Up To $120 In Annual Uber Cash
U.S. Amex Gold cardholders will receive up to $120 in annual Uber Cash toward U.S. rides and U.S. Eats orders. Just make sure that your Amex Gold card is linked to the Uber app to automatically receive your monthly Uber Cash.
This is a valuable perk for both dining delivery gourmands and frequent ridesharers, providing rich ongoing value and making the American Express Gold worth relishing as one of the best cards for Uber.
Why You Might Want A Different Card
The American Express Gold card comes with a high annual fee, has some limitations when it comes to redeeming points, and some cardholders are critical of it lacking lounge benefits when traveling. Although youll earn plenty of points by spending in its high-earning categories like at restaurants and supermarkets, using those points will require a clever strategy on your part to be sure that youre maximizing your rewards potential. If youre looking for a low-maintenance rewards card, the Amex Gold may not be for you. Especially if youre not sure youll earn at least $250 in rewards value annually to neutralize the annual fee.
Presale And Preferred Event Tickets
If youre a concert or sports buff, Amex has a perk for you with American Express Experiences and American Express Preferred Seating. Both of these give you exclusive first-chance access to ticket presales for sporting events, Broadway shows, and concert tours. There are also card holder only events in a nearby city.
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How The American Express Gold Card Compares To Other Travel Cards
The Amex Gold is perhaps the best all-rounder of the American Express premium travel cards, considering its travel credits and upgraded rewards on everyday categories. Its $250 yearly pricing makes the Amex Gold card a fantastic pick if you need a middle-ground between the $99 annual fee-level premium cards and elite cards in the $450+ annual fee range, but there are other options if it doesnt line up with your spending.
Earn 4 Points At Restaurants
Another one of the excellent Amex Gold Card benefits is the ability to earn 4 points per $1 at restaurants. An eligible purchase can include takeout and delivery expenses charged to your card. When compared to other dining and restaurant credit cards, this is a significant rewards rate. Terms apply.
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Amex Gold Card Vs Other Rewards Cards
*the Amex Gold card earns 4x points on up to $25,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each year, then 1 point per dollar.
***the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2022.
****the Amex Gold offers up to $10 in dining credits each month when you use your card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations.
How Amex Gold Card Works
The American Express® Gold Card works differently than a standard credit card. You’re supposed to pay the full balance by the due date. But it also has two options to finance certain purchases: Plan It® and Pay Over Time.
Plan It® allows you to follow a payment plan with a set payment amount for eligible purchases. Pay Over Time lets you pay off a purchase over time with interest.
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Who Is This Card For
If youre a foodie and eat out frequently, this card is a no-brainer. Thats because it earns 4 points per dollar at restaurants, including takeout and delivery with services like Grubhub or Seamless. If youre a home cook, this card also earns 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year . Thats potentially a lot of bonus Amex Membership Rewards points that you can maximize for travel and other redemptions.
Cardholders also receive up to $120 in annual statement credits toward dining and up to another $120 per year in Uber Cash toward U.S. Uber rides and Uber Eats orders after enrolling their card. Together, those bring the out-of-pocket cost of the cards $250 annual fee closer to a mere $10.
In short, the Amex Gold is great for anyone looking to leverage their everyday spending for excellent rewards while also enjoying useful statement credits for things like dining and ride-hailing services.
Great Rewards Rate In Popular Spending Categories
If you spend a significant amount on food purchases whether you prefer dining in or eating out the American Express Gold card makes it easy to rack up rewards. At restaurants, including takeout and delivery, the Amex Gold Card earns 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar. Uber Eats also counts as part of the 4 point-per-dollar bonus category, allowing you to earn bonus points for getting your favorites delivered.
Youll also earn 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets on your first $25,000 in spending per calendar year and 1 point per dollar after you meet that threshold. Though having no spending cap would be ideal, a $25,000 cap per calendar year is a generous limit, giving you a nice cushion of just over $2,000 in monthly spending at U.S. supermarkets.
This is one of the best combined rewards rates you can find in these categories, making the card a shoo-in as one of the best cards for restaurants and supermarkets. Since dining and groceries are two of the most popular consumer spending categories, the Amex Gold cards rewards rate ranks at the very top of the CreditCards.com reards cards ranking database, landing in the top 1% among cards in this category. If your spending habits match those of the average person, you can come very close to covering the annual fee just from the rewards you earn on these purchases.
