Exciting Changes to the American Express Gold Card

Don’t worry, you’re not reading an article from 2018. Yes, American Express is making some changes to the American Express® Gold Card again. For many people, these changes will help the card stand out against the crowd.

Overall, these changes don’t impact too much, and mostly for the better. You’ll find that the changes make some of the credits easier to use, and the value for you as an everyday cardmember will increase.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the exciting changes to the American Express Gold Card.

The Rose Gold Card is Returning For Good

For starters, the ever coveted rose gold card is returning. This time, it’s here to stay.

New applicants will be able to select either the regular gold card or the rose gold card whenever applying.

If you’re an existing cardmember, you’re not out of luck. You can reach out to Amex and request a rose gold card as well.

The rose gold card was a hit when it was released as a limited time option back in 2018. Thanks to its popularity, Amex decided to bring it back full time.

Addition of a Monthly Uber Credit

In addition to the option to select a rose gold card, the Amex Gold will now come with a monthly Uber Credit. Amex brought the benefit of monthly Uber Credits to The Platinum Card® from American Express when they refreshed it back in 2017. Now, you can get the credits on both your Amex Plat and your Amex Gold Card.

Just like the credits on the Amex Plat, you can use them on either Uber or Uber Eats. The credit on the Amex Gold Card works exactly the same. You’ll need to link your Gold card to your Uber account and you’ll receive up to $10 in Uber Cash credit every month. Similar to the credits on the Plat, these credits expire monthly so you’ll need to use ‘em or lose ‘em.

One thing to keep in mind is that these credits, whether used for Uber rides or Uber Eats, are only valid in the United States. You aren’t able to use them abroad.

If your order on Uber Eats exceeds the amount of Uber Cash you have available, pay with your Amex Gold to receive 4X Membership Rewards points on every dollar spent. The Amex Gold codes Uber Eats as dining, so you’ll still get those sweet sweet Membership Rewards with every extra dollar you spend.

Same Bonus and Earning Rates as Before

In terms of the welcome bonus and bonus earn rates, the Amex Gold is unchanged. You can still earn 60,000 Membership Rewards after spending $4,000 on the card in the first six months of card membership.

You’ll still earn 4X Membership Rewards at restaurants.

You can still earn 4X Membership Rewards at U.S. supermarkets on the first $25,000 spent there each year, 1x thereafter.

And you will still earn 3X Membership Rewards on flights booked directly with an airline or through Amex Travel.

The American Express Gold is the same card you know and love as one of the best everyday spending cards on the market.

Existing Credits

You may be wondering what is happening with all the other credits after all of these changes. This is where you’ll notice some of the more significant changes. Most people will tend to agree, however, that the changes to the existing credits are for the better.

The Dining Credit

The Amex Gold Card will keep the dining credit that it has had since its last refresh. You can earn up to a $10 statement credit every month to offset the cost of dining at select restaurants and delivery services.

When you pay with your Gold Card at checkout, you can receive up to $10 in statement credits for deliveries through Grubhub, Boxed, or Seamless. You can also earn the credit at a limited number of restaurants including The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and participating Shake Shack locations.

Removal of $100 Airline Fee Credit

Well, the time has come. Now, for all of the new benefits you’re receiving, or the old ones that are unchanged, something has to give.

Amex has removed the $100 airline incidental fee credit from the Amex Gold card.

Most of you won’t mind giving up the airline fee credit in exchange for Uber credits. The fee was notoriously difficult to use. You couldn’t use it to pay for an airline ticket or seat upgrades (officially). The only viable uses were for lounge access, seat selection fees, baggage fees, or in-flight purchases. While that isn’t an all inclusive list, it is what most people end up using their Amex airline fee credits on.

Considering you can get complimentary lounge access with a number of credit cards, or get baggage fees waived, this didn’t really leave many options. Additionally, you were only able to select one airline to use the credit on every year.

Needless to say, most customers won’t miss this.

If you’re an existing cardmember, your credit will remain this year. You’ll have until December 31, 2021 to use your credit. After that, it will be gone from the American Express Gold Card for good.

How Do These Changes Impact the Value of the Card?

The important question that we should be asking ourselves is how do these changes impact the value of the card?

For starters, the card is very worthwhile to get if you need some Membership Rewards points. There’s a lot of great ways to use 60,000 Membership Rewards bonus from the American Express Gold Card. The welcome bonus alone is worth at least $600 when redeeming for travel through Amex Travel.

But let’s take a look at how the value holds after the first year has passed.

To begin, there’s the $250 annual fee (rates and fees). That’s our starting point.

Next, let’s assume you’re able to take full advantage of the Uber credit and dining credits. The Uber credit is worth up to $120 and the dining credits are worth up to $120 every year. These credits together create a value of $240.

$10 left to cover? That should be easy.

Ignoring some temporary bonus opportunities that are set to expire later this year, the American Express Gold Card is one of the industry leaders in bonus spend at U.S. supermarkets. Earning 4X Membership Rewards points for every dollar spent. Its competitor, the Citi Premier® Card, only earns 3X ThankYou points.

So how much annual spend at grocery stores would you need to make up the difference? Well, if each point is worth 1 cent each (at a minimum), and we need to make up $10 (which equals 1,000 cents), you would need to spend $1,000 a year at grocery stores.

The verdict? The American Express Gold Card is neutral to its annual fee, so long as you can make use of the monthly Uber and Dining credits.

Final Thoughts

These changes aren’t as significant as we saw with the last refresh of the American Express Gold Card, but most consumers will find that the changes make it a much more usable, customer focused card.

Of course, if you want the stunning rose gold card, that’s going to be a permanent option (and yes, it will be metal).

The addition of the monthly Uber credit will add more value to most people than the airline fee credit previously did.

Despite its $250 annual fee, the Gold card’s credits make up for most of it for most people. Your mileage may vary, so make a decision based on your own personal circumstances. But most of you out there will find that the American Express Gold Card deserves a permanent position in your wallet year after year.