American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card review

Is this the best Amex credit card?

There’s a healthy welcome bonus for the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold credit card, making it one of the most attractive cards at first sight.

Here’s what you need to know about the American Express Gold card, how to hack the point redemption to earn more money and how it compares to other cashback cards.

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How much will you make from the Amex Gold?

Earning Reward points

You earn American Express Membership Reward points rather than cashback. There are different levels when you spend with the Amex Gold Rewards card. You’ll get:

• 1 point per £1 spent
• 2 points per £1 spent with airlines or in foreign currencies
• 3 points per £1 spent at American Express Travel

Personally I’d ignore the double and triple points unless you happen to get the best deal direct with an airline or Amex Travel. It’s better to get a lower price elsewhere even though you’ll earn half the points back. You’ll also be better off using a fee-free card to spend in foreign currencies.

Spending bonuses

As well as normal points for spending, you’ll also get additional bonus points triggered by cumulative spending. The system staggers this bonus so you get 2,500 bonus points for each £5,000 you spend.

The bonus points will be added to your account as soon as you reach the spending threshold. It’s capped at a spend of £25,000 a year meaning the most you could get in a year are 12,500 additional points. Here’s how that works:

Spend	Bonus	Cumulative Bonus
£5,000	2,500	2,500
£10,000	2,500	5,000
£15,000	2,500	7,500
£20,000	2,500	10,000
£25,000	2,500	12,500

Combined points and bonus returns

Of course, these two ways to earn points stack on top of each other, so the real return has to look at them combined.

If you spend £5,000 (ignoring the welcome bonus which I’ll come back to), you’ll actually get 7,500 points, not 5,000. That’s now an effective cashback rate for the card of 0.75%.

But only if you spend in multiple of £5,000 up to £25,000. Here’s how it’d pan out based on different annual spends with the card.

Annual spend	Points earned	Additional bonus points	Total value as gift card	Equivalent cashback rate
£2,500.00	2,500	0	£12.50	0.50%
£5,000.00	5,000	2,500	£37.50	0.75%
£7,500.00	7,500	2,500	£50.00	0.67%
£9,999.00	9,999	2,500	£57.50	0.62%
£10,000.00	10,000	5,000	£75.00	0.75%
£12,500.00	12,500	5,000	£87.50	0.70%
£15,000.00	15,000	7,500	£112.50	0.75%
£20,000.00	20,000	10,000	£150.00	0.75%
£25,000.00	25,000	12,500	£187.50	0.75%

So really you’re looking at at least 62% on this card for spending over £5,000 if swapping to Nectar, and close to 0.75% if you are on or just over each £5,000 threshold. Only super high spenders above £25,000 will eventually earn less than this.

Welcome bonus

New American Express customers who haven’t had an Amex in their name in the last 24 months (here’s more on this American Express rule) will get a welcome bonus worth 20,000 Reward Points when they spend £3,000 in the first three months. You have to spend the full £3,000 to get the bonus. Spend even 1p less and you won’t get it.

This would be valued at £100 if converted to a gift card. The bonus is earned alongside the points given for each £1 spent, meaning that the initial £3,000 spend is actually worth £115 when converted at 0.5p.

However, there are also regular boosted bonuses, increasing the welcome points available to 25,000, and sometimes as much as 30,000 or 35,000 (depending on the offer). Unless you really need the card, I’d wait for one of these offers to run. Check our Amex Gold booster offer page to see if there’s an offer like this available right now.

Be aware that getting the American Express Gold card (bonus or not) will rule you out of earning the welcome bonus from the American Express Platinum, one of the only cards that allows a second bonus.

Annual fee and charges

The American Express Gold card is free in the first year. However after this it comes with an annual fee of £195.

I can’t see how it’s worth paying this much when you can swap to a free or much lower fee card and earn a similar amount on your spending.

Other Amex Gold perks

£10 Deliveroo credit a month

There’s potentially £120 back in credit for spending at Deliveroo with the American Express Gold card. It’s actually two lots of £5 per month, each requiring a £5 minimum spend. This offer needs to be activated on your card, and won’t apply to any supplementary cards.

Free airport lounge passes

You also get four airport lounge passes each year. These can be used at Priority Pass locations, which can be hit and miss – it all depends on which airport you are at. I’d treat it as a nice to have rather than a reason to get the card.

Exclusive events

This is something previously limited to Platinum card holders. You’ll be able to book on (and pay for) events and exclusive food and drink deals throughout the year. Personally I’ve never used this on any of my Amex cards.

Other cashback offers

Something I love about Amex are the extra offers you can select via the app and your online account. Though these are retailer specific and won’t always be relevant, they’re well worth a look.

Cancelling your Gold Amex

If you won’t want to pay the fee from year two onwards, you can cancel your card. If you miss the anniversary and get charged, you may be able to cancel and get a pro-rata refund of the fee, giving you back the money for unused months. However this loophole is due to end at some point.

However closing the card will mean you lose unused Reward points. Fortunately there’s a free Amex Rewards card you can apply for which will protect your balance. Make sure you do this before ditching the American Express Gold card.

Amex Gold vs other cashback cards

Welcome bonuses

When boosted to 30,000 points, the equivalent £165 welcome offer is the highest paying without a card fee in year one, as long as you can spend £3,000 in three months.

But, as mentioned, having this card rules you out of later applying for a welcome bonus with the Amex Platinum card, which is often boosted to 80,000 points. This won’t be for everyone, but if you think you might do this, then perhaps you’d be better off going for a different Amex first.

Compared to the other cards, the Nectar will earn you the equivalent of £100 in Nectar points, while the Amex Cashback offers up to £125 (5% on the first £2,500). Get either of these and you can still go for the Platinum at a later date.

Everyday spending

The best you’re going to get with this card is 0.75%. That’s not bad, but it can be beaten.

Right now there are three cards which will pay a better rate. The Chase Bank debit card pays 1% on groceries and community costs, and it’s free – though you obviously won’t earn cashback on other spending.

The Amex Nectar pays two Nectar points per £1, which is effectively also 1%. This has a fee in year two, but only £30, so much cheaper than the Amex Gold!

The American Express Cashback card pays 0.75% on spending up to £10,000, then 1.25% for further spending (it resets each year). It also comes with a £25 annual fee, though this can be wiped out in the first year with a referral code or if you open the card via a cashback site.

Should you get the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold credit card?

How to get an American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card

You can go directly and check your eligibility with American Express. Once you’ve done this, I’d check the rates at Quidco and TopCashback, or via refer-a-friend links, to see what extra you can get.