Rewards Cardholders, Maximizing Value
Individuals are struggling to fully leverage the benefits of their rewards credit cards, specifically the Amex Gold. They grapple with optimizing spending to meet minimum thresholds, feeling the annual fees outweigh the perks, and questioning whether the rewards align with their spending habits or long-term financial goals. Many are new to rewards and seeking guidance.
SOURCES (60)
“I’m currently thinking out loud and wanted to bounce my thoughts off you guys. I just added the Morgan Stanley Platinum to my setup for the free AU and the 1cpp cash out ability. My original plan was to cancel my vanilla platinum but it’s…”
“Has anyone had trouble seeing MR points options in Amex travel portal? For over a decade of having Amex CCs, I would be able to go to the travel portal, look up a flight and always see a points redemption option next to the dollar amount. Now I can't. I previously was told by an agent that it was because I had a Platinum card (as authorized user) but removing it from Account Management didn't do anything. Heck I removed every Amex except the Blue Business Plus that earns MR. Nothing chan”
“I always see people here asking how to beat max out their points redemptions. Here's a good data point: I'm staying at the legacy golf resort in Phoenix Arizona for a Thanksgiving trip. Wyndham has one bedroom condos for 7500 Wyndham points a night. Transferring from Capital One points. Cash Total for the same stay (Non-refundable / Sale Rate): $729.08 (for a Studio Suite). I redeemed 30,000 points for 4 nights and yielded ~2.4¢ per point in value. Standard Wyndham and capital one points”
“Current cards: Capital One Venture One $3,300 limit, May 2025 Capital One Savor $10,000 limit, July 2025 Wells Fargo Autograph Visa $7,500 limit, March 2026 American Express Blue Cash Everyday $5,000 limit, June 2026 Capital One Venture X $35,000 limit, August 202621 FICO Score: 760 Oldest account age: 5 years Chase 5/24 status: 5/24 Income: $98,000 Average monthly spend and categories: dining $100 groceries: $950 gas: $80 travel: Personal average $200, however can spike up above $2000 if I am t”
“100k sub 4x dining 4x groceries 4x uber (grocery gift card) 4x airbnb (grocery gift card) 4x phone bill (grocery gift card) 4x gas (grocery gift card) 4x amazon (grocery gift card) Why wouldnt it work for me lol.”
“"that's your monthly report; if you had the Xyz Card you would have saved 14% or $223 in June; if you had the Abc Card x% and $x, and both combined 25% or $301" plus the points collected”
“I get $100 off the annual fee through a deal with my employer, so it fits perfectly for me. The Uber and Resy credits I use mostly organically so that basically covers my effective annual fee. Then I get at least a couple of coffees or a meal from Taco Bell every month with the GrubHub credit, and I just stockpile the DD cash. All of my organic grocery and restaurant spend does the work from there to stockpile MR. I have the Schwab Plat, so the floor is 4.4 MR/dollar in those categories. It'”
“Quite decent. They have JAL and KLM so it’s good for me when I’ flying Delta and AA”
“the secret is use a pickup order not delivery, then the subscription doesnt even matter really. I have had a habit of picking up chipotle once every couple weeks since before I had the card so there's almost no difference”
“Depends on how many people are in your household and how much grocery shopping you do outside the grocery category.”
“Paired with the VX those points become transferable. But I'd still favor the Gold since MR points have more/better transfer partners and the 4x earn rate is actually a large difference, especially if you are making use of th Gold's credits. And I say all this as someone that owns both.”
“I’ve been very happy with it so far. It organically fits my lifestyle through its point system and credits/perks. Other grocery credit cards are so limited through poor rewards or a cap on spend. Would you say anything else comes close to Gold as a single card? submitted by /u/In_My_Humble_Scroll [link] [comments]”
“i have it and will be canceling, mainly because im over the monthly credits and just think it should offer more for $325 AF. for example better insurances. I will be going with the bilt palladium and CSP.”
“I used to use it very naturally when I lived in NYC. Since moving to a more rural area, I had to get rid of it since it required more effort to use all the credits. I’m a huge fan of the Capital One duo now.”
