Rewards Rates
Current Intro Bonus
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
Key Cardholder Benefits
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year.
- Updated $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings and earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at GrubHub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.
- Get a $100 experience credit with a minimum two-night stay when you book The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel. Experience credit varies by property.
- As an American Express Gold Card member, you can enjoy complimentary ShopRunner Membership which gives you free 2-day shipping and free returns at 100+ stores. Enrollment required.
Rewards Value
Membership Rewards Points earned with the American Express Gold Card are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for airfare through American Express Travel.
If you're looking to maximize the value of your points, you can transfer points to AMEX's travel partners and redeem them for airfare and hotel stays. This can get you significantly more value than redeeming points directly with American Express.
| Redemption Option | Average Value (in cents) |
|---|---|
| Point transfers to airline and hotel partners | 0.6 - 2 |
| Booking flights through American Express Travel | 1 |
| Booking other travel through American Express Travel | 0.7 |
| Paying with points at checkout | 0.7 |
| Using points for card charges (statement credit) | 0.6 |
| Redeeming points for gift cards | 0.5 - 1 |
Learn More: AMEX Points Value Calculator
Transfer Partners
Points earned with the American Express Gold Card can be transferred to 20 travel partners, with the majority of the partners having a 1:1 transfer ratio.
Learn More: AMEX Transfer Partners & Conversion Calculator
Annual Fees
The American Express Gold Card has a $250 annual fee. Additional users can be added at a cost of $0 for the first five cards, then $35 per card for the sixth card onward.
While the 4X earning rates can hold their own at offsetting the annual fee (assuming you spend moderately in these categories), the $240 in annual credits should easily help reduce the overall cost of the card.
AMEX Points Calculator
Use the AMEX Gold Points Calculator to determine how many points you can earn based on the monthly or yearly spending amounts you enter.
You can calculate the cash value of the AMEX Gold alongside up to two other credit cards from any issuer.
Any spend entered into the primary card column (the first column) will carry over to all credit card calculators on the site. This means there's no need to re-enter spend when jumping to other credit card pages on the site.
Other Ways To Earn
Outside of earning Membership Rewards points using AMEX, there's only one other way to earn additional points and that's Rakuten Rewards.
Rakuten Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards credit card holders can earn additional Membership Rewards points by using the Rakuten Rewards program which is a free-to-use online cash back portal that pays you to shop online.
The Rakuten website features thousands of retailer affiliate links and when you click on these links to make a purchase, Rakuten receives a commission. They then pay you, the user, some of that commission which is why it's no cost to use their portal.
Rakuten normally offers cash back rewards, but Membership Rewards credit card holders can opt in to receive Membership Rewards points instead. When receiving points, the rewards ratio is 1-to-1 meaning that 1% back is equal to 1X Membership Rewards points.
So if Rakuten is offering 10% cash back with a certain retailer (which they do often), this means you'll be able to earn 10X Membership Rewards points. Sounds amazing, right? That's because it is.
I've been using Rakuten Rewards as my main online shopping portal since the start of 2017. Once the ability to earn Membership Rewards Points became available, I never looked back.
You can sign up for Rakuten Rewards using our affiliate link and earn bonus Membership Rewards Points (or cash back) on your first purchase. If you're looking to get the most out of the Membership Rewards program, you don't want to ignore this program.
Earning Rate Comparison
Want to know how the AMEX Gold Card earning rates stack up against other Membership Rewards credit cards? The table below lists out the earning rates per $1 spent for all credit card partners so you can see where it stands.
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FAQ
How many American Express Gold Points do you earn per dollar?
The American Express Gold Card earns 4 Membership Rewards Points per $1 spent on restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases, 3 points per $1 spent on airfare, and 1 point per $1 spent everywhere else.
How much are American Express Gold Points worth?
Points earned with the American Express Gold Card can be redeemed for 1 cent each towards airfare via American Express Travel. You can obtain higher value by transferring points to AMEX's airline and hotel partners.
Can you transfer American Express Gold Points to The Platinum Card?
Membership Rewards credit cards linked to the same account will all pool together and share the same balance.
Do Membership Rewards Points expire?
No. Membership Rewards Points are valid as long as you have an open Membership Rewards credit card.
What can you redeem American Express Gold Points for?
Points earned with the American Express Gold Card can be used towards travel, statement credits, gift cards, and much more. You can also transfer them to airline and hotel rewards programs.
