In October 2018 the American Express® Gold Card was refreshed, and introduced a more rewarding points structure than ever before.

Basics of the Amex Gold Card

The card has a $250 annual fee (Rates & Fees), though offers the following return on spending:

  • 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants globally (as of June 6, 2019)
  • 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases annually
  • 3x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or through amextravel.com

On top of that, to help offset the annual fee, the card has offered up to $220 in annual credits, including:

  • A $120 dining credit, which gives enrolled members up to $10 per month in statement credits when they use their card at eligible dining partners, including Shake Shack, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and Grubhub/Seamless
  • A $100 airline fee credit every calendar year

Amex Gold Card improved dining bonus category

The way I see it, one of the major downsides to the Amex Gold Card had been that the 4x points category on dining is limited to U.S. restaurants. That’s pretty restrictive, given that presumably the card is also targeted at a lot of people who travel a fair bit.

So Amex is making an improvement in this regard. As of June 6, 2019, the Amex Gold Card offers 4x points at restaurants globally. This is a fantastic change that will make this card significantly more lucrative for those who travel quite a bit.

There are still two issues with this, though:

  • Amex doesn’t have nearly the global acceptance of Mastercard or Visa for restaurants outside the U.S.
  • Amex has been having issues with restaurants correctly being coded, so many people have found themselves not earning bonus points on restaurants

Bottom line

The Amex Gold Card is already one of the best credit cards for dining, and this makes it even more lucrative. I never really understood why Amex limited many of their bonus categories to being U.S. only, as it really doesn’t reflect the growing trend of credit card acceptance improving globally.

Personally, I still use the Citi Prestige for my dining purchases, as it offers 5x points globally, but this Amex bonus category is also really good.

If you have the Amex Gold Card, are you excited about this change?

(Tip of the hat to Doctor Of Credit)

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees).

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