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Access To Amex Transfer Partners
Amex issues some of the best travel credit cards and one of the biggest reasons why is the ability to transfer Amex points to 22 airline and hotel partners. Partners include the three major airline alliances oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance while hotel partners include the Choice Hotel, Hilton, and Marriott chains. Read our complete guide on Amex transfer partners here.
What Is A Membership Rewards Point Worth
Anything from quite a bit to a lot is the answer. I wrote this lengthy article on what American Express Membership Rewards points are worth.
Realistically, Membership Rewards points are worth at least 0.8p. This is because you can convert 1 point into 1.6 Nectar points via the new Avios partnership. 1.6 Nectar points are worth 0.8p when spent at Sainsburys, Argos or eBay.
I tend to value airline miles at 0.75p 1p each so that is your valuation if you transfer to an airline programme.
Some of the hotel programmes also offer good value. Radisson Rewards transfers at 1:3 from Membership Rewards, for example. Their top five-star hotels generally cost 75,000 points per night which would be 25,000 Membership Rewards points. This would usually get you over 1p per point of value.
The other hotel partners are Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy.
You can take a look at the full list of Membership Rewards options here. If you are strategic you should be able to get 1p per point of value when you use them.
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The Spend Amount For The Welcome Bonus Seemed Reasonable
Welcome offers are a huge draw for many people who are in the market for a new credit card. Typically, the offer entails that if you spend a certain amount of money within the first few months of opening the card, you’ll receive bonus perks usually something like a large amount of rewards points.
The welcome offer for the Amex Gold Card entails spending $4,000 within the first six months of opening your account to receive 60,000 Membership Rewards® points. According to the American Express points value calculator, this works out to be up to a $600 value, depending on how you choose to redeem the points. However, you can get even more value from these points if you transfer them to travel partners.
Rewards credit cards are most impactful when you’re able to pay off your balance in full every month so you don’t accrue interest charges. That being said, I didn’t want to have to spend a huge amount of money, or more than I normally would, just for bonus points. To me, $4,000 over the course of six months seemed pretty reasonable.
Your Personal Travel Agency
Good travel advice before and during your trip is worth its weight in gold. The Gold Travel Service is happy to take on the organization of your trips: bookings for flights, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises and whole travel arrangements. It will advise you personally by phone and help you book your private or business trip.
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American Express Gold Card
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Rose Gold is here to stay. Card Members can choose between a Gold or Rose Gold Card.
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Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
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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 .
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Earn 3X Membership Rewards® Points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
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$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.
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$120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruths Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
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No Foreign Transaction Fees.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Some banks insist on charging a fee for swiping your card internationally, usually 3% of your total purchases. In other words, if you were to spend $1,500 during your trip overseas, youd be charged an extra $45 in fees. Thats ridiculous.
The Amex Gold does not incur these fees , so its a great companion when traveling to other countries.
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Why You Might Want The Amex Gold Card
The Amex Gold is one of the best cards on the market and, if you spend heavily on food and make the most of its perks on dining and travel, this cards value should more than cover its $250 annual fee. Along with the Amex Golds numerous benefits, rewards-savvy cardholders and frequent travelers will love the cards impressive rewards rate, bonus category variety, flexible point transfers and high point redemption potential.
How To Use Amex Membership Rewards Points
Read more: How to earn, redeem, and maximize Amex Membership Rewards points
There are lots of Amex Membership Rewards redemption options for those who aren’t traveling, but you’ll typically get the most value when you use points for travel. You can transfer points to nearly two dozen American Express airline and hotel partners for award flights and stays, and depending on what you book, you could get a value of 2 or more cents for each point. This can be an especially good deal for international first-class and business-class flights.
If you don’t want to worry about award charts or blackout dates, you can also redeem points at a rate of 1 cent apiece for flights, and at a slightly lower rate for hotels, rental cars, and more through American Express Travel.
Amex points won’t expire as long as your card is open and in good standing, so even if you’re not ready to travel now, there’s no harm in building up your balance for when you’re ready to take a trip after the pandemic ends.
