New Offer: Earn 'As High As' 100K Points With the American Express® Gold Card!

We've long considered the *amex gold card* to be one of the most rewarding cards on the market for new and seasoned travelers alike, thanks to its strong bonus categories and a stable of monthly and semi-annual statement credits.

The only problem? Its standard 60,000-point welcome offer was starting to feel a little lackluster. But those days are over … maybe.

With the new offer on the Amex Gold, you can now earn as high as 100,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first six months. After you submit your application – but before you accept the card (if you are approved) and your credit score is pulled – Amex will let you know the exact welcome offer you are eligible for.

This isn't exactly new: Amex has long offered different bonuses on its cards depending on where you look. You might find a 60,000-point offer directly with Amex or a website like ours … only to see a 75,000-point bonus offer available through CardMatch or an even bigger 100,000-point offer through personal referral links. But now, Amex is making it easier to earn the best offer when applying for the Gold Card, no matter where you look.

And just last week, Amex rolled out a similar new bonus on its flagship *amex platinum*, offering “as high as” 175,000 points after spending $8,000 in the first six months.

To date, 100,000 points is the biggest offer we've ever seen on the Gold Card – and considering that's nearly double the standard 60,000-point bonus, it's a big deal. You may be able to get a similar offer through personal referral links or by searching for the card in an incognito browser, but this new offer should be your first stop for finding the best bonus.

At first glance, it may be hard to justify the Gold Card's $325 annual fee (see rates & fees), but earning a big welcome offer right off the bat certainly takes some of the sting out of it! Not to mention, the card comes packed with benefits like a semi-annual dining credit through Resy, monthly Uber Cash, and tons of other credits.

Just know: Not everyone will be targeted for this massive welcome offer, but there's no harm in checking – no hard credit pull is needed to see which welcome offer you qualify for. Keep reading for full card details and more info on this exciting new offer.

Basics of The Platinum Card® from American Express

The *amex gold card* underwent a major refresh last summer. With it came more monthly and semi-annual credits … and of course, a higher annual fee. But in a lot of ways, the card got even better.

The new semi-annual Resy credit is relatively easy to use (in many cities), and it didn't lose any of its key spending categories – a big reason why we love the card so much. If you play your card(s) right – pun intended – these new (and old) benefits can easily outweigh the card’s $325 annual fee. But to do that, you need to do the math for yourself and see if the card makes sense.

Here's a rundown of everything you get with the Gold Card.

Welcome Offer: bonus_miles_full
Earn 4x points at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 in purchases per year, then 1x)
Earn 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in purchases per year, then 1x)
Earn 3x points on airfare booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel®
Earn 2x points on prepaid hotels, car rentals, and cruises at American Express Travel®
Earn 1x point on other eligible purchases
$120 Dining Credit: Enroll and get up to $10 in statement credits monthly (up to $120 annually) when you pay with the Gold Card at Five Guys, Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory®, wine.com, and Goldbelly
$120 Uber Cash: Add the U.S. Consumer Gold Card to your Uber account to receive $10 in monthly Uber Cash (up to $120 annually) towards Uber Eats or Uber rides in the U.S.
$100 Resy Credit: Enroll and get up to $50 in semi-annual statement credits (up to $100 annually) after you enroll and pay with the Gold Card at U.S. Resy restaurants or on other eligible Resy purchases.
$84 Dunkin' Credit: Enroll and get up to $7 per month (up to $84 annually) in statement credits by paying with the Gold Card.
No foreign transaction fees
Annual fee: $325 (see rates and fees).

Learn more about the *amex gold*.

Key Benefit Breakdown

The Amex Gold Card has long been a favorite of the Thrifty Traveler team and travelers across the globe. Beyond the opportunity to earn a welcome offer as high as 100,000 points, it's one of the most rewarding cards for everyday spending and comes with plenty of monthly and semi-annual credits to help offset its annual fee.

