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American Express Gold Card Review 2024

American Express® Gold Card review
KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • The American Express® Gold Card offers a variety of benefits, including dining credits, Membership Rewards points, Uber Cash and preferred access to premium seats at sports and entertainment events.
  • What we think: For people who love traveling and dining out, this card could be a winner. Its annual fee may be difficult for the average Joe to justify, but its statement credits alone are worth more than the annual fee, so you’re Golden (get it?) if you can use them.
  • Amex Gold is an excellent choice for dining rewards, earning 4x points at restaurants, including takeout and delivery. It’s one of the best rewards credit cards you can get for dining perks.
  • The card includes several travel benefits, including complimentary travel insurance, concierge services and access to the Premium Global Assist Hotline.
  • The card has a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees) for the primary user, but it can pay for itself with points and travel benefits.
SUMMARY

If you’re looking for a new card to add to your wallet, consider The American Express® Gold Card. Amex Gold is a winner for foodies, and card membership provides access to well over $250 per year in benefits, including a dining credit, making it worth the annual fee.

This American Express Gold Card review will help you understand what is included with membership and decide if the Amex Gold Card is a good match for you.

We’ll cover:

Discover the benefits of signing up for a Gold Card, one of the best American Express credit cards, and using it to pay for everything from first-class airline tickets to groceries at U.S. supermarkets.
Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Generous welcome offer
  • High rewards potential
  • Many transfer partners available

Cons

  • High annual fee
  • Complicated statement credits
  • Good or excellent credit recommended
American Express® Gold Card
LEARN MORE
Rates & Fees / Terms Apply on Bankrate's secure site
Key Information
Earn 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X) and restaurants (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, and 1X points on other eligible purchases. $250 annual fee.

Is the American Express Gold Card worth it?

The American Express Gold Card is worth it for people who love dining out or spending a lot at the supermarket. If this describes you, the Gold Card offers more than enough benefits to justify the $250 annual fee.

Because this credit card has no preset spending limit and gives you plenty of premium benefits, it qualifies as a luxury card in more ways than one. One thing that makes the Gold Card special is the quadruple Membership Rewards points you earn on eligible purchases at restaurants, including take out and delivery, and at grocery stores.

If you’re a foodie or just want to earn rewards from your grocery bill, the Amex Gold card is definitely worth considering.

Pros of the Amex Gold Card
  • Hundreds of dollars worth of annual statement credits are available to use.
  • Transferable points through the Amex Membership Rewards program.
  • The welcome offer is easily worth over $600.
  • Comes with travel insurance benefits*.
Cons of the Amex Gold Card
  • The $250 annual fee may be difficult to recoup if you can’t take advantage of all of the card’s benefits.
  • The statement credits and rewards are somewhat complicated to use.
  • No airport lounge benefits.
  • Subpar redemption rate outside of travel partners.

Learn more about the Amex Gold Card

Terms apply / Rates & fees

*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.

Benefits of the Amex Gold Card

The Amex Gold card has valuable benefits and perks, like travel insurance, dining credits, hotel credits, and more. Although it has a $250 annual fee, it could easily be worth it for the right person.

Here’s what to expect as an American Express member.

Amex Gold travel benefits

Although you don’t earn as many points on travel as you do at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, the Gold Card still offers plenty of travel benefits.

These Amex Gold travel benefits include:

Unlike the Amex Platinum Card, the Gold Card doesn’t include complimentary access to airport lounges.

*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.

Amex Gold credits

Points-earning capabilities are just one of the benefits of getting a Gold Card and joining the Membership Rewards program.

As a member, you also get access to several credits, such as:

Amex Gold purchase protection

When you use your Gold Card to make an eligible purchase, you get the benefit of Amex purchase protection. American Express offers up to $10,000 per covered purchase and up to $50,000 per calendar year for most covered events. If the loss occurs due to a natural disaster, Amex only provides up to $500 in purchase protection per event.

American Express Gold Card rewards

So many people stick with Amex because of its robust Membership Rewards program. You can earn points in several ways, making it even easier to take advantage of this high-value card’s member benefits.

To take a closer look at how Amex rewards work, we’ll break it down by:

Amex Gold welcome offer

Many of the best cash-back credit cards offer a few thousand points for signing up. The Gold Card is different and raises the bar. Currently, American Express is offering 60,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases during your first six months of membership. This makes it worth adding a new card to your wallet.

