Of all the cards in my wallet today the American Express Gold card is the misfit. I call the card a misfit not because I don’t appreciate it, but rather because I don’t know what to do with it. I can’t decide if it should replace my Chase Sapphire Reserve card entirely or if I should replace the Gold card with the Citi Prestige card. Every other card I carry I use for specific spending categories. With the Gold card, I just can’t decide how it fits.
With that being said, the card just got a bit more appealing earlier this past week. See, earlier this week American Express sent out an email updating card members of updated Gold card benefits. Specifically, Amex added a new dining credit partner, boxed, and now allows card members to earn 4X points on dining purchases worldwide! It’s that second benefit that’s the most important.
American Express Adds New Gold Card Benefits
As often is the case, I received word of these updated benefits from a pretty simple email from American Express.
Before I opened the email I got a hint about what was inside and admittedly I was a bit excited. As I opened the email I found a nice note from American Express which let me know that my Gold card just became a bit more valuable.
I scrolled down the stock image of various international foods, I found the updated benefit I’ve most wanted from the card.
Beginning now, the American Express Gold card offer 4X points on dining globally. This represents a major improvement to the benefit which was limited to domestic dining only just a week ago.
As I continued to review the updated benefits email I noticed another minor enhancement to the Gold card. Also effectively immediately Gold card members can redeem their $10 monthly dining credit with Boxed.
This represents an addition to the existing list of participating programs; Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, and Ruth’s Chris. However, it appears Shake Shack is now longer offered.
Finally, American Express is also brining back the coveted Rose Gold version of the card to referred applicants who apply prior to July 17, 2019.
If you would like to get the Rose Gold card, please feel free to use my referral link. Full disclosure, I receive 10,000 points per referral and you’ll have access to a 40,000 point sign-up bonus.
But Do I Care About The Updated Gold Card Benefits?
Well, kinda… See, one of the biggest issues I had with the American Express Gold card is that I only earned 1X points on International Restaurant spend. Because of this limitation I’ve considered opening the Citi Prestige card. So, Amex has addressed this shortfall, but there is still an issue. Much of the world doesn’t accept American Express. In Vietnam for example you can really only use Visa or MasterCard. So, while earning 4X points internationally is great, a lot of places don’t take Amex. For that reason, I am still considering getting the Citi Prestige card which offers 5X points on all dining purchases globally.
As for the Boxed dining credit. I’m actually a bit excited about this addition. Boxed is an online grocery wholesaler. You can pretty much get any home supply or grocery you’d want from Boxed. So, I personally plan to take advantage of this benefit to get things like laundry detergent or paper towels delivered each month for $10 off. Until now I’ve been using the credit on Grubhub, but I haven’t been all that impressed by the takeout options available in my area.
Finally, the Rose Gold card coming back is a bit of a gimmick. I quite like the look of my Rose Gold card compared to the very yellow Gold card. However, I would never open a card based on looks alone… ok, almost never.
Final Thoughts
While I’m glad to see American Express add the global dinning benefit I’m afraid it might be too little too late. At this point there are cards that offer 5X points on dining and if there is an extra point to be had then I’m going to go for it. However, I may not end up closing my Gold card because it still gives me 4X points on groceries which is a bit of a steal for a $30/year (after $120 dining and $100 airline credits).
All in all, for now I’ll keep the Gold card open. Once my Citi Prestige card arrives I’m not sure that I’ll keep the card in my wallet daily, but I’ll continue to use the card for monthly dining purchases, airline redemption co-pays (or gift cards), and grocery store purchases.
Although I’m not blown away by the updated benefits, I am happy to see card issuers continue to tweak products slightly for the better over time. This is a trend I hope continues for years to come.
