Traveling Home

American Express Gold Card

In 2015 AMEX refreshed the Premier Rewards Gold Card. The annual fee went up from $175/year to $195/year. The card offered a $100 annual airline fee credit, 2 points per dollar spent on gas, groceries, and restaurants, and 3 points per dollar on airfare.

The card is being refreshed again today and the name of the card is reverting back from American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card to American Express Gold Card. The annual fee is jumping up from $195/year to $250/year and that won’t be waived for the first year. If you have an existing Premier Rewards Gold card that renews before April you will pay $195 and renewals from April and on will pay $250.

The card is now metal and you can request a limited edition Rose Gold colored card from now through 1/9/19.

The signup bonus is now 50K points for spending $2K in 3 months. If you have or had the Premier Rewards Gold or a Gold card in the past you won’t be eligible for the signup bonus.

Additionally if you apply by 1/9/19 you’ll also get 20% back at US restaurants within 3 months of opening the card, up to a $100 statement credit.

The card will now earn 4 points per dollar on up to $25K of annual spending at US supermarkets and 4 points per dollar at US restaurants. Airline spending will continue to earn 3 points per dollar and there will still a $100 annual airline fee credit at the airline of your choice.

Unfortunately the gas category bonus is being eliminated. If you have an existing Premier Rewards Gold card you will keep the double points on gas until 10/4/19.

You can also get up to a $10 refund per month for spending at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and participating Shake Shack locations.

Is the refreshed Gold card worthwhile?

If you’ll maximize the $100 annual airline fee credit and the $10 monthly Grubhub/Seamless credit, that effectively lowers the annual fee from $250 to just $30. If you spend on bonus categories like US supermarkets and restaurants, then the 4 points per dollar can be lucrative.

For me personally, I value Chase points higher than AMEX points, so the 4 points earned at restaurants on this card isn’t necessarily better than 3 points per dollar on the Sapphire Reserve.

Additionally Chase’s bonus categories are valid worldwide, while AMEX restricts bonus categories to US spending.

The 4 points per dollar spend at grocery stores is valuable, though I earn 4.5 points per dollar at grocery stores and 3 points per dollar a gas stations by making 30 transactions per month on my AMEX Everyday Preferred card. However the Everyday Preferred caps that spending at $6K/year while the Gold card grocery bonus is valid up to $25K/year. The AMEX Blue Cash Preferred offers 6% cash back on groceries, but is also capped at $6K/year.

While the Chase Freedom card offers a quarterly 5x grocery bonus (and is currently offering 5x at ShopRite via Chase Pay), it would be nice to see Chase add a year-round grocery store bonus to one of their cards.

I don’t personally use Grubhub/Seamless and I probably value the $100 in airline fee credit at about $80, so that would make the effective cost $170/year for me. I’ve had the Premier Rewards Gold card in the past, so I won’t be eligible for the signup bonus either. That makes this card get a pass from me, but I can see how it can be quite lucrative for others for will take full advantage of the $100 in airline fee credits, the $10 monthly Grubhub/Seamless credit, and who are big dining/grocery spenders who value having AMEX points. If you haven’t had the Gold card in the past, then the 50K points are worth well more than the $250 annual fee.

Will you signup for the refreshed American Express Gold Card?