American Express® Gold Card: Review, Benefits, and Guide to the Card

Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.

March 7, 2025: The American Express® Gold Card offers good rewards on dining and at U.S. supermarkets. But with a high annual fee and a somewhat complicated rewards system, the card isn’t for everybody.

Here’s what you need to know about the Amex Gold Card.

American Express® Gold Card Review

Cards and Points Rating: 2.5/5.0
Read more about our star ratings.

The American Express® Gold Card has lost a lot of its luster. Over the last few years, Amex has increased the annual fee, capped the rewards you can earn, and added a bunch of benefits to the card that are fairly onerous to use.

When it comes to earning points, the card earns decent enough rewards at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets, but Membership Rewards® has its downsides. The fact that you can’t redeem the points for cash back rewards at a reasonable value means that the program has significantly less value if you’re not willing to learn how to use international airline loyalty programs.

We like that Resy credits are structured as $50 in semi-annual credits (versus monthly credits on the Delta credit cards) but the mental overhead of remembering to use small monthly credits for Dunkin’, Uber, and dining at a very small set of restaurants means that these benefits provide very little value. (Enrollment required and terms apply to most credits.)

If you are a travel rewards enthusiast who dines out frequently and purchases groceries at U.S. supermarkets, you can possibly get enough value out of the card to justify its annual fee, but we think most people can find better cards for them.

Amex Gold Card Offer: Earn Membership Rewards® when getting a new card

Annual fee: annual_fees
(See Rates and Fees)

Standard welcome offer: bonus_miles_full
Learn how to apply.

Before you apply: The bonus above is very likely not the best bonus available on this card. Amex continuously changes the bonus on this card and you can probably find a better bonus by going directly to the American Express website or finding a referral link from a friend.

This bonus is earned as Membership Rewards® points.

American Express® Gold Card at a glance

Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee
(See Rates and Fees)

The American Express® Gold Card offers excellent rewards for dining at restaurants worldwide and on groceries at U.S. supermarkets. But the high annual fee coupled with complicated statement credits and rewards points make the Gold Card lose a little bit of its shine.

Welcome offer

Standard welcome offer: bonus_miles_full
Learn how to apply.

Before you apply: The bonus above is very likely not the best bonus available on this card. Amex continuously changes the bonus on this card and you can probably find a better bonus by going directly to the American Express website or finding a referral link from a friend.

This bonus is earned as Membership Rewards® points.

Rewards

• 4x at restaurants worldwide
  on up to $50k in purchases.
• 4x on groceries at U.S. supermarkets
  on up to $25k in purchases per calendar year.
• 3x on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
• 2x on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel purchases, booked through AmexTravel.com
• 1x on other eligible purchases.

Rewards are earned as Amex Membership Rewards® points.

American Express Membership Rewards® can offer great value if you transfer the points to one of Amex’s many travel transfer partners. You can also redeem the points for travel through Amex Travel.

One important downside to Membership Rewards is that the points cannot be redeemed for cash back at a decent rate in most cases. See our article on how to cash out Membership Rewards® if you’re interested in cash back rewards.

Benefits

Consumer insurance benefits

• Purchase Protection.
• Extended Warranty.

Travel insurance benefits

• Trip Delay Insurance.
• Global Assist® Hotline.
• Baggage Insurance Plan.
• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance.

Partner benefits and statement credits

• $120 ($10 monthly) Uber Cash. Add your card to your Uber account and automatically get $10 in Uber Cash each month for Uber Easts orders or Uber rides in the U.S. Am Amex card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $84 ($7 monthly) Dunkin’ credit. Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
• $100 ($50 semi-annually) Resy credit. Get up to $50 back semi-annually in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. Enrollment required.
• $120 ($10 monthly) Dining credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at participating partners. Current partners include Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
• $100 credits with The Hotel Collection. Book two nights or more with The Hotel Collection‡ through AmexTravel.com and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges. (Eligible charges vary by property)
• Amex Offers. Save money with targeted offers on your credit card. Enrollment required for each offer. Learn more about Amex Offers.

Rewards: Earn Membership Rewards® Points for purchases

With the American Express® Gold Card you’ll earn Membership Rewards® points on your purchases. Here’s what the card earns:

• 4x at restaurants worldwide
  on up to $50k in purchases.
• 4x on groceries at U.S. supermarkets
  on up to $25k in purchases per calendar year.
• 3x on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
• 2x on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel purchases, booked through AmexTravel.com
• 1x on other eligible purchases.

The best way to use Membership Rewards®

The Membership Rewards® points you’ll earn, a transferrable points currency that can provide excellent value for travel redemptions. With Membership Rewards, you’ll earn points in a single pool across all of your cards and you can use the redemption options available on any of your cards with the points you earn from your other cards.

All cards that earn Membership Rewards® points offer the program’s most valuable redemption option, point transfers to airline and hotel transfer partners. Most cards do not offer a good option to redeem points for cash. You can learn more about in our guide to Membership Rewards.

Benefits: Useful perks and built-in insurance protections

The American Express® Gold Card several useful travel and consumer insurance benefits, plus a bunch of statement credits that can provide a ton of value if they align with your spending.

Terms apply to all benefits. Some benefits require enrollment.

