The American Express® Gold Card requires good / excellent credit, and you’ll need to show sufficient income to prove you can repay your balance. That said, American Express doesn’t list specific minimum eligibility requirements for its cards.
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While the American Express® Gold Card has a higher annual fee than similar cards, its perks and rewards can make it well worth it — especially if you can maximize its credits. Big food spenders can get a ton of value out of this card thanks to its high earnings on restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases. And, you’ll earn valuable points that can be transferred to more than 20 airline and hotel partners. If you use its $400+ worth of credits in their entirety, you’ll more than cover the $325 annual fee — making it one of the most rewarding cards you can get.
We estimate that the card’s benefits are worth more than $2,600 in the first year:
Recommended credit: Good / Excellent
True to Amex fashion, however, this card makes its statement credits difficult to use since they’re all doled in incrementally and do not roll over. This means you’ll have to be intentional about using the credits throughout the year, and that the card’s value drops when you forget to take advantage.
If you can’t use the credits, you may be better off with a lower annual fee card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Or, you might consider splurging for a luxury card like The Platinum Card® from American Express. Unlike the American Express® Gold Card, it offers premium travel benefits, including lounge access.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate | Annual Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Express® Gold Card
|
60,000 points
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
| 1X - 4X points
| $325 | ||
The Platinum Card® from American Express
|
80,000 points
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
| 5X points
| $695 | ||
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
 Apply Now
on Chase's secure site |
60,000 points
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
| 1X - 5X points
| $95 |
Apply Now
on Chase's secure site |
|
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
Apply Now
on Citibank's secure site Rates & Fees |
75,000 points
For a limited time, earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
| 1X - 10X points
| $95 |
Apply Now
on Citibank's secure site Rates & Fees |
Welcome offer: 3.9 out of 5 stars
Current offer:
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
How does it compare to other cards?
With the welcome offer on the American Express® Gold Card worth approximately $1,200 if redeemed for high-value travel options, it’s much easier to justify the card’s $325 annual fee the first year. However, there are plenty of other lucrative card welcome offers out there, many from cards with annual fees below $100.
Is it a good time to apply?
The welcome offer on the American Express® Gold Card stays fairly constant all year long, so any time can be a good time to apply. The chart below shows the recent offers on the card from the previous year.
Earning points: 5 out of 5 stars
How many points can you earn?
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants (on up to $50,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X), Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply.
How does it compare to other cards?
The American Express® Gold Card really shines when it comes to its rewards for food and flights. Its earnings on food-related purchases places it ahead of all other cards in terms of overall earning potential.
However, other travel cards have similar rewards rates with much lower annual fees. For example, the $95-annual-fee Citi Strata Premier℠ Card offers a high earning rate on a wide variety of categories including hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and gas. Like the American Express® Gold Card, it has valuable, flexible points that you can transfer to hotel and airline loyalty programs, placing it high on our list for earning potential.
Estimated rewards earned per $1 spent*
→ See the best credit cards for restaurants and dining
Redeeming points: 3 out of 5 stars
How easy is it to redeem points?
+ Points don’t expire.
+ Redeem points through Amex travel with no blackout dates on rewards.
+ Redeem points for flights with any airline through Amex travel for 1 cent per point.
+ Transfer points to 21 travel loyalty programs, mostly at a 1:1 ratio, including Delta Air Lines.
– Other travel rewards (e.g., hotels) are only worth 0.7 cents per point through Amex travel.
– Cash back statement credits are only worth 0.6 cents per point.
How does it compare to other cards?
The American Express® Gold Card scores high marks on point transferability. Amex has one of the best lists of transfer partners around, and you can get a ton of value from redeeming points this way. If you don’t want to transfer points, Amex also gives you the flexibility to redeem points through its travel portal for airfare at a value of 1 cent per point.
Unfortunately, you’ll get less than 1 cent per point for other options — including other types of travel through the Amex travel portal — making it less flexible than some cards.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® also let you transfer points 1:1 to a variety of loyalty programs. Plus, they let you redeem points as statement credits for any type of travel at a value of 1 cent per point, and give you a 25% to 50% bonus for redeeming points through Chase’s travel portal. You can even get cash back at a value of 1 cent per point with these cards.
→ Learn more: American Express Membership Rewards vs. Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Other benefits: 3 out of 5 stars
How does it compare to other cards?
While the value of American Express® Gold Card benefits exceed the cost of the annual fee, maximizing every perk on this card can be a difficult feat. That’s because most statement credit offers are given out monthly, so you have to use the card for an eligible purchase every single month to get maximum value.
Some of the statement credits are also very specific. For example, the $10 monthly dining credits can only be used at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com and Five Guys*.
In comparison, some other cards offer statement credits that can be used for a much broader range of purchases. An example is the $300 travel statement credit offered on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, which can be used for nearly any type of travel purchase.
→ See the best credit cards for travel perks
Cardholders also earn a more generous welcome offer and bonus rewards on travel-related spending. And just like the American Express® Gold Card, you can transfer those points 1:1 to more than 20 travel loyalty programs.
→ Learn more: American Express® Gold Card vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express
Tip: You can combine these cards for higher point earnings.
“I use my American Express® Gold Card to earn a high rewards rate at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, and use my husband’s card (The Platinum Card® from American Express) for perks that aren’t offered by the American Express® Gold Card, like complimentary lounge access. I also use it to make large purchases, since they’re covered by purchase protection1 and extended warranty protection1.”
– Tracy Brackman, Senior editor, credit cards
This card also comes with a $50 annual hotel benefit for stays booked through Chase TravelSM, and users get a 10% bonus points each year based on the previous year’s spending. It also offers some of the best travel protections of any travel credit card, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary auto rental coverage, baggage delay insurance, trip delay coverage and more.
Rewards earned with this card are very valuable, since you can transfer them to partners like Aeromexico, Choice Privileges, Emirates Skywards, JetBlue TrueBlue and Wyndham Rewards. It’s one of the all-around most rewarding cards in its class and a better value than the American Express® Gold Card.
If you’re ready to apply for the American Express® Gold Card, here are some tips to get your application to the finish line.
We use calculations to estimate the value of each card for the average cardholder, based on LendingTree and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The American Express® Gold Card requires good / excellent credit, and you’ll need to show sufficient income to prove you can repay your balance. That said, American Express doesn’t list specific minimum eligibility requirements for its cards.
The American Express® Gold Card does not offer airport lounge access. If you want an Amex card that lets you enter airport lounges, check out The Platinum Card® from American Express instead.
You may be able to pay rent with the American Express® Gold Card if your landlord accepts cards as payment.
Yes, the American Express® Gold Card is a metal card.
The American Express® Gold Card has some features of a charge card and a credit card. For example, the card doesn’t have a preset spending limit and instead adapts how much you can spend based on your purchase and payment history. Some purchases need to be paid off each billing cycle, which is another charge card feature. However, the American Express® Gold Card lets cardholders carry a balance in some instances through its Pay Over Time program.
Amex offers instant credit card numbers for some of its cards and in certain situations, which can make it possible to use the American Express® Gold Card before it arrives in the mail. However, you won’t know if you’re eligible for an instant credit card number until after you apply.
To see rates & fees for American Express cards mentioned on this page, visit the links provided below:
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply
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