American Express Gold
Every rate below is the issuer’s own, verified October 2, 2026.
Terms apply. See rates & fees on American Express. Rankings are pure math, never sold.
How it earns
Every rate here is the issuer’s published number. Points are valued at what this door can redeem them for: cash-back at the statement-credit rate, travel at the issuer’s travel rate.
What it pays at a typical spend
The family on our home page spends $800 a month on groceries, $200 on dining, $250 on gas, $100 on travel and $600 on everything else. Figures as of October 2, 2026, the day the terms were last verified.
At that spending the American Express Gold nets $816 in year one and $216 every year after, fee included. The biggest line is groceries, at $230. The welcome bonus counts, because this spending reaches $8,000 inside 6 months. Points are counted at 0.6 cents each, the cash rate, never the higher figure a transfer partner might reach. For the family on our home page, set against the 12 cash back cards we’ve confirmed, its estimate would place first.
The Citi Double Cash, just below it, nets $148 less. Judged on every year after the first instead, set against the 12 cash back cards we’ve confirmed, its estimate would place last.
It sits out of our best-of rankings and comparisons until we can pin one number, because its welcome offer varies by applicant.
Who it fits
It fits if
- You spend a lot on dining and groceries: it earns 4x there.
- You will use the credits: we count $170 of their $340 face value.
Look elsewhere if
- Most of your spending sits outside its categories: the rest earns 1x.
- You cannot put about $1,334 a month on it for 6 months: the $600 bonus pays nothing below $8,000.
- You will not use the credits: take $170 off every figure on this page.
- At up to four times the spending above, the no-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash pays more every year after year one.
- Your credit is fair or thin: approval usually needs good credit.
Plain facts
- Who gets approvedGood credit, around 670+. Typically wants good-to-excellent credit history (estimate; Amex does not publish a score).
- The issuer’s terms governRates, fees and bonus conditions are set by American Express and change without notice. Confirm the current offer before you apply.
- Where these numbers came fromCollected by hand from American Express’s own published terms, last verified October 2, 2026. An automatic check re-reads that page every day. On October 19, 2026 all 7 of the figures it watches here were still printed there. How we check
What people ask about it
Is there a cap on what it earns?
Yes: 4x on dining stops at $50,000 a year and 4x on groceries stops at $25,000 a year. Past a cap, spending earns 1x, and our figures count it that way.
How do you value the welcome bonus?
100,000 points at 0.6 cents each as cash is $600, and at 1 cent through travel, $1,000. We count it only once your spending reaches $8,000 in 6 months.
What does it earn on each purchase?
4x on dining, 4x on groceries and 3x on travel, and 1x on everything else.
Where the rankings stand
The American Express Gold sits out of these until we can pin one number, because its welcome offer varies by applicant.
- Best card for diningAt $500 a month on dining, the rest of the spending unchanged, Robinhood Gold Card first, at $760 a year.
- Best card for groceriesCiti Double Cash first, at $668 in year one.
- Best card for travelAt $500 a month on travel, the rest of the spending unchanged, Capital One Venture X first, at $1,319 in year one.
More cards like this
- Yearly fee $95American Express Blue Cash PreferredAmerican Express · for groceries, 6x up to $6,000 a year · estimate
- Yearly fee $0Citi Double CashCiti · for one card on everything, 2x
- Yearly fee $50Robinhood Gold CardRobinhood · for one card on everything, 3x
The three cash back cards beside this one on our list of every card. See every card