One of Amex's iconic products, the American Express Gold Rewards Card is in many ways a "lite" version of the famous Platinum Card. The Gold Rewards Card comes with many of the same features and fees, albeit scaled down for those who many not be able to take advantage of everything the Platinum Card has to offer.

While there may be better options for everyday earning rates and other benefits, the Gold Rewards Card is a good choice if you want a modest amount of premium perks without paying full premium annual fees.

The American Express Gold Rewards Card currently offers up to 70,000 Membership Rewards points as a signup bonus. The points are earned as follows:

5,000 MR points upon spending $1,000 in each of the first 12 months, for a total of up to 60,000 MR points
10,000 MR points upon spending $4,000 in the first three months as a cardholder

The annual fee of $250 is quite reasonable when you subtract the annual $100 travel credit, making the "effective" annual fee $150 per year.

You can also add one supplementary card for free; additional Gold cards will be charged a $50 annual fee thereafter.

Furthermore, as a cardholder, you'll earn 7,500 MR points for every referral you make to any card in the Membership Rewards family, up to a maximum of 70,000 MR points per calendar year.

American Express Referral Program: Refer Friends, Earn Points

At Prince of Travel, our favourite tool to use with minimum spending requirements is Chexy, a Canadian platform that allows you to pay a host of bills – including rent, tuition, utility bills, car lease payments, property taxes, and much more – with a credit card and earn points. There's a 1.75% processing fee for each payment, but when you consider the value of the points you earn from spending and welcome bonuses, it's easy to justify.

Not only does the Gold Rewards Card come with a generous welcome bonus, it's a good card to use on a daily basis for earning rewards. You'll earn:

2 MR per dollar spent at gas stations, grocery stores, and drugstores in Canada
2 MR per dollar spent on travel purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals, vacations, cruises, etc.)
- Earn 1 additional MR per dollar spent when booking your hotel or car rental through Amex Travel Online
1 MR per dollar spent everywhere else

This is one of the only credit cards in the market that offers an accelerated earn rate for shopping at drugstores. If you have a large amount of spend at drugstores, the American Express Gold Rewards Card can be a worthwhile addition to your wallet.

Again, using our valuation of MR points at 2.2 cents per point, you're looking at a 4.4% return on the 2x categories, and a 2.2% return on everything else.

The Membership Rewards program offers outstanding redemption opportunities. This is primarily because it’s a flexible, transferable rewards currency.

You can transfer your MR points to these airline and hotel programs at the following rates:

Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio
The British Airways Club at a 1:1 ratio
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles at a 1:0.75 ratio
Air France KLM Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio
Delta SkyMiles at a 1:0.75 ratio
Etihad Guest at a 1:0.75 ratio
Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1.2 ratio
Hilton Honors at a 1:1 ratio

What makes Membership Rewards points so powerful is that they can pretty much do everything that all other points currencies in Canada can, but they can also do much more.

By earning a single points currency, you have access to airlines in all three major alliances, and within each of those programs, you also have access to other external partners, too.

Air Canada's Aeroplan gives you access to Star Alliance-member airlines, such as All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, and more, as well as external partners, such as Etihad Airways, Virgin Australia, and more.

The Essential Guide to Aeroplan

The British Airways Club gives you access to oneworld-member airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and more. Plus, you can also convert your British Airways Avios into other "flavours" of Avios, which can result in some excellent redemption opportunities.

The Essential Guide to the British Airways Club

Air France KLM Flying Blue gives you access to SkyTeam-member airlines, such as Delta Air Lines, China Airlines, and more, as well as external partners such as Etihad Airways and even WestJet.

The Essential Guide to Air France KLM Flying Blue

Furthermore, you can redeem MR points directly for flights through the Amex Fixed Points Travel reward chart, although these are limited to round-trip flights departing from Canada.

Lastly, you have the option of redeeming MR points directly against travel purchases at a rate of 1 cent per point (cpp), although this is typically not recommended, as the value pales in comparison to what you could get by booking flights through Aeroplan, Avios, or even the Fixed Points Travel chart.

The Gold Rewards Card has a handful of benefits, in many ways a slimmed-down version of what the Platinum Card offers.

For airport lounge access, you'll get four complimentary visits to Plaza Premium lounges each year, a useful perk at many Canadian airports. You'll also get a Priority Pass membership, although it doesn't come with any free visits – you'll have to pay to enter.

How to Access Plaza Premium Lounges

You'll also get a $50 (CAD) NEXUS credit once every four years. This credit will be automatically applied to NEXUS application or renewal charges. Keep in mind that you'd still be on the hook for the rest of the fees, as it costs $120 (USD) for an application.

NEXUS: Expedite Your Travel Across Canada and the US

With your card, you will have access to booking hotels through The Hotel Collection program. When you book a stay of two or more nights, you can receive up to $100 USD hotel credit and a room upgrade at check-in when available.

If you enjoy watching concerts, theatre productions, or other special events, your Gold card will give you access to presale and reserved tickets through Amex's Front Of The Line program and with Amex Experiences.

You can also take advantage of specially-tailored Amex Offers for extra value when used at specific dining venues, shops, and more.

Amex Offers: Earn Points or Statement Credits on Select Purchases

Finally, the card has a slick metal finish. You have the option to select the traditional Gold colour, or the distinct Rose Gold tone.

Charge your travel purchases to your Gold card, and you'll automatically enjoy a wide array of coverage, including:

Emergency medical insurance: Up to $5 million of coverage for the first 15 days of your out-of-province trip, for travellers under age 65.
Trip cancellation: Up to $1,500 of coverage per insured person, to a maximum of $3,000 for all insured persons on the same covered trip.
Trip interruption insurance: Up to $1,500 of coverage per insured person, to a maximum of $6,000 for all insured persons on the same covered trip.
Flight delay insurance: Up to $500 (aggregate maximum with Baggage Delay insurance), for food, accommodation and items purchased within 48 hours when your flight is delayed four or more hours.
Baggage delay insurance: Up to $500 (aggregate maximum with Flight Delay insurance), for items purchased within four days of arrival when your baggage is delayed six or more hours. (Note: this is different from lost and stolen baggage insurance, which doesn't cover delays)
Lost or stolen baggage insurance: Up to $500 of coverage total for all insured persons.
Hotel burglary insurance: Up to $500 coverage for stolen items (excluding cash).
Travel accident insurance: Up to $500,000 of Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance.
Car rental theft and damage insurance: Comprehensive coverage for up to 48 consecutive days for cars with an MSRP of up to $85,000.

Additionally, the card also offers Purchase Security and Extended Warranty Protection, covering most eligible items you’ve purchased with your Gold card up to $1,000 should they be stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase, as well as an extended one-year warranty period compared to the manufacturer’s warranty.