KEY BENEFITS

• 60,000 Membership Rewards Points Welcome Bonus after you spend $6,000+ in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months (Based on our valuation, this offer can be worth up to $1,200+)

• 4X Points at Restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.

• 4X Points on Groceries at U.S. Supermarkets (up to $25,000 annually, then 1x)

• 3X Points on Flights booked directly with the airlines or on AmexTravel.com

• 2X Points on eligible hotel reservations booked via The Hotel Collection

• $100 Hotel Collection Credit toward on-property dining, spa, and resort activities

• 1X Membership Rewards on all other purchases

• Up to $120 Dining Credit - Satisfy your cravings and earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.

• Up to $120 Uber Cash - $10/month Uber Cash per month for up to $120 per year. Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and you’ll automatically get $10 in monthly Uber Cash.

• Access to Amex Offers - these can save you hundreds of dollars!

• APR Annual Percentage Rate - See Pay Over Time APR ( 21.24% to 29.24% variable APR on eligible charges). See Rates & Fees.

• Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. American Express® Gold Card. See Rates & Fees.

TO THE POINT

If you’re like most people, one of your biggest everyday expenses is focused around two areas: dining out and groceries. With the increasingly popular American Express® Gold Card, you’ll be able to earn a massive amount of Membership Reward points on dining out, takeout, delivery, groceries, and airfare which can be maximized to save you money in your future travel. The current Welcome Bonus is a competitive, all-time high, offering you the opportunity to earn 60,000 Membership Rewards! We value this Welcome Bonus at up to $1,200+! With such a generous Welcome Bonus and recurring annual benefits, this card practically pays for itself. Don’t take our word for it, read below to see how this card can add up for you (spoiler alert: it will!).

At first glance, the American Express® Gold Card seems to be targeted at foodies and Millennials, since its reward bonus structure is focused on global dining, groceries, and airfare. Upon looking deeper, we find that it’s actually an excellent mid-tier card for anyone that finds themselves eating out, ordering in, buying groceries, or taking a couple of flights each year. When it comes to the physical card itself, you’ll find a sturdy metal gold-colored masterpiece, which has the classic and elegant American Express design stamped with the iconic Centurion logo. For a mid-tier credit card, this metal card is quite more substantial than the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, but not quite as luxuriously built as its premium big brother, The Platinum Card® from American Express.

The American Express® Gold Card comes with up to $120 in annual dining statement credits ($10/month) and a $120 Uber Cash ($10/month). That’s a total value of up to $240 annually, to offset the $250 annual fee so that the net cost is a mere $10 per year. That net annual fee of only $10 a year is quickly offset by the Gold Card’s ability to earn 4x Points on dining at restaurants, 4x Points on groceries at U.S. supermarkets, as well as 3x Points on flights booked directly with the airline or through AmexTravel.com. All of this is on top of the initial Welcome Offer of up to 60,000 Membership Rewards.

For most of us, our biggest recurring expense is food, especially for those of us that have a family. If you travel a few times per year and spend mostly on dining and groceries, this card is a no-brainer, and you’ll quickly come out ahead of the annual fee. Let’s dive into the numbers to make sure the math behind this card’s benefits vs annual fee works for you.

If you’re interested in adding the American Express® Gold Card to your wallet, use the link below to be taken to our partners at CreditCards.com!

VALUE PROPOSITION

At the Point Passport, we like to make the value proposition of the cards we review easy to understand. To do that, we break down the value into two parts: the initial sign-up and the sustaining costs that occur every year after.

Phase 1 – The Welcome Bonus

Before we dive in, remember our valuation is subjective and we base it on the average redemption value that we receive from redeeming Membership Reward points. The value you receive from your points may depend on how you choose to redeem them, so you may see even more or somewhat less value in these points than we do. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s see how the math plays out!

With a current Welcome Bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards, and based on our Membership Reward Points value at 2.0 CPP (Cents Per Point, or $0.02/MR point). The value from this card is as follows:

60,000 Membership Reward Points Welcome Bonus x $0.02 = $1,200

First Year Benefits:

$120 Dining Credit - $10/month statement credit, enrollment required

$120 Dining Credit - $10/month statement credit, enrollment required

Up to $240 in total first-year benefit value

Welcome Bonus + Annual Benefits – Annual Fee = Net Cost

60,000 Membership Rewards Points Welcome Bonus: $1,200 Welcome Bonus + $240 first-year benefit value – $250 annual fee = $1,190 net value

Phase 2 – After the Welcome Offer (Year 2+)

