The METAL Amex Gold credit card launches in Europe – coming to the UK soon?

Regular Head for Points will know that The Platinum Card from American Express is, in the UK, now a ‘proper’ metal card.

We covered the launch of the metal Amex Platinum card here.  It wasn’t, to be honest, a hugely popular move because it came with a sharp hike in the annual fee to £575 with no real improvement in the benefits package unless you use the £10 per month Addison Lee taxi credit.

What you might not know is that American Express Gold is also being rolled out globally as a metal card.

This week it launched in Sweden, which was the first European market.   The rest of Scandinavia will follow in the next couple of weeks.

What does the ‘metal’ American Express Gold card look like?

It looks like this:

…. ie quite smart.

I can tell you what the benefits package is in Sweden.  However, there is NO guarantee at all that the UK will keep the same package.  It is worth comparing though.

This is what the new American Express Gold package in Sweden gets you:

Fee-free for 3 months, then SEK 125 (£10) per month

You get SIX free annual airport lounge visits – four on the main card and two on a supplementary card

The airport lounge passes can be used across the full Priority Pass portfolio, not the slightly restricted Lounge Club portfolio as happens at present

‘Lounge on the Go’ – this allows you to claim a free meal in certain ‘local’ airport restaurants (basically, Amex is bringing back the ‘restaurant’ options in Priority Pass).  The Swedish card, for example, only includes restaurants in the Nordic region.

Hotel, car hire and restaurant benefits

You can find out more on the Swedish American Express site here.  Your web browser can translate.

I believe that the International Dollar Card has also switched to a metal Gold card although this is not yet reflected on the website.

When is this coming to the UK?

I don’t know.

Scandinavia is the first region in Europe to get the card, and Sweden was the first country in Scandinavia to launch.  I am sure it is only a matter of time before the card comes to the UK.

The only concern I would have, if I worked for Amex, is that the Gold card is the most mainstream American Express card in the UK.  Whilst I’m sure that a lot of UK customers would be keen to get their hands on a metal payment card, especially at the younger end (personally I find them heavy!) there is a risk that the market will not support the higher fee that Amex would want to cover the costs of production.

Don’t forget the 20,000 points special offer on the UK American Express Gold card

Whilst you won’t receive a metal card yet, American Express Preferred Rewards Gold in the UK is currently offering you 20,000 Membership Rewards points (= 20,000 Avios or other miles) as a sign-up bonus.

This is a special offer which runs until 29th June.  You need to spend £3,000 within three months to trigger the bonus.

The bonus is only available to customers who have not held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months.  Cards issued by MBNA or Lloyds Bank do not count.  Importantly, American Express Business cards do not count either – if you’ve only had Business Gold or Business Platinum in the previous 24 months then you should qualify for the Preferred Rewards Gold bonus.

Amex Gold is free for the first year and then £140 per year if you choose to continue.  Key benefits include

two airport lounge passes per year

double points on all airline spend

double points on all foreign spend

$75 in-hotel credit with 350 selected hotels worldwide

10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points on renewal if you spent £15,000 in the previous year 

My full review of American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is here.  You can apply here.

Representative APR 57.6% variable including the annual fee (free in year 1) based on a notional £1,200 credit limit. Interest rate on purchases 22.9% APR variable.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.