) | $0 | 0 | $100 | 100 | $200 | 200 | $100 | 100 |
| Airfare (3x) | $700 | 2 100 | $200 | 600 | $0 | 0 | $400 | 1 200 |
| Hotels (1x) | $1 000 | 1 000 | $200 | 200 | $0 | 0 | $300 | 300 |
| Gen Travel (1x) | $400 | 400 | $0 | 0 | $300 | 300 | $100 | 100 |
| Dining (4x) | $600 | 2 400 | $300 | 1 200 | $300 | 1 200 | $0 | 0 |
| General (1x) | $1 000 | 1 000 | $500 | 500 | $500 | 500 | $400 | 400 |
| Total | $4 000 | 8 100 | $1 500 | 3 400 | $1 700 | 4 600 | $1 700 | 3 700 |
| Average points/$ | 2.03 | 2.27 | 2.71 | 2.18 |
This card’s strong bonus categories mean that the average points earned has a range of 2.03 – 2.71 points/$, which is worth 2.84 – 3.79 ¢/$. This earn rate is solid for a card with a $325 annual fee and is unmatched when it comes to restaurants and groceries, which are big spending categories for many people.
Specific examples
| Card | World Traveller ($750) (% return) | Marriott Hotel night ($230/night) | Points values (WT/Hotel) |
| No rewards card | 2 728 (4.9%) | 2 200 MP (7.3%) | $37.10 / $17.60 |
| General 1% cashback card | 2 728 + $7.50 (5.9%) | 2 200 MP + $2.30 (8.3%) | $44.60 / $19.90 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | 2 728 Avios + 1 500 UR (7.9%) | 2 200 MP + 460 UR (10.3%) | $59.60 / $24.50 |
| Amex Green Card | 2 728 Avios + 2 250 MR (9.1%) | 2 200 MP + 690 MR (11.5%) | $68.60 / $27.26 |
| Amex Gold Card | 2 728 Avios + 2 250 MR (9.1%) | 2 200 MP + 230 MR (8.7%) | $68.60 / $20.82 |
Is this the right type of credit card for you?
The Gold card is a great card for anyone who is a foodie (whether at restaurants or grocery stores) and who likes air travel. The card has solid earnings in all three categories, and with the new Resy credit, is really leaning into the foodie vibe. The card seems like it’s aiming for someone who likes to eat out and then wants to use all those points to travel a bit.
The airfare category is very specific and makes this card less versatile than competitors like the Chase Sapphire Preferred for people that spend substantial amounts on hotel stays or other travel purchase. I would’ve liked to see more interesting changes to the card with this refresh and annual fee increase; the two new credits and 2x points/$ on hotels at Amex Travel just aren’t compelling to me.
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