With sky-high rewards on restaurant and supermarket spending, the American Express® Gold Card makes an excellent option for travelers who want to maximize their food spending at home and away.

Annual credits, travel benefits, and American Express Membership Rewards (one of today’s most comprehensive travel rewards programs) help to make Amex Gold a solid long-term choice — despite its annual fee. Here’s everything you need to know about this travel credit card before you apply:

American Express® Gold Card

Rates & fees, terms apply

• Annual fee
  $250
• Welcome offer
  Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases in the first 6 months
• Card type(s)
  Travel, Rewards
• Ongoing Purchases APR
  See Pay Over Time APR
• Recommended credit score
  Excellent/Good

• Rewards rate
  • Earn 4x Membership Rewards Points at restaurants (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.)
  • Earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x)
  • Earn 3x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com

• Benefits
  • Earn up to $10 in statement credits each month when you pay with the American Express Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations (enrollment required)
  • Get a $100 experience credit with a minimum 2-night stay when you book The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel (experience credit varies by property)
  • Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and automatically get $10 in Uber Cash every month to use for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S. (up to $120 per year; you must have the latest version of the Uber App downloaded and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account; Amex benefit may only be used in United States)

More details: Up to $120 in annual Uber Cash, up to $120 annual dining credit, access to The Hotel Collection, and more

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Additional American Express Gold Card benefits

The primary card benefits of the Amex Gold are annual statement credits, which accrue monthly:

• Uber Cash: Up to $120 annually ($10 per month) for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.

• Dining credit: Up to $120 annually ($10 per month) at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations (enrollment required)

You’ll also get access to The Hotel Collection through Amex with a Gold Card. When you book an eligible property for at least a two-night stay, you can get a $100 experience credit (varies by location) to use during your stay. Travel protections are included too, and you’ll pay no foreign transaction fees.

Finally, the Amex Gold is a metal card, and you can choose the version you’d like when you sign up — standard gold or rose gold.

How to earn rewards

You can earn at least 1 point per dollar on every purchase with your Amex Gold card. Some charges, including cash advances, fees, gift card purchases, and person-to-person payments, will not earn rewards points.

The card’s bonus rewards also come with some restrictions that you should know. If you have a large family and spend more than $25,000 per year at supermarkets (a little over $2,000 per month), for example, you may want to consider switching to another card for groceries after you hit the maximum.

Similarly, keep in mind the limitations for earning rewards on travel. Only airfare will get the 3x bonus points — hotels, car rentals, and other travel spending will earn only the baseline 1 point per dollar.

How to redeem rewards

American Express Membership Rewards offers a few different ways to redeem points — but you’ll often get the best value when you redeem for airfare or transfer to travel partners.

You can book flights through American Express Travel for a redemption rate of 1 cent per point. But booking prepaid hotels, prepaid rental cars, cruises, or vacations through the portal will net just 0.7 cents per point.

You can transfer Amex points to more than 20 airline and hotel partners for a higher potential value. The majority transfer at a 1:1 ratio, though they vary — and you can occasionally qualify for limited-time boosted transfer rates.

Other redemption options, like paying with points at checkout, covering card charges, statement credits, and gift cards, range from around 0.5 cents to 1 cent per point. You can reference the rewards calculator on the American Express website for more about the value of every redemption option.

Who is the American Express Gold Card best for?

Unlike some other premium travel cards, you don’t necessarily need to pass through an airport or check into a hotel every week to get the best value from this card. For the most part, this card is best for people who want to earn rewards on their everyday spending, then redeem those rewards for travel.

Say, for example, you spend around the national average for both food at home and away from home — about $4,500 and $3,500, respectively. At 4x points per dollar, that $8,000 total could net you 32,000 Membership Rewards each year. That equals up to $320 in rewards value, even before accounting for any other purchases you make.

However, you should also look at the benefits closely before you apply. For example, if you strongly prefer Lyft for rideshares, you may not use the full $120 annual Uber credit. And while the dining credits are another great perk, they only work with select partners and locations. Without the full value of these credits bringing down the annual fee cost, consider other cards that work better for your spending and preferences.

Amex Gold Card perks

• Rewards on everyday spending: Amex Gold earns the highest rewards on everyday restaurant and supermarket spending. Get a 4x rate on food spending at home or away — which, for many Americans, make up their highest monthly budget items.

• Annual credits: The Gold Card’s annual credits for Uber and select dining are worth up to $240 in total, which almost entirely covers its $250 annual fee. If you already prefer Uber for rideshares or delivery and you spend at least $10 per month on qualifying dining purchases, you can nearly guarantee you’ll get your money’s worth with this card.

• Membership Rewards: American Express’ rewards program offers a lot of redemption flexibility, but one of its biggest benefits is the large number of travel transfer partners. You can transfer points earned with your Gold Card to Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Delta SkyMiles, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Air France KLM Flying Blue, and many more rewards programs.

Amex Gold Card potential drawbacks

• High annual fee: While it’s not as high as some other cards, the $250 Amex Gold annual fee is still costly. If you don’t think you’ll get enough value from your regular spending to justify the fee, you may want to consider a lower-fee travel card, or one with no annual fee at all.

• Lower earnings on travel: The Amex Gold can be great for maximizing everyday food purchases. But if you’re a frequent traveler and most of your monthly budget goes toward travel, you may prefer a card that earns its highest rewards on travel spending.

