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- American Express Gold Card Bonus
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Getting rebranded from the former Premier Rewards Gold Card, this updated American Express Gold Card does a few things a tad worse, but many things quite a bit better. Overall, the card has shifted from being a travel-centric rewards card to a dining-centric one.
You’ll also find a decent to very good bonus offer depending on how you come upon the card promotion. Finding the card directly on the American Express website, a 50,000 bonus points offer was presented to me. During that same time period, the alternative offer was for 25,000 points bonus through various referral blogs/sites. Based on our valuations, 25,000 points could be worth $250 and the 50,000 points could be worth $500. Keep in mind, American Express has their methods of targeting higher value bonuses so you may not receive the same offer.
| At-A-Glance | |
| Bonus available | 25,000 or 50,000 bonus points (depends where you find the offer) For a limited time, receive 20% back as a statement credit at U.S. Restaurants within the first 3 months, up to $100 back. |
| Dining credit | $120 annually with dining partners (up to $10 monthly) |
| Ongoing rewards | Earn 4X Membership Rewards points at US restaurants. Earn 4X Membership Rewards points at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X). Earn 3X Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. |
| Foreign transaction fees? | No |
| Annual Fee | $250 (not waived first year) |
| Credit Needed | Good to Excellent |
AmEx Gold Card 25,000/50,000 Bonus Offer
Whether you come upon the 25,000 or 50,000 bonus points offer, the requirement for obtaining the points remains the same – you’ll need to spend $2,000 on eligible purchases with your new card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Also, for a limited time, you’ll be able to receive 20% back as a statement credit at U.S. Restaurants with The American Express Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back.
Here are some ideas outside of normal everyday spending to help you meet the bonus spending requirement:
MEETING CREDIT CARD BONUS SPENDING REQUIREMENTS
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AmEX Gold Card Vs. Premier Rewards Gold Card
As I mentioned in the beginning, the new Gold Card does many things better than it’s predecessor. As you can see below, it falls short only in the US gas stations category.
| Rewards Category | American Express Gold Card | Premier Rewards Gold Card (Old Version) |
| US Restaurants | 4x | 2x |
| US Supermarkets | 4x, capped at $25,000 per calendar year | 2x |
| US Gas Stations | 1x | 2x |
| Airfare Purchased Directly From Airline or on amextravel.com | 3x | 3x |
| Non-Category Spending | 1x | 1x |
As you can see above, the American Express Gold Card is a strong earner with US restaurant and supermarket spending. While this means the Gold Card will fall short compared to cards that earn on dining worldwide, I don’t recommend making an American Express card your primary international card anyway, based on its more limited acceptance abroad.
Redeeming Your Points
One of the best features of earning Membership Rewards points with the AmEx Gold Card is that you can transfer the points to 20 travel partners (17 airlines and 3 hotels). This allows you to leverage your earned points for higher class flights with the various airlines and routes. In fact, most users will find transferring points to a partner will usually equal more value.
Other redemption options include statement credits, Amazon purchases, gift cards and more.
Other Great Gold Card Perks
$120 Annual Dining Credit. Complimenting this dining-centric rewards card is an annual dining credit of up to $120. When you use the Gold Card for purchases at participating partners, you’ll earn up to $10 in statement credits each month, up to $120 yearly. These dining partners include Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and participating Shake Shack stores (excludes Shake Shack locations in ballparks, stadiums, airports and racetracks).
$100 Annual Airline Fee Credit. This is another feature that has carried over from the Premier Rewards Gold Card. You’ll receive up to $100 in statement credits towards incidental fees like baggage fees and in-flight purchases every calendar year. The one quirk with this program is that you have to pick one qualifying airline for these credits, and you can only switch this choice once a year.
What’s The Competition?
For a little more than double the annual fee, you can opt for the more travel-centric Platinum Card from American Express, where you’ll earn 5X Membership Rewards points on flights and hotels. The annual Airline Fee Credit will also double to $200 as well.
For less than half the annual fee of the Gold Card, I’d recommend taking a look at the Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard®, where you’ll earn 2X miles on every purchase, receive a big bonus offer, and have more worldwide acceptance with MasterCard.
 The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is now offering a 70,000 bonus miles offer. The 70k bonus miles will be worth $700 when you redeem towards travel. If you take into account the 5% miles back every time you redeem perk, the 70k miles would then have a $735 value.This card also earns unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases regardless of category, and doesn't have foreign transaction fees on international purchases either.Full Review |
| The Platinum Card from American Express has a special offer for 75,000 Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. The best options for redeeming these points would be by booking travel through American Express or by redeeming for gift cards. Using these options, the 75,000 bonus will be worth $750. You must go directly to the American Express website to find this offer. Typically, the bonus offer reverts back to a 60,000 or 40,000 points promo, so it's all about timing here. The biggest drawback to this card is the $550 annual fee, which puts it in the premium class of credit cards. The card has a market because it offers premium travel benefits, such as 5X points for flights and eligible hotels, access to 1,000+ airport lounges, $200 in Uber credits yearly, and a $200 airline fee credit annually. For frequent travelers, the added benefits make sense in terms of value and added luxury. Full Review |
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