Review of the American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card.note¶
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Review of the American Express®
Premier Rewards Gold Card
|
SEP 04, 2017 | UPDATED SEP 11, 2017
Although Credit Card Insider does receive compensation from some card issuers as advertisers, this does not in any way influence our overall judgement of a card. American
Express has not endorsed this content in any way.
LEARN MORE ABOUT .
The is a charge card with an annual fee
designed for people with excellent credit. It makes the most sense for people who travel a lot,
and if you typically spend over $3,000 per year on airfare this card might be a great addition to
your wallet.
This is a mid-range travel card, offering points for travel purchases among other categories,
along with a sizable introductory bonus. You’ll find some perks included that can make your
trips cheaper and more comfortable.
You’ll need to pay an annual fee of $195 which may seem a bit high (though it’s waived for the
first year), but if you travel enough and make use of the benefits you can definitely offset the
cost and even end up profiting.
FOR PEOPLE WITH
EXCELLENT CREDIT
Quick Card Facts
Brendan Harkness
BRENDAN HARKNESSREVIEWS
inShare
HOW WE RATE CREDIT AND CHARGE CARDS
Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
EDITORS’ RATING
ABOUT OUR RATINGS
APPLY NOW
PREMIER REWARDS GOLD CARD FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
ANNUAL FEE:$0 for the first year, then $195
INTEREST RATE:Not Applicable - Paid in Full Monthly
Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
3X points for flights booked directly with airlines. 2X points at US restaurants, US gas stations, and US supermarkets. 1X points on other purchases. Terms and limitations apply.
No Foreign Transaction Fees.
$100 Airline Fee Credit. Up to $100 a year in baggage fees and more at one airline.
Get a $75 hotel credit on qualifying charges, plus a room upgrade upon arrival, if available with The Hotel Collection at americanexpress.com/hc. Terms apply.
$0 Intro Annual Fee for the 1st year, then $195.
Terms Apply.
Read Editor’s ReviewView Full Card Details
Our Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
We gave the Premier Rewards Gold Card 5 out of 5 Stars because it’s a great offer for the fee,
letting you earn a relatively large number of points in quite a few categories. The extra benefits
are pretty solid too, giving you more ways to save money and make your traveling more
enjoyable. But this card is only meant for frequent travelers — infrequent travelers should go
with a .
It offers 3 points per dollar for flights booked directly with airlines, so you can earn points for
practically any flight you need to take. The 2X point category is pretty broad for a travel card,
including hotels, the ever-popular supermarket and gas categories, and restaurants. You’ll also
be able to earn 25,000 bonus points, quite a nice perk. There’s also a yearly $100 airline fee
credit and other benefits which will go a long way towards making up for the annual fee.
There’s no foreign transaction fee with this card, so you can use it to pay for your flights and
then bring it along for expenses when traveling outside the country. You can also transfer points
to a variety of frequent flier programs, which pairs nicely with the fact that you’ll earn 3X points
when you purchase flights from them.
If you’re smart with this card, using it to earn 3 points per dollar, you’ll be able to earn up to
2.99% cash back when you redeem those points for flights and certain gift cards. And if you
transfer those points to a frequent traveler service they can be even more valuable, reaching
up past even 4% cash back.
Since this card has an annual fee of $195, you’ll need to spend a certain amount with it each
year to make up for that. The cheapest way to do this is to spend nearly $3,400 on flights
directly from airlines, which will earn you enough points to cover the fee. After that, your flight
expenses and any other spending you do with the card will be all profit.
American Express is also known for their great customer service, so you’ll know you can get
help if you have an issue of some kind. Overall, this card provides a nice set of rewards and
benefits for the frequent traveler and can make your trips quite a bit more comfortable — as
long as you’ll spend enough to cover the fee.
