American Express Gold Card
American Express · American Express · $325 annual fee · earns Amex Membership Rewards, valued at 2.00¢ a point.
Rates checked against the issuer 2026-08. Foreign transaction fee: none.
The short version
- Best at: groceries (#1, $8.00 per $100); dining out (#1, $8.00 per $100); food delivery (#1, $8.00 per $100).
- A year's rewards: about $1,153, or $828 after the fee.
- Weighing it up against: Platinum Card, Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred.
Is the annual fee worth it?
It earns about $1,153 a year on the illustrative household's spending, which is $828 once the fee is paid. The best card with no fee, American Express Blue Business Plus, nets $1,058 on the same spending — so this card is $230 a year behind. It pulls ahead of the free card once spending passes about $4,682 a month.
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
What it earns, category by category
| Earns on | Rate | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants & Bars, Food Delivery | 4x | Up to $50,000 per year, then the base rate |
| Groceries | 4x | Up to $25,000 per year, then the base rate · US supermarkets only |
| Flights | 3x | Booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel |
| Everything else | 1x |
Where it ranks
Against every card in the catalogue, scored in dollars per $100 with no rotating categories switched on:
- #1 of 68 for groceries — $8.00 per $100
- #1 of 68 for dining out — $8.00 per $100
- #1 of 68 for food delivery — $8.00 per $100
- #3 of 68 for flights — $6.00 per $100
Where a year's rewards come from
| Spending on | Earns a year |
|---|---|
| Groceries | $480 |
| Restaurants & Bars | $288 |
| Everything Else | $120 |
| Flights | $72 |
| Gas Stations | $36 |
| Online Shopping | $36 |
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
Protections and travel benefits
From the issuer's own benefit summary as of 2026-09. These are read from summaries rather than the full guide to benefits, which has the exclusions — check it before relying on one.
What the issuer lists besides rewards
- Monthly dining credit at select partners, claimed in monthly chunks
- Monthly Uber Cash for rides and Uber Eats orders
- Annual resort and hotel credits on eligible bookings
- No foreign transaction fees
- Secondary rental car coverage, trip delay after 12 hours, and baggage insurance
- Purchase protection for 90 days after you buy
- Extended warranty adds a year to manufacturer warranties of five years or less
Similar cards
- Capital One Venture X — annual fee $395 a year
- American Express Classic Green Card — annual fee $150 a year
- Wells Fargo Autograph Journey — annual fee $95 a year
- Chase Sapphire Preferred — annual fee $95 a year
- Every travel card, ranked
- When an annual fee pays for itself
- The best two- and three-card combinations
Point values: published industry valuations, read 2026-09. How every number here is worked out.
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