How Much Is The Amex Gold Card

Other Credit Cards Similar To The Amex Gold

For foodies, theres one other notable credit card to consider: the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card. This cash back credit card has a $95 annual fee and offers unlimited 4% cash back on dining and entertainment, 2% cash back at grocery stores and 1% cash back on all other purchases. If you prefer cash back over travel points or miles, the Savor card may be the way to go particularly if you cant easily leverage the annual credits on the Amex Gold.

However, while cash back is infinitely more flexible than travel rewards you can spend cash anywhere you also cant increase the value of cash back the way you potentially can with points or miles. Membership Rewards points can be used with Amexs transfer partners to score premium trips for much less than youd normally pay in cash, effectively increasing the value of your points when you redeem them.

Also, although it may not be immediately apparent, folks who are fond of the bonus categories on the Amex Gold should also look at the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. With a $95 annual fee, this card earns 6 Hilton Honors points for every dollar you spend at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations.

All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has been collected independently by CNN. The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is no longer available through CNN.

American Express Gold Card Vs The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The better card between these two will depend on your spending habits. If you’re a traveler, apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, but if you’re more of a diner, apply for the American Express® Gold Card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is better for travelers because it earns around 2.5% back on travel . On the other hand, the American Express® Gold Card only lets you earn points on directly booked flights that’s much more restrictive than the broad travel category offered up by the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

The main reason people who spend a lot of money on dining would be better off with the American Express® Gold Card is the outstanding 4X rewards rate it offers at restaurants despite being a solid all-around card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card only offers 2X points on dining. The argument for the American Express® Gold Card is even stronger once you consider other benefits like its dining credit.

Stacking Up The American Express Gold Against Our Benchmark

CNN Underscored has chosen the Citi Double Cash card as our benchmark credit card. That doesnt mean its the best credit card on the market rather, it means we use it as a basic standard to compare other credit cards and see where they score better, and where theyre worse.

Heres how the Amex Gold scores against our benchmark. The features of each card in the below chart are colored in green, red or white. Green indicates a card feature that is better than our benchmark. Red indicates the feature is worse than our benchmark, and white indicates the feature is either equivalent or cannot be directly compared to our benchmark.

When reviewing other credit cards, we use this format and these criteria to compare them with our benchmark. You can read our for more details on what we take into account when it comes to perks, protections and redemption value.

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Why I Like My American Express Gold Card

The Gold card is not a credit card. It is a charge card and as Wikipedia points out,

A charge card is a plastic card that provides an alternative payment to cash when making purchases in which the issuer and the cardholder enter into an agreement that the debt incurred on the charge account will be paid in full and by due date or be subject to severe late fees and restrictions on card use.

So knowing that it has to be paid off in 30 days it provides me a sense of urgency to make sure the bill is paid. With credit cards it was too easy for me to say, oh, Ill just roll over 10 or 20% of the balance. This is not an option with the American Express Gold Card.

I treat it as a super-charged debit card. Except this one gives me a ridiculous warranty , 3x / 2x / 1x points for different purchases, and allowed me to use my points to get an essentially free trip to Atlanta for my birthday.

Another Feature I really like is how easy they make it to pay in increments :

Us Mr Points Via Referral

The best-ever bonus on the Amex US Gold Card is 75,000 US MR points upon spending US$4,000 in the first six months. Compared to the more common minimum spending window of three months, the six-month window gives you a lot more leeway to meet the relatively high spending requirement.

The offer for 75,000 US MR points is available through public channels or by applying with a referral link. If you have trouble pulling up the elevated welcome bonus, try visiting the link using incognito mode or private browsing.

Given that Amex US enforces a strict once-in-a-lifetime rule on welcome bonuses, its best to wait for historical high offers before applying for any product you havent held before, and this offer on the Amex US Gold Card fits that bill exactly.

As a reminder, some of the best uses of US MR points these days might include:

• Transferring to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book ANA First Class for 120,000 miles round-trip
• Transferring to ANA Mileage Club to book an ANA round-the-world award with eight stopovers and four open-jaws
• Transferring to Emirates Skywards to book Emirates First Class to Europe for 135,000 miles round-trip
• Transferring to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer to book elusive Singapore Airlines business class, First Class, and Suites Class awards
• Transferring to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles to book Cathay Pacific flights with much greater award space

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Travel Perks On The Amex Green Gold And Platinum Cards

The one area where youll see a huge difference across these three Amex cards is when it comes to travel benefits. The Amex Green and Amex Gold cards have fairly limited VIP travel perks, but theyre overflowing on the Amex Platinum card.

