The American Express Gold Card is considered one of the best travel rewards cards thanks to the numerous food and travel perks that appeal to big spenders who can afford its $250 annual fee. It offers generous ongoing rewards for airfare purchases and spending at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets.
Is Amex Gold a good card to use when travelling? Yes, to the extent that you receive double Membership Rewards points when using the card abroad. However, because Amex adds a 3% foreign exchange fee, you might want to get a separate free credit card to use abroad.
Amex Gold vs.
Travel Benefits Winner: The Amex Green card is the winner for travel benefits since it includes credits toward airport lounges and expedited security. The Amex Green Card caters more to travelers and as such includes a few benefits that will improve your travel experience.
You're incurring interest: The only way to avoid getting hit with interest is to pay off your balance in full each month. Most credit cards carry double-digit interest rates, so if you're carrying a balance, these charges are getting tacked onto your minimum every month.
Does the American Express Gold Card have a limit? The American Express® Gold Card has no preset spending limit, which reflects its origins as a charge card — a card that requires you to pay your bill in full every month.
Interest charges accrue when you don't pay the bill off in full. Pay Over Time charges an interest rate that is the same across the Green, Gold and Platinum products. As of August 2020, cardholders who use the feature will pay an APR between 15.99% to 22.99%, depending on creditworthiness.
Is it hard to get an Amex Gold Card? Yes, it is hard to get the American Express® Gold Card because it requires at least good credit for approval. Unless your credit score is 700 or higher and you have a lot of income, it will be very hard for you to get approved for the Amex Gold card.
If you're spending more than $500 per month at U.S. supermarkets and spend a lot on travel, the Amex Gold card delivers better value. If you subscribe to select streaming services and spend a lot on transit or gas, consider the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card.
Amex Platinum ultimately offers more value, though. For example, its benefits include airport lounge access, while the Amex Gold Card's perks do not. When it comes to ongoing rewards on purchases, Amex Platinum has a higher maximum earning rate and better travel rewards. But Amex Gold provides more everyday value.
American Express does not disclose a specific income requirement, but it must be enough to make payments on the card and to afford the $250 annual fee. Amex doesn't openly state any other Amex Gold card requirements, but there are plenty of other factors that Amex considers during the approval process.
For everyday spending
The Amex Gold earns a mere 1 point per dollar on spending outside its specific bonus categories. There are other cards issued by Amex as well as other banks, that can improve upon that.
In response, airlines and card issuers have begun to offer airport lounge access, helping ease the path for loyal customers. But not all flights — and not all credit cards — offer airport lounge access. Regrettably, the American Express® Gold Card falls into the latter category and doesn't currently offer this perk.
If you have a Consumer or Business Green, Gold or Platinum Card, your Card does not have a credit limit. Instead, your Card has no preset spending limit unless you have been previously notified otherwise. No preset spending limit means the spending limit is flexible.
100,000 American Express points are worth about $670 per our valuations, depending on which American Express credit card you have and what you spend the points on. You will get the best value for your American Express points when you redeem them for Travel, but there are multiple redemption options.
The American Express® Gold Card is our top-rated travel card. The card is made out of stainless steel and weighs 15 grams. Cardholders will have the ability to pay with a tap of their card at select merchants thanks to the card's contactless feature.
The Amex Gold card earns Membership Rewards points, which are some of the most valuable travel rewards out there. These points can be used for statement credits, gift cards, Amex Travel bookings, online shopping, Amazon.com, Best Buy, PayPal, and charitable donations.
Yes, the Amex Gold card reports to the credit bureaus every month, within days after the cardholder's billing period closes. American Express reports the card's credit limit, account balance, and payment history to all three of the major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
The American Express Gold and Platinum cards are actually “charge” cards rather than “credit,” which means you must pay the bill in full each month.
Which Amex card is the easiest to get? The easiest Amex cards to get are ones with a lower minimum spending requirement for rewards, as well as a low annual fee or no annual fee. Examples include the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express and the American Express Cash Magnet Card.
Salary Needed for Amex Platinum Credit Card
If you make nearly $100,000 a year and have good credit, you should have no issue getting approved. But, applicants with annual incomes as low as $40,000 have also been approved if they have a low debt-to-income ratio and pay their other credit cards in full every month.
If you cancel your Amex Gold, you will need to transfer your Membership Rewards points out. This gets rid of the main benefit of Membership Rewards points – flexibility. Keeping your Gold card means you can keep your Membership Rewards points account open and so keep all of your options for the points open.
The chief military specific benefit on the Amex Gold card is the $250 annual fee waived for active duty troops, Guard and Reserve on 30+ day active duty orders, and military spouses. Other key benefits include the welcome bonus of 60,000 points after spending $4000 in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
American Express cards can only be downgraded to the same type of card, based on what kind of rewards you can get and whether it requires you to pay the full balance each month or not. For Amex Gold card, the only lower-tier option is the Amex Green card.
You are entitled to a Priority PassTM membership and two complimentary visits annually. Coverage for up to US$150 for missed departures and connections, delays, cancellations or overbooked flights. *Terms and Conditions apply.