Insider Advice: Using This Card as Part of Your Credit Card
Strategy
less expensive travel card
You must be a frequent traveler to find this card worth the $195 annual fee, and that means
spending at least $3,400 per year on flights or earning the points in a different way, and
taking advantage of the extra benefits as well. If you’re in that spending range already this
card could definitely save you some money and make your trips more enjoyable.
This card is in a strange place in the credit card market. There aren’t many similar cards offered
by other major banks with annual fees in this range. The has the
same fee, but you have to be totally committed to Delta for that card so it’s not really in the
same category. Many popular travel-focused rewards cards with an annual fee cost around
$100 per year, like the and .
You probably don’t need more than one general-use travel rewards card with an annual fee
in your wallet, because they tend to have similar benefits. Consider whether a travel card
with more benefits and a higher annual fee or fewer benefits and a lower annual fee may be
a better fit for you, depending on how much you travel.
This is a charge card, so you’ll need to pay your entire balance in full every month. Since
you’ll need to spend a lot of money with it to make it worth the annual fee, be prepared to
pay that much as you go.
Use the full $100 airline fee credit each year to offset the annual fee as much as possible.
This will cover more than half of your annual fee each year if you can use it all. You’ll have
to pick a particular airline each year to use this credit with, but you can switch every year.
You get a $75 credit and a potential room upgrade whenever you book two or more
consecutive nights at hotels through the so take
advantage of this whenever possible to help offset the annual fee.
American Express Hotel Collection,
Transfer your Membership Rewards points earned with this card to a frequent traveler
program to maximize their value, where they could be worth far more to you (especially
when special offers are available). In some cases you can effectively get a value of over 4%
cash back.
Usually it would make the most sense to use this card for your initial travel expenses on
flights and hotel bookings, and use a regular for other purchases, like
gas, groceries, and at restaurants. However, if you don’t have another card to use you’ll still
get 2 points per dollar for those purchases with this card, which isn’t too bad. You can also
use it freely when traveling abroad because there’s no foreign transaction fee, but you’ll
only earn 1 point per dollar for purchases outside the country.
reward credit card
This is a Chip-and-Signature card, so when traveling abroad you won’t be able to use it with
terminals that only accept Chip-and-PIN. If you spend a lot in other countries, you may want
to keep a in your wallet, too.Chip-and-PIN-compatible card
Platinum Delta SkyMiles®
Chase Sapphire PreferredBarclaycard Arrival Plus
On the other hand, there is a lot of competition among cards with higher annual fees in the
$300-$600 range with more travel benefits, like the ,
, and . This isn’t to say there’s something
undesirable about the Premier Rewards Gold card. If you travel often, it very well may be a
great fit for you. However, depending on how much you travel, you may want to look at the
other two ends of the travel card spectrum.
The Rewards
The Premier Rewards Gold Card can provide the equivalent of .5% – 2.99% cash back,
depending on what you buy and how you redeem your points.
Earning Points
The rewards program makes it clear that this card is designed for people who spend a lot on
airline tickets.
You can earn:
As you can see, you’ll be able to earn a lot of points with the Premier Rewards Gold card. The
fact that you can earn 3X points on flights, without being limited to a single airline or travel
service, means that you’ll have a very wide variety of options when planning your travel.
Depending on how and where you spend the most money, the rewards alone could go a long
way toward making this card worth the annual fee.
The Premier Rewards Gold Card also comes with a lot of potential bonus points: if you spend
$2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening the card, you’ll get 25,000 Membership
Rewards Points. This is pretty easy to do if you’re planning a big trip and want to get this card
to pay for it.
Platinum Card from American ExpressCha
se Sapphire ReserveU.S. Bank Altitude Reserve
3 Membership Rewards points per dollar on flights booked directly through airlines
2 Membership Rewards points per dollar on travel expenses booked through
Ameri
can Express Travel
2 Membership Rewards points per dollar at US gas stations, US supermarkets, and
US restaurants
1 Membership Rewards point per dollar on all other purchases
Signup Bonus: 25,000 Membership Rewards points for spending $2,000 in the first
3 months
So, how much do need to spend to earn enough Membership Rewards points to offset the
annual fee of $195? Well, you’ll get a $100 airline credit every year for incidental fees, like
baggage, so that will offset most of the annual fee if you can manage to use it all. You’re left
with just $95 worth of points to earn. It turns out that you’ll need to earn 10,000 points, which
you can trade in for a value of up to $100 in gift cards and flight expenses through Amex
Travel. This will cover the fee with $5 extra, making this a profitable card to use.
