If you’re in the points and miles game for the long term, you’ll likely consider the American Express Gold personal card at some point. The 60,000-point sign-up bonus may feel underwhelming given the $325 annual fee, and no one can predict if or when an elevated or targeted offer might come around. This might be a card you can put on hold for a while — especially if you have other options and are always working toward a new sign-up bonus. However, even with a smaller welcome offer, the card offers enough value in its ongoing benefits that you may want to keep it beyond the first year. If your primary spending is on groceries and dining out, you can accumulate a substantial number of extra points while working toward the bonus.
The standard welcome bonus for this card is 60,000 miles after spending $6,000 over six months. While that isn’t incredibly high, it’s still valuable, and the six-month window makes the required spend more manageable for many people. Because American Express has 18 airline transfer partners and three hotel partners, these 60,000 miles can be very versatile.
Although the $325 annual fee may give you pause—especially since the sign-up bonus isn’t eye-catching—the other benefits might stand out. For instance, if you spend a lot on food (both dining out and grocery shopping), the American Express Gold personal card will boost your point earnings as you work toward the welcome bonus. It offers 4x points on dining out and groceries, and also provides various statement credits that could make you keep it after the first year.
All told, these credits can total $420 in annual savings, easily offsetting the $325 annual fee.
Here are some exceptions where the card might not be good for you:
Amex points are great in theory. We just find them harder to collect and more expensive to hold than Chase points.
One key detail about American Express personal cards is that, to be eligible for the welcome bonus on all of them, you must acquire them in the order of Green, Gold, then Platinum. If you get the Platinum card first, you will not be eligible for the sign-up bonuses on the Green and/or Gold later.
All personal cards count against your 5/24 status. However, American Express also offers a similar slate of business cards — Green, Gold, and Platinum — where the same “order” rule does not apply. You can get the business versions in any order, though the “one bonus per lifetime” rule still applies. If you’re close to reaching 5/24 and want to explore business cards, you may find an elevated sign-up bonus or perks better suited to your spending habits.
My wife and I focused on Chase cards for 18 months until she was denied for a business card. We needed a new approach to “cool off” from Chase, so we jumped on an elevated offer of 90,000 points for the Amex Gold (we didn’t have an Amex card yet). The Green card only had a 40,000-point offer, so we skipped it, knowing we’d miss out on that sign-up bonus in the future.
With 4x points on groceries and restaurants, this card really fits our family of five since food is our biggest everyday expense. We don’t often use the additional dining credits, so we might downgrade or cancel in a year. Still, it’s nice to diversify and have other transfer partner options beyond Chase and Capital One.
| Bonus Points | Minimum Spend | Point Value | Annual Value | Annual Fee |
1st Year Value
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60,000 | $6,000 | 1.4 ¢ | $1 | $325 |
$600
|
3X points
4.2¢ Per Dollar Spent
1X points
1.4¢ Per Dollar Spent
4X points
5.6¢ Per Dollar Spent
2X points
2.8¢ Per Dollar Spent
4X points
5.6¢ Per Dollar Spent
Transfer To Spouse/Partner No
Transfer To Friends No
Amex Member Rewards Outside Point System
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 71% value retained
1:1 71% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:2 86% value retained
1:0.8 69% value retained
1:1 50% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 93% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
Below is a snapshot of where this card performs best compared to the other cards in our database:
- American Express Gold Card - Limited Time Offer 90,000 Points after spending $6000 in 6 months, $325/annual fee (with lots of perks to off-set the annual fee).
- American Express Marriott BonVoy Brilliant - Limited Time offer 185,000 Points after spending $6000 in 6 months, $650 annual fee ($300 Dining credit - $25/month towards restaurants).
Here is a fun list of Delta Amex cards that are offering limited time (ending 3/29/23) sign-up bonus:
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card: 100,000 miles after spending $6000 in 3 months, $550 annual fee.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card: 95,000 miles after spending $4000 in 3 months, $250 annual fee.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card: 75,000 miles after spending $3000 in 3 months, $0 intro annual fee, then $99.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card: 90,000 miles after spending $6000 in 6 months, $550 annual fee.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card: 90,000 miles after spending $4000 in 6 months, $250 annual fee.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Gold Card: 70,000 miles after spending $2000 in 6 months, $0 intro annual fee, then $99.
American Express only gives you once in a lifetime sign up bonuses, so if you've been waiting, this might be the time:
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card, 110,000 Bonus miles after spending $6000 in 3 months, $550 annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card, 100,000 Bonus miles after spending $4000 in 3 months, $250 annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card, 75,000 Bonus miles after spending $3000 in 3 months, $0 annual fee for the 1st year, then $99.
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve, 100,000 Bonus miles after spending $5000 in 3 month, $550 annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card, 90,000 Bonus miles after spending $3000 in 3 months, $250 annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles Gold Card, 70,000 Bonus miles after spending $2000 in 3 months, $0 annual fee for the 1st year, then $99.
Amex only lets you get once in a lifetime sign up bonuses, so it's times like these we're all waiting for. Now, new sign up bonuses on 3 Personal American Express Delta Cards: Amex Gold, Amex Platinum & Skymiles Reserve. AND, 3 Business American Express Delta Cards: Amex Business Gold, Amex Business Platinum & Business Skymiles Reserve. If you've never collected sign-up bonuses on these cards, now's the time. Offer ends 4/28/21.