With the Amex Platinum, youll receive complimentary Gold elite status with both the Hilton and Marriott hotel chains. Having Gold status at both chains will help you with upgraded rooms, getting a late checkout, earning bonus points on your stay and more. At Hilton properties specifically, Gold status will even sometimes earn you lounge access or complimentary breakfast.

The Amex Platinum also comes with a ton of lounge access opportunities to make your airport experience more enjoyable. This is the only personal card that gives you access to American Express Centurion Lounges, the Global Lounge Collection, Delta Sky Clubs and a Priority Pass Select membership. In total, thats over 1,200 lounges around the world.

Youll also have access to trip cancellation and interruption insurance with the Amex Platinum card up to $10,000 per covered trip but not with the Amex Green or Amex Gold card. However, all three cards have trip delay insurance, which covers out-of-pocket expenses incurred when a flight is delayed. The Amex Green and Amex Gold cards will cover you up to $300 per trip if your trip is delayed more than 12 hours, while the Amex Platinum covers up to $500 for a trip thats only delayed six hours.

Is The American Express Gold Card Worth It

The American Express® Gold Card can prove extremely lucrative for anyone who spends a lot on travel and food. It’s a great middle-of-the-road card for anyone who wants premium perks and bigger rewards, but isn’t ready to pay for the steeper annual fee on a card like The Platinum Card® from American Express.

To get the most value out of this card’s rewards system, though, you have to redeem your points for flights through the Amex portal or transfer them to one of Amex’s airline partners. This means that the American Express® Gold Card is best for people who want to earn rewards that can be redeemed for flights otherwise, you’re probably better off with a rewards program that’s a little more flexible.

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American Express Gold Points Value Calculator

If you’re looking to maximize the value of the points earned with the American Express Gold Card, the best option will be transferring them to AMEX’s airline and hotel partners. This will give you the opportunity to get significantly more than 1 cent per point in value.

Point transfers to airline miles will typically yield the best result. Airline miles are generally worth about 1.2 to 1.4 cents each, so converting your points to miles at a 1:1 ratio is an easy way to increase the amount of value without much effort.

You can obtain even more value when you redeem your points for first class, business class, and international flights. This can get you as much as 2 cents per point or higher depending on the flight.

Transferring your points to hotel loyalty programs can also get you some solid value, though it will take a little bit more research as you’ll have to find the sweet spots for each program.

For example, it’s easy to get more than 1 cent in value with Marriott’s Category 1 and Category 8 hotels. You can also find some great value from Hilton’s high-end brands, especially in popular beach/vacation locations.

Exclusive Access To Special Offers And Events

Amex Offers®

Make every day more rewarding with Amex Offers.® With offers for shopping, dining, travel, and more, theres something for everyone. Adding offers to your card is quick, easy, and best of all, incredibly rewarding.14

Amex Front Of the Line®

Cardmembers can purchase Front Of The Line® presale tickets to some of the most in-demand concerts, theatre productions, restaurants, and special events before the general public.

Cardmembers can also purchase Front Of The Line® Reserved tickets from a block of seats reserved exclusively for American Express during the public on-sale period for many major events.9

American Express Invites®

Enjoy a variety of special offers and events created just for you. From advance screenings of blockbuster movies, to weekend getaway packages and special online and in-store shopping deals, its never been easier to have an experience youll never forget.9

Complimentary concierge services

Whether you need help booking your restaurant reservations or scoring tickets for a show, our concierge service is happy to assist you 24/7.5

Airport lounge access

Be confident that youll have a place to relax or catch up on business. Enjoy a preferred discount on the Priority Pass membership and access over 1200VIP lounges around the world as a Scotiabank Gold American Express® Cardholder.6

Save time at the checkout

Pay faster

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American Express Cards And Your Credit Score

Having no negative info on your credit report helps, but if you have been denied credit cards for having too many high balances, you may still qualify for an Amex charge card .

One final note: There is some thought that no pre-set limit cards arent great for your credit report because they do not report a credit limit.

If you have no other revolving credit accounts, or many revolving accounts that are at or near their limits, having an additional charge card on your report could be harmful. I think, however, that if you have one or two other credit cards with zero or low balances, an American Express card will not hurt you.

