A big earner with lots of ways to earn bonus points
With many travel rewards cards, you earn bonus points on travel-related purchases, but hardly anywhere else. That's great when you're traveling, but it doesn't do you much good all the times that you're not.
You won't have that problem with the American Express® Gold Card. It earns:
- 4X points at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 per calendar year in purchases
- 4X points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines and on amextravel.com
- Terms apply.
So, you'll earn bonus points every time you use your card at the supermarket and when you go out to eat. Its rate of 4X points per $1 is one of the highest I've seen in those categories. You'll earn extra on flight bookings, too.
This card also has an excellent welcome offer of 60,000 Membership Rewards® points. You earn that by spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months. Terms apply.
Valuable travel points are ideal for booking expensive airfare
American Express has an amazing travel rewards program with a ton of travel partners. You can transfer your points to over 20 airlines and hotels. I haven't found a card issuer with more travel partners. Terms apply.
Where this really comes in handy is costly airfare bookings -- think those business-class and first-class tickets that normally cost $3,000 or more. Instead of paying in cash, you could pick an airline partner and turn your American Express points into miles. Here are a few examples of what you could do:
- Transfer your points to Delta Air Lines for a transcontinental flight, a trip abroad, or just a short hop to see family.
- Set out for the United Kingdom by transferring your points to British Airways.
- Take a trip to Japan by sending your points to All Nippon Airways (ANA), the nation's largest airline.
Just so you know, this rewards program does have a learning curve. One of the most common complaints I see is people who have a huge balance of points with no idea what to do with them. If you're new to travel rewards, you'll probably want to spend a little time learning how to use Membership Rewards points.
Top-notch service and protections for a great customer experience
Something I love about American Express is that it does the little things very well. Customer service tends to be fast and responsive, whether you use live chat or call. American Express regularly ranks at the top of J.D. Power's customer satisfaction studies for this reason.
Many American Express cards offer complimentary protections, and this one is no exception. It offers the following types of coverage on eligible purchases:
- Purchase protection
- Extended warranty
- Car rental loss and damage insurance
- Baggage insurance plan
- Terms apply.
Now, you may have seen plenty of credit cards with protections like these. There's a key difference with American Express cards -- American Express handles the insurance itself. It doesn't outsource this to another company.
What does that mean for you? A much more customer-friendly claims process, according to online reports. While claims with other card issuers can be full of hassles, American Express is known for smooth handling of protection and insurance claims.
Spending credits could help you save -- if you can use them
The American Express® Gold Card has several spending credits. Here's what you can get from it:
- $120 in annual Uber Cash: When you add your American Express® Gold Card to your Uber account, you automatically receive $10 in Uber Cash each month. You can use this for Uber Eats orders and Uber rides in the United States.
- $84 in annual Dunkin' credits: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits when you use your American Express® Gold Card at Dunkin' locations.
- $100 in annual Resy credits: Get up to $50 back semiannually in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with your American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases.
- $120 in annual dining credits: Receive $10 per month when you use your American Express® Gold Card at select participating restaurants and food delivery services. Options include Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys.
- Select enrollment required; terms apply.
Use all those, and you're saving $424, putting you up $99 on the annual fee! But for most people, using all those credits is a stretch. You're also not really saving money if the only reason you're spending money at those restaurants and through Uber is to use your credits.
Before you get this card, consider whether these credits are a good fit for you. If you use Uber already and go to those dining partners every month, then this card makes sense. If not, well, forcing yourself to order Uber Eats and visit Dunkin' isn't all that fun.
