Overview
Insanely, the American Express® Gold Card has been around for 60 years. In that time, it’s helped redefine what credit cards are capable of, and it’s still one of the most valuable options on the market, especially if you’re a big foodie or have hefty grocery bills. But this article won’t be looking at the card’s ins and outs (you can check those here). Instead, we’re diving into what’s been announced for its birthday celebration.
Amex announced a number of enhancements to the card, as well as loads of temporary credits and bonuses that are running throughout the year. While not all of them will change your life, they help add serious value to a card that has always somewhat lacked in perks, especially considering its price tag. And it’s a good haul! Cardholders now have access to a higher hotel earning rate, complimentary rental car status, updated dining partners, and some excellent situation-specific deals to take advantage of.
Let’s take a look at everything new on the Amex Gold.
- Best for: Foodies
- Annual Fee: $325
- See Pay Over Time APR
- Reward Rate: 1X-5X
- Recommended Credit: Good to Excellent
American Express® Gold Card
Earn as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points
Offer Details:
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 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.
Why we like it
The American Express® Gold Card takes your dining and grocery spending to the next level, offering an impressive 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, and 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
To put this into perspective, if you spend $8,400 annually on dining and groceries, which aligns with the average American’s spending, you could earn enough points for a roundtrip flight to Hawaii. Meanwhile, the bonus alone is worth over $1,000, adding significant value to your everyday spending. It’s probably the best card out there for dining and grocery purchases.
Reward details
-
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 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
-
Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
-
Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
-
Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
Pros & Cons
Pros
There are a lot of statement credits available, if you utilize them.
The dining and grocery rewards are some of the best out there.
Explore over 1,300 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.
Apply with confidence. Know if you’re approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you’re approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
Cons
$325 annual fee
No major travel perks like its bigger sibling, the Amex Platinum
Permanent Enhancements to the Gold Card
First up, we’ll look at the permanent enhancements to the card. These will be featured on every new applicant’s slew of benefits, and are now added to existing customers’ cards, too.
Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels through Amex Travel
The biggest permanent enhancement is an increase in the earning rate on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel. While I don’t always recommend using credit card portals to book travel, they should always be part of your travel booking process, and adding some extra earning opportunities is great.
Gold Card holders now earn 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on eligible prepaid hotel bookings made through Amex Travel, up from the previous rate of 2 points per dollar. If math ain’t your strong suit, this represents a significant boost in earning potential.
The difference becomes more noticeable on larger bookings. A $1,000 prepaid hotel reservation that previously earned 2,000 Membership Rewards points would now earn 5,000 points. That’s an additional 3,000 points earned from the exact same purchase.
Of course, not every traveler books hotels through third-party travel portals. Travelers chasing elite status with hotel loyalty programs often prefer booking directly with hotel chains. But if you do use Amex Travel, it’s a solid change.
Complimentary Hertz Five Star status
Gold Card holders now receive complimentary Hertz Five Star status, adding another travel-focused benefit to a card traditionally known for its dining rewards.
Five Star status includes benefits such as expedited service, access to dedicated service channels, and the opportunity for vehicle upgrades when available. These benefits are always hard to quantify. While the exact value will vary depending on how often you rent cars, if you’re a frequent traveler, you’ll appreciate the smoother rental experience and potential upgrades.
This isn’t necessarily a benefit that directly saves hundreds of dollars each year, but it does add convenience and can enhance the travel experience for cardholders who rent vehicles regularly.
Updated dining credit partners
The Gold Card’s dining credit remains one of its most valuable ongoing perks.
Cardholders can still receive up to $10 in statement credits each month when making eligible purchases with participating dining partners, for a total potential value of up to $120 annually.
What’s changing is the lineup of participating merchants. Buffalo Wild Wings and Wonder are joining the program, while Goldbelly and Wine.com are being removed. Five Guys, the Cheesecake Factory, and GrubHub are all still on there.
The overall value of the credit hasn’t changed, but the added partners might be a pleasant change for some. That’ll grab you a beer at Buffalo Wild Wings if nothing else, if you watch any sports there regularly.
