When you should (or shouldn’t) use the Amex Gold Card

It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of the American Express® Gold Card at TPG.

While the card was refreshed in late July, it’s still in a Goldilocks sweet spot between premium and beginner cards, with strong earnings on restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases and over $400 in annual statement credits that can help offset its $325 annual fee (see rates and fees). Enrollment is required, and terms apply.

In this guide, we’ll highlight strategies that can help you earn thousands of bonus points each year by knowing when you should — and shouldn’t — use the Amex Gold Card.

Overview of the Amex Gold

The Amex Gold is the perfect “in-between” card, especially since it offers some serious benefits and earning potential for its $325 annual fee.

With this card, you’ll earn an impressive 4 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in spending per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) and restaurants (on up to $50,000 in spending per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), as well as 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with an airline or through amextravel.com.

And beyond this earning potential, this card comes with some serious benefits. You’ll get up to $424 in annual credits for dining, Dunkin’, Resy and Uber, travel perks like baggage insurance* and up to $100 in hotel credits for stays at The Hotel Collection properties (minimum two-night stay required). Enrollment is required for select benefits, and terms apply.

New Amex Gold cardmembers can earn a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of card membership. Plus, new cardmembers will earn 20% back as a statement credit for eligible restaurant purchases in the first cardmember year (up to $100 back).

According to TPG’s July 2024 valuations, this welcome offer is worth up to $1,300.

By using the CardMatch tool, you may get a more valuable welcome offer for the Amex Gold (offer subject to change at any time). Since American Express only allows cardmembers to earn one welcome offer per lifetime, it’s important to get the best offer you can.

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*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

When should you use the Amex Gold?

For dining

The Amex Gold isn’t the only card to offer a bonus category on dining at restaurants, but it might just be one of the most valuable.

Cardmembers earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants, up to $50,000 per calendar year (1 point per dollar thereafter). According to TPG’s July 2024 valuations, this equates to an 8% return on spending.

For that reason, it tops our list of the best cards for dining out at restaurants.

To get the most out of your Amex Gold for this category, you must maximize its dining statement credits.

Cardmembers can earn up to $10 per month (up to $120 per calendar year) in statement credits when paying with the Amex Gold at the following dining partners:

Grubhub
The Cheesecake Factory
Goldbelly
Wine.com
Five Guys

Additionally, cardmembers can receive up to $120 per calendar year in Uber Cash (up to $10 each month) to use on Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, so be sure to link your Amex Gold to your Uber account.

The Amex Gold also offers up to $100 in statement credits every calendar year for purchases made at U.S. restaurants affiliated with Resy. These statement credits are split into bi-annual, up-to-$50 credits.

Finally, an annual Dunkin’ Donuts credit of up to $84 per calendar year is allotted in up to $7 monthly increments. Simply use your Amex Gold to pay at Dunkin’.

For groceries

Food is the name of the game with the Amex Gold. Aside from dining at restaurants, the card earns 4 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year (1 point per dollar thereafter).

Therefore, you should definitely use the card for your next supermarket run, as it tops our list of the best cards for groceries.

It is possible to end up with a slightly higher return on purchases at U.S. supermarkets by using The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express — it earns 3 points per dollar at U.S. grocery stores on up to $6,000 in purchases per year, but every billing cycle you make 30 or more transactions with the card, you earn a 50% bonus, so your potential comes to 4.5 points per dollar.

That said, the bonus categories on the Amex Gold don’t require you to jump through any hoops, such as a minimum number of transactions per month to earn the highest earning rates, and the annual cap for U.S. grocery stores is much higher than that with the Amex EveryDay Preferred.

The information for the Amex EveryDay Preferred card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

For flights

While not as strong as some of our other favorite travel cards, the Amex Gold is a great card to use for flights if you don’t have a more premium travel card in your wallet. Its 3-point-per-dollar earning rate on flights booked directly through the airline or on Amex Travel is substantial.

Just keep in mind that if you were to use The Platinum Card® from American Express instead, you could earn 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar on flights booked through Amex Travel or directly with airlines, on up to $500,000 of such purchases per calendar year (1 point per dollar thereafter).

That said, the Amex Gold costs over $300 less per year versus the Amex Platinum (see Amex Platinum rates and fees), so I don’t recommend opening the Amex Platinum just for the extra two points per dollar on flights.

When shouldn’t you use the Amex Gold?

For everyday spending

The Amex Gold earns a mere 1 point per dollar on spending outside its specific bonus categories. Other cards issued by Amex and other banks can offer better earning rates.

For instance, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express might be a better option if you have a business. It has no annual fee (see rates and fees) but earns 2 points per dollar on the first $50,000 spent in purchases each year (then 1 point per dollar after that).

Alternatively, a card such as the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) earns 1% back when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay your statement. This means you can effectively earn 2% back.

If you also have the Citi Prestige® Card, you can combine your points into fully transferable ThankYou points. Based on TPG’s July 2024 valuation of Citi ThankYou points at 1.8 cents each, this means you can earn an effective 3.6% return when you buy and pay with your Citi Double Cash Card.

The information for the Citi Prestige card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

For non-flight travel, such as hotels or rental cars

While the Amex Gold earns 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with an airline or through amextravel.com, you don’t earn such a bonus on other travel expenses, and it doesn’t offer the same travel protections as some other cards out there.

Given that, using an alternative card for your non-flight bookings makes more sense.

One of the most popular travel rewards cards on the market is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, with a $95 annual fee. On the travel front, these are the current earning rates:

5 points per dollar on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
2 points per dollar on other travel

In addition, you’ll also receive the following non-travel bonuses:

3 points per dollar on dining
3 points per dollar on select streaming services
3 points per dollar on online groceries (excludes Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)

Bottom line

The Amex Gold is among the most rewarding cards on the market. But to truly maximize the Amex Gold’s earnings, you’ll have to be selective about where you’re using it.

Between the dining, Dunkin’, Resy and Uber statement credits, the card’s annual fee is fully covered, and you net positive value. Add in its bonus categories and you’ll be maximizing earnings like a pro in no time.

To learn more, check out our full review of the Amex Gold.

Apply here: American Express® Gold Card

For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Business Plus Amex Card, click here.

When you should (or shouldn’t) use the Amex Gold Card

Overview of the Amex Gold