American Express Gold Card

Earn rates · how we got this

See how it ranks: best dining cards · best groceries cards · best flights cards.

Signup bonus: 100,000 points after $8,000 in 6 months. We never count unearned bonuses in savings math — a bonus you don't clear is worth zero. Amex advertises this as 'as high as' — the offer is targeted and varies by applicant; many see a lower bonus. Check your personal offer before applying. Bonus figure confirmed on the issuer's page 2026-09-14.

Statement credits — $424/yr on paper · how we got this

Monthly and quarterly credits expire if unused — that's where most of their printed value quietly disappears.

Non-cash perks

• The Hotel Collection: $100 property credit on bookings of two nights or more through Amex Travel
• Hertz Five Star status (enrollment required)
• Trip Delay Insurance up to $300 per trip (12+ hour delay, 2 claims per 12 months)
• Baggage Insurance Plan (up to $1,250 carry-on / $500 checked)
• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance (secondary)
• Global Assist Hotline
• Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty
• American Express Venue Collection: 10% back on qualifying concessions, up to $250 per calendar year

Does the fee earn out? · how we got this

The printed statement credits ($424/yr) cover the $325 fee on paper — if you'd spend that way anyway. Credits you have to remember, enroll in, or change behavior for are worth less than face value. Our app tracks each one against your actual charges.

Is this $325 fee worth it? See the break-even math →

Check the current offer on the issuer's site → Where a card link will appear once available — no link on this page pays us today.

Who this card is not for

Every point below is a term the issuer prints, read off this card's own row in our database — not an opinion about the card. three things on this card rule out a kind of spender:

• Anyone who doesn't spend at the issuer's travel portal. Its largest printed rate, 5x on issuer travel portal, pays only at the issuer's travel portal. Elsewhere in that category the card earns 5x, so the headline number is a loyalty rate rather than a category rate — which is why no ranking on this site counts it.
• Anyone who won't work the statement credits. The $325 fee is argued for by $424 of printed credits, spread across 4 separate credits, 3 of them monthly or quarterly — an unused month is gone, not banked, and 4 that must be enrolled in before they pay. Each one only pays if you were going to spend that way anyway; ignore them and the whole $325 has to come back through earn rates instead.
• A heavy dining spender. The 4x on dining stops after $50,000 of it per year. Past that the same purchases earn its base 1x, so the headline rate describes the first $50,000 only.

Compared head-to-head

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• American Express Gold Card vs Chase Freedom Flex — which earns more?
• American Express Gold Card vs Royal ONE Plus Visa Signature — which earns more?
• American Express Gold Card vs Citi Strata Premier® Card — which earns more?
• American Express Gold Card vs Wyndham Rewards Earner Premier Card — which earns more?
• American Express Gold Card vs Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card — which earns more?
• The Platinum Card from American Express vs American Express Gold Card vs Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express — all three side by side
• American Express Gold Card vs Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Citi Strata Premier® Card — all three side by side

Don't want the fee any more?

American Express Gold Card can normally be product-changed to one lower-fee card out of Amex Membership Rewards and into cash back instead of being closed — which keeps the account, its age and its credit line.

What does American Express Gold Card downgrade to? →

More from American Express

• Amex EveryDay Credit Card
• Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card $95/yr
• Blue Business Cash Card
• Blue Business Plus Credit Card
• Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express
• Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express $95/yr

All American Express cards →