Why you'll love it: The Amex Gold Card has a lower annual fee than the Platinum Card, but it offers stellar rewards on dining and groceries and solid benefits.
Welcome offer: 25,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $2,000 in the first three months. Until January 9: Get up 20% back at US restaurants within the first three months, up to $100 total.
This October, American Express launched a massive reboot of its Premier Rewards Gold card, or "PRG," rebranding it as the American Express Gold Card, releasing a new metal design and limited-edition rose gold version, and totally overhauling the rewards and benefits on the card. Because that wasn't quite enough, AmEx also launched a fairly unique new welcome bonus.
Right now, this is arguably the best card available for food, unless you're only interested in cash back, rather than potentially more valuable rewards points, and unless you find yourself abroad at restaurants often.
The new Gold Card earns 4x points at US restaurants and on up to $25,000 per year at US supermarkets (and 1x point after that), 3x points on flights booked directly with the airline, and 1x point on everything else. Based on the fact that you can easily redeem Membership Rewards points for more than 1¢ of value each, that makes this the highest-earning card for everything food-related.
Like the old PRG, the Gold Card offers a $100 airline fee credit each calendar year, and adds up to $120 of dining credits — split into $10 each month — at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Steak House, or participating Shake Shack locations.
New card members — those who haven't previously had the Premier Rewards Gold — can earn a welcome bonus of 25,000 points when they spend $2,000 in the first three months. Additionally, those who apply before January 9 can get 20% back on all US restaurant charges — up to $100 total — in the form of a statement credit.
While it's difficult to assign an exact value to Membership Rewards points, The Points Guy subjectively estimates each point as worth 1.9¢. That makes the welcome bonus worth $575 — $475 for the points, and up to $100 back from restaurants. Even without factoring in the annual credit benefits, that's more than enough to make up for the card's $250 annual fee.
Check out our full review for more details.
Keep in mind that it's possible to be targeted for a higher welcome bonus.
Pros: Stellar rewards on dining and groceries, useful benefits, lower annual fee than the Platinum Card.
Cons: Relatively high annual fee compared to some other cards.
Click here to learn more about the Amex Gold Card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.