2nd Year Benefits:

$120 Dining Credit - $10/month statement credit, enrollment required

$120 Dining Credit - $10/month statement credit, enrollment required

Up to $240 per year in benefit value

Annual Benefits – Annual Fee = Net Value/Cost

$240 second year (and beyond) benefit value – $250 annual fee = $10 Net Cost

Now let’s assume you plan to actually use this card for some food and groceries each year. If you spend $1,000/year ($83/month) at grocery stores or going out to eat, you’ll earn:

$1,000 x 4x Membership Rewards Points = 4,000 Membership Rewards Points

Those 4,000 Membership Reward Points are worth approximately $80. So updating our formula, we find:

Annual Benefits + Earned Membership Rewards Points – Annual Fee = Net Value/Cost

$240 second year (and beyond) benefits + $80 in Membership Rewards point value – $250 annual fee = $70 Net value

Depending on your spending patterns, this may or may not make sense for you, but it’s quite easy to break even (the break-even point is only $125 on groceries or food per year).

Editor’s Note on Our Points Valuations: Our valuation is based on our ability to use travel transfer partners to get a valuation of 2.0 CPP (Cents Per Point) or greater (>$0.02). We’ve consistently been able to redeem American Express Membership Reward points for at least this value, and have been able to get well over 3.0 CPP. Inside the American Express Travel portal, you’ll find that American Express will let you redeem them for a value of 1.0 CPP, or $0.01/MR point. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you learn to maximize your points for far more value than that! Please feel free to DM us on Instagram @pointspassport or email us at hello@thepointspassport.com for help with redeeming your points!

PRIMARY BENEFITS

• 4X Points at Restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.

• 4X Points on Groceries at U.S. Supermarkets (up to $25,000 annually, then 1x)

• 3X Points on Flights booked directly with the airlines or on AmexTravel.com

• 2X Points on eligible hotel reservations booked via The Hotel Collection

• $100 Hotel Collection Credit toward on-property dining, spa, and resort activities

• 1X Membership Rewards on all other purchases

• Up to $120 Dining Credit – Earn up to $120/year. $10/month statement credits at eligible restaurants such as Grubhub, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.

• Up to $120 Uber Cash - $10/month Uber Cash per month for a total of up to $120 per year. Simply add your Gold Card to your Uber account and you’ll automatically get $10 in monthly Uber Cash.

• Access to Amex Offers could result in hundreds of dollars of savings!

• No Foreign Transaction Fees – 0% fees for transactions when traveling internationally. Most other cards can charge up to a 3% fee, just for handling the transaction when aboard.

• Annual Fee: $250

• APR Annual Percentage Rate - See Pay Over Time APR (21.24% to 29.24% variable APR on eligible charges)

• Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. American Express® Gold Card Rates & Fees.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

• Trip Delay Coverage – Cardholders who use their American Express® Gold Card for flight payment are covered for expenses of up to $300 for meals, lodging, and personal use items if their trip is delayed for more than 12 hours. You’re covered even if you booked your trips with Membership Reward points with this benefit. The one caveat is the flights must be on a round trip itinerary, how American Express does count two one-way tickets as a “round trip”. If you are looking to upgrade your travel coverage check out or deep-dive review of The Platinum Card®, which provides covered expenses up to $500 for meals, lodging, and personal use items, if your trip is delayed more than 6 hours.

• Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Baggage Coverage – Receive up to $500 per person for checked bags and $1,250 per person for carry-ons. This could save you a small fortune if you were to leave your luggage or suit bag on the plane and it disappears. For us, simply not having to stress as much if something goes wrong is worth a lot! Find more information in the American Express terms.

• The Hotel Collection – Book two or more consecutive nights via The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 hotel credit toward qualified on-property dining, spa, and resort activities. Enjoy a complimentary room upgrade upon arrival, if available. Earn 2X Membership Rewards Points when booking through The Hotel Collection.

• Purchase Protection – Your purchases are covered for up to 90 days if they are damaged, lost, or stolen. Your purchase is covered up to $10,000 per item, and $50,000 per calendar year. See the American Express terms and conditions for more information here.

• Extended Warranty – Up to one additional year over coverage on original manufacturer’s warranties of five years or less. See the American Express terms and conditions for more information here.

• Amex Offers – American Express has a constant stream of offers that can deliver you even more value. A few examples of offers that we have claimed are: Spend $250 at a Waldorf Astoria property; get $50 statement credit. Spend $100 at Harry & David’s; get $20 statement credit. Spend $349 on GoPro.com and receive $70. Spend $150 on 7 for All Mankind jeans and receive $75. Receive 9x Membership Rewards Points when spending at Sephora. We have tons of Amex Offers on our account and new ones flow in every month, so make sure you check often!