Whereas the 60,000-point bonus is available to every approved applicant, American Express often sends better sign-up offers to targeted individuals, with some new members earning 75,000 in bonus points. You may even receive a welcome offer of 90,000 Membership Rewards points or more.

Earn American Express Gold rewards points

You also earn bonus points on every eligible purchase. How much you earn depends on the category.

Here’s how it breaks down:

1

Restaurants

The Membership Rewards program gives you 4X points on eligible purchases at restaurants. For example, if you treat yourself to a $500 steak dinner at Morton’s in Los Angeles, you’ll receive 2,000 Membership Rewards points (500 x 4).

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2

U.S. supermarkets

American Express also offers 4X points on purchases made at U.S. supermarkets. So for example,f you spend $100 on organic greens and fresh fruit, you’ll get 400 bonus points (100 x 4).

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3

Air travel

With the Membership Rewards program, you earn 3X points on air travel booked directly with an airline or with American Express Travel. For example, if you’ve been eyeing a $5,000 trip to Las Vegas, you can earn 15,000 points (5,000 x 3).

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4

Everything else

Even if your purchase doesn’t fall into one of the bonus categories, you’ll still earn 1 point per dollar. For example, if you spend $49 on books and magazines, you’ll get 49 points.

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Earn points with Amex offers

As part of the Membership Rewards program, Gold Card members also receive special offers from American Express. All you have to do is browse the list of available offers, activate the ones you plan to use and collect Membership Rewards points on each purchase.

Amex partners with a wide range of brands to provide discounts and limited-time offers on everything from streaming services to designer duds.

Earn points with the Amex Gold referral bonus

With the Amex Gold referral bonus, you can earn points even if you don’t spend any money.

Here’s how it works:

  1. You use the American Express website to enter a friend’s name and email address.
  2. Amex sends that friend a link to the Gold Card application.
  3. If your friend completes the application and qualifies for a Gold Card or another American Express card, you’ll get a referral bonus. They’ll also get a sign-up bonus to sweeten the deal.

Redeem American Express Gold rewards points

You have several options when it comes to redeeming your Membership Rewards points:

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Who should get the Amex Gold Card?

You should consider the Gold Card if you dine out frequently, spend a lot on groceries, or travel regularly for work or leisure.

Although the Gold Card doesn’t have some of the travel benefits included with other American Express products, it does offer triple points on flights booked directly with airlines or arranged by American Express Travel. It also has a comprehensive Membership Rewards program, making it easier to maximize your annual benefits.

If you’re looking for a card with great benefits and rewards without the high fees of other luxury options, the American Express Gold card checks all of the right boxes.

American Express Gold Card limit, rates & fees

Before you apply for the Amex Gold Card and start taking advantage of the Membership Rewards program, it’s important to understand the costs associated with card usage.

Here are the limits, fees and interest charges you need to know about.

What is the American Express Gold Card limit?

The American Express Gold Card doesn’t have a preset spending limit. This flexible spending limit is set monthly and depends on your credit history, debt level, income, payment history, and spending habits.

Having no preset spending limit can be beneficial to those who frequently charge high amounts and want to make the most of their reward points. However, having no preset spending limit does not mean there is no credit limit at all, and you need to be especially careful to make sure you aren’t charging more than you can afford to pay off.

American Express Gold Card rates

The American Express Gold Card doesn’t have a regular APR, but you may pay interest on the following:

American Express Gold Card fees

Here’s an overview of current fees.

Transaction Type Fee
Annual Fee $250
Balance Transfer $5 or 3% of the transfer, whichever is greater
Cash Advance $10 or 5% of each cash advance, whichever is greater
Foreign Transaction $0
Late Payment Up to $40
Returned Payment Up to $40

(see rates and fees)

American Express is more than just a credit card issuer

The first step in growing and maintaining consistent savings is to understand your personal finances through checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and more.

If you want to save and grow your money, consider the following Amex products:

How do you become an Amex Gold member?

You can apply to become an Amex Gold member online from the comfort of your own home. You’ll just need to provide all the required information, including your annual income and contact details.

The Gold Card is somewhat difficult to get as it requires a credit score of at least 670. You have a higher chance of getting approved if you have a score in the 700s or 800s. American Express also requires applicants to have plenty of income as the Gold Card has no preset spending limit and a significant annual fee. Depending on your personal details, you may be able to pre-qualify for an American Express card. If you’re interested in improving your credit score, you might find useful tips in our guide on how to raise your credit score.

