What It's Really Like to Have an American Express® Gold Card

Four years in and still going strong.

As with everything else in life, there is a world of difference between your credit cards on paper and your credit cards in everyday use. Sure, all those credits and points sound great, but are you actually going to use them?

On paper, the American Express® Gold Card seems like an easy call. It charges a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees) -- but if you take full advantage of its benefits, you can offset that expense to a surprising degree. And that's before you factor in all the bonus points you can earn.

Things in real life are rarely so ideal, however. I've had the American Express® Gold Card for four years. Here's what it's really like to have one in your wallet.

I like the credits, but can't always use them

Right off the bat, most people look at the card's credits as a solid way to recoup the annual fee. And yes, that's absolutely possible -- if you can use them consistently. I've found it's actually not as easy for me as I had assumed.

I have the easiest time using the card's Uber credits. By adding my American Express® Gold Card card to my Uber account, I get up to $10 per month in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., up to $120 a year. (Terms apply; enrollment required.) I use them through UberEats, which offers a lot of pickup and delivery options in my area. Since I also have The Platinum Card® from American Express, I can stack my Uber credits from both cards, and I'm good to go.

I have a harder time consistently using the up to $10 per month in dining credits at participating restaurants, up to $120 per year. (Terms apply; enrollment required.) For one thing, the list of qualifying places is very limiting:

• Grubhub
• The Cheesecake Factory
• Goldbelly
• Wine.com
• Milk Bar
• Shake Shack (select locations)

The easiest way to use the credit would be to stop by one of these places and make a small purchase. Unfortunately, the only place on this list with a physical location anywhere near me is Cheesecake Factory -- which isn't exactly known for its affordable cuisine.

Another option is to use Grubhub to place a pickup order (thus skipping all the extra Grubhub fees). Again, though, the options are very limited; while the app has a decent selection of delivery options, only a handful of places in my town allow pickup orders through the app.

In theory, those two benefits would combine for $240 a year, offsetting all but $10 of the annual fee. But in any given month, I'm only able to use one of the two monthly credits without a lot of hassle. So my effective annual fee for this card is more like $130, rather than the $10 I had envisioned when I applied all those moons ago.

The rewards are still hard to beat

I can already hear some of you thinking, if I don't actually use the credits up every month, is the card even worth it? Well, for me, yes. And it comes down to the purchase rewards. With this card, I earn:

• 4X points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus U.S. takeout and delivery (terms apply)
• 4X points per dollar in U.S. grocery stores (up to $25,000 in purchases each year; terms apply)
• 3X points per dollar on flights (purchased through Amex or directly with the airline; terms apply.)

I'll be honest: I've never used the card for flights; I have better travel rewards cards for that. However, the grocery and restaurant categories get used every week. And those points add up fast at the 4X rate.

Even if I compare this card with other options for those categories, the American Express® Gold Card makes sense. Take the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, for instance. When it comes to cash back, it's the best grocery rewards card that we've found, offering 6% back on up to $6,000 in groceries at U.S. supermarkets each year. (Terms apply.) However, you'll pay a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. (See rates and fees.)

For an extra $35 a year, I can have the American Express® Gold Card and earn points instead of cash back. Since I personally value Amex Membership Rewards at around $0.02 each, this gives me an effective rate of 8% back on groceries at U.S. supermarkets. With our spending, that 2% difference is noticeable.

And the same goes for the restaurant category. The best dining rewards cards tend to be in the 3X points / 5% back range. This means my American Express® Gold Card still comes out ahead.

The peripherals are icing on the cake

By the time I look at the credits and points, the American Express® Gold Card makes sense for me as a keeper card -- that's why I've had it in my wallet for four years. But there are also a few extra benefits I think are worth mentioning.

For instance, the card has no foreign transaction fees. (See rates and fees.) So when we went on vacation abroad, I was able to use the card without worrying about which currency the bill came in. The card being contactless-capable years before most U.S. cards were was also a big help abroad. (Terms apply.)

Then there's the Amex Offers portal, which lets you sign up for specific deals within the American Express app. (Terms apply; enrollment required.) I think this is something that is glossed over by many cardholders, but it can be hugely valuable depending on your shopping habits.

Sure, a lot of the Amex Offers are for specific brands, but then you also get more generic offers like, "Get $15 back when you pay your cellphone bill with your card." Those brand-agnostic offers are super valuable, and I've gotten hundreds of dollars in credits from them over the years.

All in all, my American Express® Gold Card isn't exactly the perfect value proposition I originally planned it to be. Maybe one day it will change up the dining credit to make it more useful to me. Maybe not. Even without that return, though, I've kept the card all this time because it works for me and my family. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.