American Express Gold Card

The American Express Gold Card was last reviewed on 10th August 2007

Summary - We recommend the American Express® Preferred Rewards Gold Card to frequent travelers and are members of a few frequent flyer or frequent guest program as the membership rewards program allows you to transfer points directly to those programs. The card and program allows you to earn unlimited points which do not expire. Find out more....

Reward Formula - The American Express Rewards Gold Card allows the cardholder to earn one point for every dollar spent on the card. You can earn unlimited points which do not expire. New cardholders get 10,000 bonus points. One of the perks of the gold card is that cardholders get notification of Gold Card Events (sports and concerts) with premium reserved seats.

Airline Partners - The Membership Rewards program (as mentioned has 21 airline partners. The points you earn can either be transferred directly to the programs' air miles program or you can exchange them for gift checks. The airline partners are Delta, Continental, JetBlue, US Airways, Aer Lingus, AeroMexico, Air Canada, Air France, Air Jamaica, Alitalia, ANA Cathay Pacific, El Al Israel Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Global Pass, Hawaiian Airlines, LAN, Mexicana, Qantas, Song, South African Airlines, Swiss Air and Virgin Atlantic.

Fees - The annual fee is waive for the first year. Thereafter, it is $130. There will be a charge of $35.00 for up to 5 additional cards. As this is a charge card, you will have pay your bills fully every month and hence there is no apr.

Verdict - There are many reward credit cards out there with no annual fee. However, none will have the sheer number of different rewards that are available through the Membership Rewards program. Frequent flyers who are members of a few programs and those who want to enjoy the perks that come with this card will find the American Express® Preferred Rewards Gold Card appealing.

There is also the element of prestige associated with this card. If you are in the business of servicing and dealing with high networth individuals (whether you are a high-end commercial real estate investment banker or a private banker), having this card (rather than a regular card) is almost a must have.

To get even more value, you should apply for the Business Gold Rewards Card from OPEN^SM the small business team. It is essentially the same card but with some extra features. And that is you can get discounts and savings when you use the card at OPENSAVINGS merchants like Delta Airlines, Courtyard by Marriott, Hyatt, Fedex, FTD etc. OPENSAVINGS discounts are only available with American Express business credit cards. (Note: You do not need to have a business to have this card. Just use your name in place of the business name and your social security in place of the Tax ID and you will be treated like a sole proprietor).

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