Gold Card By American Express June 2023 Review

TheValu's Breakdown of The American Express Gold Card

The Amex Gold Card is ideal for high spending foodies.

Although it carries a high annual fee, The Gold Card offers a generous reward system. Card users earn 4 points per dollar spent at super U.S. supermarkets and restaurants on up to $25,000. Card users also receive a $120-a-year dining credit, a $100 airline fee credit on top of many other perks.

Pros

• For certain categories, reward rates are quite high (4x points at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants, 3x pinots on flights booked on amextravel.com, and 1x points on all other purchases)
• $120 a-year dining credit
• $100 airline fee credit and hotel upgrades and credits
• No foreign transaction fees
• Transfer partners

Cons

• Amex isn't accepted at as many locations as Visa or Mastercard.
• $250 annual fee
• No lounge membership

American Express Gold Card Rewards

With Amex Gold Card offers the greatest number of point-earning opportunities compared to other American Express Credit Cards.

How to Acquire Rewards

You will be able to earn 4 Membership Rewards points for every dollar you spend at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants for up to $25,000, then 1x points. You can also earn 3 points per dollar on travel booked through the American Express Travel portal. You can also earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

Using your rewards

1 American Express point can be redeemed for a value of 1 cent. Card users can apply their points for a statement credit, apply their points during checkout at select merchants or redeem points on a prepaid gift card. Amex points can also be redeemed for travel at a 1:1 value.

Amex Gold Card Benefits

The card features benefits for dining, airline, and hotel purchases.

Dining Credit

Up to $120 annually in dining credits. This is a perfect benefit for foodies. You can earn up to $10 in statement credits every month on eligible Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Boxed, and eligible Shake Shack purchases.

Airline Fee Credit

$120 Airline Fee Credit. With this perk, you can be reimbursed for multiple in-flight costs, including checked baggage or refreshments.

Hotel Credit

By booking a minimum of a two night trip through American Express Travel, you can choose from 600+ eligible properties and get up to a $100 hotel credit.  You may also possibly get a room upgrade.

Travel and shopping features

The American Express Gold Card also offers a variety of useful travel and shopping features, including:

• The Pay It Plan It and Pay Over Time alternate payment programs
• Travel and shopping protection  (car rental loss, baggage insurance, trip delay insurance  and damage insurance, extended warranty coverage, and purchase protection)
• A free ShopRunner membership and access to the preferred seating program for Ticketmaster events

Amex Gold Card Rates and fees

You can quickly cover the $250 annual fee with frequent dining and spending at supermarkets. Spending only $261 in any combination of the 4x-point bonus categories will cover the annual fee.

Besides that, there are no other hidden fees like foreign transaction fees. And since it isn’t a traditional credit card. There is a 15.99% to 22.99% variable ongoing APR for any balance carried monthly.