Throughout our blog, our main focus was to accumulate miles and reward points, and the American Express Gold Credit Card is our top choice in that context.
Our view might sound biased; however, it comes from personal testimony and experience. I have been an Amex Gold credit card holder since 2019 and every year I renew it without any doubt.
Why you may ask? Well every year I have been able to easily breakeven on its annual fee (first year is free) and save significantly on travels. So if you are a frequent flyer, then you will definitely want to continue reading this.
If you are already intrigued, you can fast forward and apply to get your American Express Gold credit card here. However, I fully recommend reading the rest of the article.
Key Benefits
There are several key benefits for the Amex Gold Card which I will list below:
- The current welcome bonus is 30,000 Membership Reward points when you spend £3k in the first 3 months. You would also get another 5,000 points if you spend on anything in month 15. This offer is valid until 16 July 2024. Please note, this bonus does vary at different offer periods.
- The Gold card is free the first year (typically £195)
- Get a Priority Pass lounge membership with 4 complimentary visits. Priority pass allows access to over 1,300 airports global
- £120 annual credit with Deliveroo. £5 per orders over £10, twice a month.
- Get up to 12,500 bonus points a year. This is based on your expenditure. You receive 2,500 MR points for reaching £5000 annual expenditure and additional 2,500 MR points for every £5000 you spend.
- Regular offers on the Amex app. These offers vary from discounts and cashback on shopping, travel and entertainment. I personally prefer the travel offers and some are really good.
- The first supplementary card is free and will give you a 3,000 MR point bonus.
Rates and Fees
It is important to also note the various fees and rates that are applicable to the AMEX Gold Card as it is crucial to keep in mind while using the card:
- A representative Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 88.8% is applicable which includes the annual fee. This basically states how much it will cost you to credit borrow over a year. The representative APR on purchases, and in the first year is 31% variable. Always spend what you can pay and make sure to avoid paying these interest fees.
- Annual Fee of £195, however, the first year is free.
Membership Reward Points
By now it should be clear what the standalone benefits and rates of the card are. However, I appreciate that the benefit from the MR points may still be unclear.
The MR points scheme allows you to redeem the points in multiple ways, with Amex valuing the points at £4.5 for every 1,000 MR points. The points can be redeemed as follows:
- Redeem the points to deduct credit balance.
- Use card for shopping with retailers such as Amazon.
- Transfer the points to various airlines and hotel groups. Such as: British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Hilton Honors. This gives flexibility in terms of redeeming the points.
My personal preference when it comes to redeeming MR points goes to transferring points to both British Airways (Avios Scheme) and Virgin Atlantic (Flying Club). We have written an article for each airlines describing how you can maximise the benefit of using the BA Avios and Virgin Atlantic reward flight schemes.
Conclusion
In summary, the American Express Gold Rewards Credit Card is a great starter credit card considering its free for the first year. As noted above, Amex Gold does give the flexibility to redeem MR points with various airline and hotel groups.
However, your card needs might change over time and you might be interested in other cards that provide more specific rewards such as 2-4-1 companion vouchers. This benefit can be attained through the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card or the Virgin Atlantic Rewards + Card.
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The Reward Traveller 