Other options for redeeming Amex Membership Rewards points include:
- Cash in points for statement credits toward purchases made on your card
- , Best Buy, Walmart, Saks Fifth Avenue, Boxed.com, Dell.com, Staples, and more
- Redeem points for food delivery with GrubHub and Seamless
- Use points to pay for New York City taxi fare in vehicles using enabled point-of-sale devices
- Shop with points for merchandise and gifts through Amex
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How Do You Choose The Best Travel Credit Card
The points and travel benefits that you accrue through a travel rewards program are often redeemed through your credit card issuer’s website or appear as a statement credit that reimburses you for past travel-related and everyday purchases you made with your travel credit card. Points or miles can also be transferred to travel partners — mostly hotels and airlines — at a fluctuating conversion rate, where they can then be used to book a flight or hotel room.
To choose the best travel credit card, there are a few key factors to consider:
- Annual fees: Every single travel rewards program reviewed here has annual fees, with some climbing as high as $695, but those fees are usually mitigated by monthly or annual credits.
- Exclusive perks: Some of these travel rewards card options also grant access to exclusive travel perks, like airline lounges, priority boarding or VIP welcomes at hotels. The value of those perks is subjective and something you’ll have to evaluate based on your needs and wants.
- Foreign transaction fees: None of the best travel cards makes users pay a foreign transaction fee, so a foreign transaction fee is not something you have to worry about with any of the credit cards recommended here.
Two Airport Lounge Passes:
You receive two free airport lounge passes each membership year with Amex Gold, valid at any airport lounge in the Priority Pass network. Heathrow , Gatwick, Luton and Stansted amongst many others have participating lounges as do most major airports worldwide. After your two free visits, you can make further lounge visits for a £20 charge.
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$200 Airline Fee Credit
Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Card or any of the Additional Cards on your Platinum Card account. American Express relies on accurate airline transaction data to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 4 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. See terms & conditions for more details.
Use Your Rewards Benefits Including Hotel Credits
This card offers a hotel credit of up to $100 on qualifying dining, spa and resort activities plus a room upgrade at check-in, if available, when you book a prepaid hotel stay of at least two consecutive nights at participating properties through American Express Travel.
Unless you have another hotel-specific card, or a high-powered rewards earner like the Platinum Card® from American Express in your wallet, make a habit of paying for all of your hotel expenses with the American Express® Gold Card.
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Amex Gold Authorized User Card Vs Amex Platinum Authorized User Gold Cards
Though they share a similar name, there is an important difference between an American Express Gold Card authorized user card and an authorized user card you can add to The Platinum Card® from American Express.
Interestingly, The Platinum Card from American Express lets you add authorized user cards to your account that are known as Gold cards. These authorized user cards can also be added to your Platinum account for free, yet they dont come with the same benefits.
See related: Amex Platinum authorized user perks
While The Platinum Card from American Express comes with elite perks like airport lounge access, Hilton Honors gold status and hundreds of dollars in statement credits, the authorized user Gold card only gets to access one main benefit the primary cardholder receives a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
However, you should note that the Amex Platinum does offer the option to add another Platinum card to your account for $175 per year . This secondary account would let you access perks like statement credit benefits, airport lounge access, car rental elite status and more. The fourth or any additional card after that carries a fee of $175 per year per card.
Up To $120 In Uber Cash
Cardholders also receive up to $120 in Uber Cash each year, which can be used for Uber Eats food deliveries or Uber rides. These credits are also given out on a monthly basis in increments of $10, and they dont roll over from one month to the next. Also, note that youll earn 4X points on Uber Eats purchases in the U.S. when you pay with your credit card since food delivery falls within the restaurant category.
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Travel With More Confidence
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance
When you use your Eligible Card to reserve and pay for the Entire Rental and decline the collision damage waiver at the Rental Company counter, You can be covered for Damage to or Theft of a Rental Vehicle in a Covered Territory. Please read important exclusions and restrictions. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Coverage is not available for vehicles rented in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage.
Global Assist® Hotline
Sometimes the unexpected happens when you travel. A passport is lost. You come down with a sudden illness. A lawyer is needed. Being a Card Member can make things easier. Global Assist® Hotlineâ¡ can help you prepare for your trip with customs information and more. And while you’re traveling more than 100 miles from home, coordination and assistance services such as lost passport replacement assistance, translation services, missing luggage assistance, and emergency legal and medical referrals are a phone call away. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.
