The Gold costs $325 a year and hands back up to $424 in monthly credits, then pays 4x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. It is the Amex card for people who eat, not people who fly. Here is the break-even and how it stacks up against the Platinum.
Yes, if you will use most of the monthly credits. The Gold's up to $424 in annual credits is bigger than its $325 fee, so you need to use about 77% of them ($325 divided by $424) to be ahead before a single point. The credits are all small and monthly, though: $10 dining, $10 Uber, $7 Dunkin', and a $100 Resy credit. Miss half of them and the card leans on its earning instead. That earning is the real strength: 4x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets is the best everyday rate Amex offers, and it is why the Gold beats the Platinum by a wide margin for anyone who does not fly often.
| Annual fee | $325 |
|---|---|
| Dining credit | Up to $10 a month at Grubhub, Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory and Wonder ($120 a year). Goldbelly and Wine.com left the list June 30, 2026. |
| Uber Cash | Up to $120 a year ($10 a month) |
| Resy credit | Up to $100 a year at qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants, paid as $50 January to June and $50 July to December |
| Dunkin' credit | Up to $7 a month at U.S. Dunkin' locations ($84 a year) |
| Credits, total | up to $424 |
| Earning | 4x restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 a year, then 1x); 4x U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 a year, then 1x); 5x prepaid hotels through Amex Travel; 3x flights booked direct or through Amex Travel; 2x prepaid car rentals and cruises through Amex Travel; 1x everything else |
| Points valued at | 1.8¢ (PerkMath's conservative Membership Rewards value) |
| Welcome offer | As high as 100,000 points after $8,000 in the first six months; offers vary by applicant, so confirm yours. 100,000 points is $1,800 at 1.8¢. |
Every credit requires enrollment and the monthly ones do not roll over, so count only the months you would really use. The calculator turns on Uber and the dining credit by default ($240) and leaves Resy and Dunkin' for you to tick. Break-even with no credits at all: $325 at 1.8¢ is 18,056 points, about $4,515 of 4x dining or grocery spend.
Not counted above, per the calculator: The Hotel Collection $100 property credit on prepaid stays of two or more nights through Amex Travel; a limited-time Uber One credit (up to $96, enroll by Oct 30, 2026); purchase protection; secondary rental-car coverage; no foreign transaction fee. No lounge access.
A version of PerkMath's average spender with groceries split out: $7,800 a year on restaurants, $4,800 at U.S. supermarkets, $1,800 on flights booked direct, $1,080 on hotels booked direct, $720 on prepaid hotels through Amex Travel, and $10,800 on everything else. On the Gold that earns 31,200 + 19,200 + 5,400 + 1,080 + 3,600 + 10,800 = 71,280 points, worth $1,283 at 1.8¢.
Year 2 and after, using all $424 of credits: $424 + $1,283 − $325 = $1,382 net. Use only the dining and Uber credits ($240) and it is $1,198. Year 1 adds the 100,000-point offer (about $1,800) for roughly $3,182. A no-fee 2% card on the same $27,000 returns $540.
The calculator has no supermarket row, so it models groceries at 1x under "everything else". Put the $4,800 there and it reads about $259 below this example; the 4x on U.S. supermarkets is real, the tool is just conservative about it.
The Platinum on the same spend: 1x on restaurants and groceries, 5x on flights, 1x on hotels booked direct, 5x through Amex Travel, 1x elsewhere. That is 7,800 + 4,800 + 9,000 + 1,080 + 3,600 + 10,800 = 37,080 points, worth $667. With its default modeled credits (Resy, Uber, Global Entry and lounge access, about $880 in the calculator) it nets $880 + $667 − $895 = $652.
The Gold is about $730 a year ahead on this profile. The Platinum earns that back only if you fly a lot: its 5x flights, Centurion Lounge access, and the bigger, travel-weighted credit stack are what you pay the extra $570 for. If dining and groceries are where your money goes, the Gold is the better Amex.
| Amex Gold | Amex Platinum | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $325 | $895 |
| Credits counted | $424 | $880 |
| Points on the example | $1,283 | $667 |
| Year 2+, credits used | $1,382 | $652 |
The calculator opens with the Amex Gold against the Amex Platinum. Enter your spend, tick the credits you would actually use, and compare Year 1 and Year 2+:
Figures are PerkMath's conservative model (points at 1.8¢, credits at full value) with Amex Gold terms as published in 2026, checked September 2026. Not an offer and not financial advice. Card terms change; confirm current terms on American Express's site before applying. Free tool, no affiliate links.