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Now is the time to apply for the American Express gold card.

The American Express® Gold Card is one of the best personal cards for earning American Express Membership rewards points. I wanted to take a closer look at the reasons why this card should be in a points collector's wallet.

8 reasons to get the Amex Gold Card

The Amex Gold Card has an excellent welcome bonus, spending bonus categories that will prove valuable for many consumers, and benefits and credits that could in and of themselves justify the annual fee.

This card is great for people who spend a lot of money on food and earn a lot of points. The Amex Gold Card has an excellent welcome offer, but it's not the only reason to pick it up.

4x points at restaurants worldwide

This card is an example of how credit card bonus categories have evolved over time. The Amex Gold Card can be used at restaurants.

  • There’s no cap on how much you can spend and earn 4x points on
  • This applies both within the United States and abroad (and the card has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s great for international purchases)
  • This also applies for takeout and delivery, so you can even earn 4x points with platforms like Uber Eats

The Amex Gold Card is the best card for dining if you ask me. The Amex card offers a 6.8% return on dining spending, which is incredible, and I value it at 1.7 cents each.

Earn 4x Amex points on dining globally

4x points at U.S. supermarkets

The Amex Gold Card is great no matter how you eat, as it is great no matter how you eat. The Amex Gold Card can be used at supermarkets.

  • This is valid exclusively at supermarkets in the United States, and not abroad
  • This is valid for up to $25,000 in supermarket purchases per calendar year, and after that you earn 1x points

The Amex gold card is the best card for supermarkets. The card offers a 6.8% return on supermarket spending, and I value it at 1.7 cents per point.

Earn 4x Amex points on U.S. supermarkets

Access to the Amex Membership Rewards program

The Amex Gold Card is a great hub card for pooling all of your Amex points because it gives you full access to the Amex Membership rewards program.

Redeem Amex points for travel in Air France business class

$120 Uber Cash benefit

The Amex Gold Card can be used for up to 120 dollars in cash every year. What does this do?

  • You receive $10 in Uber Cash each calendar month directly to your Uber account
  • This can be used toward U.S. Uber rides or U.S. Uber Eats orders, and you can use it across one or multiple transactions
  • To take advantage of this, you’ll have to add your Amex Gold Card to your Uber account, and then you can easily apply the credit through the app each month

Many people would consider this card if they spent at least $10 per month with the ride hailing service.

Get an Uber Cash credit with the Amex Gold

$120 dining credit benefit

Up to a $120 annual benefit is offered by the Amex Gold Card. What does this do?

  • You receive up to $10 in statement credits each calendar month
  • This benefit is valid for purchases made with the Gold Card in the U.S. with Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations

Many card members should be able to get some value out of this.

Money saving with the Amex Offers program

The amazing value of Amex offers is one of the reasons to keep your Amex cards. You can earn bonus points with all of the retailers.

You might be eligible for more offers if you have more Amex cards. Amex offers are more than enough to justify the annual fees on some of my cards.

I’ve saved money on hotel stays with Amex Offers

A cool rose gold design

The general public seems to disagree with me that I wouldn't pick a credit card based on the design. A lot of cards have switched to metal designs. That used to be special, but now it is not.

The Amex Gold Card can be used in a rose gold metal design. This is one of the most attractive cards out there because of the design. It is not a reason I would get this card.

The Amex Gold has a cool rose gold design option

Anecdotally easy card approval

People are hesitant to apply for credit cards because they are unsure if they will be approved. The Amex Gold Card is one of the easiest premium travel rewards cards to be approved for.

  • In general I find more people have luck getting approved for Amex cards than Chase or Citi cards
  • This is considered a “hybrid” card rather than an outright credit card, and I find those cards are often easier to be approved for
  • Since this is a hybrid card, it wouldn’t count toward Amex’s typical five card limit, meaning you could get this card even if you’re maxed out on how many Amex credit cards you can have

Why the Amex Gold Card is worth it

There is no one-size-fits-all card strategy out there. The Amex Gold Card is as close to that as it gets. Everyone has to eat, and the Amex Gold Card rewards that generously, whether you like to dine at a restaurant or shop at a supermarket.

You can earn 4x points on restaurants and U.S. supermarkets with the Amex Membership rewards points.

The $250 annual fee may be a deterrent to some. It's possible that the fee is almost entirely offset by the $240 in annual benefits you can get.

  • The monthly Uber Cash benefit is useful whether you’re booking a rideshare or ordering food via Uber Eats
  • The $10 dining benefit can be used in a variety of ways; personally, I think it’s easiest to max out with Grubhub, but there are other options as well

The perks more or less offset the annual fee, and the 4x points in two popular categories is the icing on the cake. This really increases your points earning potential for people who spend a lot on food.

The Amex Gold 4x points will add up quickly

Bottom line

The Amex Gold Card is a great card for people who spend a lot of money on food. There are only a few other cards that offer such a generous return in both categories.

The card will give you up to $120 in annual dining credits and up to $120 in annual cash. Those should help offset the annual fee. Many people will get this card because of the Amex offers.

You can learn more about the Amex Gold Card by following this link.

The rates and fees can be found in the links. The American Express gold card has rates and fees.