American Express Gold Rewards Card Canada Review 

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American Express® Gold Rewards Card

• Annual Fee
  $250
• Interest Rates
  20.99% / 21.99%

  20.99% on purchases, 21.99% on cash advances.
• Rewards Rate
  1x-2x Points

  2x points on eligible travel purchases, 2x on eligible purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and drugstores in Canada, and 1x on purchases everywhere else.
• Intro Offer
  Up to 50,000 Points

  New American Express® Gold Rewards Cardmembers can earn a Welcome Bonus of 40,000 points when you charge $3,000 in purchases to your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 points when you make a purchase between 14 and 17 months of Cardmembership.

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Our Take

Why we like it

The American Express Gold Rewards Card should get the attention of travellers looking for comfort and flexibility. Points can be used for an impressive array of items and can be transferred to other rewards programs. The new rose gold design is an eye-catcher, too.

Pros

• Travel in comfort: room and rental car upgrades, access to airport lounges and credits for hotel amenities like dining and spa treatments.
• The 50,000-point intro offer is equivalent to $500 for shopping, travel and more.

Cons

• Travellers 65 or older won’t be covered by the card’s emergency medical insurance.
• If you travel often, you could burn through your four complimentary visits to Plaza Premium Lounges fairly quickly.

American Express Gold Rewards Card pros and cons

Pros

• Accelerated earn rate on travel, groceries, gas and drugstore spending. 
• Travel and rental car insurance coverage.
• Airport lounge access.
• Hotel and travel credits.
• Car rental upgrades.
• Available in gold or rose gold stainless steel.

Cons

• No emergency medical insurance for cardholders 65 and older.
• Complimentary airport lounge passes are limited.

American Express Gold Rewards Card rewards

• Welcome offer: Up to 50,000 points in the first 17 months of membership, worth up to $500.
• How to earn the welcome offer: New American Express® Gold Rewards Cardmembers can earn a Welcome Bonus of 40,000 points when you charge $3,000 in purchases to your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 points when you make a purchase between 14 and 17 months of membership.
• How to earn ongoing rewards: Earn 2x points on eligible travel purchases, 2x points on eligible purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and drugstores in Canada, and 1x points on purchases everywhere else.

Estimated value of the American Express Gold Rewards Card

Point value breakdown

The value of an American Express Membership Rewards point varies on the redemption method you choose, but you can expect to get around 0.7-2 cents per point. 

• Up to 2 cents per point for flights, fine hotels and resorts booked via the American Express Fixed Points Travel Program. 
• 1 cent per point for statement credits. 
• About 0.8 cents per point for gift cards. 
• About 0.7 cents per point for shopping with merchant partners.

Calculating your annual rewards

Let’s look at a hypothetical example in which a person earns 4,000 points per month on their Amex Gold Rewards Card across all spending categories, and chooses redemption methods that get between 1 and 2 cents per point, on average. This example does not include any Welcome Bonus points.

48,000 points earned x 1.75 cent average value per point = $840 annual rewards

$840 annual rewards – $250 annual fee = $590 net annual rewards

Welcome offer value

The welcome offer for the American Express Gold Rewards Card includes up to 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards points. The total value of the offer will depend on how you redeem the 50,000 points.

Amex suggests the welcome offer is worth $500, which is the minimum value when redeemed through statement credits. You need to spend at least $3,000 within the first three months of card membership, then make one eligible purchase of any amount between 14 and 17 months of card membership to get the full 50,000 points.

However, the welcome offer could be worth up to $1,000 if redeemed strategically — you’ll just need to redeem the points for short-haul flights, available with a value of $0.02 cents per point.

Annual value

Beyond its welcome offer, the Amex Gold card has additional benefits that deliver value. Cardholders get a $100 CAD annual travel credit to redeem for trips booked through American Express Travel Online and a $50 CAD statement credit for NEXUS application or renewal fees charged to the card. Staying at least two consecutive nights at eligible hotels yields a $100 USD credit for hotel amenities. And cardholders get four complimentary passes to Plaza Premium Lounges across Canadian airports annually, which cost about $55 per pass if you purchase them on your own. All told, those perks are worth about $495 per year. And that doesn’t include the insurance that comes with the American Express Gold Rewards Card, which could be worth thousands should you ever need to put it to use.

Is the Amex Gold Card worth it?

It depends on your spending habits. At a minimum, you want to recoup your cardholder costs. According to NerdWallet analysis, one American Express Membership Rewards point can be worth as much as 2 cents. You’d need to earn at least 12,500 points to recoup the card’s annual fee of $250. To earn the 12,500 points needed to offset the card’s annual fee, you’d need to spend at least $6,250 — and that’s money spent in this card’s highest earning category of 2 points per $1.

American Express Gold Rewards Card full review

The American Express Gold Rewards Card is a metal credit card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points. Cardholders earn points for each eligible dollar spent, with accelerated rates on travel, grocery store, gas station and drugstore spending.

Benefits of the American Express Gold Rewards Card

The glitzy Amex Gold earns rewards points and comes packed with travel perks, like insurance coverage, airport lounge passes, hotel credits, Hertz rental upgrades and more. Oh, and did we mention the sleek stainless steel design? The card is available in gold or rose gold — the choice is yours.

Drawbacks of the American Express Gold Rewards Card

The American Express Gold Rewards Card card has a $250 annual fee, and its emergency medical insurance doesn’t extend to cardholders 65 and older. Plus: airport lounge access isn’t unlimited — you get four passes annually, which you could burn through quickly if you’re a frequent flier.

Is American Express reliable and secure?

