American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card Review (before January 2015)
Updated May 16, 2014. This review is for the Amex PR Gold before January 2015. For the current product please see the updated review.
The Facts
The Math
We will use some examples here and you can do the math for your own situation. To maximize the value, you will need to spend exactly $30K on this card to fully take advantage of the 15K-point booster. You can always pick up another card once your spending exceeds $30K. With the 15K booster, this card returns 3.5x, 2.5x, and 1.5x for airfare, gas/groceries, and others, respectively.
Amex PR Gold vs. Fidelity Amex: In order to beat our benchmark Fidelity Amex, you will need to spend big in bonus categories and/or value MR points highly.
Example 1: Your annual spending on the card is $30K with $3K on airfare and $5.5K on gas and groceries, and you value MR points at 1.5 cents per point. Then your earning on Amex Gold is:
$30,000 x 1.5% + 15,000 x 1.5%$ + $3,000 x 2 x 1.5% + $5,500 x 1.5% - $175 = $675
while your earning on Fidelity Amex is $600. In this example, I constructed spending in the 3x and 2x categories in a way that the bonus essentially cancels out the annual fee. As you can see, if you value MR points at 1.5 cents per point and you can somehow cancel out the annual fee with your spending in bonus categories, this card is returning 2.25% thus beating Fidelity.
Example 2: Your annual spending on the card is $30K and you value MR points at 1.72 cents per point. Your earning on general spending minus the annual fee is:
$30,000 x 1.72% + 15,000 x 1.72% - $175 = $600 = 2% cash back on Fidelity
Then if some of your $30K spending happens to be on airfare, gas, and groceries, the Gold wins over Fidelity.
In the end, the real difference between the two is that one has the transfer feature and the other has straightforward cashback.
Amex PR Gold vs. Amex EveryDay Preferred: please see our review on the new EveryDay Preferred introduced in 2014, which is a better card for most consumers. Only when you have large airfare purchases and/or extremely high grocery spending, PR Gold will make sense.
The Conclusion
After the overhaul in 2010, the Amex PR Gold finally met our expectation and has been gaining popularity quickly among frequent travelers. That was the reason it was on our Top List for several years. However, with the introduction of Amex EveryDay Preferred, we have to take it down from the list since we think the latter makes more sense for most consumers.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: the first year free and $175 thereafter for the primary cardholder; $0 for up to five additional cards and $35 for each after the fifth additional card.
- Signup Bonus: 10,000 points (there are also 15K or 25K offers flying around)
- Rewards: 3x airfare, 2x gas and groceries, 1x everywhere else. You also receive an annual 15K points booster when your spending exceeds $30K.
- Best Use of Membership Rewards (MR) Points: Normally, Amex Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for statement credit, merchandise gift cards, travel, shopping, etc., up to 1 cent per point. However, Amex Premier Rewards Gold, along with some other products, is eligible for the transfer feature that allows points to be transferred to frequent flyer miles or frequent guest points. Please see our featured review on four major programs that have transfer features - SPG vs. MR. vs. UR vs. TY.
- Other Benefits: The Hotel Collection ($75 credit and room upgrade upon availability when booking a two-night-minimum stay). Gold Card Destinations (vacation package saving). Gold Card Events.
- History: Amex Gold used to be week in rewards and high in annual fees, and was only considered for its image of superior social status. However, in 2010 overhaul, even though the annual fee was kept high, Amex finally made the card attractive to regular consumers by introducing the 3-2-1 rewards structure and the 15K point booster when annual spending exceeds $30K.
The Math
We will use some examples here and you can do the math for your own situation. To maximize the value, you will need to spend exactly $30K on this card to fully take advantage of the 15K-point booster. You can always pick up another card once your spending exceeds $30K. With the 15K booster, this card returns 3.5x, 2.5x, and 1.5x for airfare, gas/groceries, and others, respectively.
Amex PR Gold vs. Fidelity Amex: In order to beat our benchmark Fidelity Amex, you will need to spend big in bonus categories and/or value MR points highly.
Example 1: Your annual spending on the card is $30K with $3K on airfare and $5.5K on gas and groceries, and you value MR points at 1.5 cents per point. Then your earning on Amex Gold is:
$30,000 x 1.5% + 15,000 x 1.5%$ + $3,000 x 2 x 1.5% + $5,500 x 1.5% - $175 = $675
while your earning on Fidelity Amex is $600. In this example, I constructed spending in the 3x and 2x categories in a way that the bonus essentially cancels out the annual fee. As you can see, if you value MR points at 1.5 cents per point and you can somehow cancel out the annual fee with your spending in bonus categories, this card is returning 2.25% thus beating Fidelity.
Example 2: Your annual spending on the card is $30K and you value MR points at 1.72 cents per point. Your earning on general spending minus the annual fee is:
$30,000 x 1.72% + 15,000 x 1.72% - $175 = $600 = 2% cash back on Fidelity
Then if some of your $30K spending happens to be on airfare, gas, and groceries, the Gold wins over Fidelity.
In the end, the real difference between the two is that one has the transfer feature and the other has straightforward cashback.
Amex PR Gold vs. Amex EveryDay Preferred: please see our review on the new EveryDay Preferred introduced in 2014, which is a better card for most consumers. Only when you have large airfare purchases and/or extremely high grocery spending, PR Gold will make sense.
The Conclusion
After the overhaul in 2010, the Amex PR Gold finally met our expectation and has been gaining popularity quickly among frequent travelers. That was the reason it was on our Top List for several years. However, with the introduction of Amex EveryDay Preferred, we have to take it down from the list since we think the latter makes more sense for most consumers.