The American Express® Gold Card makes TPG’s top charts yearly as one of the best cards for dining at restaurants. It comes with food-focused bonus categories and a slate of other valuable perks that can help you save big — whether at home or on the road.
While the annual fee is $325 (see rates and fees), we’ll help you walk through the card’s unique benefits to see how to make it pay for itself.
Maximize the welcome offer
Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Based on TPG’s May 2026 valuations, this welcome offer is worth up to $2,000.
Amex Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for anything from cash back to lavish flights in Singapore Airlines first-class suites.
However, not all redemption options are equal.
You’ll get the most value from this program by transferring points to partner hotel and airline loyalty programs. Some key transfer partners to note include Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Hilton Honors.
Even better, Amex regularly offers transfer bonuses that you can leverage to get as much as 40% extra value from your points. Just remember that we never recommend speculatively transferring points to a program without a specific use in mind, as rewards can be devalued at any moment, and transfers can’t be reversed.
Related: How to redeem American Express Membership Rewards for maximum value
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Use the card at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets
It doesn’t matter if you prefer dining in or out. If you like food (who doesn’t?), you should have no trouble maximizing the Amex Gold’s bonus spending categories.
The card awards 4 points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 per calendar year (1 point per dollar thereafter) and U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year (1 point per dollar thereafter).
With our May 2026 valuation of 2 cents per point in mind, the Amex Gold yields a whopping 8% return on food purchases, beating out most cards on the market.
These bonus categories may be valuable enough to open the card well before considering the welcome bonus. If you spend at least $4,075 per year on groceries and dining combined, you’ll come out ahead on the $325 annual fee.
Tip: Although the Amex Gold doesn’t carry any foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees), the bonus points for supermarket purchases are only awarded for spending in the U.S.
Related: 4 reasons why the Amex Gold is the 1 card we can’t live without
Pay with this card when booking flights
While the Amex Gold is best known for its dining and grocery rewards, it also delivers solid value when it’s time to travel.
The card earns 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline, through amextravel.com or through the Amex Travel App™, amounting to a return of 6% based on TPG’s valuations.
Plus, if your luggage is lost, stolen or damaged when you’re traveling with a common carrier and you’ve purchased your ticket with the Amex Gold, you’ll be eligible for up to $1,250 in coverage for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage.
Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Related: The best travel credit cards
Get complimentary Hertz Five Star status
The Amex Gold’s travel perks don’t stop once your flight lands.
Cardmembers receive complimentary Hertz Five Star status in the Hertz Gold+ Rewards program. Enrollment is required.
This mid-tier elite status includes perks such as:
- Space-available upgrades
- Wider Ultimate Choice access
- 25% more points on eligible rentals
If you rent cars even a few times per year, these benefits can make the travel experience smoother while adding meaningful value to the card at no additional cost.
Ensure your Amex Gold is a payment method for Uber
By adding your Amex Gold to your Uber app, you’ll automatically receive up to $10 in monthly Uber Cash (up to $120 Uber Cash annually), which can be used for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S. Although this credit doesn’t roll over month to month, this benefit should be easy to maximize.
Uber Cash will only be deposited into one Uber account when you add the Amex Gold as a payment method and redeem with any Amex card.
Plus, through Oct. 30, Amex Gold cardmembers are eligible to receive a one-time up to $96 statement credit for an Uber One membership. Enrollment required.
Related: Who should (and who shouldn’t) get the Amex Gold card?
Use the annual dining credit
You’ll get an up-to-$120 annual dining statement credit (allotted in up-to-$10 increments each month) when paying with your Amex Gold at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Buffalo Wild Wings, Wonder and Five Guys. Goldbelly and Wine.com are available through June 30, after which they will leave the program.
Delivery services for Grubhub are available in most major U.S. cities. It’s hard to imagine that a purchase at any of these merchants would cost less than $10 a month, so this benefit should be easy to use.
TPG credit cards editor Olivia Mittak uses her Amex Gold’s dining statement credit to cover the cost of a Grubhub+ subscription. Since she frequently orders delivery, this is an easy way for her to maximize this benefit.
You’ll have to enroll through the Amex website to get this benefit. Like the Uber Cash credit, the $10 dining statement credit expires at the end of each month, so you won’t be able to roll any unused amount over.
Related: A complete guide to the Amex Gold dining credit
Use the Resy statement credits
You’ll get up to $100 in Resy statement credits, split into two $50 semi-annual statement credits (up to $50 from Jan. through June and up to $50 from July through Dec.).
You must enroll through the Amex website to use these statement credits. Once enrolled, all you need to do is pay your bill with your Amex Gold at any restaurant in the U.S. registered with Resy; no reservation is required. There are currently over 16,000 restaurants on Resy, so if you live in or near a city, you should be able to use this benefit.
These statement credits are so easy to use that you may not even realize you are using them. You must use each up to $50 statement credit in each half of the year and can’t roll over any unused portion.
Use the Dunkin’ Donuts credits
Cardmembers receive up to $84 in Dunkin’ Donuts statement credits (allotted in up to $7 increments each month) when paying with their Amex Gold at U.S. Dunkin’ Donuts.
Like the other monthly statement credits, this Dunkin’ statement credit expires at the end of the month. Enrollment is required on the Amex website. This benefit is very straightforward and also very easy to use.
That said, this statement credit is harder to use if there aren’t any Dunkin’ locations in your area. If that’s the case for you, check whether any airports you fly through have a Dunkin’. That can be a great way to use this benefit.
Related: Why Chase needs a competitor to the Amex Gold
Get elite-like benefits with The Hotel Collection
The Amex Gold can also help elevate your hotel stays.
Through Amex’s The Hotel Collection*, cardmembers who book eligible prepaid stays through amextravel.com or the Amex Travel App™ earn 5 points per dollar spent.
When booking a stay of two nights or longer, eligible cardmembers can also receive a room upgrade at check-in (when available) and a $100 on-site credit to use toward eligible dining, spa or resort activities.
Through July 15, Amex Gold cardmembers can also receive limited-time special offers at The Hotel Collection properties (minimum two-night stay required).
These benefits can quickly offset a sizable portion of the card’s annual fee — especially if you book just one or two qualifying stays per year. Amenities vary by property.
*Eligible charges vary by property.
Bottom line
Many cards come loaded with valuable benefits, but their worth is only realized if you actually use them. Luckily, the Amex Gold makes it pretty easy to do so. Between the dining perks and Hotel Collection benefits, the card’s annual fee is easily covered.
Throw in the outstanding return on food purchases, and you’ll come out ahead.
To learn more, check out our full review of the Amex Gold.
Apply here: American Express Gold Card
For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, click here.
Stacie Harris is a local resident and reporter of the Maple Grove area. Stacie reports on medicine and science for the Maple Grove Report.