Admittedly, some of these credits are harder to use than others, and you should by no means take them at face value. But even if you let a few of the monthly credits slip through the cracks, you can still come out ahead.

Here's a closer look at everything you get with the Amex Gold Card.

$120 in Annual Uber Cash

Much like *amex platinum card*, the Gold Card comes with a monthly allotment of Uber Cash. Just be sure to add your Amex Gold card to your Uber account as a payment option.

You'll get up to $10 per month in Uber Cash for use on either Uber rides or Uber Eats in the U.S. But just as with other credits on top American Express cards, this is a use-it-or-lose-it benefit: If you don't spend $10 with Uber or Uber Eats in one month, it won't carry over to the next month.

Thrifty Tip: If you're using your Uber Cash for Uber Eats, opting for pick-up instead of delivery will make it much cheaper.

$120 Annual Dining Credit

There's a separate credit of up to $120 a year for dining, which is doled out in $10 installments. It's also fairly easy to use, as it will kick in for orders through the following merchants:

Grubhub
The Cheesecake Factory
Goldbelly
Wine.com
Five Guys

Enrollment is required for this benefit. GrubHub alone makes it relatively easy to use this credit each and every month. But remember, this is a use-it-or-lose-it benefit. If you don't use your $10 dining credit within the calendar month, it won't roll over to the next.

$100 Resy Credit

Each year, cardholders can get up to $100 in statement credits when dining at U.S. Resy participating restaurants. The statement credit is broken up twice a year: You have $50 to use from January through June and another $50 from July through December.

Read more: How to Use Amex Resy Credits

One important detail: You'll need to enroll in this benefit online through your Amex account before dining at one of these restaurants. And like most other credits, this one is also a use-it-or-lose-it benefit. If you don't spend the full $50 in the first half of the year, it won't roll over to the next six months.

And only U.S. restaurants will qualify for these new credits, so don't count on putting them to use on your international travels, either.

Thrifty Tip: Can't use your $50 credit before the deadline? You should be able to buy a gift card for one of the Resy restaurants, and it will trigger the credit.

$84 Dunkin' Credit

Gold cardholders now get up to $84 per year at Dunkin' – the coffee chain formerly known as Dunkin Donuts. But that's split into installments of $7 a month.

Much like the Resy credit, you'll need to enroll your card in this benefit before taking advantage of it. Once you do, simply swipe your Gold Card when purchasing your morning coffee at Dunkin', and you're all set. Amex will automatically reimburse you up to $7 per month.

That means a free coffee or two every month!

Thrifty Tip: Download the Dunkin' mobile app and load your card balance for $7 each month. It will trigger the credit from American Express, and you won't have to worry about using the $7 each month.

Earning Points

Earn 4x Points at Restaurants Worldwide

The American Express Gold card earns 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 in purchases per year, then 1x). For the average American, dining out is one of the biggest expenses – especially for the younger crowd that Amex is increasingly catering to.

Whether you're eating at a five-star, Michelin restaurant, at your favorite fast food spot, or stopping for coffee, you'll earn 4x points for every dollar you spend. Simply put, you won't find a more rewarding card for your restaurant and U.S. supermarket spending.

Related reading: The Best Credit Cards to Use For Dining

Earn 4x Points at U.S. Supermarkets

The American Express Gold card also earns 4x points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in purchases per year, then 1x) – making this card a go-to for not only dining out but cooking at home, too.

But keep in mind that not all stores where you buy groceries will be eligible for bonus points. For example, Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs like Sam's Club and Costco will not earn you bonus points.

Earn 3x Points on Flights

American Express Gold Card users earn 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel®.

Outside of dining and groceries, this is a great way to continually get value out of this card and maximize the amount of points you earn on your spending.

Earn 2x on Prepaid Amex Travel Purchases

While airfare gets a bigger bonus through Amex Travel, it's not alone. Prepaid hotels, rental cars, and cruises purchased through amextravel.com will earn you 2x points per dollar.

Other eligible spending on the American Express Gold card will earn 1x point per dollar spent.

