Why The Amex Gold Is Great For Traveling Foodies

If you’re a bonafide foodie with a penchant for travel, you’ve probably already figured out that keeping up with these hobbies can be quite expensive. If you can find a rewards credit card that allows you to earn and redeem rewards for these spending categories, it’s almost akin to striking gold.

Speaking of gold, the American Express® Gold Card is a great credit card option for this exact reason. With this card, you can earn boosted rewards on dining, groceries and travel. You’ll also enjoy a number of statement credits and travel protections that make the card even more valuable.

If you’re considering nabbing the Amex Gold Card, here’s what you should know about the features and benefits that make it a great card for the traveling foodie in you.

What does the Amex Gold Card offer?

Card highlights

• Rewards rates:
  • 4X Membership Rewards points on restaurant purchases worldwide (up to $50,000 in purchases per year, then 1X points)4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year, then 1X points) 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or via American Express Travel2X points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases through American Express Travel1X points on other eligible purchases
• Welcome offer: As high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases in your first 6 months of membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
• Annual fee: $325
• Regular APR (for Pay Over Time): See Pay Over Time APR

Welcome bonus

The first benefit that pops out with the Amex Gold is its welcome offer of as high as 100,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first 6 months of card membership. Bankrate estimates these points could be worth around 2.0 cents if you strategically transfer them to high-value partners. This point value makes the card’s highest-possible welcome offer worth about $2,000 in travel transfers. When redeeming directly through the American Express Travel portal, they’re worth $1,000 in flights, according to Amex’s rewards calculator.

Earning rewards

As noted above, the rewards structure is particularly generous for foodies: You’ll earn 4X Membership Rewards points at restaurants around the world (on up to $50,000 in purchases per year, then 1X points), plus 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year, then 1X points).

Additionally, you earn 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or via American Express Travel and 2X points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases through Amex Travel.

Redeeming rewards

We already mentioned that you can use your points to book flights through the Amex Travel portal, or you can transfer them to Amex travel partners for the best potential value.

But there are other redemption options to consider as well — like statement credits, gift cards, paying with points at checkout with select merchants and more. However, you should know that most of these redemption options will net significantly less value.

Additional card benefits

Available credits

• Up to $120 in annual dining credits: Earn up to $10 in statement credits per month on eligible Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com and Five Guys purchases (enrollment required).
• Up to $120 in annual Uber Cash: Receive up to $120 in annual Uber Cash ($10 automatically per month in Uber Cash, expires at the end of the month) toward U.S. rides and U.S. Uber Eats orders.
• Up to a $100 hotel credit with The Hotel Collection: Book 2 or more consecutive nights with your card at The Hotel Collection properties through the American Express travel portal and get up to a $100 credit toward eligible charges (eligibility varies by property).
• Up to $100 in Resy credits: Get up to $100 in Resy credits each calendar year toward eligible restaurant reservations and other purchases through Resy (up to $50 semi-annual statement credit, enrollment required).
• Up to $84 in annual Dunkin’ credits: Receive up to $84 in annual statement credits (as up to $7 in monthly statement credits) when you enroll your card and use it to pay for purchases at Dunkin’.

Along with the rewards structure, the annual credits focused on travel and dining are attractive for someone with a hefty grocery and dining budget.

Travel and shopping protections

This card also makes sense for travelers due to the rewards structure and hotel credit, along with additional travel and shopping protections. These include:

• Trip delay insurance
• Baggage insurance
• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Extended warranty coverage
• Purchase protection

Plus, there are no foreign transaction fees, making it a good choice to take on your journeys abroad. If you plan to earn rewards with travel, the Amex Gold is a great international travel companion to maximize your earnings on travel spend outside of the United States.

Should I get the Amex Gold Card?

For those who want credits that benefit them for a night on the town or a weekend getaway, the Amex Gold can easily cater to your spending. The $504 worth of credits easily outpace the card’s annual fee, leaving you room to pick and choose as you want. Plus, if this is your go-to grocery card, it can easily earn high rewards.

“As someone who loves to go out to eat, the Amex Gold is the perfect card for me,” says Bankrate senior analyst, Amy Drews, “One of my larger personal expenses is what I spend at restaurants, and having this credit card is so beneficial! The money I save via points offsets the annual fee very quickly, and I’m regularly able to buy free flights with my Amex points.”

“I love the Amex gold card because of the point multipliers on restaurants around the world, which is great because I travel a lot,” adds Gillian Totaro, another Bankrate Analyst, “The annual fee also includes uber credit which I use for food deliveries and a Resy credit which can be used at restaurants around my area.”

Alternatives to the Amex Gold

Although this card works well for people who tend to spend a lot on groceries, dining and travel, it’s not for everyone. For one, there’s a $325 annual fee (which is not a bad deal for up to $400+ in annual credits, plus the generous rewards structure and welcome bonus). However, if you won’t use this card often, don’t plan on using the credits or won’t redeem your rewards strategically for travel, this could be a costly card to hold from year to year.

Also, unlike typical credit cards, this card allows you to carry a balance for certain charges, but not all. So, if you don’t plan on regularly paying off the full balance, this may not be a good fit.

• Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
  

  If the $325 annual fee is too much, you might consider a card in Capital One’s lineup of foodie-focused credit cards. The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has no annual fee and gets you an unlimited 3 percent cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery store purchases (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target). You’ll also earn 8 percent back on purchases from Capital One Entertainment, 5 percent back on hotels and rental cars you book through Capital One Travel and 1 percent back on everything else.

• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
  

  If you’re more interested in a travel credit card with no annual fee, you could go for the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. With this card, you’ll get 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, plus an unlimited 1.25X miles on all other purchases. You can redeem rewards for general travel through Capital One’s travel portal, with some opportunities to get a boosted redemption rate with eligible Capital One travel partners, as well.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
  

  To combine your rewards on travel, dining and groceries, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a similar rewards structure to the Amex Gold but with a nominal $95 annual fee. The Sapphire Preferred earn 5X points on travel through Chase Travel℠ and 3X points on dining (including eligible delivery services), select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs).

  It also includes annual statement credits toward hotel stays through the Chase Travel portal for up to $50 and a 10 percent anniversary point bonus based on your total purchases the previous year. The Amex Gold offers slightly elevated rewards in some of these categories, but we still consider the Sapphire Preferred a respectable option for those who aren’t ready for a $325 annual fee

The bottom line

The Amex Gold is a great card for those who enjoy dining out or cooking at home with groceries, but it only makes sense if you’re prepared to take advantage of strategic travel redemptions and consciously use those credits.

To see if you qualify for the Amex Gold or a similar card, consider checking out Bankrate’s CardMatch tool to find credit card offers that match your credit profile. If you’re approved for the Amex Gold and don’t end up getting as much value as you’d like, you can always cancel or downgrade your American Express card in just a few steps.

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.