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.
The American Express® Gold Card is one of the most rewarding cards to use for dining and at U.S. supermarkets for those collecting Membership Rewards® points.
The card comes with a hefty annual fee (annual_fees – See Rates and Fees) meaning most people will probably find other cards more useful (and less pricey) for dining and grocery rewards.
Here’s what you need to know about the American Express® Gold Card.
In this article…
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
Before you apply: There are very likely better bonuses available on this card. 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.
Uncapped earnings at restaurants worldwide through 12/31/2024. Earnings on the first $50,000 of eligible purchases per calendar year beginning on 1/1/2025. - 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
- 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.
Our take: Good earnings in categories, but a pain to use the statement credits
The American Express® Gold Card is arguably one of the best cards for dining and groceries, thanks to its generous earnings in those categories, but you’re going to have to jump through a lot of hoops to get the value.
First, let’s start with the good: The point earnings on dining and groceries are market-leading and the card’s $50 semi-annual Resy credits can provide good value.
But 2024 year saw an increase in the annual fee and the addition of a bunch of statement credits. Personally, I don’t like this. Going to Dunkin’ for coffee twice a month, remembering to use Uber (and pay with my Amex), and forcing myself to dine with a very small number of places that I wouldn’t normally go is a lot of work. Amex is banking on most people being enticed by these statement credits and then having them all go to breakage. (And they’re probably winning that bet!)
Finally, Membership Rewards® is not a beginner-friendly rewards program. Sure, there are plenty of opportunities for getting phenomenal value from transfer partners, but getting cash back rewards out of points at a decent value take a lot of jumping through hoops.
For both dining and groceries there are many more compelling cards. Personally, I like the cash back rewards of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express much better.
Rewards: Excellent earnings on dining and groceries
What the American Express® Gold Card is uniquely good at is giving you Membership Rewards® points on your dining and grocery purchases.
The card earns 4x Membership Rewards at restaurants worldwide and 4x on the first $25k you spend on groceries at U.S. supermarkets. Starting 1/1/2025, Amex caps the 4x restaurant earning to $50k in spending per year. Both categories earn one point per dollar after you exceed their respective rewards caps.
American Express® Gold Card earning rates
Here’s what the American Express® Gold Card earns in each category of purchases:
- 4x at restaurants worldwide.
Uncapped earnings at restaurants worldwide through 12/31/24. Earnings on the first $50,000 of eligible purchases per calendar year beginning on 1/1/2025. - 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.
Getting the most out of the American Express® Gold Card’s rewards
The American Express Gold Card’s rewards come as Membership Rewards® points, a transferrable points currency that can provide excellent value for travel redemptions.
Great for point transfers to partners. Transferring Membership Rewards® points to airline partners provides by far the most opportunity to get the best value out of your points. You’ll usually bet the most value from your points by using them for flights in premium cabins. We’ve found Aeroplan, Flying Blue, ANA Mileage Club, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Delta SkyMiles, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to be the must useful transfer partners.
Bad for cash rewards. Membership Rewards typically aren’t great if you want cash back rewards. Unless you hold specific variants of the Platinum card or have a business checking account with Amex, you’ll get at most 0.6 cents per point from statement credits. Consider a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® or Citi ThankYou® Points instead.
Most other uses of Membership Rewards offer fairly mediocre value, between 0.5 and 1 cent per point of value.
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 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 Basic Trip Delay Insurance benefit 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 Basic Baggage Insurance Plan 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 Basic Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance 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 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.
