Pros
- Great welcome offer
- 4 points per $1 spent at restaurants (up to $50K spent per year, then 1 point)
- 4 points per $1 spent at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25K spent per year, then 1 point)
- 3 points per $1 spent on eligible flights
- No foreign transaction fee
Cons
- $325 annual fee
- Limited ability to carry a balance from month to month
American Express® Gold Card
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Terms Apply.
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
Rewards Details
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- Terms Apply.
Additional Info
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- This American Express Card has no preset spending limit, giving you purchasing power that adjusts with your use of the card. No preset spending limit does not mean unlimited spending. Your purchases are approved based on a variety of factors including spending patterns, your payment history, your credit history, and financial resources known to us.
- More Details & Reviews About American Express® Gold Card
Is the Amex Gold Card Worth Its Annual Fee?
The American Express® Gold Card is worth its annual fee for people with good credit or better who want to earn bonus rewards on U.S. supermarket, restaurant, and eligible travel purchases. It’s best-suited for moderate to heavy spenders who don’t mind paying most balances in full each month.
The Amex Gold Card charges a $325 annual fee, but it also offers plenty of rewards to help cover the cost. Plus, it provides hundreds of dollars’ worth of supplemental benefits on a yearly basis, which can easily help offset the cost of the annual fee as long as you take advantage of them.
WalletHub’s editors certainly think the card is worth its fee, naming it one of the best cards for restaurants, best metal cards, and best American Express cards. As an added bonus, it’s one of the best looking cards too, in our opinion.
How Much Do You Have to Spend to Make the Amex Gold Card Worth Its Annual Fee?
You need to spend around $11,000 to $45,000 per year to break even using rewards alone, depending on what you buy, according to our calculations. However, you can cut the amount you need to spend down by a lot if you take advantage of the other perks the card has to offer.
You may be eligible to earn a large initial bonus, too, which might cover the cost of the first-year annual fee, and then some.
In addition, taking advantage of the card’s secondary benefits, such as $120 in Uber Cash each year and a $120 annual dining credit (when enrolled), will also help make the card worthwhile. Other valuable annual credits include $84 for Dunkin’ purchases and $100 for Resy purchases (enrollment is required to take advantage of these credits). That’s more than enough to cover the annual fee even without additional spending.
Advantages of the Amex Gold Card
Find Out Your Offer - As High As 100,000 Points
With this card, you may be eligible to earn as high as 100,000 points for spending $6,000 or more on eligible purchases within 6 months of opening an account. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
After you submit your application, American Express will tell you if you’re approved and what your exact welcome offer amount is. If you choose to accept the card with that offer and then meet the spending requirement, you will receive the points within 8-12 weeks.
I recommend strongly considering the Amex Gold Card if you will be able to qualify for its initial bonus without spending more than you would otherwise. The value of the initial bonus alone may offset at least the first-year annual fee. It also has the potential to be significantly larger than the average initial bonus of 35,350 points/miles, according to WalletHub’s Credit Card Landscape Report.
4 Points per $1 at Restaurants
Amex Gold has one of the highest restaurant reward rates on the market. The 4 points per $1 that you’ll earn at restaurants worldwide is applicable to the first $50,000 spent per year, which is more than enough for most people. After that, you’ll get 1 point per $1.
Pretty much any place you’d think of as a restaurant qualifies, from fast food to fine dining. But it ultimately depends on the establishment’s merchant category code. A restaurant inside a hotel or casino may not count, for example, if the merchant is classified as a hotel or casino.
Beyond the rewards, you’ll also love the attention this card gets you when you plunk it down on the table. Trust me, it makes an impression.
4 Points per $1 at U.S. Supermarkets
It’s worth using this card for more than just dining out. It gives bonus rewards on everyday eating at home, too, which is important because people tend to spend more at the supermarket than at restaurants over the course of a year.
Amex limits your bonus earning rate of 4 points per $1 at U.S. supermarkets to $25,000 spent per year. After that, you’ll get 1 point per $1. Purchases at superstores and warehouse clubs also earn you just 1 point per $1 spent.
3 Points per $1 on Eligible Flights
Cardholders get 3 points per $1 spent on airfare purchased directly from airlines or through AmexTravel.com. The downside to this offer is that you can’t really shop around for the best deals on flights, but the high earning rate might make up for any price differences.
2 Points per $1 on AmexTravel.com Purchases
Cardholders get 3 points per $1 spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
Up to $120 in Uber Cash per Year
Amex Gold cardholders can automatically get up to $10 in Uber Cash per month ($120 per year) for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S. You just need to add the card to your Uber account and choose it as the payment method.
This is an easy way to save on purchases you’d make anyway. I personally rack up a lot of Uber Eats charges, and this type of credit is really appealing.
Up to $120 in Dining Credits per Year
You can sign up for statement credits of up to $10 per month for dining with Amex’s restaurant partners: Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. You can enroll through your online account or by calling the number on the back of your card.