That means you’ll need to spend a minimum of $3,333.34 to earn those points, assuming
you spend it entirely on flights booked directly through airlines where you’ll earn 3
points per dollar. This is the cheapest way to get 10,000 points because you’ll be earning the
most points per dollar. Other purchases will only provide 1 or 2 points per dollar, so it would
take more spending to earn the required points.
By spending $3,333.34 you’ll earn 10,000 points, the equivalent of up to $100 when redeemed
for certain gift cards and flight expenses. This means that you’re effectively earning 2.99% cash
back, as long as you only make purchases that will provide 3 points per dollar. On the very low
end, if you only make purchases that provide 1 point per dollar and redeem them for their
minimum value, you’d only get of .5% cash back. This is obviously not recommended.
Do you think you’ll spend at least $3,333.34 every year on flights? Will you use this card for
related travel purchases as well, making it even easier to hit that threshold? If so, this card has
the potential to put some cash back in your wallet and make your entire travel experience a bit
easier and more enjoyable.
Now, we didn’t even mention the signup bonus of 25,000 reward points, which you can get by
spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. That’s because the signup bonus shouldn’t be the main
factor you use to determine if a card is right for you. Think about your spending habits and the
number of reward points you’re likely to earn from purchases normally to figure out if it’s smart
to use a particular card.
That being said, it shouldn’t be too hard to hit that $2,000 mark in 3 months if you use the card
for a big trip, and focus on using it enough to meet that requirement. Those 25,000 points are
the equivalent of $250 when you redeem them for flight expenses through Amex and certain
gift cards, so that will cover your annual fee for a year, and then some! That’s a pretty great
value.
There is another way to gain value from your Membership Rewards points: by converting them
to points in a frequent traveler program. We’ll go over how to do that and how much value you
might expect to gain below.
Redeeming Points
American Express offers a number of ways to redeem your Membership Rewards points, and
the value of those points can vary widely depending on how they’re redeemed.
For example, the basic redemption method includes offers for flights, certain gift cards, and
services like Uber that will provide 1 cent per point. But you’ll also find deals offering as low as
.5 cents per point, like Ticketmaster, Telecharge, and basic American Express gift cards. When
you redeem for statement credits, which will simply reduce your balance, you’ll get a value of .6
cents per point.
Finally, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to one of American Express’ partner’s
frequent traveler programs. There’s a fee of $0.0006 per point when transferring to US airlines,
and no fee for other transfers. You can usually find the highest values per point when you
redeem your points this way, so it’s worth exploring. Check out our examples below to see how
you can profit by transferring your points.
It’s important to remember that you can earn Membership Rewards points in different ways,
and certain ways will net you more cash back when you redeem (as explained in the Earning
section above). But the most profitable ways to cash in your points are to use a
redemption method where you’ll gain 1 cent per point, or to transfer them to a valuable
frequent traveler program.
Below, we’ve collected a variety of ways to redeem your Membership Rewards points, all
assuming you have 10,000 points to trade in. We show you some of your options, what your
points will be worth, and the cash back range you’ll be getting. The lower end of the range is
the value if you earned just 1 point per dollar, while the upper end of the range is the value if
you earned the maximum of 3 points per dollar.
With these normal redemption methods, not including transfers to frequent traveler programs,
the lowest you can earn is .5% cash back while the most you can earn is 2.99% cash back. If
you have a mix of spending, you’ll be somewhere in between. With the frequent traveler
programs the value of your points will vary widely, as shown below.
