What are the benefits of the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card (Amex Gold)?
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Why should you get the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card?
Today, I want to look at the top 10 card benefits you get if you get the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (Amex Gold) credit card in the UK.
You can apply for the card here.
Here is the legal information we need to tell you:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Get up to 12,500 bonus points each year based on your total spending
- Earn double points on all airline and overseas spend
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Amex Gold is our recommended ‘first card’ for a miles and points beginner
- Get four free airport lounge passes when you sign up, and a further four each year
- After your four free passes, you can visit further lounges for a small fee
- You receive £120 of Deliveroo credit each year (24 x £5 credits)
- Annual fee: Free for the first year, £195 from Year 2
Representative 88.8% APR variable. Annual fee applies after the first year.
You will receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible, which is why we recommend this as the best choice for your first miles and points card. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the four free airport lounge passes and the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold comes with four free airport lounge passes. These allow either you and up to three friends, or yourself four times, to visit any of the 1,400 lounges in the Priority Pass network. You make additional lounge visits for £24 per person. You receive an additional four free passes each year.
You earn double Membership Rewards points on all airline spend (made directly on an airline website) and all spend made outside the UK.
You will receive up to 12,500 bonus Membership Rewards points each year, based on how much you spend.
You receive £120 of Deliveroo credit each year. Amex will repay you £5 for the first two Deliveroo orders charged to your Gold card each month.
Other benefits include a 10% discount on Hertz car rentals, Avis Preferred Plus car rental status and special deals at 350 selected hotels worldwide, where Preferred Rewards Gold cardholders receive a $75 in-hotel credit per stay.
You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.
The top 10 benefits of American Express Gold:
1. You receive 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up
The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card comes with a very generous sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. You won’t find a free UK travel rewards credit card with a more valuable bonus.
(If the information box above shows a higher bonus, you will receive this. The box is automatically updated with the best deal available on the date you are reading this.)
You qualify for the bonus as long as you haven’t had a personal American Express card in your name in the previous 24 months.
You need to spend £3,000 within three months to receive the bonus.
You CAN still get a sign-up bonus on other American Express cards even if you don’t qualify for one on Amex Gold. This article looks at what American Express sign-up bonuses you are still eligible for.
2. Those 20,000 Membership Rewards points convert into Avios at 1:1 – or into MANY other airline or hotel schemes
Membership Rewards are HUGELY flexible because you can convert them into lots of different things. You aren’t stuck with Avios, Virgin Points or whatever. You can keep them with Amex for as long as you want and only convert them when you need them.
Click here to see the full list of American Express Membership Rewards transfer partners.
3. You receive one Membership Rewards point for every £1 you spend on the card
There are a few exceptions (cash withdrawals do not earn points) but in reality virtually every £1 you spend on your Amex Gold card will earn another point.
4. You receive DOUBLE points on all airline spending
Airline spend, as long as it is made on an airline website and not via a travel agent, earns double points – 2 per £1.
5. You receive DOUBLE points on foreign spending
You receive 2 points per £1 when you spend in a foreign currency. However, American Express adds a 3% foreign exchange fee, so if you have another credit card with 0% foreign exchange fees I would still use that instead.
One option is to get a free card from Currensea. Currensea is a simple but clever idea. You pay abroad with your Currensea Mastercard debit card. Currensea translates the cost to Sterling with just a 0.5% fee (83% less than Amex charges) and withdraws the money from your bank account. You can find out more by clicking here. Currensea is free so there is no risk in giving it a try.
Of course, if you are travelling on business and your company reimburses your foreign spend, feel free to spend away on your Amex Gold ….
6. You receive four FREE passes to get into an airport lounge
These can be used at any airport lounge in the ‘Priority Pass’ network. There are over 1,300 globally, including most Heathrow terminals, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted. Additional visits after your four free ones are charged at £24.
You receive ANOTHER four free airport lounge passes each year when you renew the card.
7. You receive £120 per year to spend with Deliveroo
Each month, you receive 2 x £5 credits to spend at Deliveroo. These are triggered each time you spend £5+ at Deliveroo and charge it to your American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card.
If you are a regular Deliveroo customer, this benefit alone justifies getting and keeping the card.
8. American Express Gold is FREE for the first year
Trying out the card for a year won’t cost you a penny – and you will receive the sign-up bonus and the four free airport lounge passes.
From Year 2, there is an annual fee of £195. This won’t make sense for many people, so you should remember to cancel before the first year is up.
This article looks at six reasons why you could keep your Amex Gold card after the first year.
9. You get up to 12,500 bonus Membership Rewards if you spend up to £25,000 in a card year
In addition to the sign-up bonus you can get an extra bonuses based on your spending.
You receive 2,500 bonus points when you spend £5,000 in a card year. You reveive an additional 2,500 bonus points for every additional £5,000 spent, up to a total annual bonus of 12,500 points.
If you spend exactly £25,000 and qualify for the sign up bonus, you will have earned 57,500 Membership Rewards points in your first year:
- 20,000 points from the sign up bonus
- 25,000 base points for your spending – 1 point per £1
- 12,500 point bonus for spending £25,000 in one year
10. You receive various special travel benefits
These include a 10% discount and free additional driver on Hertz car rentals, and special Amex rates at 600 4-5 star hotels worldwide. These bookings come with a $100 in-hotel credit and an upgrade when booked by an Amex Gold cardholder.
Conclusion
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is a very generous travel rewards credit card. You can’t beat a package of ‘first year free’ AND 20,000 Membership Rewards points AND four free airport lounge passes.
You can sign up for Amex Gold, or find out more information, on the official website here.
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Get up to 12,500 bonus points each year based on your total spending
- Earn double points on all airline and overseas spend
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Amex Gold is our recommended ‘first card’ for a miles and points beginner
- Get four free airport lounge passes when you sign up, and a further four each year
- After your four free passes, you can visit further lounges for a small fee
- You receive £120 of Deliveroo credit each year (24 x £5 credits)
- Annual fee: Free for the first year, £195 from Year 2
Representative 88.8% APR variable. Annual fee applies after the first year.
You will receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible, which is why we recommend this as the best choice for your first miles and points card. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the four free airport lounge passes and the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold comes with four free airport lounge passes. These allow either you and up to three friends, or yourself four times, to visit any of the 1,400 lounges in the Priority Pass network. You make additional lounge visits for £24 per person. You receive an additional four free passes each year.
You earn double Membership Rewards points on all airline spend (made directly on an airline website) and all spend made outside the UK.
You will receive up to 12,500 bonus Membership Rewards points each year, based on how much you spend.
You receive £120 of Deliveroo credit each year. Amex will repay you £5 for the first two Deliveroo orders charged to your Gold card each month.
Other benefits include a 10% discount on Hertz car rentals, Avis Preferred Plus car rental status and special deals at 350 selected hotels worldwide, where Preferred Rewards Gold cardholders receive a $75 in-hotel credit per stay.
You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.