How does the American Express Gold Card compare to other cards?

If you want amazing travel benefits, the Gold Card is a great mid-tier option.

Although it does come with travel insurance and hotel credits, there are better travel cards out there. That said, card membership gives you access to multiple statement credits, quadruple points on dining and U.S. supermarkets, monthly Uber Cash and a comprehensive Membership Rewards program. It’s a great fit for anyone who loves to try new restaurants or explore high-end grocery stores.

The Gold Card does have a higher fee than many credit cards, but it’s easy to make it worth it with statement credits, Membership Rewards points and other card benefits. It also has no foreign transaction fees, reasonable balance transfer fees and a generous sign-up bonus.

Amex Gold Card vs Platinum Card

Simply put, the Amex Gold card is better for everyday spending with the added benefit of some travel perks, while The Platinum Card® from American Express is better for frequent travelers who want luxury benefits. The Gold card has a lower annual fee, but the Platinum comes with more perks and credits. If you’re struggling to decide which is right for you, check out our American Express Gold vs. Platinum Card guide and our Amex Platinum Card Review for more details.

Amex Gold Card vs Blue Cash Preferred

The big difference here is that the Amex Gold Card is a rewards credit card that earns membership points and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a cash-back card, so your choice comes down to what type of rewards you want. If travel benefits matter to you, the Gold Card comes out on top. If you want to save money with a lower annual fee, Blue Cash Preferred is the winner with an annual fee of only $95 (see rates and fees). For more details, check out our Amex Blue Cash Preferred review. 

There is also the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, which is one of the best credit cards with no annual fee (see rates and fees). The reward rates are a bit lower and there are a few less perks, but it’s a fair trade off if you’re on a budget.  

Other Amex alternatives to the Gold Card

If you’re not sold on the Gold Card, American Express has other niche travel cards that may interest you. Some of the best airline credit cards come from Amex, specifically if you’re a Delta frequent flyer. There are 4 American Express Delta cards to choose from:

Amex also partners with Marriott to offer the Bonvoy line of hotel credit cards, like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, that let you earn points for free stays and upgrades.

You can also find out how the Amex Gold card compares in our detailed comparison of Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Amex Gold.

If you’re still having trouble deciding, use our CardMatch tool to get paired up with the perfect card for you.

Amex Gold Card FAQs

Can anyone get an Amex Gold Card?

Anyone can apply for the Amex Gold Card, but you won’t be approved unless you meet the income and credit criteria. American Express doesn’t publicize the minimum credit score needed for a Gold Card, but you should have a FICO score of at least 670 before you apply. Your chances of approval increase with a score of 700 or higher, provided you meet other eligibility requirements.

How do I know my Amex Gold limit?

The Amex Gold Card doesn’t have a preset spending limit. American Express allows you to spend as much as needed each month based on your income and payment history, giving you more control over your finances. The lack of a limit makes it easier to take advantage of statement credits and other benefits of the Membership Rewards program.

Does Amex Gold have foreign transaction fees?

American Express doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees.

Is the Amex Gold Card metal?

Yes! The American Express Gold Card is made of stainless steel, making it more durable and sleek than traditional credit cards made from plastic.

Is Amex Gold for businesses?

The Amex Gold card is a consumer credit card and is not intended for businesses. Instead, the American Express® Business Gold Card is a great option for businesses, letting them earn points in whatever 2 categories they spend the most on. It’s one of the best Amex business cards you can get.

Leigh Morgan
Leigh Morgan Personal Finance

Leigh Morgan is a seasoned personal finance contributor with over 15 years of experience writing on a diverse range of professional legal and financial topics. She specializes in subjects like navigating the complexities of insurance, savings, zero-based budgeting and emergency fund development.

In the last 5 years, she’s authored over 300 articles for credit unions, digital banks, and financial professionals. Morgan is also the author of “77 Tips for Preventing Elder Financial Abuse,” a book focused on helping caregivers protect the elderly from financial scams.

In addition to her writing skills, she brings real-world financial acumen thanks to her previous experience managing rental properties as part of a $34 million real estate portfolio.

* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.

All products or services are presented in this content without warranty. The information, including card details such as rates and fees, is accurate at the time of publish. Please visit each bank's website directly for the most current information.

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