American Express gold card af pays for itself plus

[Anonymous]

@southjamaica

I believe the OP was speaking to his experience. As always YMMV. As discussed the cell phone offer that you dont have ia generally a targeted offer...therefore if you dont have it, you werent targeted.

Incidentals....paying for a checked bag is reimbursed which is still a travel expense.

You got hosed for 25k points. Thats on you. And to some a SUB may sway thier decision and outlook on if the card is worth it.

Depending on the OPs spending the card your suggesting wont even come close, at all....in regards to MRs.

YMMV.

[Anonymous]

If your spending aligns with the card, it beats anything else by a long shot. For example, our family spends about $25k/year between dining out and groceries. With the Gold, that's 100k MR points. I also fly internationally at least once a year, and I like to do it in business class when I can. I'm looking at flights between DFW and London in October, and the cheapest on Expedia are $4200 (for business class). But my 100K MR points will cover a business class seat if I transfer to CX or NH.

Unfortunately, London has super high fees, so I'll end up paying something like $600 in addition to the points. Even so, that's a $3600 return on $25,000 spending, which is 14% back. And that's just an average redemption, not a particularly good one. If you really hunt for deals with the transfer partners, you can do a lot better.

[KLEXH25]

For someone that doesn’t have an AMEX yet and isn’t familiar with the MR points system or their affiliated partners, how the heck do I figure out which card is right for me? I thought I knew which AMEX card I wanted but the more I read, I’m now not so sure. I’m intrigued by the Gold, and think it might fit my spending, but I don’t know enough yet. Is there an outside source or guide for this?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If your spending aligns with the card, it beats anything else by a long shot. For example, our family spends about $25k/year between dining out and groceries. With the Gold, that's 100k MR points. I also fly internationally at least once a year, and I like to do it in business class when I can. I'm looking at flights between DFW and London in October, and the cheapest on Expedia are $4200 (for business class). But my 100K MR points will cover a business class seat if I transfer to CX or NH.

Unfortunately, London has super high fees, so I'll end up paying something like $600 in addition to the points. Even so, that's a $3600 return on $25,000 spending, which is 14% back. And that's just an average redemption, not a particularly good one. If you really hunt for deals with the transfer partners, you can do a lot better.

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What is CX and NH?

[FlaDude]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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What is CX and NH?

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They are the airline codes for Cathay Pacific (based in Hong Kong) and ANA (Japanese).

[Anonymous]

For starters you should probably figure out what it is that you want from any CC, be it cash back or points for travel/lodging. You mention MR, so I assume you're 100% into point redemption for travel. Your next step would be to find out whre you'll get the most return on your spend, dining or grocery. Some places do not code as supermarket with Amex, so you'll lose out on the 4X. Also need to watch with dining, though not as close as grocery. I've not yet found a place that doesn't code as restaurant spend.

The Gold is a very useful card, and if you can off set the AF it's even better! I don't think you could go wrong by making it your first card with Amex. If you do find a place that codes as grocery with them it could even be advantageous to get the EDP for the higher earning potential. 

You should figure out what category in which your highest spend is, then ge the card that's aligned with it.

[KLEXH25]

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@Anonymous wrote:

For starters you should probably figure out what it is that you want from any CC, be it cash back or points for travel/lodging. You mention MR, so I assume you're 100% into point redemption for travel. Your next step would be to find out whre you'll get the most return on your spend, dining or grocery. Some places do not code as supermarket with Amex, so you'll lose out on the 4X. Also need to watch with dining, though not as close as grocery. I've not yet found a place that doesn't code as restaurant spend.

The Gold is a very useful card, and if you can off set the AF it's even better! I don't think you could go wrong by making it your first card with Amex. If you do find a place that codes as grocery with them it could even be advantageous to get the EDP for the higher earning potential. 

You should figure out what category in which your highest spend is, then ge the card that's aligned with it.

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Initially, I was just looking at cashback cards, but since I already have a QuickSilver & Discover and have many other cashback options that I like better, I started looking into other types of rewards (points). I was set on the EveryDay card, but since my grocery spend is split between a grocery store, Costco, and Target (I have the RedCard debit for 5%), it doesn't really add up for me. Not to mention that my SO and I eat out a lot (despite our intentions not to). I was looking into UBER for this very reason, but based on DPs around here, I'm not likely to qualify or get a decent limit with them for a while (maybe another 6-12 months).

And though my travel isn't very frequent, I typically take at least 1 or 2 trips a year. I already have a trip coming up in September and likely another one after that for early next year, so it'd be nice to earn rewards towards future trips.  I don't know if another card would do well for me in that regard, but since many cards are still out of my reach (Chase, Cap1, etc), AMEX seems like a good choice. It's just hard to figure out if I can make the most out of redeeming MRs.

[FlaDude]

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@KLEXH25 wrote:

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I was set on the EveryDay card, but since my grocery spend is split between a grocery store, Costco, and Target (I have the RedCard debit for 5%), it doesn't really add up for me.

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Sorry if you know this already and I'm stating the obvious, but you can't use Amex at Costco.

[longtimelurker]

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@FlaDude wrote:

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@KLEXH25 wrote:

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I was set on the EveryDay card, but since my grocery spend is split between a grocery store, Costco, and Target (I have the RedCard debit for 5%), it doesn't really add up for me.

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Sorry if you know this already and I'm stating the obvious, but you can't use Amex at Costco.

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I think that was the point of the comment!