American Express Gold Card — Full Review [2024]

Great Card If

• You want flexible redemption options
• You spend a lot at U.S. supermarkets, on dining out, or airfare
• You can use the annual dining credit
• You want a card with no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees)

Don’t Get If

• You don’t travel often
• You don’t spend much money on dining out, airfare, or supermarkets
• You prefer a card without an annual fee
• You prefer a card with elevated benefits, such as airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Amex Gold Card — Is It Worth it?

The Amex Gold card is a workhorse for earning Amex Membership Rewards points. It’s especially helpful for people with high annual spending on dining or U.S. supermarket purchases. You’d be hard-pressed to find many better cards for these purchases.

Some might see the card’s $325 annual fee and immediately write it off as a non-starter, but we find it valuable because the card offers an annual dining credit of up to $120 upon enrollment and up to $120 Uber Cash annually (rates & fees).

Not to mention that the card now comes with up to $100 in statement credits upon enrollment each year to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other Resy purchases. That’s up to $50 semi-annually. Plus, cardholders earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits upon enrollment at Dunkin’.

When you combine those credits with the card’s other benefits, including baggage insurance, access to Amex’s The Hotel Collection, and access to Amex Offers, you can see it’s fairly easy to get more value out of the card than the fee you pay.

Upgraded Points’ Editor and Content Contributor Nick Ellis explains why the Amex Gold card maintains a place in his wallet:

“The Amex Gold card was clearly designed with foodies in mind, and this is precisely why the card remains in my wallet. A significant amount of my monthly expenses come from eating at restaurants and bars and grocery shopping. The ability to earn 4x Membership Rewards on these purchases allows me to earn valuable Amex points at a rapid clip. I value the up to $120 annual dining credit in the form of $10 monthly statement credits on numerous restaurants and delivery services (including Grubhub, which I use often), and the up to $120 per year in Uber Cash, delivered in the form of $10 monthly statement credits, which can be used for Uber Eats orders.”

Nick Ellis, Upgraded Points editor and content contributor

The Amex Gold card is fantastic at earning points for food lovers. Additionally, if you prefer to do your grocery shopping online to save time, the Amex Gold card earns 4x points on grocery delivery services, including Instacart and FreshDirect.

To help you decide on whether the Amex Gold card is worth it for you, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I spend a lot each year on dining, airfare, and at U.S. supermarkets?
• Can I easily get more value out of the card’s benefits than the annual fee I’ll pay?
• Do I want a card that earns transferable rewards?

If you answered yes to those questions, then the Amex Gold card would likely be worth it for you.

Amex Gold Card Top Benefits

Rewards Bonus Categories

• 4x points at restaurants worldwide, up to $50,000 per calendar year; 1x thereafter
• 4x points at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 per calendar year; 1x thereafter
• 3x points on flights purchased directly from airlines or with AmexTravel.com
• 2x points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked through AmexTravel.com
• 1x points on all other eligible purchases

Up to $120 Dining Credit

Earn up to $10 in dining statement credits each month when you use your card with the following restaurants and food delivery services: Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.

Up to $120 Uber Cash

Your Amex Gold card gives you up to $120 annually in Uber Cash, distributed as $10 each month, that can be used on Uber rides, Uber Eats orders, and Uber groceries in the U.S. (only available in select markets). Be sure to add your Amex Gold card to your Uber account to receive this benefit!

Up to $84 Dunkin’ Credit

You can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits by simply enrolling in the benefit through your American Express account and using your card to pay for purchases at Dunkin’.

Up to $100 Resy Credit

Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year by using your card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Note that enrollment is required through your American Express account so be sure to make the most of your card’s benefits.