The Best Ways to Maximize Amex Points

There is no shortage of ways to use a stash of 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards points. Below, we'll highlight a couple of our favorites.

Fly to Europe and Back in Business Class for 100K Points

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) is one of the best airlines in the world, and it’s got an underrated mileage program, too. In fact, it might just be one of the best ways to book business class flights … to Europe for just 50,000 miles each way.

Yes, you read that right. Using miles from a Japanese airline to fly business class to Europe is one of the best workarounds in points and miles, as you can do it for roughly half the miles that other airlines charge. Consider this: United would charge 80,000 miles or more for these exact same transatlantic flights.

With ANA's recent change, allowing one-way award bookings, taking advantage of this sweet spot just got easier. But you’re not flying ANA itself. You're merely using ANA miles to book other partner Star Alliance airlines like United, Air Canada, or SAS that fly nonstop across the pond. Since Amex points transfer 1:1 to ANA miles – one Amex point is equal to one ANA mile – you'll have just enough for a roundtrip booking.

a business class seat in the united polaris cabin — *United Polaris Business Class*

It’s an incredible deal, but booking with ANA Mileage Club miles isn’t always straightforward – especially if you’re unfamiliar with its rules and quirks. Transfers to ANA are much slower than most Amex partners (two days in many cases), meaning the award availability you have your eye on could be gone by the time your miles arrive. Check out our full booking guide below for everything you need to know.

Book the World's Best Business Class: Qatar's Qsuites

Thanks to Qatar Airways' adoption of Avios, the floodgates are open to book Qatar's world-leading Qsuite business class seats using Amex points.

Here's the easiest route: You could book a simple nonstop from many cities in the U.S. over to Doha (DOH) for just 70,000 British Airways Avios. That means you'd have more than enough Amex points for a flight to the Middle East.

Check out our full review of Qatar Qsuites

Sadly, both Qatar and British Airways recently raised taxes and fees on these business class redemptions. What was once a $100-or-so charge has increased to roughly $235 – but that's a small price to pay to fly the world's best business class, if you ask us.

We send Thrifty Traveler Premium members award alerts when they can book the world's best business class using their points, plus cheap cash fares too!

If you want to take it next level and connect elsewhere – Dubai (DXB) or Muscat (MCT) in the Middle East, Cairo (CAI), or maybe even the Maldives (MLE) or down to Cape Town (CPT) in South Africa – you'll want to turn to Qatar Airways Avios. And even though Amex isn't offering this bonus on transfers to Qatar, you can easily combine your Avios balances between British Airways and Qatar.

And these multi-segment awards wind up being much cheaper by booking through Qatar itself than British Airways. Booking through Qatar, you could fly in Qsuites to …

Middle Eastern destinations like Dubai (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH) or Muscat (MCT) for 75,000 miles
Other destinations like Amman (AMM) and Cairo (CAI) as well as major Indian cities go up to 80,000 miles each way
Getting to the Seychelles (SEZ) or Maldives (MLE) will run you 85,000 miles each way
Both Southeast Asia and South Africa typically cost 95,000 miles each way

All those flights are in reach with this big 100,000-point welcome offer.

Thrifty Tip: Book a flight that connects onward to the Middle East so you can access Qatar's incredible Al Safwa Lounge during your layover. You won't regret it.

Read our full guide on the best ways to book Qsuites!

Bottom Line

Amex just rolled out a new welcome offer on its wildly popular *amex gold card* where you may be eligible for as high as 100,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first six months. This increased offer is one of the biggest and best bonuses we've seen on the card … but it won't be available to everyone. The way it works, you'll need to apply first and then you have the option to accept or decline the offer, with no harm to your credit.

If this card makes sense for you, there are few easier ways to earn a boatload of points to fuel your future travels.

Learn more about the *amex gold*.

New Offer: Earn ‘As High As’ 100K Points With the American Express® Gold Card!

Basics of The Platinum Card® from American Express