You can take some time to
to see everything they have to offer.
TRAVEL
To redeem for travel expenses you’ll have a few options, with the most valuable being for airline
flights. The main way is to redeem through American Express Travel, though there are a couple
other travel services you can use as well. You’ll be able to redeem 10,000 points in the
following ways.
browse the full selection of Membership Rewards point redemption
options
GIFT CARDS
For 10,000 points, you can get a gift card of up to $100 for a variety of merchants. Here are just
a few.
POINT OF SALE AND ENTERTAINMENT
You can use your points at checkout with the following merchants. 10,000 points will get you:
REDEMPTION
METHOD
TRAVEL
SERVICE
REDEMPTION
VALUE
POINT VALUE (IN
CENTS)
CASH BACK
EQUIVALENT
Find Flights Amex Travel $100 1.0 1.0% – 2.99%
Reserve Prepaid Hotels Amex Travel $70 0.7 0.7% – 2.1%
Plan Vacations Amex Travel $70 0.7 0.7% – 2.1%
Take Cruises Amex Travel $70 0.7 0.7% – 2.1%
Airbnb Bookings Airbnb $70 0.7 0.7% – 2.1%
Flights and Hotels on Expedia Expedia $70 0.7 0.7% – 2.1%
MERCHANT GIFT CARD
REDEMPTION VALUE
POINT VALUE (IN
CENTS)
CASH BACK
EQUIVALENT
Barnes & Noble $100 1.0 1.0% – 2.99%
Chili’s® Grill & Bar $100 1.0 1.0% – 2.99%
Enterprise Rent-A-Car® $100 1.0 1.0% – 2.99%
P.F. Chang’s® $100 1.0 1.0% – 2.99%
Victoria’s Secret $100 1.0 1.0% – 2.99%
iTunes® $85 0.85 0.85% – 2.55%
Macy’s $85 0.85 0.85% – 2.55%
Delta Air Lines $70 0.7 0.7% – 2.1%
Hilton $70 0.7 0.7% – 2.1%
American Express Gift Card $50 0.5 0.5% – 1.5%
TRANSFERRING TO LOYALTY PROGRAMS
American Express will allow you to transfer your Membership Rewards points to quite a nice
selection of frequent traveler programs, which cover several popular airlines and hotel chains.
The Plenti program is included as well.
There’s a fee of $0.0006 per point when transferring to US airlines, but there’s no charge for
any other transfers. The typical conversion rate is 1:1, though you’ll also find a few different
offers and occasional special deals where you’ll find a different rate. Different programs will
allow you to transfer points in different increments, for example 250 points at a time or 1,000
points at a time.
Here, we’ve collected some of the most popular frequent traveler program, including their
transfer rates and a point conversion example for each. These are all offers that were available
at the time this review was written; be aware that the current offers may have changed.
Afterword, you’ll find some real-world examples of point transfers to different programs.
MERCHANT GIFT CARD
REDEMPTION VALUE
POINT VALUE (IN
CENTS)
CASH BACK
EQUIVALENT
New York City Taxis $100 1.0 1.0% – 2.99%
Uber $100 1.0 1.0% – 2.99%
Rite Aid $70 0.7 0.7% – 2.1%
AXS $50 0.5 0.5% – 1.5%
Telecharge $50 0.5 0.5% – 1.5%
Ticketmaster $50 0.5 0.5% – 1.5%
Let’s go through some examples to illustrate the value of your points after you convert them to
a frequent traveler program. Keep in mind that there are many factors that influence the price of
flights and hotel rooms, including time of year, demand, availability, and special events. Airlines
and hotel chains offer special deals and packages pretty frequently, which will also affect prices
and point redemption values. While the following are actual real-world examples, the point
transfer values you find for your flights and rooms may differ from what we show here.