• Non-travel redemptions: This card is best suited for travelers who want to redeem points for airfare through Amex or transfer points to partners. Other redemptions — including hotels and rental cars booked through American Express Travel — may not get you a full 1 cent per point redemption value.

How to decide if the American Express Gold Card is right for you

If you’re looking for a card that can help you maximize purchases today toward your future travel, the Amex Gold could be a great fit.

Before you apply, look at your budget and recent purchases. Make sure they align with both the rewards categories (namely purchases at restaurants and supermarkets) and the annual credits offered by the card. If you’d rather earn more on your travel spending (especially travel other than airfare) to put toward more travel, you may want to look elsewhere.

Another thing to consider before applying for this card is whether American Express Membership Rewards is your preferred rewards program. If you already have a credit card you like with Chase Ultimate Rewards or Capital One Travel, for example, you may not reap the full value from your Amex rewards. On the other hand, if you prefer the transfer partners and redemption options from Amex, the Gold Card can offer you a lot of value toward Membership Rewards.

Keep in mind the credit score restrictions that travel credit cards like the Amex Gold can have. Often, you’ll need at least good to excellent credit for the best chances of qualifying. If you’re still building your credit, or your credit history isn’t solid, you may want to wait to apply.

Where can you use Amex Gold?

You shouldn’t have any issue using your Amex Gold card in the U.S. — American Express cards are accepted at 99% of U.S. merchants that accept cards. American Express even offers lists of in-person and online businesses on its site, which you can use to find the places you shop most.

There are plenty of ways to use your card, too. You can insert or tap your Amex Gold in a store, connect it to a digital wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay, input your card information when checking out online, and more.

How to make an Amex Gold Card payment

Online: Log into your American Express account online or through the mobile app, then select “Make a Payment.” You can pay with a connected bank account, and choose the amount you want to pay. You can also enroll in AutoPay to make your payments automatic each month.

Mail: If you’d like to pay by mail, you can send a check or money order to the following address.

American Express

P.O. Box 96001

Los Angeles, CA

90096 – 8000

Phone: If you want to pay by phone, call 1-800-472-9297 (a 24/7 line)

Amex Gold customer service info

American Express customer service is available by phone 24/7, along with its online and mobile chat — which you can access after logging into your account.

• Phone: 1-800-528-4800

• American Express Gold Card login page

Alternative cards to consider

The Gold Card isn’t the only great travel card available today. These are a few more of the best credit cards for travelers:

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Rates & fees, terms apply

• Annual fee
  $695
• Welcome offer
  Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 in the first 6 months
• Card type(s)
  Travel
• Ongoing Purchases APR
  See Pay Over Time APR
• Recommended credit score
  Excellent/Good

• Rewards rate
  • 5x points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000 per year)
  • 5x points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel
  • 1x points on all other purchases

• Benefits
  • Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel (requires a minimum two-night stay)
  • Select one qualifying airline and receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline
  • Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the U.S. annually (you must have the latest version of the Uber App downloaded and your eligible American Express Platinum Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account; Amex benefit may only be used in United States)

The Amex Platinum Card also earns Membership Rewards points, but you’ll earn the most rewards on your travel spending. For a very high $695 per year, you can get 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500,000 in spending per year), 5x points on prepaid hotels through Amex Travel, and 1x on all other purchases.

The greatest value the Platinum Card offers frequent travelers is its numerous benefits and annual credits. You’ll get everything from airport lounge access to up to a $200 annual statement credit toward qualifying hotel stays. More benefits include up to a $200 airline fee statement credit with your selected qualifying airline, up to a $240 digital entertainment statement credit (for eligible purchases; with enrollment), up to $200 Uber Cash, $189 CLEAR Plus credit, and many more (terms apply; see rates and fees).

If you already spend money on these things, you can get more than the cost of the Platinum fee back with its added benefits.

Learn more

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• Annual fee
  $95
• Welcome offer
  Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months (that's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠)
• Card type(s)
  Travel
• Ongoing Purchases APR
  21.49% - 28.49% Variable
• Recommended credit score
  Excellent/Good

• Rewards rate
  • 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel
  • 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries
  • 2x points on all other travel purchases
  • 1x points on all other purchases

• Benefits
  • Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel
  • Earn up to $50 in annual statement credits for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel
  • On every account anniversary, earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a $95 annual fee travel card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can maximize those points with a 25% redemption boost when you redeem them for travel through Chase. 

As for ongoing rewards, you’ll earn 5x points on travel you book through Chase (there’s also a $50 annual hotel credit for stays booked through Chase Travel; the 5x rate applies for hotel stays after you max out the credit). Plus, get 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 2x points on other travel; and 1x on all other purchases.

Learn more

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Annual fee
  $95
• Welcome offer
  Earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
• Purchase APR
  19.99% - 29.99% variable
• Recommended credit score
  Good, Excellent

• Rewards rate
  • 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • 2x miles on all other purchases

• Benefits
  • Receive up to a $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fees
  • Receive a $50 experience credit, room upgrades, and early check-in at eligible hotels
  • Access Hertz's Five Star membership tier, offering free upgrades, a wider selection of vehicles, and more

For a similar annual fee, the $95 Venture Rewards Credit Card from Capital One offers a simple 2x miles per dollar on every purchase, plus a boosted 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Redeem your miles toward travel purchases made with your card or for travel bookings through Capital One Travel at a rate of 1 cent per mile.

Learn more

This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken

Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to the author(s) and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.