Amex Gold
The Amex Gold from American Express has a $325 annual fee. At $2,650 a month of typical household spending it pays about $692 a year after fees, before statement credits, $56 more than the Citi Double Cash, a flat 2% card.
Terms checked October 26, 2026. Net values use the spending mix of 1,229 U.S. households in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey. This is an estimate, not financial advice.
What does the Amex Gold earn?
4x dining (up to $50,000 a year) and groceries (up to $25,000 a year); 3x flights booked directly with airlines; 1x on everything else, including other travel.
PointMaxx values its points at 1.5¢ each. What a point is really worth depends on how you redeem it, and you can change the value in the calculator.
Not counted in the numbers on this page:
- 5x on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel (portal only)
- 2x on prepaid car rentals, cruises and other travel booked through Amex Travel (portal only)
How much would it pay you a year?
This is the card's rewards minus its annual fee, at three spending levels, with spending split the way the survey households split theirs. Statement credits and sign-up bonuses are left out.
| Spending a month | Amex Gold | Citi Double Cash (2%) |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500 | $251 | $360 |
| $2,650 (the survey median) | $692 | $636 |
| $5,000 | $1,594 | $1,200 |
The mix is 30% everything else, 25% groceries, 16% phone and utilities, 13% dining, and smaller shares elsewhere. Your own split decides the real answer: add your statements to work it out on what you actually spent.
How did it do for real households?
We ran each of the 1,229 households in the 2024 survey through every card, on 12 straight months of their own spending. It would have been the best of 53 cards for 13% of households, and paid more than the Citi Double Cash, a flat 2% card, for 63%. For the median household it paid $70 a year more than the flat 2% card.
The survey records spending categories but not merchants, so merchant bonuses and statement credits never count there, which favors flat cards. How we ran the household test.
What credits does it come with?
Up to $424 a year in credits, worth that much only if you would spend at these merchants anyway. PointMaxx counts a credit only when your statements show you'd have used it.
| Credit | Up to |
|---|---|
| Dining credit | $10 a month ($120 a year) |
| Uber Cash | $10 a month ($120 a year) |
| Resy credit | $50 every six months ($100 a year) |
| Dunkin' credit | $7 a month ($84 a year) |
Fees and sign-up bonus
- Annual fee: $325.
- Foreign transaction fee: none.
- Sign-up bonus: 100,000 points ($1,500 at 1.5¢ a point) after $8,000 of spending in 6 months. Offers change and can differ by applicant, so check the issuer's page.
Other benefits
- Hertz Five Star status: enrollment and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards required
- The Hotel Collection credit: $100 credit on 2+ night stays at Hotel Collection properties booked via AmexTravel
- Baggage insurance: up to $1,250 carry-on and $500 checked
- Car rental loss and damage insurance: secondary, up to $50,000
- Extended warranty: adds up to 1 year to warranties of 5 years or less
- Purchase protection: 90 days
Cards that pay about the same
At $2,650 a month, these pay closest to the Amex Gold:
- Citi Strata Premier: $657 a year
- Citi Double Cash: $636 a year
- Wells Fargo Active Cash: $636 a year
- Chase IHG Premier: $592 a year
See what it would have paid you
Add your statementsFree, in your browser. Your statements are never uploaded.
PointMaxx runs a year of your own card statements against 53 U.S. cards, after annual fees, caps and the credits you'd really use. No statements on hand? The quick estimate asks seven questions instead.
Sources
- americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/gold-card/
- upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/reviews/american-express-gold-card/
- Household spending: BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys public-use microdata, 2024 Interview Survey.
See a wrong rate? Tell us. PointMaxx is not affiliated with or endorsed by American Express; the card's name is used only to say which card is meant.