GOOD VALUE — DELTA AIRLINES SKYMILES
Say you and a fellow passenger want to take a nonstop Delta flight from the New York
Laguardia Airport to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On Monday, October 2nd, this would normally
cost you $158.40 total, assuming you take the main cabin class. But what if you wanted to pay
in Membership Rewards points, which you would transfer to Delta Skymiles?
According to Delta, you’ll need 11,000 Skymiles to pay for this particular trip, along with an
extra $11.20 because you can only use miles in increments of 1,000 with Delta, so you need to
pay a bit extra to cover the difference. Since Delta has a 1:1 point transfer, you’ll need to earn
11,000 Membership Rewards points. Using your Premier Rewards Gold Card, the most efficient
way to earn those points is to spend $3,667 on flights directly from airlines, earning 3 points per
dollar for a total of 11,001 — but let’s just call it 11,000.
Next, you’ll transfer those Membership Rewards points to Delta, and they’ll become 11,000
SkyMiles. Since there is a fee of $0.0006 per point transferred, you’ll be charged $6.60 for a
transfer of this size. Now you can use your miles to pay for your flight.
LOYALTY
PROGRAM TYPE TRANSFER
RATE YOU GIVE YOU GET
Asia Miles Airline 1:1 1,000 1,000
British Airways Airline 1:1.4 1,000 1,400
Delta Air Lines Airline 1:1 1,000 1,000
Emirates Airline 1:1 1,000 1,000
Virgin America Airline 1:.5 1,000 500
Choice Privileges® Hotel 1:1 1,000 1,000
Hilton Honors™ Hotel 1:1.5 1,000 1,500
Starwood Preferred Guest Hotel 1:.33 1,000 333
Plenti Retail 1:1 1,000 1,000
To figure out the value of your miles, we subtract $11.20 from $158.40 to get the direct
redemption value of 11,000 SkyMiles, which is $147.20. But we must also subtract the $6.60
fee you paid earlier, so we come to a total of $140.60. So for this particular flight 11,000
miles is equivalent to $140.60, meaning each mile is worth 1.28 cents.
So to sum it all up, you spend a total of $3,684.80 to earn those initial points, pay the
redemption fee, and pay the remaining cost for the flight. For all that, you’ve earned a 2-
passenger ticket valued at $158.40.
Overall, this particular deal provides the equivalent of 4.3% cash back. This is a great
value, especially considering the most you can get through a normal Membership Rewards
point redemption is 2.99% cash back.
POOR VALUE — STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST
One of the best ways to redeem hotel points in general and your Starwood Preferred Guest
(SPG) points in particular is for free night stays. You’ll find a variety of these deals, depending
on where and when you want to travel. SPG points are known as Starpoints.
For this example let’s imagine staying at the Sheraton Cerritos Hotel, in Cerritos, California.
One basic night here in a standard room with two double beds will cost $195, for a total of $222
after all charges and taxes. This particular deal will cost 10,000 Starpoints before those
charges and taxes, according to SPG. So, how much would you have to spend with your
Premier Rewards Gold Card to pay for this using your Membership Rewards points?
The transfer rate for Membership Rewards points to Starpoints is 1:.33. Since you can only
transfer in increments of 1,000 with SPG, you’ll need to trade in 31,000 Membership Rewards
points to get 10,323 Starpoints.
The most efficient way to earn all those points is by purchasing flights directly from airlines,
where you’ll earn 3 points per dollar. If you spend $10,334 in that way, you’ll earn your 31,000
points (with 2 extra). Remember, there is no fee when transferring to hotels, so this can save
you a few bucks compared to airline mile transfers. Once you convert your Membership
Rewards into Starpoints, you’ll be able to reserve your hotel room.
To figure out the value of your Starpoints, we can say that 10,000 Starpoints is equal to
$195. This means that each Starpoint is worth 1.95 cents.
However, the full cost of the room was $222 with the extra charges and tax — that’s an extra
$27 you’ll need to pay when you cash in those Starpoints for this room. So to sum everything
up, you spend a total of $10,356 to earn a free room valued at $222.
