When a credit card has an annual fee, it’s always smart to assess how its benefits are working for you before renewing it for another year. That’s true for any card, but when the annual fee is $325 (see rates and fees), mamma mia — that card better be doing more than just paying lip service to your full financial picture.
To be sure, the American Express® Gold Card can easily save you more money than the card costs. But these savings are not automatic, and you need to put some work in to ensure it’s not a sinking cost. With that in mind, here are three signs the Amex Gold Card is not right for you.
1. You’re sick of managing the monthly credits
First, let’s brag on the Amex Gold Card a little bit, because it does offer net savings of at least $99 per year (terms apply). It does this through its spending credits, which can be valued at up to $424. These credits include:
- $120 in annual Uber Cash
- $84 in annual Dunkin’ credits
- $120 in annual dining credits at select restaurants
- $100 in annual Resy credits
- Terms apply; select enrollment required.
Here’s the problem: You can’t use these credits all at once. The first three come to you in monthly installments, while the Resy credit is available as two semiannual $50 credits. What’s more, the statement credits and Uber Cash don’t roll over.
If you miss a month, they’re gone. If you find yourself desperately trying to use your credits before the month is over, that might be a sign this card is causing more trouble than it’s worth.
On the flip side, these credits could become seamless to your spending, especially if you’re already dining out where they apply. If you think you can use these credits, and you’re not a cardholder, click here to apply now and start earning your welcome offer of 60,000 by spending $6,000 within the first 6 months (terms apply).
2. You’re feeling meh about the new annual statement credits
At one point, this card had only two spending credits: $120 in annual Uber Cash and $120 in annual dining credits at select restaurants. This gave the card a $240 value, while at the same time its annual fee was $250.
Since then, American Express has changed the card’s playing field. The card may now cost $325, but it added the $84 Dunkin’ credit and $100 Resy credit. This may have excited some cardholders. But for others, the new credits have been anticlimactic to say the least.
For example, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, like Oregon and Washington, where there are no Dunkin’ locations, the Dunkin’ credit would be useless to you. Ditto if you’ve never used Resy or can’t find your favorite restaurants on its platform.
If you don’t use these credits, the card loses $184 in value. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth keeping the card — its rewards on dining out and supermarkets are competitive — but it does complicate matters further.
3. The card is no longer paying for its annual fee
This is a summation of the two points made above. Ultimately, if your Amex Gold Card is costing you more than the rewards are earning you, it might be time to look for a new card.
The card does earn bonus points, which might make it worth it. For example, it earns 4X points at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 per calendar year in spending, 4X points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 in spending, and 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. Terms apply.
However, you can get cards with no annual fees that earn almost as much — or more. For example, the Chase Freedom Flex® has no annual fee and earns 5% back on rotating bonus categories on up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter. These are usually popular spending categories, like restaurants and supermarkets. It also earns 3% back on dining out, with no annual cap.