“If most you’re spending is groceries/dining AND you can take advantage of the credits then it seems like a perfect card for you.”
“For me, i can easily use the ubereats/grubhub credit for either delivery or pickup (wife works remote, so she orders on there from time to time) Dunkin’ is easy because i get coffee while on the go (+easy reload on the app) and a restaurant my wife and i frequent is apart of resy so easy use there. Everyones scenarios are different. If we decide one day its not working with our current lifestyle, we’d switch to CSP or Savor”
Easiest card ever. Spend on food. Rake in hella points. Done.
“Groceries and dining are a major part of everyday life, so it's a no-brainer. Mine is free but I'd still pay for it even if I had to. Also, the credits offset the fee too, if you use them all...obviously.”
“I just got a pretty good SUB for the gold (100k) and I’m considering going for it, but I’m not sure it fits my lifestyle. I live in New York and most of my spend is on groceries and dining, and I can use the credits pretty easily, but I want to hear from current/previous gold card holders on what they like and dislike about the card and what made it work in your portfolio. submitted by /u/ClockworkBureaucracy [link] [comments]”
“Especially when in other countries they do offer it. For 325 a year they could be a little more generous. submitted by /u/Sad_Equivalent_4933 [link] [comments]”
“I’m not good at math and was just wondering if it’s worth it for me to keep the Amex gold with a $325 vs 3 percent cashback card for restaurant since I have chase freedom unlimited and Amex blue everyday I spend about $2000 a month in both the categories combined would the $325 annual fee be worth it next year? submitted by /u/GeneralLosers [link] [comments]”
“For sure. It’s why I switched. Though we’re mainly in Admirals Clubs, my wife is an AU so we can get our whole family (6) into a lounge when there isn’t an AC. And it was getting hard to use the FNC with the basic Bonvoy one. Just making sure OP saw it wasn’t an immediate application.”
“So I recently saw the Delta Amex Gold elevated offer and Ive been wanting one mainly to use my amex points at a better deal at 15% off for points. My offer with the statement credit was 25k+ $250 which sounds like hot garbage. Is there any way to get 70 or 80k plus $250? submitted by /u/Additional-Term-3001 [link] [comments]”
“If you were existing Platinum user before June 30, 2026 and you did not use your hotel credit during the first half and 2nd half, does your meter show $300 left or $600 left? The meter is in the benefits section I am curious. If you can check and please report back, would be grateful! submitted by /u/shaxsman [link] [comments]”
“Just want to keep the question simple. Current cards: Amex Gold 2/26, Amex blue business preferred 3/26, world of hyatt 10/2025, CSP ink 12/25, Amazon, Amex blue cash7/24, FICO Score: 800 Oldest account age: 10+ years Chase 5/24 status: 4 /24 - counting Amex business (i know CSP ink doesnt count) Income: 250000 Average monthly spend and categories: dining $800 groceries: $100 gas: $100 travel: $100 other: $1000 Open to Business Cards: Yes What's the purpose of your next card? high SUB Do you”
“I was conducting a portfolio review and feel pretty good about it. Most of my cards are no-brainers — like the IHG Premier with FNC or OneKey+ with $100 automatic annual cash deposit. Even the Amex Platinum isn’t a big deal to extract maximum value from because the coupons are easy to understand and easy to use if you travel a lot. The one that gives me pause is my AA Globe at $350 annually. $100 of that is easy to claw back with the $100 splurge credit, leaving $250 in “questionable” value for”
“Been traveling full-time since 2021 and internationally since 2022. Never had Amex Platinum not Gold. Did have CSR for just over a year with the $550 AF. A review of it when the AF came up for renewal again at $795, could even justify the $550 fee. Being an international traveler, neither the Amex cards nor the CSR make any sense unless you get them for the lounge access. We leverage Hyatt 100 nights for AA Platinum Pro status, Bilt Platinum status for KLM Gold and PP and United Club card for al”
“That makes sense. It’s why I actually don’t have any of the general premium cards (CSR, Plat, etc.). I’m also in a different place in life. Married with 4 kids. Getting lounge access saves us a ton of money when flying with them, simply from not having to spend ungodly sums of money on food at the airport. And the hotel card is more for my travel, as we generally use Airbnb’s or VRBO when traveling.”