To be ultra safe, if you plan to apply for new credit, pay off your American Express card in full and dont use it in the month before you apply for new credit.

Do you have any experiences with running into your Amex credit limit, or have you found an Amex card to be a helpful tool? Id love to hear!

Amex Gold Card: More Valuable Than Ever Before

The American Express® Gold Card offers an excellent welcome offer for new cardmembers, has bonus categories that will prove valuable to all kinds of consumers, and has benefits that could in and of themselves outweigh the annual fee.

This card has just undergone a significant change for the better the Amex Gold Card now offers a $120 Uber Cash on Gold benefit. In the process the Amex Gold Card is eliminating the $100 annual airline fee credit. Not only is the Uber Cash benefit potentially worth more, its also easier to use, so Id consider this to be a very nice improvement to the card.

Let me share what makes the $250 annual fee Amex Gold Card so worthwhile, and why you should seriously consider it.

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American Express Gold Vs The Platinum Card From American Express

The American Express Platinum card could be a better choice if its luxury benefits and top-tier 5X points on eligible travel and hotels would be more lucrative for you. Whether or not the $695 annual fee on the Platinum card is worth it will depend on your spending habits and how many of its features you plan to use, but there are plenty of added perks to help neutralize some of the required spending for you.

The American Express Gold and Platinum naturally earn the same type of rewards and can be redeemed similarly, but the Amex Platinums rewards are weighted heavily toward airfare and hotel travel purchases while the Amex Gold caters toward dining and U.S. supermarket spending. The Platinum Cards 10X points on restaurants worldwide for the first six months is a seriously alluring offer for foodies abroad, but the stellar rate is temporary. Considering that the Amex Gold also earns 3X points on airfare and offers several dining credits, the Gold is a much better choice for the cost if you value rewards spending on food over premier travel benefits.

Maximize Membership Rewards Points With Rakuten

If you frequently makes purchases online and you’re looking to earn more Membership Rewards Points, you should consider using Rakuten Rewards.

Rakuten is an online shopping portal that pays you for shopping online. Basically, they run a website full of affiliate links to different retailers and pay you, the user, some of their commission when you make an online purchase using those links.

The best thing about Rakuten is that they are partnered with American Express Membership Rewards. So instead of earning cash back on your purchases, you can opt in to earn Membership Rewards Points.

So if Rakuten is offering 10% cash back with a certain retailer, you’ll be able to earn 10X Membership Rewards Points. Sounds amazing, right? That’s because it is.

I’ve been using Rakuten Rewards as my main online cash back shopping portal since the start of 2017. Once the ability to earn Membership Rewards Points became available, I never looked back.

I use the portal for all of my personal and business online purchases… from buying gifts to booking travel. Since Rakuten uses affiliate links, you’re always dropped off on the retailers website. So you’re not booking or buying through a third party.

You can sign up for Rakuten Rewards for free through our affiliate link and earn bonus Membership Rewards Points on your first purchase. If you’re looking to get the most out of the Membership Rewards program, you don’t want to ignore this program.

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Limitations On Travel Spending

Although transferring points for travel is a clear benefit of the Amex Gold and is arguably its best redemption option, rewards for spending on travel are a bit underwhelming. Youll earn just 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through the American Express Travel portal.

Although this rewards rate is solid at a glance, its held back by the fact that only airfare purchased through American Express Travel counts as travel with the Amex Gold. You wont earn bonus points for flights booked with third-party travel flights or for hotel bookings or rental cars.

Points Per $1 At Us Supermarkets

Amex Golds dining rewards cover every day eating at home, too. But people tend to spend more at the supermarket than at restaurants over the course of a year. So Amex limits your bonus earning rate of 4 points per $1 at U.S. supermarkets to $25,000 spent on groceries per year. After that, youll get 1 point per $1. Purchases at superstores and warehouse clubs also earn you just 1 point per $1 spent.

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Amex Gold Lounge Access

One great perk of the Amex Rewards Gold card is the access to Lounge Club. Youll receive two free passes each year and further guests are charged at £20. In the UK this provides access to some 28 lounges and as such theres good coverage.

I tend to quickly use up the two free American Express Gold Card lounge access passes, however even at £20 per guest thereafter, I find the offering good value. For that reason, I highly rate the Amex Gold lounge access offered by the card.