American
Express® Gold Card
Advisor Credit
cards American Express Gold Card Review
Advertiser Disclosure
American Express Gold Card 2022 Review
Robin
Saks Frankel
Dia
Adams
Robin
Saks Frankel, Dia Adams
Editor, Editor
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on
Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
The American Express® Gold Card offers solid value for most
travelers. The earnings rate of 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar at
restaurants and U.S. Supermarkets* is among the highest in the industry.
Membership Rewards are flexible and easy to redeem. The $250 annual fee can be
justified by the dining and Uber benefits, provided you use them.
American Express® Gold Card
Rates & Fees
/ Terms Apply
American Express® Gold Card
Apply Now
On American Express's Website
4.7
Forbes Advisor
Welcome Bonus
Earn 60,000 points
Annual Fee
$250
Regular APR
16.74%-23.74% Variable
Credit Score
Excellent/Good
Pros
High rewards
earnings possibilities
Points transfer
option to many partners
Add up to 5
authorized users for no additional annual fee
Can choose from
regular or rose gold versions
Cons
No lounge
benefits
Limited options
to carry a balance
High APR for pay
over time feature
High pay over
time penalty APR
Highlights
Earn 60,000
Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with
your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Earn 4X
Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the
U.S., and earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to
$25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X).
Earn 3X
Membership Rewards® Points on flights booked directly with airlines or on
amextravel.com.
$120 Uber Cash on
Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get
$10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to
$120 per year.
Updated $120
Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings and earn up to $10 in statement credits
monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The
Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack
locations. Enrollment required.
Choose the color
that suits your style. Gold or Rose Gold.
No Foreign
Transaction Fees.
Annual Fee is
$250.
Terms Apply.
Less
Highlights
Introduction
The American Express Gold Card is the mid-range option for
those who wish to earn American Express Membership Rewards points. Some cards
offer bonuses for dining and others for U.S supermarket spending, but the
American Express Gold Card is an industry leader by offering 4 Membership
Rewards per dollar on practically anything you eat or drink.
The downside? An annual fee of $250, which is not waived
the first year. On paper the fee can be justified by the rewards the card
offers. You’ll earn up to $120 in dining credits and up to $120 in Uber Cash.
However, it is not so simple. The $120 dining credit has to be redeemed in $10
monthly increments, is only good at a small selection of restaurants and
delivery services, which currently includes GrubHub, The Cheesecake Factory,
Select Shake Shack locations, Goldbelly, Wine.com and Milk Bar, and requires
enrollment. And the Uber Cash also has to be used at the rate of $10 per month
and is only valid for rides and Uber eats in the U.S. You must also link your
eligible card to your Uber account.
The card offers the ability to share travel protection
benefits with up to five authorized cardholders for no additional fee. The
users can be as young as 13, so this could be a good card for family use.
At a
Glance
$250 annual fee
4 Membership
Rewards® points per dollar at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the
U.S., 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to
$25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 Membership
Rewards® points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through
American Express travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases
Up to $120 in
annual statement credits for eligible restaurants, payable as $10 per month
credits
Secondary car
rental damage and loss insurance on eligible rentals
Up to $120 in
annual Uber Cash credits, $10 per month
No foreign
transaction fees
American
Express Gold Card Rewards
Earning
Rewards
The Amex Gold card has the following rewards structure:
4 Membership
Rewards® points per dollar at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the
U.S., 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to
$25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 Membership
Rewards® points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through
American Express travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases
In addition to traditional rewards, the American Express
Gold Card offers $120 in annual dining credits for eligible restaurants
including The Cheesecake Factory, Wine.com, Milk Bar, Goldbelly, select Shake
Shack locations, and delivery services Grubhub and Seamless. However, this
credit has to be spent monthly in $10 increments and you must enroll in the
benefit, making it harder to use.
Cardholders also receive $10 in monthly Uber Cash when they
add an eligible Gold card to their Uber account, for a total of up to $120
annually that can be used for Uber Eats or rides in the U.S.
Additionally, the Amex Gold offers the following welcome
bonus: 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $4,000 on purchases in
the first 6 months of card membership.
Redeeming
Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards points are valuable
because they are flexible. The points can be transferred to nearly two dozen
airline partners, most at a 1:1 ratio. In addition, American Express offers
frequent transfer bonuses which allow you to maximize your earnings. Among the
most commonly used airline transfer partners are Delta (for SkyTeam airlines),
British Airways and Iberia Avios (Oneworld) and Air Canada Aeroplan (Star
Alliance).
If you don’t want to bother with transfer partners, you can
redeem Membership Rewards for a large variety of gift cards in travel, retail
and restaurant categories. Rates vary depending on the vendor and fluctuate
between 0.5 cents and 1 cent per Membership Reward point. You can also pay with
points at a number of vendors, most notably Amazon at 0.7 cents per Membership
Reward point.
One of the easiest ways to redeem Membership Rewards points
is for flights at 1 cent per point via American Express Travel. By doing so the
flight booked with points will count as a “cash” flight in the eyes of the
airline and may earn miles depending on the fare code and cost of the ticket.
Rewards
Potential
Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies
in order to determine both baseline income and spending averages across various
categories. The 70th percentile of wage earners bring in $100,172 annually and
we base spending on that number.
We calculated that Forbes Advisor’s sample household spends
$10,093 on restaurants and groceries, which means that 40,372 Membership
Rewards points could be earned in these categories each year. Spending $1,755 on airfare would translate to
5,265 Membership Rewards earned, and $14,562 on other purchases that could
reasonably be charged to a card would earn 14,562 Membership Rewards points.
This means that the card would earn a total of 60,199 points per year in
addition to the welcome bonus earned in the first year.
American
Express Gold Card Benefits
Global Assist
Hotline: 24/7 access for medical, legal, financial and other select emergency
assistance and coordination services.
Amex Hotel
Collection: Get a $100 hotel credit to spend on qualifying dining, spa and
resort activities, plus a room upgrade upon arrival, if available, when you
book a stay of at least two consecutive nights with American Express Travel.
Baggage
Insurance: Provides coverage for eligible lost, damaged or stolen baggage.
Terms Apply.
Car Rental Loss
and Damage Insurance: When you use your card to pay for a rental vehicle and
decline the collision damage waiver at the rental counter, you may receive
secondary auto coverage in an eligible territory. Terms apply.
Interest
Rates
Note that the American Express Gold Card may not let you
carry a balance from month to month on all of your purchases, so the intention
should be to pay off your monthly balances in full.
Interest
Rates
Regular APR:
16.74%-23.74% Variable
Purchase Intro
APR: N/A
Balance Transfer
Intro APR: N/A
Fees
Annual Fee: $250
Balance Transfer
Fee: N/A
Cash Advance:
Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater.
Foreign Purchase
Transaction Fee: None
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