The American Express® Gold Card

The American Express® Gold Card is an excellent choice for active-duty service members who frequently travel and dine out.

If you don’t qualify for a fee waiver through the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act, you can offset the annual fee when you use this card regularly to earn cashback rewards.

American Express® Gold Card Benefits

There’s a lot to like about Amex Gold Card terms and perks. Here are some of the primary terms and benefits, according to American Express.

• Earn 4x membership rewards points at restaurants, takeout, and delivery in the U.S.
• Earn 4x membership rewards points at U.S. supermarkets up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then earn 1x points.
• Earn 3x membership rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
• Get $120 Uber Cash when you add your Gold Card to your Uber account. Each month, you automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.
• Earn up to $120 in dining credits after registering your card online (enrollment required). You’ll get $10 in monthly credits when you pay with your Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations.
• Choose gold or rose gold for the card color that suits your style.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• The annual fee is .

Terms Apply.

If you don’t qualify for SCRA benefits, you can offset most of this card’s annual fee by taking advantage of the $120 Uber cash credit and $120 dining credit for select restaurants. Double up on your savings by eating at restaurants with military discounts.

You can add additional card members – such as a spouse or other adult family members – to your account and earn rewards points for their purchases and your own. You’ll rack up reward points faster with multiple responsible users on the same account.

American Express also gives you flexibility on how to pay your bill. You can choose to:

• Pay your bill in full.
• Use the “pay over time” feature to carry a balance with interest. The current interest rate is a variable on eligible charges.
• Use the “Plan It” program to split more expensive purchases into monthly payments.

There is a limit on the total amount you can carry as a balance or move into a plan. You must pay any purchases beyond your limit in full when your bill is due.

Next Step:

Learn More About Applying for The American Express Gold Card

Additional Gold Card Perks

Service members who make large purchases may find the American Express Plan It program particularly attractive.

The installment payment option provides added flexibility with easy-to-understand terms. This lets you split large purchases into monthly installments with a fixed fee while earning rewards.

Service members can also enjoy several standard American Express benefits, including:

• The Hotel Collection: When you book with American Express Travel, you’ll get a $100 experience credit during your stay. In some cases, the amount of the experience credit may vary from property to property, and a minimum two-night stay is required. See our complete list of hotel and travel discounts to maximize your savings.

• Personalized Travel Service: This can help you customize your travel arrangements with up-to-date information and can help book your entire trip to help ensure you don’t miss the crucial details.

• Baggage Insurance Plan: Travel more comfortably, knowing you can be covered for lost, damaged, or stolen baggage when you purchase your entire fare for a plane, train, ship, or bus on an eligible card. Coverage is up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage, over coverage provided by the common carrier.

• Pay It Tap: This app lets you make purchases under $100 in the American Express® App to make transaction payments quickly.

• Dispute Resolution: American Express will work with you to help resolve the issue if there is a fraudulent or incorrect charge on your statement.

• American Express Experiences:  Get exclusive access to ticket presales and card member-only events in a city near you for Broadway shows, concerts, family events, sporting events and more.

• Global Assist Hotline:  This valuable benefit can help you in many ways when you travel more than 100 miles from home. The Hotline can help if you lose your passport, come down with a sudden illness, need legal services, assistance to clear customs, missing luggage, translation services and more.

• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance:  Use your card to reserve and pay for your rental car. If you decline the collision damage waiver, your Blue card can still cover you for damage to or theft of a rental vehicle in covered territories. Some exclusions and restrictions apply, including restrictions on vehicle types.
• Return Protection:  If a U.S. merchant doesn’t take an eligible item return back within 90 days of purchase, American Express may refund the total purchase price, excluding shipping and handling. Return protection applies up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per card account.
• Send and Split: Send money and split purchases with any other Venmo or PayPal user directly from the Amex App. Requires enrollment, and terms apply.
• Fraud Protection:  When you use your Amex card, you won’t be held responsible for fraudulent charges.
• Online Account Management: Accessing your account online is easy. Get up-to-date information on your Reward Dollar balance, spending, and reward possibilities, all in a few clicks.
• Year-End Summary: In January, you can get an annual summary that reflects charges posted to your account from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 of the prior year.

American Express Membership Rewards

The American Express membership rewards program helps you earn points quickly by using your Gold Card. You can use points for travel when you book through the Amex travel portal or transfer the points to airline, hotel or car rental partners.

You can also get a statement credit, shop through the American Express site by redeeming points at affiliate partners, redeem points for gift cards or donate points to charity through American Express’s partnership with JustGiving.com.

Here’s how you can earn membership rewards on your Gold card:

• Earn 4x rewards points at restaurants. Points are awarded for dining in, takeout and delivery in the U.S.
• Earn 4x rewards points at U.S. supermarkets up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases. After that, you’ll earn 1x points.
• Earn 3x rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.

To accelerate the number of points you earn, You can take advantage of American Express membership rewards offers to accelerate your points-earning potential. When you navigate to the “Amex Offers” tab in your American Express app or your online account, you’ll see several limited-time deals to multiply your points.

Also, consider using Rakuten. You get points using Rakuten, a cashback website and shopping app. You’ll receive one membership rewards point for every 1% cashback you earn – and you’ll still earn your regular points through your American Express credit card.

Your points don’t expire unless you close your card account with points still left in it, return a purchase or make late payments.

Pros and Cons of the American Express Gold Card

The American Express Gold Card Annual Fee

The annual fee is – but service members can benefit from the card’s perks without paying the annual fee.

How to Request an American Express SCRA Fee Waiver

Once you apply for The American Express Gold Card and are approved, you can contact American Express by phone or online to request a waiver of your card’s annual fee, as well as the other SCRA protections for your card.

Submit Request Online

For fastest service, enroll your card in American Express online services. Then, you can submit any relevant documents via the document center.

Such documents may include:

• Active-duty orders
• Change of station orders
• DD-214 forms
• Letters from commanding officers

Submit Request by Phone

If you wish to request SCRA benefits and the annual fee waiver by phone, then you can contact the number on the back of your card or by calling American Express at 1-800-253-1720. Service members stationed outside of the U.S. can contact American Express collect at 1-336-393-1111, however, collect call fees may apply.

Submit Request by Mail

If you are unable to submit your request online or over the phone, you can mail a copy of your documents to American Express. Be sure to include the American Express account numbers you wish to have benefits applied to, as well as a detailed note outlining your request.

Send these documents to:

American Express
Attn: Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
PO Box 981535
El Paso, TX 79998-1535

Next Step:

Learn how to apply for The American Express® Gold Card

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