Overall, this particular deal provides the equivalent of only 2.14% cash back. When it
comes down to it you’re not getting a very good cash back value, especially when you compare
it to the Delta example above where you’re getting twice as much cash back. Take note that
even though your Starpoints here end up being worth more per point than the Delta SkyMiles
above, making it seem like a good deal, the overall cash back equivalent is much less for the
Starpoints.
The Benefits
This card offers a nice set of extra benefits that you can use to make traveling more enjoyable,
and cheaper too. Keep track of them carefully, because some might end up saving you a nice
chunk of cash. We’ve listed some of the most valuable benefits in the following sections, but
there are also others to explore that could come in handy. You’ll find those linked below.
$100 Airline Fee Credit
If you’re able to use this full $100 credit each year, that will go a long way in covering the
annual fee. However, there are some limitations to this credit. First of all, you must pick just one
of the participating airlines where you want to apply the credit each year — you can’t split it up
between airlines, but you can pick a different airline each year.
Also, this credit is only for incidental fees, like baggage, not for airfare itself. But with the price
of flying with baggage what it is ($25 for the first bag with Delta, at the time of this writing) it
shouldn’t be too hard to use up that credit if you fly several times per year.
Some other cards provide travel credits that are more flexible. For example, some issuers will
automatically apply travel credits to any travel purchases, including airfare or train tickets, and
do not restrict you to just one airline.
$75 Hotel Credits
American Express has their own travel booking site and partnerships with certain hotels, known
as . Every time you book a minimum of two consecutive nights at one of
these hotels through this service, you can get a $75 credit toward certain qualifying purchases
at that hotel, like meals and spas. You’ll also get a room upgrade if possible.
If you’re able to use this $75 credit one or more times per year, it could go a long way toward
covering the cost of your annual fee. This benefit is a little restricted, but you probably travel
and stay in hotels a lot if you’re considering this card. So you might be able to adjust your plans
a little to stay in one of these hotels (if you’re not already) and make the most of this credit.
Amex Offers
The Hotel Collection
You’ll have access to discounts at a wide variety of merchants — there are 73 different offers
available at the time of writing, and the selection changes now and then.
You just need to head to the program and click ‘Add to Card’ for the deals you
want. Then, just use your card as you normally would to make a purchase with that merchant.
Your savings will appear as a statement credit later on, reducing your account balance. You
may or may not earn additional rewards at the regular rate — this will depend on the particular
offer.
Many of the deals can be quite valuable, saving you from $5 up through more than $100 for
some of them. For most of them, you’ll need to spend a certain amount to get a certain
discount. Some of the current offers include:
So, let’s go through an example. Say you want to take advantage of the offer with Wine
Enthusiast, because you’re hosting a dinner party in a few weeks and you want to impress your
guests. A fancy vintage from Italy or Napa Valley should do the trick.
First, find the offer from Wine Enthusiast by logging into your account online and scrolling to the
bottom of the page, where you’ll find the ‘Amex Offers & Benefits’ section. When you find the
offer in question, just click the button that says ‘Add to Card.’ This will activate the offer, and it
will automatically be applied when you make an eligible purchase.
Amex Offers
MERCHANT NEED TO SPEND CASH BACK MAXIMUM SAVINGS
PuritansPride $30 $10 33.33%
Sling TV $15 $5 33.33%
Glasses.com $200 $50 25%
1-800-CONTACTS $200 $40 20%
MGM Resorts $250 $50 20%
Ray-Ban Sunglasses $175 $35 20%
Wine Enthusiast $250 $50 20%
Raymour & Flanigan $750 $115 15.33%
Dollar Shave Club $70 $5 7.14%
For this offer you’ll need to spend $250 to be eligible for the $50 cash back, so we’re not talking
about grape juice here: you’re in the market for some high-quality wine. For this party let’s go
with two different sampler packages, for a presentation that is sure to delight any wine snob.
