American Express Gold Card Review: Up To 4x Amex Points For Foodies

Link: Apply now for the American Express® Gold Card

The American Express® Gold Card is one of the most rewarding cards out there if you’re looking to earn Amex Membership Rewards points.

In this post, I want to take an in-depth look at this card, as it’s a product that many people should consider picking up, especially if you spend a significant amount on food (whether with restaurants or supermarkets). This is an especially good time to apply, as we’ve just seen a (potentially) improved welcome offer rolled out on the card.

Amex Gold Card welcome offer & fee basics

For someone looking to earn Membership Rewards points, the Amex Gold Card is one of the most rewarding cards out there. The card offers up to 4x points in useful categories, plus more than $400 in annual credits to offset the annual fee. So let’s look at what you should know about this card.

Welcome bonus as high as 100K Amex points

The Amex Gold Card has an improved welcome offer where you can earn a bonus as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 within the first six months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

The way this works, you can apply for the card, and then find out your offer amount. Then you can decide whether you want to accept the offer or not. That’s an unconventional approach for a welcome offer. At least Amex has the “apply with confidence” feature, so there won’t be a hard pull unless you accept the offer.

Personally, I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me, those 100,000 points are worth $1,700 (assuming that’s what you’re eligible for).

This is a huge bonus, and on top of that, you have a full six months to complete the minimum spending requirement, which should be easy enough for most to accomplish, as that translates to $1,000 per month in required spending.

Card eligible restrictions & rules

The welcome bonus on the Amex Gold Card isn’t available to those who currently have the card, or those who have had the Premier Rewards Gold Card in the past. Furthermore, those who have or have had The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) may also not be eligible for the welcome offer on the card.

However, if you have had one of these cards before, you’re still eligible for the card, but you’re just not eligible for the welcome offer (which is “once in a lifetime”). In some circumstances, it could still be worth getting the card in those situations, if you’d benefit from it on an ongoing basis.

See this post for all the rules on applying for Amex cards.

$325 annual fee & authorized user fee

The Amex Gold Card has a $325 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and it isn’t waived for the first year. There is no annual fee for up to five additional cards. Meanwhile the annual fee for six or more additional cards is $35 for each card (Rates & Fees).

Note that authorized users don’t receive some of the same benefits as the primary cardmember, but their spending does count toward the rewards that the primary cardmember earns.

Amex Gold Card points earning structure

What makes the Amex Gold Card so valuable is the bonus categories it offers, in the form of Membership Rewards points. The bonus categories include the following:

• 4x points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., on up to $50,000 in purchases annually
• 4x points at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases annually
• 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through amextravel.com

This is an outstanding return on spending. Based on my valuations, that’s like a 6.8% return at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets, and a 5.1% return on eligible flights.

Now let’s take a closer look at just how those bonus categories are defined.

Amex Gold Card 4x points At restaurants

With the Amex Gold Card you’ll earn 4x points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year at restaurants, and after that you’ll earn a single point per dollar spent.

Generally speaking, restaurants are defined pretty broadly, and the category includes everything from fast food to cafes to fine dining. This even includes delivery and takeout, given the popularity of that nowadays.

Just note that convenience stores, nightclubs, and restaurants located within other establishments won’t typically qualify for bonus points. Furthermore, eligibility for bonus points is determined based on how the merchant chooses to be categorized. There’s a chance that some merchants may not be categorized as a restaurant, even though you might consider them a restaurant.

For dining, this card even beats the 3x points that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) and Chase Sapphire Reserve® (review) offer — this is one of the best rewards cards for dining purchases.

Amex Gold Card 4x points At U.S. supermarkets

The Amex Gold Card offers 4x points on the first $25,000 spent every calendar year at U.S. supermarkets, and after that you’ll earn a single point per dollar. This excludes superstores and warehouse clubs, so don’t expect you’ll be able to earn those bonus points at Sam’s Club, for example.

This is one of the best rewards cards for grocery store purchases.

Amex Gold Card 3x points on flights

The Amex Gold Card offers 3x points on airfare, with no limits on how many bonus points you can earn. This only applies when booking directly with an airline or through amextravel.com. Furthermore, charter flights and private jet flights are excluded.

Officially, booking through online travel agencies (except amextravel.com) wouldn’t earn you bonus points, though in practice it may still sometimes code for 3x points. That’s because often online travel agencies still have the airline bill you directly when you book flights through them.

This is one of the best rewards cards for airfare purchases.

Amex Gold Card no foreign transaction fees

The Amex Gold Card has no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), so you can use it for purchases globally. That’s especially useful when you consider that you can earn 4x points on dining abroad, all with no foreign transaction fees.

