American Express cards are some of the most popular options among points and miles enthusiasts. There are many cards to choose from, and once you’re in Amex’s good graces, they like to send targeted offers so you can keep earning points. Two of my favorite Amex cards are the American Express® Gold Card and the American Express® Business Gold Card. These two cards come with solid welcome offers and benefits, but don’t carry the enormous fees associated with the platinum versions of each. Let’s look at all the need-to-know info about these cards.

<All information about the American Express® Gold Card and the American Express® Business Gold Card has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

Amex Gold Card Details

The current (personal) Amex Gold welcome offer is as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® after spending $6,000 in the first six months. The way many Amex welcome offers work currently is that they’re marketed as “up to” a certain amount, and when you click the link, you’ll see the amount you’re targeted for. I always recommend trying the link in multiple browsers and incognito mode to see which offer is highest.

The annual fee is $325 (rates & fees), which is on the higher end for a mid-tier card, but it has monthly statement credits and good spending categories that help offset it.

Want to learn more about how to decide if annual fees are worth it? Check out this post.

Amex Business Gold Card Details

The current Amex Business Gold welcome offer is for 100,000 Membership Rewards® after spending $15,000 in purchases in the first three months. As with the personal version, you may sometimes find different targeted offers. However, 100,000 points is the standard offer, unlike the personal card offer, which states “as high as.”

The annual fee is $375 (rates & fees).

Card benefits

Amex cards tend to have a lot of small credits and perks, which makes them a bit harder to manage. I highly recommend using CardPointers to help you keep track of your credits, especially since some are monthly and some are yearly.

Amex Gold (personal) benefits and credits

• Up to $10 per month in Uber Cash for Uber and Uber Eats orders in the U.S. Enrollment required.
• Up to $10 monthly in dining statement credits with select partners: Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
• Up to $50 twice a year (January-June and July-December) in statement credits when you eat at a Resy restaurant and use your card to pay. Enrollment required.
• Up to $7 per month on Dunkin’ purchases. We don’t have a Dunkin’ nearby, but I load a digital Dunkin’ gift card in the app with $7/month and use it when we’re near a Dunkin’ store.
• $100 hotel experience credit when you book a two-night stay through The Hotel Collection by American Express.
• Trip Delay, Baggage Insurance, Extended Warranty, and more.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Amex Business Gold benefits and credits

• Up to $20 per month on purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores. Enrollment required.
• $12.95 per month, up to $155 annually, for a Walmart+ subscription. Auto-renew required.
• Cell Phone Protection, Trip Delay, Extended Warranty, and more.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Earning Rates

Both cards have great 4x spending categories that can add up to a lot of points.

The earning rates for the Amex Gold (personal) breaks down as follows:

• 4X points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (up to $50,000 per year, then 1X)
• 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, then 1X)
• 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel
• 2X points on hotels and other eligible purchases booked on Amex Travel
• 1X points on everything else

The earning rates for the Amex Business Gold work a bit differently. You will earn 4x on your top two spending categories each month (up to $150,000 spent per year) from the following categories:

• Advertising purchases at U.S. media providers
• Electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers
• U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• U.S. gas stations
• Transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
• Monthly cell phone service charges made directly from a U.S. cell phone service provider in the U.S

Other spending categories are:

• 3x on flights and prepaid hotels through Amex Travel
• 1x on all other purchases

Eligibility

FAMILY LANGUAGE

Amex has some tricky rules when it comes to its cards. Basically, if you already have (or have had) a higher-level card, you can’t go back and open a lower one. For example, you won’t be eligible for the Amex Green if you currently have (or once had) the Gold or Platinum.

So, if your goal is to earn the welcome offers on all three cards, you’ll want to start at the bottom and work your way up.

For example:

1. American Express® Green Card
2. American Express® Gold Card
3. The American Express Platinum Card®

LIFETIME LANGUAGE

Amex also has what’s called “lifetime language,” which says: “Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card.” In other words, you can technically only earn a welcome bonus once per card.

But there are some ways around this:

• Many data points show that Amex defines a “lifetime” as around seven years.
• Oftentimes, you’ll find targeted offers (in the mail, in your email, or in your Amex account online) that don’t include lifetime language. If you see a targeted offer, it means you may be able to earn the bonus again, even if you’ve had the card before. This has happened to me multiple times.

The other good thing? Amex is upfront about your eligibility. When you apply, a pop-up will tell you if you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus. This is what people sometimes call “Amex pop-up jail.” If you get this, just back out of the application. There will be no credit pull, and you can try again at a different time.

Using Your Points

These cards earn valuable Membership Rewards®, which can be used in multiple ways.

Transferring points to travel partners is my favorite way to use our points because it gives us the most value. However, there are a few other options.

• You can transfer them to one of Amex’s 21 airline and hotel partners.
• You can book flights, hotels, and more through the Amex Travel portal.
• You can cash out your points to cover expenses; however, this typically nets a lower than one cent per point value, so I try to avoid this.

Wrapping it up

We have at least one of these cards open at all times. The fee is manageable, they have decent credits, and the welcome offers earn a lot of points. Plus, being able to earn 4X on many categories is a big win in my book.