What is an american express gold card?

The American Express Gold Card is considered one of the best travel rewards cards thanks to the numerous food and travel perks that appeal to big spenders who can afford its $250 annual fee. It offers generous ongoing rewards for airfare purchases and spending at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets.

By spending with the Amex Gold Card, you'll earn:

Select calculated how many rewards the average American could earn if they were to optimize the way they used their Amex Gold Card. We worked with the location intelligence firm Esri, which provided us with a sample annual spending budget of $22,126.

The budget included six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). Here's a breakdown of how many Membership Rewards® points you could potentially earn in each category, annually:

All spending considered, you could end up earning 110,386 Membership Rewards® points within the first year, including the welcome bonus. Over a five-year period, cardholders could potentially earn 311,930 Membership Rewards® points, although the total amount would depend more on an individual's annual spending habits.

If you're trying to rack up a large amount of Membership Rewards® points in a hurry, consider adding other American Express credit cards that also earn them, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express to your wallet to bump up your balance.

As you continue to earn more Membership Rewards® points, you'll be able to put them toward a wide range of redemption options, including:

The best option of all of these, however, is the first one since you'll be able to earn a much greater value by transferring your Membership Rewards® points directly to partner airline or hotel loyalty programs, such as the following airline partners:

Hotel loyalty program partners include the following:

American Express “precious metal” cards, whether Gold or Platinum have a reputation of prestige. The Gold card and the Platinum card both offer a range of benefits to card holders, and they both have annual fees that are significantly higher than the average credit card fee.

Learn more about the differences between Amex Gold card and Amex Platinum so you can decide if one is right for you.

The American Express Gold and Platinum cards are actually “charge” cards rather than “credit,” which means you must pay the bill in full each month.

The Platinum card is essentially a Gold card with more rewards and a higher fee. The American Express Gold card has a $250 annual fee while the Platinum card has $695 annual fee as of 2023.

The Gold card has an annual fee of $250, and there is no annual fee for adding any additional cards to a Gold account. One of the biggest perks is the membership rewards program, which allows consumers to earn points with purchases.

The Gold card is geared toward people who like to shop, eat out, and have lot of everyday spending. American Express Gold cardholders can earn four points for every dollar spent at U.S. restaurants and U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in purchases), three points for every dollar spent booking flights with airline companies or through the American Express travel website, and one point for every dollar spent on any other purchase.

As of January 2023, first-time cardholders are also eligible for 90,000 points after they use their card to make $4,000 in purchases for the first six months of account membership.

Other benefits include up to $120 in dining credits each year—up to $10 per month in automatic statement credits when you use your card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Wine.com, Goldbelly, Milk Bar, and participating Shake Shack locations. But, cardholders must enroll in the program to be eligible.

The Gold card also offers a $120 Uber cash benefit, or $10 per month. This card also offers an extended warranty program*, purchase protection*, return protection*, Amex preferred seating on airlines and roadside assistance.

*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.

The Platinum Amex card offers members five points for every dollar spent on flights booked directly through airlines or through the American Express travel site, five points for prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com, and one point for every dollar spent on other purchases.

The Platinum welcome bonus as of January 2023 gives cardholders 150,000 points when they spend $6,000 or more in the first six months of account membership. However, if you want to add cards on your Platinum account, expect to pay an extra annual fee of $175 for up to three card and $175 per card after that.

The Platinum card is geared for people who travel frequently. It has more travel perks than the Gold card. Rewards points can be used for merchandise, gift cards, dining, shopping, entertainment, or for use at the Amex travel website. Points can also be transferred to other frequent flyer programs.

The Platinum card offers $200 in Uber credits as well as an annual $200 incidental airline fee credit on the eligible airline of your choice, giving passengers complimentary checked baggage and an in-flight meal with qualifying airlines.

Members also get a $200 hotel credit with bookings at qualifying The Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels + Resorts properties through the Amex travel website. Other benefits include (but aren't limited to) a $240 digital entertainment credit, $300 Equinox credit, and a $189 Clear Credit. The ample add-ons of the Platinum card can significantly offset the cost.