American Express announced major changes to its popular American Express® Gold Card this week, sending shockwaves through the credit card fanatics community (yes, that exists).
Based on its annual fee, the Gold is something of a mid-tier card — it's not a no-fee everyday card, but it's also not the Platinum Card, which has a whopping annual fee of nearly $700. The Amex Gold Card is a rewards credit card popular for the valuable points you can rack up via restaurants and grocery shopping and convert into flights and hotel stays.
In fact, Kiplinger rates it as one of the best travel rewards credit cards, based on the ease with which you earn points and their value when you use them. I myself am a Gold Card user and evangelist; a bulk of my spending is on food anyways, and I used Amex points from that spending to pay for my honeymoon flight to New Zealand.
But I also recognize that Amex Gold has some drawbacks, primarily that I can use it to book travel, but then struggle to use it on my travels because many stores and restaurants abroad don't accept American Express cards. Because of that, I also have other credit cards to use.
So when American Express notified Gold Card customers on Thursday that the annual fee was going up, I paused for a moment to consider if I should keep it. Here's how I thought about that fee increase.
Is the Amex Gold Card still worth it after the membership fee increased?
The annual fee for the American Express Gold Card is now $325, up from $250. For existing customers, the $325 takes effect the next time your card renews after Oct. 1 of this year, so if you decide it's not worth the additional $75, you have time to make plans. See rates and fees.
But in addition to the new membership fee, Amex announced the Gold Card has some new perks. Based on my very basic calculations, these perks easily offset the new membership fee — arguably even better than before.
When I consider offsetting the membership fee, I think in pure dollar signs: Taking points out of the equation, what cash do I get back in return for the membership fee?
The new Gold Card perks include:
- $7 back monthly after paying with the card at a Dunkin'
- $50 back every six months after paying with the card at "Resy restaurants"
Now, add those to the existing perks, which are continuing:
- $10 back monthly in a dining credit when you use the card at "participating partners" that include Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com and Five Guys (note: Milk Bar and Shake Shack were previously eligible, but no longer are)
- $10 added to your Uber account monthly
You can also get a $100 "experience/property credit" if you book two or more nights with The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com, but personally speaking, I'm not always sure it's easy to use hotel credits or if I'd just be spending for the sake of using the $100 in credits. But if, say, you love hotel room service and would be spending money on that whether you were given a credit or not, factor that into your own decision tree.
I've found that the two credits above, in particular, are easy to use. I order from Grubhub at least once a month, so I get that $10, which comes in the form of a credit on my Amex statement every month. Meanwhile, the Uber credit is deposited directly and automatically into my Uber account. I don't have a car, so I tend to use Uber at least once a month, making use of that $10 directly. If you don't use Uber rides a lot, the credit can also be used for Uber Eats, so maybe if you order food twice a month, one time you use Grubhub and one time you use Uber Eats; there's your $20 from Amex.
So, on a very basic dollar-to-dollar basis, is the new membership fee worth it? Check my math on annual costs and returns:
Based on these calculations, the previous membership fee and the perks it provided left me at a net negative of $10 (I received $240 annually on a $250 annual fee). Now, the new $325 membership fee would leave me with a net positive of $99 (I receive $424 annually on a $325 annual fee), making it a huge improvement.
But that equation comes with some caveats.
First, this is assuming you spend at least $10 via Uber every month, as previously discussed, and purchase something from Grubhub or the other participating "dining credit" options at least once a month.
Next, there's the Resy credit. Resy is a website and app you can use to make reservations at restaurants. At least where I live, in New York City, Resy is fairly widespread, with many restaurants using it as their primary way of making reservations. To get this Amex Gold Card credit, you actually don't even need to use Resy, you just need to pay at a restaurant that uses Resy. Again, I appreciate that simplicity. But, if you avoid eating out at restaurants or live in a place where Resy isn't very common, you may miss out on this reward.
Then, this assumes you buy something at Dunkin' every month. For me personally, Dunkin' is not part of my regular routine, so there might be some months I miss out on this credit. But even if I were to not get Dunkin' at all in a calendar year, I'm still up a net positive $15 on the annual membership fee.
Please also note that you have to "enroll" to get some of these rewards, which basically means you have to click a button to say you want it.
Here's a summary of the new perks and the welcome offer.
What else does the Amex Gold Card get you?
Now, what I did here was just a basic dollar-to-dollar calculation of what you get from the Amex Gold Card. But the card offers more.
First, the Gold Card periodically provides limited-time "offers" that give money back or accrue additional points if you shop at certain stores throughout the year. Make sure to keep an eye on the "Offers" tab on the American Express app, as you have to "enroll" for those, too.
Finally, there are those points. You earn them just by going through your daily life and you can use them to book flights and hotels. I'm always a little wary of the rates you get through the booking portal, but you can also transfer points to hotel or airline partner programs and then book directly. I'm not nearly as savvy at points tricks as others, but I can't deny that it is a really nice feeling to let the points pile up and then book a flight to the other side of the world for $0.
If you are not already a Gold Card user, of course there's a welcome bonus for new credit cardholders. There is a limited-time offer of 60,000 points after you spend $6,000 on the card in the first six months of having it, plus 20% back on restaurants in the first six months up to $100. There's also a white-gold option of the card now, if you're into that kind of thing.
I would tell you if the numbers didn't pass the sniff test here, but for me at least, the new perks are fairly easily offsetting the increased membership fee. At the end of the day, it comes down to your own lifestyle. If you'd be going out of your way to get Dunkin' or spending more on takeout just for the sake of the monthly credit, it might not be worth it. Do the simple math for yourself and see what makes sense.
