Last week, the American Express® Gold Card underwent a refresh, and while it does mean cardholders must now contend with a higher annual fee, a few perks have been added to help ease the pain of paying more for the card.
American Express U.S. Implements Changes to the American Express® Gold Card
As of July 25, 2024, the annual fee for the American Express® Gold Card has increased by $75 (all figures in USD), jumping from $250 to $325. The increase is effective immediately for new cardmembers, while existing cardholders will see the hike on their annual renewal date on or after October 1, 2024.
While the annual fee may have gone up, the news isn’t all bad. A few additional perks have been added and some taken away.
While cardholders of the American Express® Gold Card will continue to get 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants globally, they’ll now see a cap on those points after $50,000 of spending per calendar year. Previously, there was no cap.
Cardholders will still receive 4x points at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 of spending per calendar year), 3x points on airfare booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel, and 1x points on all other eligible purchases.
Aside from the increased annual fee, the most notable change with this American Express® Gold Card refresh comes in the form of dining rewards, with new credits added from Dunkin’ and Resy, a US online restaurant reservation service.
As an American Express® Gold Cardmember, you can now get a $50 semi-annual Resy credit ($100 annually) and a $7 monthly Dunkin’ credit ($84 annually).
While the card’s $120 annual dining credit will stay, there are a few changes to that perk, too. Cardholders will no longer be able to use the credit at Shake Shack or Milk Bar, but Five Guys has been added to the vendor list, which also includes Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, and Wine.com.
This new refresh doesn’t just mean changes to the card’s benefits and annual fee, the card itself is getting a new look. As of July 25, 2024 the American Express® Gold Card has a new white gold design option to complement the existing gold and rose gold design options.
If you’re already a cardmember, you can request a card replacement in the new white gold color.
To complement these latest changes, the American Express® Gold Card has a limited-time welcome offer.
New cardholders can receive a welcome bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on their card in the first six months, plus they’ll get a 20% statement credit bonus on spending at restaurants worldwide in the first six months (up to $100 back).†
Conclusion
As of July 25, 2024, the annual fee for the American Express® Gold Card increased from $250 to $325. While it means cardholders will be paying $75 more a year for the card, a few perks have been added to help offset the hike, mainly in the form of restaurant credits at Dunkin’ and Resy, a US online restaurant reservation service.
Cardholders will still get 4x points at restaurants globally, but a spending cap of $50,000 per calendar year has been added.
To mark these changes, Amex is offering a welcome bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of card membership, plus a limited time offer of 20% back at restaurants worldwide in the first 6 months (up to a maximum of $100 back).
The current offer is valid until November 6, 2024.