Limited-Time 60th Anniversary Offers
In addition to the permanent enhancements, American Express is offering a collection of temporary promotions to celebrate the Gold Card’s milestone birthday.
These offers won’t be around forever, which means cardholders interested in maximizing their value may want to take advantage of them before they expire. Some are available to everyone, while others are targeted offers.
Up to $96 back on Uber One
One of the most useful anniversary offers is a statement credit of up to $96 when using the American Express® Gold Card to purchase an annual Uber One membership. This is available to every cardholder.
Uber One provides benefits like discounted rides, lower delivery fees on eligible orders, and additional member perks. Since an annual membership costs roughly the same amount as the available statement credit, eligible cardholders could effectively receive a full year of Uber One benefits at little to no net cost. If you already pay for Uber One, this is a true saving and something you need to jump on.
The promotion is currently scheduled to run through October 30, 2026. You must enroll via your Amex account first.
Hotel Collection anniversary offers
Through July 15, 2026, Gold Card holders can access special offers at more than 250 participating properties within The Hotel Collection across more than 40 countries. If you’re not sure what it is, The Hotel Collection is a curated list of hotels around the world that are affiliated with Amex. They’ll typically offer on-site credits, upgrades, or experiences to Amex cardholders. It varies from place to place, but they can be pretty cool.
Depending on the hotel, available promotions may include:
Complimentary third night stays
Complimentary fourth night stays
Discounts of 25% or more on rooms
Discounts of 30% or more on suites
Property credits worth $150 or more
They’re definitely worth checking out when you’re scouting out your next big stay.
Targeted anniversary Amex offers
Amex is also rolling out a collection of anniversary-themed Amex Offers to eligible Gold Card holders. These are targeted offers, so you may have all or only a few of them in your own account. Just navigate to the Rewards and benefits section of your account and look for headlines with “60th anniversary” in them.
Assume enrollment is required for each of them. Just check the details of each as you go. From what I can find in my own account, there are deals like the following
50% back on a CLEAR Plus membership
Up to $99 back on CLEAR Concierge services
Spend $99 or more on HBO Max Annual subscription, earn $50
Spend $100 or more at Williams Sonoma, earn $30 back
Up to $60 back at Wine Insiders
Up to $40 back at Winc Wines
Up to $60 back at CookUnity
As always, these are purely situational. The Clear memberships are a great deal if you were considering the service, but other cards also offer it for free. The HBO Max one could be a pleasant addition for many. Consider looking at ways you could get creative to maximize your card. For example, if you do buy a bottle of wine or two each week, see if switching to one of the wine merchants listed for an order could save you.
The best ones reduce the cost of purchases you were already planning to make rather than encouraging additional spending. Anything else isn’t true value.
The Bottom Line
There have been a lot of changes in the credit card and points world recently. Most of them have involved a hefty fee increase or points devaluation. Thankfully, the Amex Gold’s 60th anniversary celebration is offering some no-strings bonuses that can add a bit of value to your wallet.
Don’t get me wrong, none of the new perks are life-changing or make the card worth opening in their own right, but it’s an effort to let cardholders recoup some of the value they lose in the annual fee.
- Best for: Foodies
- Annual Fee: $325
- See Pay Over Time APR
- Reward Rate: 1X-5X
- Recommended Credit: Good to Excellent
American Express® Gold Card
Earn as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points
Offer Details:
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 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.
Why we like it
The American Express® Gold Card takes your dining and grocery spending to the next level, offering an impressive 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, and 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
To put this into perspective, if you spend $8,400 annually on dining and groceries, which aligns with the average American’s spending, you could earn enough points for a roundtrip flight to Hawaii. Meanwhile, the bonus alone is worth over $1,000, adding significant value to your everyday spending. It’s probably the best card out there for dining and grocery purchases.
Reward details
-
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 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
-
Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
-
Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
-
Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
Pros & Cons
Pros
There are a lot of statement credits available, if you utilize them.
The dining and grocery rewards are some of the best out there.
Explore over 1,300 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.
Apply with confidence. Know if you’re approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you’re approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
Cons
$325 annual fee
No major travel perks like its bigger sibling, the Amex Platinum
by your friends at The Daily Navigator
