American Express Gold Card (US)

What does the card cost and where does it earn points?

American Express lists a $325 annual fee for a Basic American Express® Gold Card, no annual fee for Additional Cards up to the first five, and $35 for the sixth and each further Additional Card. [1] The card is described as having No Preset Spending Limit, with the caveat that American Express may assign a specific spending limit to an account in certain circumstances, such as credit score, past due payments or high balances on revolving accounts. [1]

The Membership Rewards® terms set the baseline at one point per dollar of spend on an eligible purchase made with an enrolled card, and exclude items such as cash advances and cash equivalents including gift cards, person-to-person transactions, balance transfers, purchases of prepaid cards, fees and interest charges, and foreign exchange fees. [5] Bonus categories are assigned by merchant code, so a purchase does not earn additional points if the merchant’s code falls outside the category, and additional points may not post where a merchant sells through a third party, uses a third-party processor, or the purchase is made through a third-party payment account or a mobile or digital wallet. [5] Points on eligible purchases are earned only when the minimum amount due on the billing statement is paid on time. [5]

What credits and travel benefits are included?

American Express describes the card as unlocking $500+ in annual value through its credits. [1] Each credit works on a monthly or half-yearly rhythm:

• $120 Dining Credit. Up to $10 in statement credits a month when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory and Wonder, for a potential $120 a year. Enrollment is required. [1]
• $120 Uber Cash. $10 in Uber Cash each month after adding the Gold Card to your Uber account; it can be used on Uber orders and rides in the U.S. when an Amex Card is selected for the transaction. [1]
• $100 Resy Credit. Up to $50 in statement credits from January through June and up to $50 from July through December at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants. Enrollment is required. [1]
• $84 Dunkin’ Credit. Up to $7 a month in statement credits at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment is required. [1]

On the travel side, the card has no foreign transaction fees from American Express. [1] It offers a complimentary upgrade to Hertz Five Star® status, with enrollment required, and 2X points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. [1] Bookings of two nights or more through The Hotel Collection on AmexTravel.com come with a $100 credit towards eligible charges at over 1,300 hotels, and eligible charges vary by property. [1] Insurance-style benefits include Trip Delay Insurance of up to $300 per trip, capped at two claims per card in any 12 consecutive months, for round trips paid entirely with an eligible card and delayed more than 12 hours for a covered reason [1], and a Baggage Insurance Plan covering up to $1,250 for carry-on and up to $500 for checked baggage in excess of the common carrier’s coverage. [1]

Can you transfer Gold Card points to airlines and hotels?

American Express says card members can transfer points to 20 airline and hotel travel partners. [1] The Membership Rewards® terms add the mechanics: you must link your Rewards Account to the partner loyalty programme account first, the partner account must be in your name or the name of an Additional Card Member, and that Additional Card must have been issued at least 90 days before the link is made. [5] Transfer rates vary by partner. [5]

Transfers are one-way: once points move, the transfer cannot be reversed and the partner programme’s terms apply. [5] In most cases the minimum is 1,000 points, moved in multiples of 1,000, and processing typically takes 48 hours, though some partners delay posting. [5] Points sent to a U.S. airline frequent flyer programme carry an excise tax offset fee. [5] If an airline programme stops participating, American Express may cap how many points can be sent to it before participation ends, and that cap will be at least 100,000 points. [5]

Outside transfers, points can be used with Pay with Points for flights and prepaid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. [1]

Exceptions and limits

• Earn caps are calendar-year limits. Once $50,000 of restaurant spending or $25,000 of U.S. supermarket spending is reached, that category pays 1X for the rest of the calendar year. [1]
• Geography matters. The 4X supermarket rate applies at U.S. supermarkets, while the 4X restaurant rate applies at restaurants worldwide. [1]
• Enrollment conditions. The Dining Credit, Resy Credit and Dunkin’ Credit each require enrollment, and the Uber Cash benefit requires the Gold Card to be added to the Uber account. [1]
• No lounge access. American Express states that the Gold Card does not currently have lounge access benefits. [1]
• Car rental coverage exclusions. Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance is secondary coverage without liability coverage, and is not available for vehicles rented in Australia, Italy and New Zealand. [1]
• Points are not your property. Under the programme terms you cannot transfer points to someone else’s Rewards Account, sell them, or pass them on through a legal action such as divorce, inheritance or bankruptcy. [5]
• Closing the card. If you cancel or unenroll your last linked product, you immediately lose all points in the Rewards Account; where American Express cancels a Card Account because of inactivity, you have 90 days to use the points. [5]

Frequently asked questions

How much is the American Express Gold Card annual fee?

American Express publishes a $325 annual fee for a Basic Card, no annual fee for Additional Cards up to the first five, and $35 each for the sixth and later Additional Cards. [1]

Does the Gold Card earn 4X points on groceries?

Yes, at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X for the rest of the year. [1]

Can Gold Card points be transferred to airlines and hotels?

American Express says points can be transferred to 20 airline and hotel travel partners, after linking your Rewards Account to the partner account; transfers cannot be reversed and most transfers require a minimum of 1,000 points in multiples of 1,000. [1] [5]

Does the American Express Gold Card include airport lounge access?

No. American Express states that the Gold Card does not currently have lounge access benefits. [1]

How do the monthly credits work?

The $120 Dining Credit pays up to $10 a month at the listed restaurant partners, the Uber Cash benefit provides $10 a month, the Resy Credit pays up to $50 in each half of the calendar year, and the Dunkin’ Credit pays up to $7 a month at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. [1]

Related pages

Background on the vocabulary used here: Membership Rewards points, points transfers, annual fee, merchant category codes and statement credits in the glossary.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. Other American Express cards, and Membership Rewards® terms for markets outside the United States, are not covered here.

1. American Express® Gold Card product page (US), checked 18 October 2026
2. Membership Rewards® Program Terms and Conditions (last updated October 2026), checked 18 October 2026