Card economics
Amex Gold
Annual fee
$325/yr
Foreign transaction fee
None
Some links may become affiliate links; today none pay us. Commissions are not solver inputs or ranking criteria; issuer terms, eligibility, channel offers, and your assumptions control the modeled result. Read the affiliate disclosure
Welcome offers change frequently — check the issuer's page for the current offer.
Earn rates
Points or cash back earned per dollar spent. 'x' means points multiplier, '%' means cash back percentage. Portal-only rates require booking through the issuer's travel portal.| Category | Rate |
|---|---|
| Amex Travel - Hotels | 5xPortal only |
| Dining | 4xUp to $50,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Groceries — in store | 4xUp to $25,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Groceries — online | 4xUp to $25,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Whole Foods | 4xUp to $25,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Fast Food | 4xUp to $50,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Flights outside issuer portals | 3x |
| Amex Travel - Flights | 3xPortal only |
| Amex Travel - Car Rentals / Cruises | 2xPortal only |
| Everything else | 1xBase rate |
Transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards
Spending caps
Many cards cap bonus earn rates at a set spending amount per year, quarter, or month. After hitting the cap, you earn the lower base rate. The optimizer automatically routes overflow spend to other cards.| Category | Bonus rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries — in store | 4x | $25,000/yrThen 1x |
| Groceries — online | 4x | $25,000/yrThen 1x |
| Whole Foods | 4x | $25,000/yrThen 1x |
| Dining | 4x | $50,000/yrThen 1x |
| Fast Food | 4x | $50,000/yrThen 1x |
After reaching the cap, spending in that category earns at the lower “after cap” rate. The optimizer automatically handles cap overflows.
Fee calculator
The effective fee is the annual fee minus credits you'll actually use. A $550 card with $400 in usable credits has an effective fee of $150. Adjust credit values based on how much you'll realistically use.Sticker Fee
$325/yr
Credits
-$180
Effective FeeWhat you actually pay after subtracting credits you use. This is the real cost of holding the card — the number that matters for optimization.
$145
Credits & Benefits
Adjust each credit's value based on how much you'll realistically use. 'Easy' credits are straightforward to use (dining, streaming). 'Conditional' credits may require specific merchants or booking methods.Max: $120/yr ($10/mo) · monthly
$10 in Uber Cash each month for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders. Must use by month-end.
Max: $120/yr ($10/mo) · monthly
$10/month at select partner restaurants only (Grubhub, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, Wonder, and others). Monthly, no rollover.
Max: $100/yr · counted per year; paid twice a year
$50 semiannually ($100/yr) at U.S. Resy restaurants. Enrollment required.
Max: $84/yr ($7/mo) · monthly
Dunkin' only. $7/month. No rollover. Must use the Amex offer.
Max: $100/yr · annual
$100 credit toward eligible on-property charges with each Hotel Collection booking of two nights or more through Amex Travel; repeats per stay. Modeled as one stay.
Adds this card to your current wallet and keeps your spending. Premium uses your edited credit values; Free uses conservative defaults. The optimizer may recommend a different wallet.
Catalog record last reviewed Oct 11, 2026; see the Corrections page for later changes. Issuer terms and available offers control and may change.
Next step
One card is a start. The modeled setup is the whole wallet.
The Amex Gold might be useful on its own, but the modeled combination depends on your total spending. The optimizer searches eligible portfolios and clearly labels whether the result was proven optimal within that run's inputs or is the strongest valid setup found before timeout.