What's all the hype about the AmEx Gold credit card?
The American Express (AmEx) Gold card is one of the premium credit card offerings from AmEx. It is also one of the most sought after cards for millennials and frequent flyers.
With a tempting sign up bonus and benefits worth every penny, this card is undoubtedly lucrative.
Here’s what you get when you sign up for this card.
How much sign up bonus will I get?
The AmEx Gold card offers a sign up bonus ranging from 60,000 to 90,000 Membership Reward points.
Membership Rewards is the points program that AmEx uses to reward its customers.
This sign up bonus is a great currency to use for a luxurious travel.
Let me walk you through one example.
Say, you would like to travel to Rome from San Fransisco. You can now transfer 88,000 AmEx points to ANA’s Mileage Club program to book a round-trip business class ticket for your travel.
ANA is based in Japan and is a part of Star Alliance which is a group of airlines including United, TAP Portugal, Lufthansa, and Austrian Airlines, to name a few.
Using ANA points, you can now fly to Europe on top-notch United Polaris Business class on the onward journey and a stunning Lufthansa Business class on the way back.
The possibilities with the sign-up bonus are endless.
What are its benefits?
This card can be renamed to AmEx Benefits card in my opinion. There are so many, it feels illegal to be receiving them.
Here’s what the card offers:
Dining Benefits
- 4X points per dollar earned at Grocery stores and Supermarkets up to the first $25,000 spent in this category
- 4X points per dollar earned at Restaurants worldwide and also includes takeout and delivery in the US
- Annual $120 Uber Cash (split as $10 monthly) which can be used on Uber rides and Uber Eats delivery or takeout. (Note: the Uber Cash is deposited into the account on the 1st of each month and expires on the last day of the month. Any unused Uber Cash cannot be carried over to the next month)
- Annual $120 credit for purchases at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations (split as $10 monthly).
Travel Benefits
- 3X points per dollar spent on flights directly booked with the airline or on amextravel.com
- $100 experience credit to use during your stay when booking a minimum 2-night stay at The Hotel Collection properties via American Express Travel
- No foreign transaction fees when you pay for items with this card. (Pro tip: When a payment terminal abroad asks if the payment needs to be done in the local currency or in USD, always choose the local currency. Amex will do the conversion for you and 9 out of 10 times it will be a better rate.)
- Personalized Travel Concierge
- Baggage Insurance Plan which covers lost, damaged or stolen Baggage when paid for fully using this card
- Rental Car Loss and Damage Insurance which provides peace of mind when renting cars in the US or abroad
- Use your points not only to book vacations on amex travel.com but to also transfer to several airline and hotel partners across the globe
Shopping and Other Benefits
- Amex gives you your very own coupon book of sorts covering hundreds of retailers in-store and online. Make sure you look in the Amex Offers section once before your next purchase to avail great deals.
- American Express Experience which gives you exclusive access to ticket pre-sales Card member-only events in several cities. Tickets include Broadway shows, concerts, sporting events and much more.
- American Express Preferred Access which gives you access to premium seats at select cultural and sporting venues and events.
The annual fee of this card is $250. The dining credits alone cover $240. So, if you think about it, the card comes with so many benefits at just $10 per year! I know, it's a steal!
Is this card useful for me?
This card is a no-brainer for most of you — especially if you love to dine-in and take out regularly. This card gives you maximum returns in this category.
On average if you spend $1000 per month on groceries and restaurants, that’s a whopping 4000 points in your account for regular monthly spend!
That’s a lot more points than any other card in your wallet.
Note:
1. Do note that if the grocery/supermarket spend exceeds $25,000 within a calendar year, every dollar thereafter yields only 1 point and not 4 points.
2. Superstores like Target and Walmart do not fall under the supermarket category. However, Walmart Neighborhood Markets do fall under this category and earn 4X points.
Do couples and young families find much use?
This card is a must-have for date nights and impromptu international getaways!
Its many restaurant and travel benefits would keep any weekend exciting.
Young families can most certainly benefit from the 4X earning on grocery spending.
Additionally, when you spend on baby or kids’ supplies online or from any specific stores like Target, Carter’s, Buy Buy Baby here’s what you should do to multiply your returns.
–> Head to your nearby grocery store that sells gift cards for other retailers.
–> Purchase a gift card with the AmEx Gold card for the amount you anticipate to spend. This counts as a grocery expenditure.
–> Then use the gift card at the other retailer.
For example, if you purchase a $500 Amazon Gift card in Safeway, you earn 2000 (500 x 4) Membership Reward points.
These 2000 points can be redeemed for at least $20 cash back.
Better yet, if you choose to transfer it to an airline partner for booking an award flight, you can get a lot more value out of it.
As a rule of thumb, please avoid purchasing Visa or AmEx Gift cards and only stick to retailer gift cards. AmEx does not entertain the abuse of this method.
Does it pair well with my other AmEx cards?
This card pairs very well with other cards that earn Membership Rewards points like the American Express Platinum and the American Express Green cards.
Though there are some similarities in benefits, each card has its own unique earning categories and benefits that will add more points to your Membership Rewards when used wisely.
