is it worth getting Amex GOLD...

[Citylights18]

---

@Jetiquette wrote:

I personally don't find AMEX cards very valuable unless you travel frequently, and even then, I only think the Platinum is decent because of lounge access. I find Chase cards MUCH more valuable and lucrative. 

---

The AMEX and Chase lineups have different strengths.

Chase is superior for hotel redemptions. Their search engine is powered by Expedia and you do get travel search engine pricing. Then you can do the 1.25 or 1.50 redemptions with the Sapphire cards. Plus you can move chase points 1 to 1 with Hyatt where you can regularly get 3, 4, 5 points per dollar. I currently have the equivalent of 48 free nights between Chase/Hyatt.

AMEX racks up more points but their system is more geared around flights. They have the Centurion Lounges. They offer a lot of 30% to 40% transfer bonuses. Business Gold gives you 25% on airline purchases and Business Platinum 35%. They also don't report percentage of card utilization since they are NPSL cards. They do have nice offers too on their credit cards.

Its about getting the right combination for your spending level. For me I've putting my hotel spending on Hyatt so if I'm doing that I don't feel like a $550 Chase Sapphire Reserve is justified for the 3x when I'm putting the travel on Hyatt anyways. Sapphire Preferred is 2x but its only $95 a year. If I figure those points are going over to Hyatt anyways I might as well just put dining on the Hyatt as well where its 2x, sans doordash orders.

For the non-Hyatt travel spending I went out and got the AMEX Green which is 3x travel and 3x dine plus only a $150 AF. But I don't too crazy with the Green because I know the point value tops out at 2.0 (effectively 6x in those categories) where as 4.0 or 5.0 is possible over in Hyatt. Then of course with the Freedom you can get 5x categories and move them to Hyatt for the 4.0/5.0. So I still work my whole Chase trifecta for points, and use the Green for AMEX offers, Rakuten points and non-Hyatt hotel spend.

The Business Gold makes more sense because you can go 4x dining and 4x gas. Only if I have a quarterly bonus of 5x through Chase Freedom would be able to beat that 4x gas. Then it has a 25% point redemption on flight purchases so if you figure 4x on spend with 2.0 on flight prices (Delta flash sale or business class) for a total of 8.0 and with the 2.0 back its then like 10.0.

CSR I'm not convinced on that one unless the plan is to just spend on it and the Freedom cards. If you got preferred hotel and airline cards that you are putting spend on then its dining alone cover the $250 effective AF after the travel credit over the $95 effective AF of the CSP. $155 difference is like 15,500 points so you've got to spend north of 15,500 in dining alone with that card to make it worthwhile. Also do you get the $300 dollar travel credit on the CSR without using it for travel? You might be able to do on tolls and transit. AMEX Green also gives you 3x on the tolls and transit.

CSP with preferred hotel/airline cards seems to be better since you can get outsized perks on those hotel/airline cards than to go all in with a CSR but that is just my opinion. I want to stack my AMEX Green with a Business Gold for flights to squeeze more redemption value and write of the AF of the Business Gold as a business expense. Go business with all the airline cards as well to write off the AF.

[kdm31091]

The problem with arguing that Amex points are worth 2 cents i.e 8% for the Gold, is that if OP doesn't really travel, they'll never see that kind of value. So for them I just don't think it's worth paying the fee. 

[randomguy1]

---

@Citylights18 wrote:

---

@Jetiquette wrote:

I personally don't find AMEX cards very valuable unless you travel frequently, and even then, I only think the Platinum is decent because of lounge access. I find Chase cards MUCH more valuable and lucrative. 

---

CSR I'm not convinced on that one unless the plan is to just spend on it and the Freedom cards. If you got preferred hotel and airline cards that you are putting spend on then its dining alone cover the $250 effective AF after the travel credit over the $95 effective AF of the CSP. $155 difference is like 15,500 points so you've got to spend north of 15,500 in dining alone with that card to make it worthwhile. Also do you get the $300 dollar travel credit on the CSR without using it for travel? You might be able to do on tolls and transit. AMEX Green also gives you 3x on the tolls and transit.

CSP with preferred hotel/airline cards seems to be better since you can get outsized perks on those hotel/airline cards than to go all in with a CSR but that is just my opinion. I want to stack my AMEX Green with a Business Gold for flights to squeeze more redemption value and write of the AF of the Business Gold as a business expense. Go business with all the airline cards as well to write off the AF.

---

From June 1 through December 31, 2020, gas station and grocery store purchases will also count toward earning your Travel Credit. You'll also earn points on these purchases (and, as always, after your first $300 in travel purchases, you'll immediately start earning 3x points on travel).

Chase has been stepping up with various promotions during Covid-19 to make it easier for you to use those credits. While AMEX has very many perks, utilizing their credits historically are much tougher to use. One can say you have to jump through hoops or spend in ways you don't normally do. Of course however, every situation is different.

[Anonymous]

---

@kdm31091 wrote:

The problem with arguing that Amex points are worth 2 cents i.e 8% for the Gold, is that if OP doesn't really travel, they'll never see that kind of value. So for them I just don't think it's worth paying the fee. 

