American Express® Gold Card

The American Express® Gold Card is built for people who spend heavily on dining and U.S. supermarkets and want travel rewards without stepping up to a full premium travel card. It works best as a high-earning daily spender for food purchases, especially if you will also use enough of its monthly credits to make the $325 annual fee feel reasonable.

Welcome Offer

You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points

Annual Fee

$325

Rec. Credit Score

Good

Good For

Food-focused travelers

How to Apply

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Terms Apply. For rates and fees of American Express® Gold Card, please visit the American Express website.

The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.

Is the American Express® Gold Card worth it?

This card is great for...

Restaurant spending

U.S. supermarket purchases

Monthly dining and ride credits

This card is worth a close look if dining and grocery spending make up a big share of your budget. The 4x points at restaurants worldwide and 4x at U.S. supermarkets are the main reason to carry it, and those categories are broad enough to drive strong rewards for households that cook, eat out, or do both regularly. If you also book some flights, value Membership Rewards points, and naturally use credits like Uber Cash, dining partners, Resy, or Dunkin', the card can justify its annual fee much more easily.

It is a weaker fit if you want a simple card with easy value and no tracking. A lot of the card's fee offset comes from monthly or semiannual credits, so the experience is better for someone who will actually use those merchants anyway. If your spending is more general than food-focused, or you prefer straightforward cash back, the Gold Card can feel like too much work for the price.

MaxRewards Verdict

The Amex Gold stands out for cardholders who spend a lot on dining and groceries and can realistically use its credits throughout the year. If that is not your spending pattern, the annual fee is hard to defend, even with the strong rewards rates.

Welcome Offer

You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

≈ $600–$2,000

What 100,000 Points could be worth, based on how you redeem

Transfer to airline/hotel partners
Most partners transfer 1:1
≈ $2,000
≈ 2¢ per point
Amex Travel - flights
$1,000
1¢ per point
Pay with points at checkout
$700
0.7¢ per point
Amex Travel - prepaid hotels / other
$700
0.7¢ per point
Gift cards
≈ $700
≈ 0.7¢ per point
Statement credit (cover charges)
$600
0.6¢ per point

Required Spend

$8,000

Time Frame

6 Months

Required Spend

$8,000

Time Frame

6 Months

What's your average monthly spend?

$1,400

You should easily hit the bonus threshold with this spend!

Rewards

Rewards percent based on a valuation of 1¢ per Membership Rewards point

Membership Rewards points are the real draw here, and the card is at its strongest when food spending drives most of your everyday purchases. Think of it as a category card centered on restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, with a useful boost for flights and certain Amex Travel bookings.

CategoryEst. yearly spendRateRewards

Hotels (prepaid, Amex Travel)

Est. yearly spend

Rate5%

Rewards

Restaurants (Worldwide)

Up to $50,000 spend per year

Est. yearly spend

Rate4%

Rewards

U.S. Supermarkets

Up to $25,000 spend per year

Est. yearly spend

Rate4%

Rewards

Flights (Amex Travel), Airlines

Est. yearly spend

Rate3%

Rewards

Car Rentals (prepaid, Amex Travel), Cruises (Amex Travel)

Est. yearly spend

Rate2%

Rewards

All Other Eligible Purchases

Est. yearly spend

Rate1%

Rewards

Est. Annual Rewards

Benefits

$0 / $674

The benefits story is less about luxury perks and more about credits and practical protections. To get solid value beyond the rewards, you will want to look closely at the recurring statement credits and decide whether they match places you already use.

Enrollment is required for select benefits

Automatically track your credits with MaxRewards

Our app automatically tracks valuable credits so you don't miss any rewards.

Get the app

$120 Uber Cash on Gold

Autotracked

of $10Every month

Insurance

Purchase Protection

Dropped Your Phone? Sometimes the unexpected happens. But Purchase Protection can help protect Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date made on your Eligible Card when they're accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost. Up to $10,000 per Covered Purchase, up to $50,000 per calendar year.

Extended Warranty

When you use your Eligible Card to make a Covered Purchase, you can get up to one extra year added to the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty. Applies to warranties of 5 years or less on Covered Purchases in the United States or its territories or possessions. Please read important exclusions and restrictions.

Baggage Insurance Plan

Can provide coverage for lost, damaged or stolen Baggage when traveling on a Common Carrier Vehicle (e.g. plane, train, ship or bus) when the Entire Fare has been charged to your Eligible Card. Coverage limits apply. Please read important exclusions and restrictions.

Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance

Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance can provide coverage for Damage to or Theft of a Rental Vehicle in a Covered Territory when You use your Eligible Card to reserve and pay for the Entire Rental and decline the collision damage waiver (CDW) at the Rental Company counter. Please read important exclusions and restrictions. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Coverage is not available for vehicles rented in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand.

Trip Delay Insurance

If you purchase a round-trip entirely with your Eligible Card and a covered reason delays your trip more than 12 hours, we may be able to help. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Status & Access

The Hotel Collection

With over 1,300 hotels across the world, you can enjoy an unforgettable trip without compromising on quality or value when you book a stay with The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.

Amex Special Ticket Access

Card Members can access Amex Presale Tickets and Amex Reserved Tickets to select can’t-miss events and moments across sports, music, and more. Plus, Card Members can enjoy additional perks when attending select events. While supplies last, not all seats may be offered.

Hertz Five Star Status

Enjoy Hertz Five Star Status, compliments of your American Express Gold Card. Enrollment required.

Recommended Minimum Credit

Min: Good

Poor

Fair

Good

Excellent

Good credit or higher is recommended for this card.

Credit approval is not guaranteed. Meeting the recommended credit range does not ensure approval, and applicants with lower scores may still be considered.

Rates & Fees

Annual Fee

$325

Purchase APR

19.49% - 28.49%

Variable

Cash Advance APR

28.74%

Variable

Foreign Transaction Fee

None

Balance Transfer

None

Cash Advance

$10

Late Payment

$40

For rates and fees of American Express® Gold Card, please visit the American Express website.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are MaxRewards' alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

You may be eligible for as high as 300,000 Membership Rewards® Points

Worth $3,000

After spending $20,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

5%Flights (amextravel.com), Prepaid Hotels (amextravel.com)
2%U.S. Construction Material & Hardware Suppliers, Electronic Goods Retailers, Software & Cloud System Providers, Shipping Providers, Purchases Of $5,000+
1%Other Eligible Purchases

Annual Fee

$895

Rec. Credit

Good

See Details How to Apply

Terms apply.

See rates & fees.

American Express® Business Gold Card

You may be eligible for as high as 200,000 Membership Rewards® Points

Worth $2,000

After spending $15,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

4%Top Two Eligible Categories
3%Flights (AmexTravel.com or Amex Travel App), Prepaid Hotels (AmexTravel.com or Amex Travel App)
1%Everywhere

Annual Fee

$375

Rec. Credit

Good

See Details How to Apply

Terms apply.

See rates & fees.

American Express Platinum Card®

You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points

Worth $1,750

After spending $12,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.