I Finally Closed My Amex Gold

[Suzette2]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Suzette2 wrote:

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@andymoor wrote:

I have had Amex Gold for 4 years. I managed to get Close to 125,000 points through spend, initial offer and referring 2 friends. I have used the points solely for travel.

I recently got approved for the #ChaseSapphireReserve and I had to cancel the #Amex

Here's my take on having both.

1. I travel frequently and I like to have lounge access, Ideally I would like to have the Amex Platinum but recently they bumped it to $695.  Amex tries to justify this high fee with the credits they offer but here's the catch: They're Monthly credits. You have to take Uber, eat at Shake Shack .... every month
2. Amex doesn't have a no fee downgrade path, i.e. you can't downgrade the Gold to a no fee card and keep your points.
3. At $250 AF I'm not seeing any value

So long Amex.

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I don't travel a lot but use all my Amex cards for heavy soend. I've never used Uber.  I've accumulated a LOT of points and you do not have to use them monthly so I'm not sure where you're getting your Uber/monthly usage premises.  My points are used for gift cards (6500 for 100 macys card, for example) and statement credits.  I have so many I'm about to get a Samsung tv and I'll still have a lot left.  I took a trip and used my points, the $500 hotel stay and $200 meal turned out free.  Of course, I have the BCP for cash back too.  

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It's the credits that are monthy.   So you get $X a month credit for Uber (on certain cards).   If you don't use Uber that month, you have lost the credit.  This contrasts with say the Chase SR $300 ANNUAL travel credit where you can use it throught the year.

Generally statement credit give a pretty low cents per point value, although your gift card example is a better rate than many!

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When I look up Macys gift cards for MR's I get 10,589 for $100.... and that's a special offer. It's normally 11,765 for $100.

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Mine has a 'sale' for 6600.  For 100.  

[Suzette2]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Suzette2 wrote:

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@andymoor wrote:

I have had Amex Gold for 4 years. I managed to get Close to 125,000 points through spend, initial offer and referring 2 friends. I have used the points solely for travel.

I recently got approved for the #ChaseSapphireReserve and I had to cancel the #Amex

Here's my take on having both.

1. I travel frequently and I like to have lounge access, Ideally I would like to have the Amex Platinum but recently they bumped it to $695.  Amex tries to justify this high fee with the credits they offer but here's the catch: They're Monthly credits. You have to take Uber, eat at Shake Shack .... every month
2. Amex doesn't have a no fee downgrade path, i.e. you can't downgrade the Gold to a no fee card and keep your points.
3. At $250 AF I'm not seeing any value

So long Amex.

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I don't travel a lot but use all my Amex cards for heavy soend. I've never used Uber.  I've accumulated a LOT of points and you do not have to use them monthly so I'm not sure where you're getting your Uber/monthly usage premises.  My points are used for gift cards (6500 for 100 macys card, for example) and statement credits.  I have so many I'm about to get a Samsung tv and I'll still have a lot left.  I took a trip and used my points, the $500 hotel stay and $200 meal turned out free.  Of course, I have the BCP for cash back too.  

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It's the credits that are monthy.   So you get $X a month credit for Uber (on certain cards).   If you don't use Uber that month, you have lost the credit.  This contrasts with say the Chase SR $300 ANNUAL travel credit where you can use it throught the year.

Generally statement credit give a pretty low cents per point value, although your gift card example is a better rate than many!

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When I look up Macys gift cards for MR's I get 10,589 for $100.... and that's a special offer. It's normally 11,765 for $100.

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Weird.  I just looked and you are right.  Today it's 10,589.  I sweat it was 6 yesterday.  Maybe a glitch? 

[wasCB14]

Keep in mind that plenty of people pay $95 for BCP which has a $6k supermarket cap.

If you can get 1.5 cpp, you're getting points worth 6% on potentially a huge amount of supermarket/dining spend.

If you can get 2/3 of the nominal value of the credits, that puts the net AF on par with BCP.

I know BCP added streaming, but there's generally a low limit to how much a person will spend there.

*Though as I crunch my own numbers, I'm buying so much of my food at Costco, and eating out so little, that I should probably close Gold or seek retention next month.

[xenon3030]

Groceries might not be a good way to justify the high AF, due to having several cards in the market without AF that they give ~3-7% (including rotating categories, digital wallet, online shopping for store pickup). If you can have some of these cards, you can easily get ~3-7% in the entire of the year. 

Anyway, if you have to do lots of groceries that can hit the typical caps easily, that is a different story

[TheRedHat]

Grubhub and Uber Eats. Use pickup option instead of delivery. Only have to do this twice a month. Now your annual fee is $10.

[calisig]

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@TheRedHat wrote:

Grubhub and Uber Eats. Use pickup option instead of delivery. Only have to do this twice a month. Now your annual fee is $10.

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Don't Grubhub and Uber Eats charge additional fees that would still apply for pickup? It seems like I remember there being being some sort of convenience type fee for using their platform, and the menu pricing being higher than ordering directly from the restaraunt ...

[TheRedHat]

It varies by restaurant. For some it could be an additional $2 while for others it is only $0.50 (just checked this for a Peruvian restaurant nearby). Still significantly cheaper than delivery. I do this with my AMEX Platinum Uber Eats monthly credit.

[wasCB14]

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@TheRedHat wrote:

It varies by restaurant. For some it could be an additional $2 while for others it is only $0.50 (just checked this for a Peruvian restaurant nearby). Still significantly cheaper than delivery. I do this with my AMEX Platinum Uber Eats monthly credit.

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But more expensive than ordering directly with the restaurant and picking up.

In Los Angeles I don't see fees added explicitly for takeout (not that I've tested it for every GH/UE restaurant in my area)...but the prices are often 20%-30% higher than if you'd ordered directly from the restaurant. So if the $10 you planned to spend creeps up to $15/$20/$25 due to inflation or hunger, that can significantly reduce the value of the GH credit.

A few places do use the same prices. Half of my GH credits have been used at a pizza/hot sandwich place <5 mins away that uses the same prices.

*Then again, some restaurants' proprietary apps/websites have added service fees whenever a customer doesn't dine in. Not a nominal $2 or $3, but a full 15%-20% tip on takeout.

[Aim_High]

I'm in the same situation, @andymoor.  I opened my Gold card two years ago to experiment with the card and MRs.  I already had the Chase Sapphire Reserve.  I'm finding disappointing value in MRs, especially relative to the $250 AF and my natural use of those limited monthly credits.  AF is due.  I may fish for a good retention offer but even then, probably better to close it. 

Besides getting the "Everyday" card, another option to keep the MRs alive, though, *WITHOUT* having to pay an AF is the Blue Business Plus card. It earns 2 MRs per $ up to $50K spend with no AF.  That's the route I chose to keep my MRs alive, regardless of my decision on the Gold.

[M_Smart007]

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@Aim_High wrote:

I'm in the same situation, @andymoor.  I opened my Gold card two years ago to experiment with the card and MRs.  I already had the Chase Sapphire Reserve.  I'm finding disappointing value in MRs, especially relative to the $250 AF and my natural use of those limited monthly credits.  AF is due.  I may fish for a good retention offer but even then, probably better to close it. 

Besides getting the "Everyday" card, another option to keep the MRs alive, though, *WITHOUT* having to pay an AF is the Blue Business Plus card. It earns 2 MRs per $ up to $50K spend with no AF.  That's the route I chose to keep my MRs alive, regardless of my decision on the Gold.

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I only find value in MR's when redeemed through travel partners.

Mostly redeem for stays within the Hilton portfolio of properties.

ETA: This is just my personal preference, and may not apply to anyone else.