American Express Gold Card review: An ideal rewards card for foodies and travelers

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

The American Express® Gold Card is a high-value rewards card for consumers who enjoy spending more on dining and travel. Cardholders can benefit from a competitive rewards program and a variety of high-end perks that help offset the cost of the $250 annual fee (see rates and fees).

When CNBC Select crunched the numbers and analyzed more than 200 credit cards, we found that consumers could earn substantial rewards with the Amex Gold Card over a five-year period. Unlike other credit cards, this one allows you to carry a balance for certain charges, but not all. (See our methodology for more information on how we chose the best cards.)

Below, CNBC Select breaks down the rewards, benefits and fees associated with the American Express® Gold Card to help you decide if it's the right card for you.

• Welcome bonus
• Benefits and perks
• How to earn and redeem Membership Rewards® points
• Rates and fees
• Card comparison
• Who the American Express Gold Card is best for
• Bottom line

The American Express® Gold Card offers a valuable welcome bonus to help get your points balance started. Once you're approved for the card, you'll have the chance to earn a welcome bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new card within the first 6 months of card membership.

According to points and miles experts, Amex points are typically worth 2 cents per point, but it varies depending on how you redeem it. If you transfer your points to travel partners you'd earn 2 cents per point in value (or more when redeeming for luxury value)— meaning the 60,000 bonus points could be worth around $1,200 in travel.

Keep in mind that to achieve the biggest bang for your buck, the Membership Rewards® points you earn should be redeemed for travel with American Express's airline and hotel partners — other options such as cashing them out or exchanging them for gift cards will net you a much lower redemption value.

While the American Express® Gold Card comes with great perks, it also carries a $250 annual fee. It's important to be realistic about whether or not you'll utilize all the available benefits. If you don't see yourself using too many of them, a different card may be a better option.

The Amex Gold Card comes with the following features:

• $120 per year in Uber Cash to use for rides or dining via Uber Eats, broken down into $10 per month
• $120 in dining credits, broken down into $10 in statement credits per month, when you order food through restaurants and dining delivery services including Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack franchises around the U.S. Enrollment required.
• Access to special benefits including a $100 experience credit when you book stays at The Hotel Collection properties through American Express Travel, with a minimum two-night stay requirement. Experience credit varies by property.
• No foreign transaction fees
• Access to the Amex Global Assist Hotline and Personalized Travel Service
• *Travel insurance including baggage coverage and rental car loss and damage insurance

If you enjoy dining out often or utilizing Uber for rides or food delivery, you can easily justify the annual fee by taking advantage of the available spending credits.

Earning Amex Membership Rewards® points

By spending with the Amex Gold Card, you'll earn:

• 4X points per dollar for dining at restaurants worldwide, and delivery and takeout within the U.S.
• 4X points per dollar for shopping at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per year, then 1X points
• 3X points per dollar on flights booked directly via the airline or through Amextravel.com
• 1X points per dollar for all other eligible purchases

CNBC Select calculated how many rewards the average American could earn if they were to optimize the way they used their Amex Gold Card. We worked with the location intelligence firm Esri, which provided us with a sample annual spending budget of $22,126.

The budget included six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). Here's a breakdown of how many Membership Rewards® points you could potentially earn in each category, annually:

• Groceries: 20,696
• Gas: 2,218
• Dining out: 14,700
• Travel: 3,954 (assuming about $570 is spent on flights, which earns 3x points)
• Utilities: 4,862
• General purchases: 3,953
• Total: 50,383

All spending considered, you could end up earning 110,386 Membership Rewards® points within the first year, including the welcome bonus. Over a five-year period, cardholders could potentially earn 311,930 Membership Rewards® points, although the total amount would depend more on an individual's annual spending habits.

If you're trying to rack up a large amount of Membership Rewards® points in a hurry, consider adding other American Express credit cards that also earn them, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express to your wallet to bump up your balance.

Redeeming Membership Rewards® points

As you continue to earn more Membership Rewards® points, you'll be able to put them toward a wide range of redemption options, including:

• Transferring them to partner airline and hotel loyalty programs
• Redeeming them for travel through Amextravel.com
• Covering charges on your American Express credit card
• Paying with points at checkout with retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon and Dell, among others
• Redeeming them for gift cards, exclusive access to entertainment experiences and using them for Preferred Seating at certain sports and cultural events
• Purchasing merchandise directly through American Express

Although it's possible to redeem Amex points for cash back, you won't get the highest value from your rewards for doing so.

The best redemption option is the first one since you'll be able to earn a much greater value by transferring your Membership Rewards® points directly to a partner airline or hotel loyalty programs, such as the following airline partners:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Aeromexico Premier
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• ANA Mileage Club
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Delta SkyMiles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore KrisFlyer
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotel loyalty program partners include the following:

• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Bonvoy

To transfer your points, you'll need to connect the loyalty program for your airline or hotel program of choice in the American Express customer portal, then transfer over the number of points needed for your booking. Some programs will show your points transfer immediately, while others may take a few days to process the transaction.