The inclusion of Grubhub is an important one, in my opinion, because it expands the list of restaurants considerably. Without it, your options are quite limited.
Up to $84 in Dunkin’ Credits per Year
Coffee and donut lovers will be especially thrilled with this feature. You can enroll to get up to $7 in credits for Dunkin’ purchases every month at U.S. Dunkin' locations. While that’s a relatively small amount of savings on a monthly basis, it adds up. The total you can receive annually, $84, is worth around a quarter of the card’s annual fee!
Up to $100 in Resy Credits per Year
This credit, which requires enrollment, gets you up to $50 during each half of the year for purchases at U.S. restaurants that participate in the Resy reservation app, or for other eligible purchases with Resy itself. When you pair that with the rewards you earn on dining, inflated restaurant prices won’t hit as hard.
No Foreign Transaction Fee
International purchases, whether you’re traveling abroad or shopping online from foreign merchants, won’t cost you extra with the Amex Gold Card, thanks to its 0% foreign fee. The average credit card adds 1.58% to every international charge. And many American Express cards charge a foreign transaction fee of 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars.
Still, American Express cards aren’t as widely accepted abroad as they are in the U.S., though their international acceptance has improved in recent years. When I leave the country, I make sure to bring a Visa or Mastercard, too.
Amex Gold Card Drawbacks
$325 Annual Fee
One year with Amex Gold could pay for almost 12 years with the average credit card, which has an annual fee of $28.25. That’s not to say the Gold Card isn’t worth its annual fee. Many people can still get plenty from the card, even with the fee considered. But this should help put things in perspective, and the cost is enough to scare off some would-be applicants.
“I like the look of the Amex Gold Card, but it’s just too expensive,” WalletHub user Brady Mills told me. “I am very hesitant to get a card with an annual fee. I’m worried I’ll forget about it and rack up unpaid bills.”
Limited Financing Capabilities
Amex Gold is not a typical credit card, which means you must pay for most purchases in full by the due date. With a normal credit card, you have the option of paying only part of your balance by the due date and the rest over time. With Amex Gold, you can carry a balance only for certain eligible charges.
You can choose to Pay Over Time, which means Amex will automatically review all purchases for eligibility. American Express may approve or decline Pay Over Time requests based on things like your payment history, current account status, and credit standing. There is also a Pay Over Time Limit. Keep in mind that all charges not added to a Pay Over Time balance must be paid in full each month by the payment due date.
Average APR
Just because you can pay off eligible Amex Gold purchases over time doesn’t mean you should. The APR for such purchases can be higher than the average among credit cards for people with good credit, which Amex Gold requires for approval. And even that average rate is way above what you want to be paying, especially while 0% APR credit cards are still available to people with good credit scores.
As a result, I recommend using Amex Gold only for purchases that you can afford to pay off by the due date. You can get a separate card to handle your financing needs. There’s no sense in letting interest eat away at your rewards, especially since the annual fee is already so expensive.
1 Point per $1 Spent on Non-Bonus Category Purchases
You will earn 1 point per $1 spent on purchases that do not fall into the bonus categories. This is pretty standard for a rewards card, but there are options with better base earning rates on the market. Making frequent purchases in the card’s bonus categories can make up for the lower earnings on other types of purchases.
Good or Excellent Credit Recommended
You typically need good credit or better to be eligible for the Amex Gold Card, which is typical for high-end rewards cards.
You can check your latest credit score for free here on WalletHub to see where you stand.
Keep in mind also that your credit score isn’t the only thing that matters for approval. You might also need a high enough income to handle making payments on the card, though Amex doesn’t disclose a specific minimum.
American Express Gold Card vs. The Competition
While the Amex Gold Card can be well worth its annual fee, there are lots of great credit cards out there offering extra rewards on travel and dining. Before you apply, it’s a good idea to see how the American Express Gold Card compares to some of its most popular competitors.
annual fee$325 | annual fee$895 | annual fee$95 |
rewards rate
| rewards rate
| rewards rate
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bonus offer You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted. | bonus offer You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $12,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted. | bonus offer Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel |
Purchase Intro APRN/A | Purchase Intro APRN/A | Purchase Intro APRN/A |
transfer intro aprN/A | transfer intro aprN/A | transfer intro aprN/A |
Regular APRSee Pay Over Time APR | Regular APRSee Pay Over Time APR | Regular APR19.49% - 28.49% (V) |
SponsoredApply Now SponsoredApply Now | SponsoredApply Now SponsoredApply Now | SponsoredApply Now SponsoredApply Now |
American Express® Gold Card Review Methodology
This American Express® Gold Card review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the American Express® Gold Card and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.
The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the American Express® Gold Card out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.
Ratings for each category reflect how close Amex Gold Card is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Amex Gold Card to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.
To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.
WalletHub's personal finance experts are frequently cited by leading media outlets. Contact our media team to arrange an interview.