Travel Rewards card review
American Express® Gold Card
A restaurant and supermarket card with a travel-points engine attached. The dining credits are narrow, so check the merchant list before you count them.
Open to new applicantsPartly verified
At a glance
Annual fee$325Held at $325 through the 2026 refresh.
Welcome offerUp to 100,000 Membership Rewards points$8,000 in 6 months
IssuerAmerican Express
Rewards programMembership Rewards
Foreign transaction feeNone
Welcome offer
Up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points after $8,000 of spending within 6 months.
Targeted. Offers differ by applicant and channel.
Offers vary. Welcome offers on this card can differ by applicant, by referral and by the link you apply through. The figure above is what our source showed on the date given, not a guarantee of what you will be offered.
Earning rates
| Rate | On | Cap or condition |
|---|---|---|
| 4x | Restaurants worldwide, including US takeaway and delivery | $50,000 per calendar year, then 1x |
| 4x | US supermarkets | $25,000 per calendar year, then 1x |
| 5x | Prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel | No cap stated |
| 3x | Flights booked direct or through Amex Travel | No cap stated |
| 2x | Prepaid car rental and cruises through Amex Travel | No cap stated |
| 1x | Everything else | No cap stated |
Benefits and credits
- $120 dining credit Up to $10 a month at Grubhub and Seamless, Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory and Wonder. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy credit Up to $50 each half-year at participating US Resy restaurants. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' credit Up to $7 a month at US Dunkin' locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash $10 a month for US rides and Uber Eats orders. Add the card to your Uber account first.
- $100 Hotel Collection credit On stays of two nights or more booked through Amex Travel.
- The Hotel Collection access Gold cardholders can book THC, but do not get the Platinum hotel statement credit.
Restrictions worth knowing
- The 4x supermarket and restaurant rates are capped. Past the cap you earn 1x.
- Dining credits are monthly and tied to a short merchant list. Unused months are gone.
- US supermarkets exclude warehouse clubs and superstores.
How to use it well
- The card works if your household spends heavily at supermarkets and restaurants. Roughly $2,000 a month across those two categories is where it starts to pull ahead of a flat 2% card.
- Treat the monthly credits as a standing order, not a bonus. If you are not already a Dunkin' or Grubhub customer, discount them to zero.
- Pair with a flat-rate card for everything outside the bonus categories.
- If you want the Amex hotel program with a statement credit behind it, that is the Platinum, not the Gold.
Sources and freshness
What we checked: Fee, offer, earning rates and credits from AwardWallet's refresh coverage, read 2 November 2026. Amex's own product page could not be opened during this build.
- AwardWallet: Amex Gold Card refresh 2026 — read November 2, 2026
- American Express: The Hotel Collection — read October 21, 2026
Last updated: November 2, 2026.
Other American Express cards
- Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express — $95 after year one, open to new applicants
- Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express — $0, open to new applicants
- The Platinum Card® from American Express — $895, open to new applicants
- American Express® Classic Green Card — $150, closed to new applicants