While this may seem like a cumbersome process, it's a great way to score premium travel perks such as luxury hotel suites and first-class flights for free (or almost free) using your points. For example, if you wanted to fly first class from the U.S. to Europe in a luxury Delta One Suite, which typically costs thousands of dollars, you could instead redeem your Membership Rewards® points by transferring them to Delta SkyMiles or even Virgin Atlantic after that since it's one of Delta's partners. You'd only need to transfer 50,000 points for this redemption, which the welcome bonus from the American Express® Gold Card would cover.

The card has a $250 annual fee. It has no foreign transaction fees. (See rates and fees)

Late payment fees can be up to $40.

The American Express Gold Card is a great choice for consumers who regularly dine out, purchase groceries and travel. But how does it match up against other cards that earn transferable rewards? CNBC Select analyzed the cards below and how they fare against the Amex Gold Card.

American Express Gold Card vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express

The Platinum Card® from American Express is an excellent option for consumers who spend regularly on travel — especially those who prefer to enjoy luxury benefits along the way.

To start, you can earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points for a limited time after you spend $8,000 on purchases, on your new card in your first 6 months of card membership.

As you spend with the card, you'll earn:

• 5X points per dollar for flights booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, up to $500,000 per calendar year
• 5X points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked via American Express Travel
• 1X points per dollar for all other eligible purchases

The Platinum Card® from American Express comes with a long list of benefits, including spending credits for travel and major retailers — up to $200 in credits annually for airline fees charged with the card, up to $200 for hotels prepaid through American Express Travel, up to $300 credits per calendar year for Equinox streaming and membership (Enrollment required.), up to $100 in statement credits for shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, up to $200 in Uber Cash each year ($15 monthly, with a $20 bonus in December. Benefit renews annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only.) Terms apply. Up to $155 Walmart+ credits (subject to auto-renewal, Plus Ups excluded), up to $240 in digital entertainment credits for streaming services such as Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal (Enrollment required), access to The Global Lounge Collection, up to $189 to use for CLEAR® Plus membership, access to global dining via Resy, comprehensive travel insurance, complimentary American Express concierge services and complimentary status with certain hotel loyalty programs, among other perks.

There is, however, a steep $695 annual fee (see rates and fees) for this card, so if you're debating between the two, be realistic about which benefits you'll reasonably take advantage of to help offset the cost of the annual fee. If you're a big traveler and want airport lounge access and hotel benefits like elite status with Marriott and Hilton, then the Amex Platinum is probably the better fit.

But, it's also key to analyze your own spending habits. If you tend to spend a ton on travel, the Amex Platinum Card may be the better fit, but if your expenses are comprised mostly of grocery shopping and dining, the Amex Gold Card will likely earn more rewards. Since both cards carry significant annual fees, it's important to determine if your budget can handle the additional cost.

American Express Gold Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is constantly rated as one of the best travel credit cards on the market because of its low annual fee (just $95) and valuable points-earning and rewards opportunities. Upon approval, you'll be able to earn a lucrative welcome bonus of 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

As you spend with the card, you'll earn:

• 5X on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 3X on dining
• 3X on online grocery purchases (not counting Target®, Walmart® or wholesale clubs)
• 3X on certain streaming services
• 2X for all other travel purchases
• 1X points for all other purchases

The card comes with excellent travel benefits as well, including no foreign transaction fees, extensive travel insurance including rental car coverage and a variety of transfer partners, including the following 14 airline and hotel loyalty programs:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Flying Blue (KLM and Air France)
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United Airlines MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt

If you're deciding between both cards, it's important to analyze each issuer's transfer partners for their rewards. For example, if you enjoy flying Southwest Airlines, the Chase Sapphire Preferred may be the better choice, but if you prefer Delta Air Lines, the Amex Gold Card would be the better pick.

The Amex Gold Card also has a few spending credits to be mindful of. If you aren't able to use those to help bring down the cost of the annual fee, the Sapphire Preferred may be the better option, as its annual fee is only $95.

This card is best for consumers who spend regularly at grocery stores and restaurants but aim to travel with their hard-earned rewards. Cardholders can quickly rack up points with the Gold card's large multipliers and get big value when transferring rewards to Amex's travel partners.

Keep in mind that some perks, such as the included dining and Uber credits, require a bit of planning to fully maximize, but if you know you can visit some of the participating restaurants or order an Uber ride or meal a few times each month, you can make it work.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

The American Express® Gold Card provides a range of benefits for consumers who are looking to earn first-class rewards on travel, grocery shopping and dining. And while its $250 annual fee may seem steep, if you take advantage of all the annual statement credits and other credit card benefits, you can easily offset the cost and make it worth your while.

Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.