@wasCB14 wrote:
@JustJay119 wrote:Hey, do you eat out or use Uber eats at all? I sure you could get the most value from those. I feel like the Gold Card will stay in my wallet forever just because of those two credits, effectively dropping the fee down to $10. Then add in the multipliers for supermarkets and restaurants and it's an absolute win.
Keep in mind that for GrubHub/Seamless, many restaurants will charge customers higher prices in-app even for pickup orders. So that will eat into the net value of the credit.
Though even at $5/month net, Gold is still generally a better value than EDP or BCP.
The separately named restaurants aren't always going to be convenient, depending on where a person lives/travels.
Very valid point. Perhaps OP can give insight on spending but also sounds pretty sure about the decision to close.
I agree. If it doesn't fit your lifestyle then close.
@JustJay119 wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
@JustJay119 wrote:Hey, do you eat out or use Uber eats at all? I sure you could get the most value from those. I feel like the Gold Card will stay in my wallet forever just because of those two credits, effectively dropping the fee down to $10. Then add in the multipliers for supermarkets and restaurants and it's an absolute win.
Keep in mind that for GrubHub/Seamless, many restaurants will charge customers higher prices in-app even for pickup orders. So that will eat into the net value of the credit.
Though even at $5/month net, Gold is still generally a better value than EDP or BCP.
The separately named restaurants aren't always going to be convenient, depending on where a person lives/travels.
Very valid point. Perhaps OP can give insight on spending but also sounds pretty sure about the decision to close.
I agree. If it doesn't fit your lifestyle then close.
The Gold card credits sound great ... in theory. The $250 AF can become $10, if all $10 x 2 monthly credits are utilized.
In practice, for some of us, they may not pan out so well. Any AF remaining which is not offset by those unused credits then becomes an additional drain on rewards return. I got my Gold card card in Aug 2020 to try out MRs, and I got a great 75K SUB. I liked that Gold seemed more practical with lower AF than Platinum, credits that seemed more reasonable in offsetting the AF, and high 4x rewards in everyday categories of dining out - groceries as opposed to the less useful flights and hotels of Platinum (for those who of us who pay for travel less often.) Since I got the card, AMEX has phased out the more useful $100 annual credit on airline fees which could be used at any time during the year. They added instead the UBER/UBER Eats credit; since I don't UBER, it means I'd have to use 2x $10 dining credits on those few selected participating restaurants and/or food delivery services, which is something I don't normally do anyway. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Cheesecake Factory are not places I normally dine, even though I dine out often and have both within about a 30-45 minute drive. I also found that I was paying higher prices for the food through the GrubHub app as @wasCB14 pointed out, and I didn't always remember to use my credits. I was also a little annoyed recently when I used my Gold card at a Shake Shack in an airport location and expected credits to be applied. When they didn't appear, I re-read the fine print of the dining credits and saw that locations in airports and some other places are excluded. 
If AMEX made the credits more user-friendly where I'd get credits for using the card monthly on any dining charges, it would work much better for me. For example, give me $1 credit (+4MRs) for every dining charge and I'd at least get my $20 monthly credit while AMEX would encourage me to use the card often and get more swipes. That would be a win-win for both of us. But the way it's structured, it's not practical for me.
The other kicker for me is realizing that MRs may not be worth more than 1 cpp unless I'm transferring them to airline partners. That means the Gold is earning closer to 4% (not as much as 8% if MRs are worth up to 2 cpp) on dining and groceries. That 4% is further eroded by the breakage on the unclaimed AF credits. So I believe I'd do as well (or even better) with other cards in my lineup. I'm keeping my Gold until at least the end of year 2 but unless there are enhancements to the credits or rewards structure, it may be hard to justify keeping it.
