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Link: American Express® Gold Card
Amex has increased the welcome offer for the American Express® Gold Card. You may now be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. This is better than the previous maximum offer of 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points. Note that welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for the highest offer or an offer at all. You’ll have the option to withdraw your application if it ends up not being what you want.
This card has an annual fee of: $325. For the rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please visit [link]. Terms apply.
Our thoughts and opinions about this card:
- The main benefit, in my opinion, is the ability to do point transfers to to several airlines that aren’t available via Chase Ultimate Rewards; those being: All Nippon Airways. Alitalia, Delta, Aeromexico, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and Qatar Airways. For a full list of airline and hotel transfer partners, visit this link [Amex: https://global.americanexpress.com/rewards/transfer]
- You can use the “Pay Over Time” option to treat your purchases on this card similarly to a Credit Card, and doing so will let you carry a balance with interest up to your “Pay Over Time Limit”, but I highly advise against doing that. Eligible charges can be included in a Pay Over Time balance, up to the Pay Over Time Limit. All charges not added to a Pay Over Time balance or monthly payment plan or Cash Advance balance must be paid in full each month by the payment due date. Pay Over Time only applies to eligible charges meeting minimum transaction amounts.
- I’m not a big fan of the monthly “use it or lose it” type of credits for Uber, Dunkin’, and select dining. You’re expected to basically make purchases every month, in order to get the credit. If you’re not already doing that right now, then these credits will likely be wasted.
- If you can get it, the 100,000 point offer is great, but keep in mind that the offer language here is using “as high as…“, which means that they may offer you less. If they do, then you’ll have the option to not accept the application.
This card has the following bonus earning categories:
- 4X Points: At Restaurants Worldwide, on up to $50K in purchases
- 4X Points: On Groceries At U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 in purchases per year.
- 3X Points: On Flights Booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- 2X Points: On Prepaid Hotels and other eligible travel purchases, booked through AmexTravel.com.
- 1X Points: On Other Eligible Purchases.
There are a few things to point out about this deal:
- Historically, this current 100,000 point offer matches the highest offer seen. I’ve not seen it go higher.
- You can check your application status online via this link.
- Amex will likely deny your application if you have more than 5 or more Amex cards, or 10 or more cards total.
- You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had the American Express® Gold Card, the Premier Rewards Gold Card, the American Express Platinum Card®, the Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Charles Schwab, the Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for a welcome offer, Amex will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.
- Member FDIC
- For rates and fees, please visit the corresponding URL: [American Express® Gold Card (link)].