---

Agreed. While these types of posts are inevitable because it's already built in for many that already use it for travel thus see value in having Gold.

However, OP spelled it out that there is no travel so all that talk in a moot point. OP has to approach it from a non travel perspective and compare it to cards already in their line up that have the same categories ,such as Dining(Cap One Savor4%?), Grocery(BCP 6%), not to mention several others that repeat said categories. I just don't think it would add anything different or special than what OP already has.

[coldfusion]

Pick up the card. 

Spend $4K organically. 

Collect your 60,000 bonus MR plus whatever additional MR you earn from your organic spend, which would be a mininum of an additional 4,000 MR. 

Exchange for Home Depot gift cards at $0.01/MR i.e. 64,000 MR gets you $635 worth of HD gift cards. 

Cancel after 1st year. 

Approximate net gain of $265 in value ($635-$120-$250AF) even if you never take advantage of any AMEX Offer or other benefit offered on the card.    The $120 figure is an opportunity cost due to not using the AOD card and its 3% cashback on $4K spend.

Up to you to decide if a gain on the order of $265 would be worth it. 

[Aim_High]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@kdm31091 wrote:

The problem with arguing that Amex points are worth 2 cents i.e 8% for the Gold, is that if OP doesn't really travel, they'll never see that kind of value. So for them I just don't think it's worth paying the fee. 

---

Agreed. While these types of posts are inevitable because it's already built in for many that already use it for travel thus see value in having Gold.

However, OP spelled it out that there is no travel so all that talk in a moot point. OP has to approach it from a non travel perspective and compare it to cards already in their line up that have the same categories ,such as Dining(Cap One Savor4%?), Grocery(BCP 6%), not to mention several others that repeat said categories. I just don't think it would add anything different or special than what OP already has.

---

I wholeheartedly agree that if OP does absolutely "ZERO" travel that the Gold card is not a good fit for him.  The discussion of cash value was brought up by a couple of posts and my further discussion of it was to clarify what that actual cash value would be (so that OP himself could see the poor value.)  It was not a suggestion to get the card with the intent to use it for the cash value redemption.

I think when someone says in their posting that "they don't travel" or make some other black-and-white definitive statement, that sometimes it is appropriate to not just assume they mean such a statement literally or mean it to be the way we interpret it.  Sometimes, a person might say they don't travel and they literally mean it!  They never ever go anywhere away from home!  But other people might say that and not think about the regular trips to see their family in a neighboring state, so to them it means they don't go to Hawaii and Europe for pleasure.  For others, they might think someone needs to be road warrior and be in the local airport terminal a few times a month minimum to benefit from a travel card.  So, to them, they are making a judgment (that may be a false assumption) about what it takes to benefit from a certain type of credit card.  To them, "I don't travel" means "I don't travel frequently for business."    Discussing the terminology and someone's meaning can in some cases help them to make a better-informed decision and to perhaps rethink preconceived notions in a different light. 

So I see nothing moot about discussing the rewards benefits of a card for either travel or cash value.  And I think it helps to remember that once we start discussing a card from one angle, that there are dozens of lurkers reading our postings that may benefit from an elaboration of factors in evaluating the usefulness of a certain card or type of card.  

If OP asked,

" ...is it worth getting Amex GOLD...

....if I am not a traveler (AND have the BCP)..?"

and all we did was answer ... "NO"

... then we wouldn't have much of a forum discussion, would we? 

[Anonymous]

For those doing little or no travel, and interested in dining and groceries, I feel the need to point out the gift cards that Amazon sells.

So for supermarkets, they offer

Albertsons, Safeway, WholeFoods, Giant, Shaws, Stop and Shop, Star (and probably others that I don't know).

They also offer lots of cards for chain restaurants, and also Grubhub.

So, for a little inconvenience, and if you have been sufficiently restrained to be under 5/24, with the Chase Amazon prime you can get uncapped 5% off all of these with no AF (apart from Amazon prime).   I don't know if the Sync card has any restriction on these.

They also sell lots of other gift cards such as Lowes, but for purchases made at those kind of stores, you may prefer real credit card protection.

[SouthJamaica]

---

@Wavester64 wrote:

....if I am not a traveler (AND have the BCP)..?

I see there are DPs saying either via targeted offer or using the "incognito" mode, an AMEX GOLD can be had for 60K points on $4K spend in 6 (not 3) months. I see a lot of card chasers drooling over this - but that $250 AF is STEEP! I never saw myself ever getting a card with an AF then this year I took advantage of the BCP upgrade from BCE, but at least I paid like 1/2 the $95 for now and got the $150 SUB quite easily with the required spend. But $250...I dunno.

What are your thoughts?

---

IMHO no.

[Wavester64]

@Anonymous 

"..if you have been sufficiently restrained to be under 5/24.."

That's me for sure 

[MrDisco99]

If you're trying to figure out cash value of MR points, then it's not for you.  MR points are great for transfers to airline loyalty programs, but they are terrible as cash equivalents.

The Amex Gold card is for people who value MR points for their travel value and already know how they would use them.  I rarely use the airline or dining credit, and to me the 4x back on dining and groceries is still worth the $250 fee because I know I will get good value from the points when I plan our next big trip.