American Express

The best Amex Gold benefits are annual dinning credits, rental car insurance, baggage insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranties on purchases. The card also offers exclusive access to event tickets, dining credits, special perks at select hotels and more.

These benefits help soften the blow of the Gold Card's $250 annual fee, so make sure to get to know them well. Top Amex Gold Benefits:

Rental car insurance

Up to $50,000 in insurance for vehicles rented with the Gold card when you decline the rental agency's own insurance. Covers collision damage and theft on eligible vehicles.

Baggage insurance

Reimburses damage to or theft of luggage while traveling on a common carrier, such as a plane, train or bus. The coverage is up to $1,250 per person per trip for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage. There's a $10,000 maximum total per trip.

Purchase protection

Offers $10,000 per item and $50,000 per calendar year in coverage for items you buy with the card that are damaged or stolen within 90 days.

Extended warranty

Adds one additional year to the existing manufacturer's warranty on items you buy with the card. The original warranty must be 5 years or fewer.

Entertainment access

Cardholders get access to exclusive presale tickets for concerts, sporting events, theater, etc. There are also special cardmember-only events.

Dining credit and Uber Cash

Up to $120 back annually ($10 per month) on purchases with Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. Plus, up to $120 in Uber Cash per year ($10 per month) for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.

The Hotel Collection

Credit of $100 per room per stay at select hotels each time you stay 2+ consecutive nights. Plus, perks like a free room upgrade when available.

In all, there are a lot of Amex Gold benefits. And the card offers plenty of other great features in addition to these perks, such as ample rewards and a 0% foreign transaction fee.

To log in to your Hilton American Express credit card account, go to the American Express website and enter your username and password in the box that says “Log In to My Account.” The login process is the same for the Hilton Honors American Express card, the Hilton Honors Surpass and Aspire cards, and other Amex credit cards. You can also use your username and password to sign in to the American Express app and manage your account through your mobile device.

If this is your first time logging in to your Hilton American Express account, you will need to create a username and password. To do so, click the link that says “Create New Online Account.” Then, put in your credit card number and your card's 4-digit security code to proceed. Once you have set up your username and password, you'll be able to log in and start managing your account.

The 13 Amex Centurion Lounge locations are Charlotte (CLT), Dallas (DFW), Hong Kong (HKG), Houston (IAH), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK and LGA), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle (SEA). Two more locations are planned for Denver (DEN) and London (LHR).

Centurion Lounge access is complimentary to people who have Amex Centurion, Platinum or Delta SkyMiles Reserve cards, either the personal or business versions. All cardholders can enjoy free benefits like food and drinks, high-speed Wi-Fi, semi-private workspaces, TVs and newspapers. Certain locations may have extra features like spas, conference rooms or showers. Centurion cardholders get the best benefits at all lounges, with reserved seating and premium drinks.

It's possible to get an Amex Platinum 100k bonus, but only if Amex sends you a personalized offer by mail or email. Amex may send you this offer if your credit profile is a good fit for the card. If you receive an offer and are approved for the Platinum card, you must spend $5,000 within 3 months from the date the account is approved in order to earn the 100k bonus.

Even though the Amex Platinum 100k bonus isn't available to everyone, the Platinum card's regular bonus of 75,000 points is still a pretty good deal if you qualify. The points are worth enough to offset the cost of the Platinum card's hefty $550 annual fee, at least for the first year.

Once you've met the spending requirement for Amex Platinum's bonus, which is $5,000 in the first 6 months, the points will post to your account within 8-12 weeks.

The American Express foreign transaction fee is 2.7% of all international transactions or $0, depending on the Amex card. There are plenty of American Express cards with no foreign transaction fee. Those cards tend to be the best options for travel.

If you're unfamiliar with foreign transaction fees, they're a surcharge for using a credit card with a foreign merchant. Credit cards with foreign fees usually charge 1%-3% of the purchase price. That can really add up, especially since Amex's 2.7% foreign fee is on the higher end of the spectrum.

Here are the American Express foreign transaction fees:

• American Express cards with a foreign transaction fee charge 2.7%.
• Many American Express credit cards have no foreign transaction fees.
• Amex foreign transaction fees apply when you buy things abroad OR shop at foreign merchants online.
• Some of the best American Express cards with no foreign fees include Amex Platinum and Premier Rewards Gold as well as the PenFed Premium Travel Rewards card and the Amex cards affiliated with Starwood, Hilton and Delta.

If you're looking for an international credit card, it's best to get one with no foreign transaction fee, and American Express does have a good selection. But American Express cards aren't accepted by nearly as many foreign merchants as Visa and Mastercard. So you may find yourself somewhere your Amex won't work. And that's why it's probably better to have a Visa or Mastercard for travel.