• ShopRunner– Complimentary ShopRunner membership which includes free 2-day shipping and free returns from over 100+ retailers. It’s basically Amazon Prime for popular retail stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Neiman’s Marcus, Cole Haan, Kiehl’s, and more!

WHAT THESE BENEFITS ACTUALLY MEAN

The primary benefits of the American Express® Gold Card are focused on travelers and foodies alike, which is backed by the fact that restaurants and groceries at U.S. supermarkets earn 4x Membership Rewards Points (up to $25,000 in purchases per year at U.S. supermarkets). These are the most substantial rewards earning rates covering all food expenses, including eating out at restaurants, cooking at home with the food you purchased at the supermarket, and even ordering take-out or delivery food. The American Express® Gold Card is even stronger than the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s 3x Ultimate Rewards Points return for dining. As for the travel category, the American Express® Gold Card earns the same rate as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, with 3x Membership Rewards for airfare, which is on par with the Chase Sapphire Reserve for airfare, but it’s limited to just that airfare category. In contrast, the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3x in all travel-related categories.

The Gold Card’s dining credit can be tricky, as it’s $10/month and only with select participating partners, so make sure you have one nearby that you frequent to take advantage of this perk. If you don’t, you can always order delivery by GrubHub or Seamless to reap the $10/month statement credit. To receive this benefit, make sure you enroll via your American Express account as soon as you receive the card.

Updated for 2021, the Gold Card dropped its $100 airline fee credit, and instead, American Express upgraded the card by adding up to an annual $120 Uber Cash. We find this to be much easier to take advantage of, since all you have to do is link your Gold Card to your Uber account, and you’ll automatically receive $10 per month in Uber Cash. This does expire each month, so make sure you either take a Uber or order a meal through Uber Eats each month to maximize this benefit and receive the full value of up to $120 per year!

As for the other benefits, you will likely use the purchase protection and the extended warranty the most. The baggage insurance can be beneficial if you used your American Express Gold Card to get those 3x Membership Rewards Points, and the airline lost your bags. Amex Offers can be quite valuable, and we’ve things from $100 off a Casper mattress to $10 off of a $50 PF Chang’s purchase. When it comes to car rental insurance, however, we want to point out that it’s a secondary policy. This means that if you decline the car rental insurance, your personal auto insurance will become the primary coverage, and in the event that an accident or damage to the rental car occurs, American Express will only cover what your primary doesn’t. This is very different from the full, primary coverage offered by a premium travel card, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve. In all fairness, comparing that card with the American Express® Gold Card is apples to oranges. Especially since the annual fee difference has become even more significant, as the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s annual fee is currently $550.

FINAL POINT

Overall, the Point Passport highly recommends the American Express® Gold Card for anyone who finds that a good portion of their current monthly budget is going towards food, and travels a few times a year. While it’s not a “full-blown” premium travel card like The Platinum Card® or the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it also doesn’t carry as high of an annual fee as those cards do. The American Express Gold Card’s $250 annual fee seems high but after the statement credits and benefits, the recurring year two and beyond the net cost is just a minimal $10/year. The American Express® Gold Card sits perfectly at the mid-tier credit card level, and the Membership Rewards earning rate or the redemption of a single Amex Offer, will easily offset that $10 effective net annual fee and put you far, far ahead and closer to your next dream vacation!

From a points-earning perspective, whether it’s a trendy and fun restaurant in a big city, ordering your favorite take out via GrubHub, or shopping at your local Whole Foods in the suburbs, those 4x Membership Rewards Points equate to approximately 8% back in value (based on the current consensus value of $0.02/MR valuation), which makes it one of the most powerful cards for these categories. After running the math and analyzing the data, the Welcome Bonus more than offsets the annual cost for years to come. If you spend even just an average amount on dining and groceries, the American Express® Gold Card is an excellent card to round out your wallet. The American Express® Gold Card holds its own and can be leveraged to create a powerhouse when paired with complimentary premium and non-premium credit cards, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express or even the Chase Sapphire Reserve. The value we’re able to maximize from the American Express® Gold Card each year dramatically exceeds its annual fee, which is why we’ve placed it at the top of our wallet year after year!

If you’re interested in adding the American Express® Gold Card to your wallet, use the link below to be taken to our partners at CreditCards.com!

Please note: the content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired.