American Express® Gold Card review: A one-of-a-kind food-and-travel experience

Quick highlights

• Rewards rate: Earn 4X Membership Rewards points on restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S., plus earn 4X points for Uber Eats purchases and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year, then 1X points), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or via American Express Travel plus 1X points on all other purchases
• Welcome offer: 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membership
• Annual fee: $250
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
• Regular APR (for Pay Over Time): 20.99 percent to 28.99 percent (variable)

Current welcome offer

As a new cardholder, you can earn an impressive 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $4,000 in purchases within your first six months of card membership. Based on Bankrate's latest point valuations, this welcome offer could be worth around $1,260, which gives Amex points a value of around 2.1 cents per point, on average, when transferred to a high-value travel partner.

This is one of the best welcome offers available, and you’ll only need to spend about $667 per month to qualify for it. This is far more reasonable than other sign-up bonuses, like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which also has an impressive sign-up bonus but only gives you three months to meet the spend requirement.

That said, it's still possible for you to take advantage of a lower-annual-fee card to get comparable bonus value, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which currently offers the same bonus and spending requirement (60,000 points after spending $4,000 in your first three months after account opening). You also wouldn't need to transfer points to get a redemption value of more than 1 cent per point, which isn't the case with the Amex Gold.

When redeeming for flights or upgrading your airfare class through the American Express Travel portal, points are worth 1 cent each. 

We estimate American Express Membership Rewards points are worth around 2.1 cents each when you take advantage of one of the issuer’s highest-value travel transfer partners. These are prized as some of the most valuable travel rewards you can earn thanks to a diverse list of travel partners. Based on our valuations, here’s how it stacks up against the other top credit card rewards programs: 

The American Express Gold Card offers great value in its first year and on an ongoing basis. Generous offers from American Express add plenty of value with dining credits, Uber Cash and hotel experience credits. These three perks could be worth up to $340, which would more than help make up for the $250 annual fee.

The card’s ongoing rewards potential should give you plenty of chances to offset the annual fee. The average spender* will earn about $417 in yearly rewards value, but it only takes spending at least $521 across your two 4X categories (restaurants and U.S. supermarkets) to break even on the annual fee if you redeem your points toward Amex air travel.

Your first year with the Amex Gold is no doubt where you’ll see the most value because of its generous welcome offer — an up to $600 value through the issuer — and essentially double the ongoing value of the card.

*Based on our formula used to calculate each card’s average rewards rates and average ongoing rewards value, using Bureau of Labor Statistics spending data and an assumed $15,900 yearly spend over three years ($1,325 per month).

According to Emily Sherman, former Bankrate Senior Editor and credit card product news team expert, the American Express Gold is well worth the annual fee. When she’s not using the $10 in Uber Eats credits every month or the $10 dining credit toward Grubhub for even more deliveries, she’s taking advantage of the card’s generous bonus categories:

The American Express Gold Card is by far my favorite rewards credit card. Not only does it reward me handsomely in categories I spend the most (restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, primarily), but it is packed with credits that easily make up for its $250 annual fee.

— Emily Sherman,Former Bankrate Senior Editor

American Express Gold vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Compared to the Amex Gold card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card comes with a higher $395 annual fee and doesn’t offer bonus rewards for dining or U.S. supermarket purchases. You also won’t earn maximum bonus miles if you book airfare directly with an airline. However, these disadvantages may not matter, especially if you take advantage of all the card’s features.

When you book travel through the Capital One Travel portal, you get more chances to quickly rake in rewards: 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights. Your general purchases will earn 2X miles — twice as much as the 1X points the Gold card offers for general purchases. 

The Venture X also comes with an annual credit worth up to $300 for travel booked through Capital One Travel, a credit worth up to $100 to cover the cost of Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and 10,000 bonus miles on your account anniversary (once your annual fee is paid). To top it off, you also get access to Capital One and Priority Pass lounges. These perks have the potential to easily offset the Venture X’s annual fee and help the card outshine the Amex Gold card, especially if you pair it with a no-annual-fee dining or grocery rewards card. 

American Express Gold vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a more versatile travel card compared to the Amex Gold card. The Sapphire Preferred carries a much smaller $95 annual fee, saving you more than $150 a year compared to the Gold card’s annual fee. It offers higher bonus rewards on more travel options besides airfare, as long as you book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. You can also earn bonus rewards on dining, select streaming services, online grocery purchases, Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025) and travel purchases made outside the Chase travel portal. Depending on your spending habits, the number of categories earning bonus rewards could make up for the Sapphire Preferred’s slightly smaller dining and grocery rewards limitations. 

The Sapphire Preferred is one of the rare travel rewards cards that offers great value for various redemption options — even non-travel redemptions. Your points are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed for cash back options like statement credits and 1.25 cents when redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. 

That means 10,000 points with the Sapphire Preferred card will get you a $100 statement credit or $125 for travel booked through the Chase travel portal. On the other hand, 10,000 points with the Amex Gold card will only get you a $60 statement credit or $100 for travel booked through the American Express Travel portal. Plus, when you transfer your points, we estimate that Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 2 cents apiece, which is comparable to the Amex Gold card’s 2.1-cent-per-point valuation. 

The Sapphire Preferred only has one $50 hotel credit, which can’t match the overall value offered by the Amex Gold card’s credits. But when you take the Sapphire Preferred’s hotel credit and factor it in with the smaller annual fee, outstanding rewards program, and potential for greater value when redeeming your rewards, this mid-level travel card can outshine the Amex Gold card’s potential.

Best cards to pair with this card

Since the Amex Gold’s bonus rewards for travel only cover airfare, frequent travelers may want to pair it with another travel card, especially if you’re loyal to one particular hotel brand. A hotel rewards card could help you rake in a lot of bonus rewards on hotel stays. Some, like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card come with an impressive number of perks like automatic elite status and anniversary free night awards, which can help you save money and enjoy enhanced stays.  

Another option is to pair the Amex Gold card with a cash back card. If you have a lot of spending that falls outside the Gold card’s bonus rewards categories, instead of settling for only 1X points on those purchases, you can double that amount with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, which offers 2 percent cash rewards on purchases. 

The American Express Gold Card is a great choice if you’re looking for travel rewards for airfare and everyday expenses like restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases. Add in the credits, which could potentially be worth more than the $250 annual fee, and this card offers a unique food-and-travel experience you may not find with another card. But it’s not as versatile as other travel cards, as some travel cards offer premium perks that may be more appealing or let you redeem your rewards for better value. 

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.

For rates and fees of the Platinum Card® from American Express , please click here.

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.

The information about the American Express Cash Magnet® Card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.