How to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points

The Amex Gold Card earns Membership Rewards points. This is one of the four major transferable points currencies, and is a favorite points currency for many.

The best way to redeem your points is to transfer them to one of the Membership Rewards airline or hotel partners. Points can be transferred to over 20 partners, consisting primarily of airline loyalty programs, but also of some hotel loyalty programs.

The reason this represents such a good deal is that you can get outsized value toward first and business class travel. These tickets are often disproportionately expensive if paying cash, while they can be a good deal on points. On top of that, Amex often has transfer bonuses, which can stretch your points even further.

While you can redeem Membership Rewards points toward the cost of merchandise or gift cards, or to pay off your statement, these aren’t good uses of your points. You’ll typically get less than one cent of value per point, so that’s not how I’d redeem them.

In general, I’d recommend earning Membership Rewards points if your primary interest is transferring points to partner programs.

Amex Gold Card benefits & credits

The Amex Gold Card offers a variety of benefits that can help offset the annual fee of the card. In particular, the Amex Gold offers statement credits for eligible purchases, which could save you up to $424 per year, more than offsetting the annual fee. Let’s take a closer look at how these work (Enrollment is required for select benefits).

Amex Gold Card up to $120 dining credit

The first perk is that the Amex Gold Card offers a dining credit of up to $120 per year. There are some restrictions to be aware of with this credit:

• This comes in the form of a $10 monthly credit, for a total of up to a $120 credit each year
• This credit is valid for purchases with Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys
• Purchases by both the primary card member and authorized users are eligible, but you’re limited to a single credit no matter how many authorized users you have
• The terms state that this isn’t valid for gift card or merchandise purchases, though it’s anyone’s guess if that is enforced
• Only purchases in the United States qualify
• The terms state that the credit should post within two to four weeks, though in my experience it posts much faster than that

Amex Gold Card up to $120 Uber Cash

The Amex Gold Card offers up to $120 in Uber Cash annually:

• Cardmembers receive a $10 credit every calendar month
• The credit is valid toward Uber and Uber Eats purchases in the United States
• An Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit

This is a fantastic benefit and should be worth face value for anyone who uses Uber at least once a month. Even if you don’t use Uber, this can be useful for getting food delivery through Uber Eats.

Amex Gold Card up to $100 Resy credit

The Amex Gold Card offers up to $100 in Resy credits annually:

• This is a semi-annual credit, so you receive a $50 credit in January through June, and a $50 credit in July through December
• This applies for eligible U.S. Resy restaurants, Resy.com, and in the mobile Resy app

Amex Gold Card up to $84 Dunkin’ credit

The Amex Gold Card offers up to $84 in Dunkin’ credits annually:

• This is a monthly credit, so you receive a $7 credit each month
• You receive the statement credit after using your enrolled card to pay at more than 9,000 Dunkin’ locations nationwide

Use Amex Offers to save on purchases

One of the great features of Amex cards is access to Amex Offers, which offers savings or bonus points on purchases with all kinds of retailers. There’s huge value to be had in getting as many Amex cards as possible, so that you can get these offers on multiple cards. Amex Offers could save you hundreds of dollars per year.

Access to The Hotel Collection

For staying two or more nights at select luxury hotels, you can receive extra benefits through The Hotel Collection. Benefits include a $100 hotel credit and a room upgrade, if available. This is different than Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®, which requires having a Platinum Card.

Is the Amex Gold Card worth it?

The Amex Gold Card is a great card for anyone who spends a lot of money on food (whether at restaurants or supermarkets), and who is looking to earn Membership Rewards points. Furthermore, the card potentially offers over $400 in annual credits, between the dining credit, Resy credit, Dunkin’ credit, and Uber Cash.

I’d argue that if you value earning Membership Rewards points, if you spend a lot on dining, and if you can use a decent number of the card’s credits, then picking up this card is a slam dunk. It’s hard to beat this kind of return on dining and supermarket spending, and it’s a great complement to some other Amex cards.

The great welcome offer that’s available is the icing on the cake, and makes applying for the card all the more tempting.

Bottom line

The Amex Gold Card is one of American Express’ best rewards cards for earning points. With 4x points on dining and supermarkets, earning Membership Rewards points is easy.

The card also offers some credits that are potentially useful, which for many will help offset the annual fee. The card offers up to $120 dining credits, up to $120 in Uber Cash annually, up to $100 in Resy credits annually, and up to $84 in Dunkin’ credits annually, which could help you with recovering much of the annual fee. If you don’t yet have the card, it’s seriously worth considering.

If you want to learn more about the Amex Gold Card or want to apply, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees).