I’ve had the American Express® Gold Card for over three years now, and it’s certainly one of my favorite cards.
It’s got a top spot in my wallet mainly for its everyday spending categories: hellooo, 4x per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 per year, then 1x after) and at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, then 1x after).
There’s no other card out there that’ll get you more for your money when it comes to food, and that makes me happy.
It also offers 3x per dollar spent on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App™, or purchased directly from airlines, which isn't half-bad.
Plus, it’s historically come with a slew of additional dining credits that I’ve always been able to take advantage of.
However, its recent refresh has ruffled some feathers, but I don’t think all is lost on this revamp.
Here’s my take.
The increased annual fee
If you hadn’t noticed, the new annual fee for the Amex Gold is $325 (Rates & Fees).
That’s a $75 increase from the previous $250 annual fee 😣
I had always viewed the Amex Gold as a mid-tiered card for that price point, but $325 is pushing it…
For new cardmembers, this fee increase is effective immediately. For current members, this increase is effective starting in October and will be executed on a rolling basis over 13 months based on your annual fee renewal date.
But the real question is: What do you get for this $75 increase?
New statement credits
To soften the blow a bit, the Amex Gold added two new credits… which I don’t hate.
The first is an $84 Dunkin’ credit (up to $7 in monthly statement credits) that you can use at U.S. Dunkin’ locations after you enroll and pay with your Amex Gold.
As someone who lives in the Pacific Northwest, I’ll admit it’s hard to find a Dunkin’ around here with a Starbucks on nearly every street corner.
But as someone who travels regularly, having $7 a month to treat myself to a Dunkin’ coffee sounds pretty alright.
Better yet? Load up your Dunkin’ app once a month and build up that balance of credits over time.
We’re also getting a new $100 Resy credit that comes in a semi-annual $50 statement credit (enrollment required).
Simply use your Amex Gold to pay at eligible U.S. Resy restaurants. You don’t have to book via Resy, and you’ll receive that credit every six months, which feels nice.
💡 Pro tip: Make sure you register these credits to activate them before using!
Changes to current dining credits
Fortunately, this one is pretty minimal, but the $120 dining credit (that comes in $10 monthly statement credits) is still here.
The $120 dining credit (that comes in $10 monthly statement credits) is still here, but the eligible vendors have changed. The updated list now includes Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. Goldbelly and Wine.com are no longer included.
Depending on your preferences, this could be seen as a positive or negative swap.
There was no change to the Uber Cash credit (whoop!).
Earning caps
The lovely 4x points per dollar on global restaurants was previously uncapped, but that’s no longer the case.
We had already seen a $25,000 cap per year on U.S. supermarket spending, but now we’re also seeing a new $50,000 cap on spending at restaurants worldwide.
I’m not upset about this because for me personally, I’m not spending anywhere near $50,000 a year on eating out…
…which would be a dream, honestly. But yeah, nope 😒
And I can’t imagine many of you should be bummed about this cap either, because, again, $50k.
Bottom line
Overall, the changes to the Amex Gold are net positive, though not insanely exciting.
Let’s be real. The increase to the annual fee sucks, and even though those new statement credits will more than offset that… they still don’t feel super exciting to me personally.
Plus, oftentimes whenever there is a fee increase, we’ll see a nice elevated offer come with it. In this case, that didn’t happen.
The current welcome offer is as follows: You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact.
So, yeah. Nothing exciting there.
But I’m also not mad about the new $50,000 cap since I’m not spending anywhere near that on restaurants.
Either way, it’s clear that the Amex Gold is really leaning into its niche of being the dining card with both its new and long-standing dining statement credits.
And because I love American Express Rewards and get a TON of value out of the 4x spend on restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets, I’ll be holding onto my Amex Gold for many years to come.
I’m curious to know: With the Amex Gold refresh, would you choose to keep, downgrade, or cancel your card?