With American Express being one of the world’s biggest credit card issuers, their products typically provide a secure way of making purchases in person and online.

If someone steals your credit card information or makes fraudulent purchases with your card, American Express’s Fraud Protection Guarantee ensures you won’t be held responsible for any of the charges.

There have been minor security scares involving American Express customer information in recent years that were either the result of security breaches at third-party sites storing American Express customer data or the work of disgruntled former employees.

American Express customer satisfaction ratings

American Express ranks third (and above industry average) in customer satisfaction with credit card issuers, according to J.D. Power’s 2022 Canada Credit Card Satisfaction Study, a survey of 6,478 cardholders in Canada [1]. Card issuers were rated on their benefits and services, communication, card terms, customer support and rewards. The credit card issuers with the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the survey were Tangerine Bank and Canadian Tire.

American Express had a Trustpilot rating of 1.7 out of 5 possible stars based on more than 2,500 customer reviews, at the time of this writing.

American Express had a 1.07 out of a possible 5 stars, according to nearly 300 customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau website, at the time of this writing. American Express is accredited and has an A+ rating by the BBB itself.

American Express had a Customer Service Scoreboard rating of 36.52 out of a possible 200, based on over 300 ratings, at the time of this writing.

American Express Gold Rewards Card details and eligibility

Who qualifies for the Amex Gold Rewards Card?

You must be a Canadian resident and at least the age of majority for your province or territory to be eligible for the Amex Gold Card. You must also meet credit score and income requirements.

Approximate credit score needed for approval

Canadian credit card issuers rarely disclose required credit scores, which makes it hard to know your chances of approval when comparing credit cards. It also means any score suggestion we make would be our best guess — which may not be accurate and could result in card application rejections. We don’t want that. 

Suggesting that you’d need a “good” or “excellent” score is also confusing because the meaning of those terms can vary depending on the rating system card issuers use.

Instead, we’ll tell you what we do know: higher scores have better chances of approval — that’s true no matter what type of credit you’re applying for.

Want to learn more? Visit our “What Credit Score is Needed for a Credit Card?” page.

» MORE: How to Check Your Credit Score

Income requirements

American Express doesn’t publicly disclose annual income requirements for its Gold Rewards Card. You must provide your annual income during the application process, which may be a factor during card approval.

Who should get the Amex Gold Rewards Card?

The American Express Gold Rewards Card offers its highest earn rate on travel expenses, groceries, gas and drugstore purchases. It also provides comprehensive travel insurance and numerous travel-related perks, like NEXUS fee rebates and airport lounge passes. Travel lovers that frequently spend big at the grocery store, pumps or drugstore will be able to make the most of this credit card’s rewards program and benefits.

How to know if the Amex Gold Rewards Card is right for you

If you like to travel and typically use your credit card at the grocery store, gas station, or drugstore, the American Express Gold Rewards Card may be a practical choice.

How to apply for the Amex Gold Rewards Card

You can complete the application for the Amex Gold Card from the American Express website:

1. Select the Apply Now button from the American Express Gold Rewards Card page on the American Express website.
2. Review the card’s terms and conditions and select Agree and Begin to continue. 
3. Enter your personal details, including your full name, date of birth, phone number, email address and residential address.
4. Tell American Express about your finances, including your annual personal income, household income and employment details. 
5. Choose a four-digit PIN.
6. Review the information you’ve supplied and submit your application.

How to maximize the benefit of the Amex Gold Rewards Card

Get the biggest bang for your buck with the following tips:

• Charge travel expenses to your card. Most of this card’s travel insurance requires tickets, accommodations, and associated travel costs to be fully charged to your Amex Gold for coverage to kick in. 
• Enroll for NEXUS. Receive a $50 statement credit when you charge a NEXUS application or renewal fee to your card. 
• Spend mindfully. Take advantage of the Amex Gold’s highest earn rates on travel spending, gas and groceries.  
• Enroll in Hertz Plus Gold Rewards. Get car class upgrades, if available, on rentals of five or more consecutive days and waived fees for an additional driver.
• Automate your credit card bill. If you fail to pay the minimum twice in 12 months, American Express will implement a penalty APR that will stay in place for 12 billing periods.

Alternatives to the Amex Gold Rewards Card

If you want a card that turns heads but aren’t sold on the Amex Gold, it isn’t the only metal card on the market. Explore your metal credit card options to find a card that fits your design preferences and spending habits.    

Or maybe you aren’t interested in earning American Express Membership Rewards points. If that’s the case, numerous rewards program alternatives exist, like Air Miles, Aeroplan rewards, TD Points, Scene+ points, Aventura Points and more. Compare your rewards credit card options from other providers to find the ideal fit for your lifestyle.

Reasons you might want a different card

The Amex Gold earns rewards and comes with an attractive lineup of card perks, but there are a few circumstances where it won’t be a practical fit: 

• You don’t want to pay an annual fee. 
• You don’t travel often.
• You don’t spend much at grocery stores, gas stations or drugstores.

Amex Gold Rewards Card vs Amex Platinum Card

American Express Gold Rewards Card facts

About the Author

Shannon Terrell

Shannon Terrell is a lead writer and spokesperson for NerdWallet, where she writes about a variety of personal finance topics. Previously, she was a writer, editor and video host for financial comparison company, Finder. Shannon has appeared as a financial expert on CP24 and has been quoted in numerous publications, including Bloomberg, Global News, Yahoo! Finance and Black Enterprise. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and English literature from the University of Toronto Mississauga. She’s also a published author whose work has been featured in academic journals from the University of Toronto. Shannon is based in Brampton, Ontario.

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