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If you’re a foodie or frequent traveler in the market for a rewarding high-end card, the American Express® Gold Card is one to consider.
In addition to valuable benefits, such as an annual dining credit and baggage insurance, the American Express® Gold Card offers a generous rewards rate on restaurants, U.S. supermarket and airfare purchases. Just know, these benefits come with an annual fee of $250.
We break down the pros and cons of the American Express® Gold Card, and show how it compares to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – which also offers premium travel and dining benefits, but at a much lower annual fee.
To see rates & fees for American Express® Gold Card please click here.
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Regular Purchase APR
19.74%-26.74% Variable
Intro BT APR
N/A
Regular BT APR
N/A
Annual Fee
$250
Cash Advance Fee
Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater.
Foreign Transaction Fee
None
Balance Transfer Fee
N/A
Rewards rate
The American Express® Gold Card offers a rewards rate at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets that rivals other dining rewards cards. Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X), and 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. Terms apply.
American Express Membership Rewards® points can be redeemed for statement credits, travel, merchandise, gift cards and more. Points can also be transferred to several travel loyalty programs, including Delta SkyMiles®, Emirates Skywards, JetBlue TrueBlue, Marriott Bonvoy™ and more.
Welcome offer
The American Express® Gold Card offers an introductory welcome offer of 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
The value of Membership Rewards® points vary depending on how you redeem them. For example, points are valued at 1 cent each when redeemed for flights through American Express Travel – making the current welcome offer worth $600. However, when you use points to pay at checkout at merchants such as Amazon and Best Buy, they are worth 0.7 cents each, bringing the value of the welcome offer to $420.
Dining credit
Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you use your American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations — for an annual savings of up to $120 per calendar year. Enrollment is required.
Note, the credit is not valid on gift cards or merchandise purchases.
Uber Cash credit
Add your American Express® Gold Card to your Uber account, and automatically get $10 in Uber Cash each month (for a total of up to $120 per year) to use on Uber Eats or Uber rides in the U.S.
Annual fee
The American Express® Gold Card charges a substantial annual fee of $250. That said, the dining, airline and hotel credits can more than cover that amount each year.
Also know, there is no annual fee for up to five additional cards. The annual fee for six or more cards is $35 per card.
Limits on higher rewards rates
If you’re looking to earn a generous rewards rate on all of your travel purchases, you won’t be able to do so with the American Express® Gold Card, since it only offers the higher rate on airfare booked directly with an airline or at amextravel.com. Other travel purchases, such as hotels stays, cruises or homeshares, only earn 1 point per $1 spent.
Additionally, the elevated rewards rate at supermarkets only applies to those located inside the U.S.
Cannot carry a balance on some purchases
Unlike typical credit cards, this card lets you carry a balance for certain charges, but not all. American Express does offer a Pay Over Time feature, which gives cardholders the option to pay for eligible purchases of $100 or more over time with interest.
Note, enrollment for Pay Over Time is required, and you will accrue interest charges on all eligible purchases if you choose to carry a balance.
If you want a travel and dining rewards card that offers a valuable sign-up bonus at a lower annual fee, check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
At $95 a year, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers the following sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Along with redeeming Ultimate Rewards points for cash, statement credits, gift cards, travel and products and services, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card members can transfer points to a variety of travel transfer partners at a rate of 1:1.
While the American Express® Gold Card offers the opportunity to earn a higher rewards rate on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also offers an elevated rate in a broader variety of travel categories, including airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, discounted travel sites and campgrounds, as well as operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges, highways, parking lots and garages.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points are typically valued at 1 cent each; however, as stated above, they are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
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| American Express® Gold Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express | Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card |
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Apply Now on American Express's secure site
Terms Apply
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Apply Now on Chase's secure site
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Apply Now on American Express's secure site
Terms Apply
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Read Review |
| Welcome Offer | |||
| 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership. | Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. | Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months. | Earn a one-time $300 cash bonus once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening |
| Rewards Rate | |||
| Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X), and 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. Terms apply. | 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases | 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations and on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more), 1% Cash Back on other purchases. Terms apply. | Earn unlimited 4% cash back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services, 3% at grocery stores and 1% on all other purchases. |
| Annual Fee | |||
| $250 | $95 | $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 | $95 |
| Intro Purchase APR | |||
| N/A | N/A | 0% on purchases for 12 months | N/A |
| Regular APR | |||
| 19.74%-26.74% Variable | 18.99% - 25.99% Variable | 17.74%-28.74% Variable | 18.99%, 23.99% or 26.99% (Variable) |
| Recommended Credit | |||
| Excellent/Good | Excellent | Excellent/Good | Excellent/Good |
| Card Details | |||
| American Express® Gold Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express | Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card |
When deciding between the American Express® Gold Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the right one for you comes down to what you want to get from the card.
If earning more points at restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and air travel is most important to you, the American Express® Gold Card could be a great fit – especially if you plan to take advantage of the annual credits, which will help offset the cost of the card’s annual fee.
But if the opportunity to earn a higher rewards rate on a broader range of travel purchases – while getting more value from those points – is more ideal, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card may be the better choice.
To see rates & fees for American Express® Gold Card please click here.
To see rates & fees for the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express please click here.