The Hotel Collection

The Amex Gold card gets you access to The Hotel Collection. This group of exclusive hotels offers special benefits to cardmembers when booking a stay of at least 2 nights at select properties in the collection. You can enjoy the following benefits with The Hotel Collection:

• $100 hotel credit to spend on dining, spa, or resort charges
• Room upgrade when available

Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance

Use your card to reserve and pay for your car rental, decline the rental agency’s coverage, and you’ll be covered (up to $50,000) if the car is damaged or stolen. This coverage is secondary to other insurance.

Baggage Insurance Plan

If you pay for your entire common carrier ticket with your Amex Gold card, and the carrier damages your bag or the items inside, you can receive coverage of up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and $500 for checked baggage.

Purchase Protection

When you make a purchase with your card and the item is accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, you’ll receive coverage for up to 90 days from the purchase date and $10,000 per occurrence.

Extended Warranty Protection

If you purchase an item that has a manufacturer’s warranty of fewer than 5 years, your card extends that warranty coverage by 1 additional year.

Best Ways To Earn and Redeem Your Amex Points

Even though the Amex Gold card is great at earning points on its own, there are still many other ways to earn Amex Membership Rewards points.

Since you’ll earn points rapidly, you need to know how to put those points to good use. To do so, we recommend you check out our guide to the best ways to redeem your Amex points for maximum value.

So much of learning how to maximize your points and miles comes down to learning how to effectively use transfer partners. If you want to learn how to squeeze as much value as possible from your points, you must learn about the American Express transfer partners and how to use them!

Here at Upgraded Points, we’ve used our Amex Membership Rewards points to book world-class travel experiences, including Singapore Suites, Etihad Apartments, and Thai Airways first class.

Alternatives to the Amex Gold Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of the most popular travel rewards cards on the market, and with benefits including 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, no foreign transaction fees, and flexible redemption options (including transfer partners), it’s easy to see why the card is so popular.

For just a $95 annual fee, you’ll be able to start earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points, one of the most valuable loyalty currencies available. Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for incredible value through the program’s select Chase transfer partners.

See how these 2 cards stack up: Amex Gold card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

There’s a lot to love about the Capital One Venture card — including Capital One airline and hotel transfer partners and at least 2x miles on all purchases.

If the majority of your daily spending comes from purchases outside of dining and travel categories, then the Capital One Venture card might be a great option for you.

See how these cards stack up: Amex Gold card vs. Capital One Venture card.

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

The Citi Strata Premier card offers 3x points on travel purchases, including gas stations and EV charging stations, making it one of the few travel credit cards to offer a high return on gas purchases. It also earns 10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com.

This makes the card an excellent choice for those who drive often for work or love taking road trips. Citi Strata Premier cardholders will also earn 3x points on restaurants and supermarkets.

See how these cards stack up: Amex Gold card vs. Citi Strata Premier card.

We’ve compared the Amex Gold card to some other popular credit cards:

• Amex Gold card vs. American Express^® Business Gold Card
• Amex Gold card vs. Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express
• Amex Gold card vs. Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express
• Amex Gold card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve^®
• Amex Gold card vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Amex Gold card vs. Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum American Express Card
• Amex Gold card vs. The Platinum Card^® from American Express

For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the American Express^® Gold Card, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For the baggage insurance plan benefit of the American Express^® Gold Card, baggage insurance plan coverage can be in effect for eligible persons for eligible lost, damaged, or stolen baggage during their travel on a common carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus) when the entire fare for a common carrier vehicle ticket for the trip (one-way or round-trip) is charged to an eligible account. Coverage can be provided for up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage, in excess of coverage provided by the common carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus). For New York State residents, there is a $10,000 aggregate maximum limit for all covered persons per covered trip. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the purchase protection benefit of the American Express^® Gold Card, purchase protection is an embedded benefit of your card membership and requires no enrollment. It can help protect covered purchases made on your eligible card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date. The coverage is limited up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Coverage limits apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the extended warranty benefit of the American Express^® Gold Card, when an American Express^® card member charges a covered purchase to an eligible card, extended warranty can provide up to one extra year added to the original manufacturer’s warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.