Consumer insurance benefits

The American Express® Gold Card offers both Amex Purchase Protection and Amex Extended Warranty, making the card a decent choice for purchases of electronics and other expensive items.

• Amex Purchase Protection protects the things you buy against damage, loss or theft for up to 90 days from purchase. Coverage is up to $10,000 per covered purchase and $50,000 per eligible card.
• Amex Extended Warranty extends the original manufacturer’s warranty up to one additional year on eligible purchases that have a warranty of five years or less. Coverage is up to $10,000 covered purchase and $50,000 per eligible card.

Travel benefits

The Amex Trip Delay Insurance and Baggage Insurance Plan included with the card mean that the Amex Gold Card is a reasonable choice to use for booking flights, but other cards offer a more robust set of travel insurance protections.

• Booking your trip with Trip Delay Insurance means that you can get coverage for certain additional expenses when your covered trip is delayed by 12 hours or more. The Gold Card offers up to $300 of coverage per covered trip, and up to 2 claims per eligible card per 12 month period.
• The Amex Baggage Insurance Plan covers damage or loss of checked bags, up to $500 per covered person, per covered trip.
• Renting a car with your card can get you Amex Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance, which covers your rental against damage or theft. Coverage is up to $50,000 per rental agreement and excludes Australia, Italy, and New Zealand.
• The Amex Global Assist® Hotline can connect you to a variety of emergency travel, medical, and legal services 24/7 whenever you are traveling. All costs of referred services are the responsibility of the cardmember.

Statement credits and partner offers

Finally, the Amex Gold Card offers several partner benefits and statement credits. Using these credits can provide a ton of value if they cover purchases you might make anyway.

• $120 ($10 monthly) Uber Cash. Add your card to your Uber account and automatically get $10 in Uber Cash each month for Uber Easts orders or Uber rides in the U.S. Am Amex card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $84 ($7 monthly) Dunkin’ credit. Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
• $100 ($50 semi-annually) Resy credit. Get up to $50 back semi-annually in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. Enrollment required.
• $120 ($10 monthly) Dining credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at participating partners. Current partners include Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
• $100 credits with The Hotel Collection. Book two nights or more with The Hotel Collection‡ through AmexTravel.com and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges. (Eligible charges vary by property)
• Amex Offers. Save money with targeted offers on your credit card. Enrollment required for each offer. Learn more about Amex Offers.

Is the American Express® Gold Card right for you?

The American Express® Gold Card won’t be for a great card for everyone, but here are some ways to know that the card might be right for you.

• You know how to use Amex Membership Rewards® transfer partners. Because Membership Rewards doesn’t offer a compelling cash back redemption option, you’ll want to make sure you know how to use the program’s best redemption option (transfers to travel partners) before collecting these points.
• You spend a lot (but not too much!) in the card’s bonus categories. You’ll get the most points from the card if you spend a lot at restaurants (worldwide) and at U.S. Supermarkets, but Price is Right rules are at play… if you go over the card’s bonus reward caps ($50k annually for restaurants and $25k annually for supermarkets,) you’ll earn only 1 point per dollar on your subsequent purchases.
• Your natural spending aligns with the credits. If you use Uber frequently, get your daily coffee at Dunkin’, dine out at Resy restaurants, and are on a first-name basis with the host at The Cheesecake Factory, you can get plenty of value from the card’s credits for these purchases. But if not, you’ll find yourself either leaving this value on the table of jumping through hoops for a bunch of $10 credits.

Alternatives: Cards to consider instead of the American Express® Gold Card

If you’re considering the American Express® Gold Card, you probably are attracted by the card’s combination of rewards and benefits, but you might be disappointed by the high annual fee. Here are some other cards to consider and links to some of our articles that might help you find a better card for you.

• You want rewards on dining. Plenty of cards with no annual fee offer 3% cash back rewards on dining—and in most cases you’re likely to come out ahead with another card, when considering annual fees. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a good option, and you can get up to 5% rewards on dining with the Citi Custom Cash.
• You want rewards on groceries. The AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature® Credit Card can get you 5% cash back on a large amount of groceries and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express earns 6% on the first $6,000 you spend at U.S. Supermarkets each year, then 1%. Our list of the best grocery store credit cards has some great options.
• You like Amex consumer insurance benefits. Using a card with consumer insurance benefits like Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection can save you money if your purchases break, are stolen, or fail. Many Amex cards offer these benefits. Find these cards in our guides to Amex Extended Warranty Protection and Amex Purchase protection

Bottom line: A good card for some, but an expensive choice for most

If you’re a very specific type of consumer, you can get a fair amount of value out of the American Express® Gold Card, but most people looking at this card’s rewards and perks can probably find better rewards and benefits elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

American Express card disclosures

• For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please see this link: See Rates and Fees

Amex Extended Warranty benefit disclosure: 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.

Amex Premium Purchase Protection (premium) benefit disclosure: 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 to 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.

Amex Trip Delay Insurance (standard) disclosure: Up to $300 per Covered Trip that is delayed for more than 12 hours; and 2 claims per Eligible Card per 12 consecutive month period.   Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Amex Baggage Insurance Plan (standard) benefit disclosure: 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.

Amex Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance (standard) disclosure: 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.

Amex Premium Purchase Protection (premium) benefit disclosure: 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 to 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.

Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.