While the Amex Gold may not be considered a true cash-back card—the way we use it has earned us thousands of dollars in cash back over the years. Here are the top five reasons the Amex Gold will stay in my wallet as my favorite rewards card for cash back.
1. We Spend a Lot on Restaurants
The Amex Gold card earns 4 points per dollar on restaurant spending (terms apply). As a family of six, a typical lunch out can easily cost upwards of $100, even if we order from the happy hour menu. We usually spend over $500 per month on restaurants—netting us over 2,000 points. This equals over 24,000 Membership Rewards per year which can be redeemed for $240 in gift cards or even more for travel.
When we eat out, the Gold card is the only card we use. In fact, we have two Gold cards, so my wife and I can always maximize this category bonus.
2. We Spend About $2,000 per Month on Groceries
Listen, inflation is real. And groceries are expensive.
As a family that eats almost exclusively local and organic foods, we spend a lot on groceries. The Gold card offers 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (terms apply)—which ends up giving us a massive amount of bonus points each month.
While we do spend about $500 per month at nonqualifying stores (Walmart Supercenter or Costco), we still earn about 6,000 points per month with grocery spending alone. This adds up to 72,000 points per year—which can equal over $700 in cash value—depending on how we redeem the points.
3. We Travel Frequently
We moved away from family in the Seattle area in 2018 and ended up in Florida. This means we try to get back to Washington State at least a few times per year.
Combine that with business conferences and other vacation travel, and we easily spend a few thousand dollars in travel per year. Now, we try to maximize our rewards points to lower the overall cost of travel, but we still end up buying plane tickets.
The Amex Gold card offers 3 points per dollar for airline tickets—whether we book directly or through American Express Travel. I’m a big fan of booking directly with the carrier so we earn the elevated rate for all flights we pay for out-of-pocket.
With around $2,000 in spending per year on flights—this nets us another 6,000 points—worth about $60 when redeemed for cash back.
4. We Use Membership Rewards for Gift Cards
Membership Rewards are flexible—meaning you can use them for a variety of redemptions. Honestly, redeeming Membership Rewards with Amex transfer partners (airlines and hotels) has been the best value. Redeeming for statement credit or cash back is not a great value (usually 0.6 cents per point).
But as we have earned Membership Rewards over the years, we found that there are some decent redemptions for certain gift cards. For example, we regularly spend on home improvement projects—and Membership Rewards can be redeemed at 1 cent per point for Home Depot gift cards. We’ve overhauled our backyard, bought expensive tools and set aside gift card funds for an upcoming home purchase.
We have redeemed over 200,000 Membership Rewards for over $2,000 in gift cards—at the equivalent rate of most cash-back credit cards.
5. The Dining Credits Are Worth Hundreds
In addition to the bonus category spending that we maximize, the Amex Gold comes with a huge amount of dining credits. In fact, there are over $400 worth of credits on this card that can be used for dining if you use the credits.
- Up to $120 dining credit. This credit can be used for Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com and Five Guys. We use it to buy $10 monthly Goldbelly gift cards for a future purchase (enrollment required).
- Up to $120 Uber Cash. The $10 monthly Uber credit can be used for Uber Eats—which we use every month. (terms apply).
- Up to $84 Dunkin’ credit. My kids love donuts, and I get to be “Super Dad” with the new $7 monthly Dunkin’ credit (enrollment required).
- Up to $100 Resy credit. I also want to be “Super Husband,” so the $50 semiannual credit ($100 total per year) will help offset date night meals (enrollment required).
