American Express Gold® Card Full Review: A Great Card for Foodies and Travelers

Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards Points when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months from account opening

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Annual Fee

$325

Signup Bonus

60,000 Membership Rewards Points

USP

4X Points on Dining

The American Express Gold® Card is a premium rewards card that offers excellent earning rates on dining and U.S. supermarket purchases. It also comes with a number of travel benefits, making it a great choice for people who enjoy eating out and traveling. Now comes in 3 colours – Gold, Rose Gold and White Gold.

TL;DR:

The American Express Gold® Card is a valuable card for people who meet the spending requirements and can take advantage of the rewards and benefits. However, it is important to factor in the annual fee when deciding if the card is right for you. If you spend a lot of money on dining and groceries, the annual fee can be easily offset by the rewards you earn. It is almost already offset if you plan and use the dining and Uber credit regularly. If you travel a few times a year, the travel benefits can also be valuable as you can turn down the car rental company’s insurance coverage when you rent a car and utlize the $100 hotel credit one received if booking a Hotel Collection® category hotel on the amex travel portal.

Key Features

Highlights:

Earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, now capped at $50,000 per year. 1x after that.
Earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets, capped at $25,000 per year. 1x after that
Earn 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
Earn 2 points per dollar on hotels and other eligible travel bookings on amextravel.com.
Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Annual fee: $325.
No foreign transaction fees.
New Card Member Offer for a limited time (11/06/2024) – Receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back.

Additional benefits:

$120 in annual statement credits on dining. (The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys) Enrollment Required.
$120 in annual Uber Cash. Enrollment Required.
$84 in Dunkin’ Credits split at $7 per month over 12 months. Enrollment Required.
$100 Resy Credit spilt $50 semi-annually. Enrollment Required.

Travel benefits, such as baggage insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and rental car insurance.
$100 hotel credit on booking a minimum of 2 nights in the Hotel Collection® category of hotels on the amex travel portal.
Offers from many merchants which when activated could help you save hundreds.
$100 discount on annual membership fee*
Hilton Honors Silver Status*

*See TSS Hack section below

Is this card for you?

Every card has it’s own benefits and if you think you cannot utilize the benefits, you should look at another card that may be more suitable for you. Here are some things to consider when deciding if the American Express Gold® Card is right for you:

Your spending habits: The American Express Gold® Card is most valuable for people who spend a lot of money on dining and groceries. If you don’t spend much in these categories, you may be better off with a different card.
Your credit score: You will need a good or excellent credit score to qualify for the American Express Gold® Card. However, if you’re new to the US and are coming from a country where you already have an established credit, getting an Amex Gold® Card through Nova Credit might make sense. Read my post on how to get an Amex card when you’re new to the credit card ecosystem in the US.
Your Travel Habits: If you take maybe 3-4 trips a year, this may be a good card for you, but if you travel a lot, you might get more benefits from a premium travel card like Amex Platinum, Capital One Venture X or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card
Value the flexibility of Membership Rewards points:

Overall, the American Express Gold® Card is a great option for foodies and travelers who are looking to earn rewards on their spending.

If you are interested in the American Express Gold® Card, I recommend doing your own research to see if it is the right card for you. You can compare it to other cards on the market and read reviews from other cardholders.

TSS Hack

Benefit:

$100 statement credit on your personal American Express Gold® Card. This brings down the effective cost of the card to $150 per year
Hilton Honors Silver Status through Amex Corporate Card

Eligibility:

Select American Express Corporate Card holders are eligible to apply for a special offer on select Personal American Express Cards. The Corporate Card must not be canceled or past due to avail this benefit. Know more about this here. If you already hold a Gold Card and thereafter received a corporate card, you can call the American Express customer care and request them to provide the $100 as a statement credit.