Two perfect candidates are the ‘Italian Titans 1/2 Case Gift Sampler,’ coming in at $159, and
the ‘Pinot Perfection Gift Sampler,’ for a price of $107. That’s a total of $266, which means
you’ll be eligible for this offer.
Since you’ve already activated the offer, all you need to do is checkout and pay with your
Premier Rewards Gold Card. Since you’ve reached the $250 threshold, you’ll earn $50 cash
back on your purchase, for a nice discount of over 18%. Your cash back will come in the form
of a statement credit. In this example you would only be spending a total of $216, after you get
your discount. You won’t earn regular Membership Rewards points on this particular purchase
because it’s a special deal through Amex Offers.
Lowest Hotel Rates Guaranteed
If you book an eligible prepaid hotel room through Amex Travel and then find the same room
being advertised online for a lower price, you can be refunded for the difference. You must
submit your claim before the check-in date, and be sure to check your card details because
some restrictions apply.
Free 2-Day Shipping and Returns
Cardholders will have access to free 2-day shipping and returns through the
. This benefit includes over 140 merchants and brands, which you can .
You must manually enroll in this benefit to make use of it.
Save 10% on Some Utilities
Occasionally you’ll be given the opportunity to save 10% on your cable, satellite TV, or cell
phone bills. Just find the offer and click ‘Add to Card,’ and then use your card to pay for the
utility as normal.
American Express Personal Loans
Cardholders have the opportunity to (but only if they
have been pre-approved). Loans are offered from $3,500 to $25,000, with fixed interest rates
from as low as 6.90% up to 19.97%.
Other Benefits and Perks
ShopRunner servi
ce easily browse
apply for a loan through American Express
This card has quite a few other benefits which could come in quite useful to you. These include
a variety of shopping and travel benefits, like purchase protection, a personalized travel
service, travel and bag insurance, and premium roadside assistance. Check out the
.
The Costs & Fees
As would be expected on a mid-range travel-focused card like this, you won’t need to pay a
foreign transaction fee on purchases made outside the U.S. This means you can use it to pay
for your initial travel expenses to get you going, and then bring it along with you to make
purchases no matter where you go.
This is a , which means you must pay your entire balance each month, so you
won’t find any interest rates here. However, American Express does offer a “Pay Over Time”
feature to some customers on some of their charge cards. This feature allows the cardholder to
pay off certain charges over time for a fee, so it behaves more like a credit card.
So, as long as you’re paying off your balance in full and on time each month, the only expense
you’ll need to pay for this card is the annual fee.
The Bottom Line
The is a pretty rewarding mid-range travel
card, offering a good overall value for the $195 annual fee. Remember that this card is for
frequent travelers, who consistently spend over $3,000 per year on flights and can make those
purchases directly from the airlines. If you travel enough and spend enough, this card will help
you profit; if you don’t spend enough, it could end up costing you money instead.
Would this card fit nicely into your shopping habits, and your lifestyle? When you read through
the benefits, did you think “hey, I could use that?” If so, examine your spending: would you earn
enough points every year to offset the annual fee? Although you can get a nice signup point
bonus, you still want to make sure this card is a smart long term investment.
full range o
f benefits for the Premier Rewards Gold Card here
charge card
ANNUAL FEE REGULAR APR FOR
PURCHASES FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE
$0 for the first year, then $195 N/A 0%
LATE FEE RETURNED PAYMENT FEE
Up to $38 or 2.99%, whichever is greater Up to $38
Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
There are a lot of features to this card, so be sure to explore it thoroughly. Don’t forget that this
is a charge card, so you’ll need to pay your entire balance in full each month. You won’t have
the option to revolve a balance like a credit card, unless Amex decides to offer you the “Pay
Over Time” feature. However, we recommend that you always by paying
off your balance in full.
Is this the card for you, or are you still not sure? Take a look below, where we compare the
Premier Rewards Gold to some of its closest competitors. You might find exactly what you’re
looking for.
avoid interest entirely