American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card Review

Who Is the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card Good For

The American Express Premier Rewards Gold card is a premium charge card that allows you to earn and redeem Membership Rewards points. Membership Rewards is one of the best general rewards programs for anyone who’s interested in air travel, particularly if you’re looking for flexibility and don’t want to stick to one particular frequent flyer program.

Though the card has a $195 annual fee, which is waived for the first year, it also comes with a $100 annual credit for airline incidentals, such as checked bags, in-flight refreshments, change fees, lounge passes and more. The bonus is based on the calendar year, which means that if you apply before the end of the year, you can get two $100 credits within the first 12 months.

Keep in mind that this is a charge card, not a credit card, so you’ll face severe penalties of you don’t pay off your balance every month.

Sign-Up Bonus:

You’ll get 25,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first three months. Amex has offered limited-time bonuses of 50,000 to 75,000 points in the past, so it may be worth waiting for a bigger bonus. You may not be eligible to receive the sign-up bonus if you’ve previously had or currently have another Amex card.

Points Earned:

• 3 points per dollar for flights booked directly with airlines
• 2 points at gas stations, restaurants and supermarkets
• 1 point for everything else

What Do Your Miles Get You?

The ability to transfer your miles to numerous airlines and the flexibility that gives you is the best feature of the card. You aren’t stuck with one airline with this card. If a certain airline or alliance works best for a particular trip, you can simply transfer your points to the appropriate account.

Most transfers are instant or very quick. Plus, there are often special bonuses for transferring points into specific airline programs, which gives you even more value for your points.

You can also use the Membership Rewards website to book flights, hotels and car rentals, but you’ll get the best deals by transferring your points to the program’s airline partners.

Usage Perks:

• 17 airline transfer partners
• Excellent earning potential on plane tickets
• $100 annual airline fee credit
• Low spending requirement for sign-up bonus
• No transaction fees

Usage Quirks:

• High annual fee
• Low sign-up bonus

How Far Do Your Points Go?

If you transfer the 25,000-point sign-up bonus to Delta, you can get a round-trip flight in the U.S. and Canada. You’ll get more value for your points if you can wait until you have more, and then use them for more expensive destinations and/or premium cabin seats.

For example, 90,000 points transferred to ANA can buy a round-trip ticket in business class between the U.S. and Hong Kong. On Singapore Airlines, a transfer of 110,000 points can get you a one-way ticket from New York to Singapore in one of the most coveted first class suites in the world.

Additional Cardholder Benefits:

• Zero liability
• Extended warranty
• Purchase and return protection
• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Baggage insurance
• Global Assist Hotline
• Personalized travel service
• Upgrades and other perks with the Hotel Collection
• Premium roadside assistance