“I'm single and if I couldn't expense client dinners and other work stuff, I doubt I would have the Gold. As I said, I simply wouldn't spend enough on groceries and dining to justify it.”
“I would wait to until you can hit the SUBs on any card you get. There is too much value in subs to not get them.”
“Or are someone who travels a lot for work. I carry a premium airline and hotel card because I travel a lot for work.”
“The IHG credits aren't for incidentals like the Amex Platinum. The credits are a feature of the card and those credits expire.”
“I think way too many people get this card for the perceived status when it really doesn't fit their income or their spending. Sure, the Amex Gold is the best possible restaurant/grocery card you can get, but only if you meet the following criteria: A: You can organically use all of the credits. This means that you would be using Uber or Uber Eats each month anyway whether or not you had the card. This means you'd be going to Resi restaurants at least twice a year even if you didn't h”
“Somebody who has over 1M to invest in will likely find the 2500 cap to be basically nothing.”
“I think you're conflating separate points. The OP asked about the "best airline points transfer ratio" for Amex points, which you answered literally, however, the actual question was what loyalty program was the best option for their situation (separately, the OP was prompted, and clarified through editing their post, that they wanted to book a business class award flight to India from Canada). My light-hearted response to your initial post - "haha, friends don’t let friends u”
“At 19, you likely don't have the spend or travel habits to make the gold card make sense”
“Relatively few 19 year olds live the kind of lifestyle where the $325 annual fee AmEx Gold is genuinely worthwhile for them outside of aesthetics/clout. What you probably really want is a Blue Cash Everyday, maybe a Blue Cash Preferred if you’re spending quite a bit on groceries.”
“If you use the statement credits on the Gold to offset the fee, how much you spend doesn’t matter. Get the Gold, see if you make use out of the credits in year 1, then go from there”
“Bilt Palladium 3x points on almost everything up to $25000 spend plus 1x points on mortgage/rent (fee free) plus many restaurants are 5x points”
“I’m currently 19, I have a credit card with capital one and my credit score is 700. Recently I’ve gotten an offer to get the Gold Card but I’m wondering if it’s worth it, I’ve heard it’s a good card for groceries and such and I wanna raise my credit score even higher than it already is (700) is it worth it? submitted by /u/Natural_Error_9811 [link] [comments]”
“Maybe the Discover it for other rotating categories from the freedom flex? I can't say for sure without knowing which are your biggest spend categories.”
“CREDIT PROFILE Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of: American Express Gold — opened 02/2021 Chase Ink Business Unlimited — $15,000 limit, opened 03/2023 FICO Scores with source: 800 — myFICO Oldest credit card account age with you as primary name on the account: Approximately 5 years 6 months Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6 months: 0 Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 12 months: 0 Number of personal credit cards approved for”
“Two issues in my opinion: Spending on >1 points program dilutes your points balance and means more annual fees with fewer flights redeemed. It can double your fees per reward pretty easily from what I’ve seen. Points are a pretty poor value and constantly getting worse (vs. cash back). Airlines have total freedom to keep devaluing points as well. The signup bonuses on points credit cards are solid, but the long term value is pretty low vs. the fees paid from my personal experiences. Redeeming”
“So I realized a couple months ago that I have no welcome offers for the Gold or Platinum and realized I was in PUJ. Today I saw a good offer for the Delta Sky Miles Gold and decided to go for it thinking I was ok, only to get the PUJ message about the SUB when I went to submit the application. When I read the message it said something about my history of cards opened and closed, and I realized I may have not actually kept my Hilton Honors card open a full year once I got the SUB. Rookie mistake,”
“Worth it for the 110k SUB, but you don’t spend enough for the extra 1x on dining/grocery to be worth it”
“3% Catch All Robinhood Gold, 2% Catch All Fidelity, 3x Travel 2x Catch All Navy Federal Flagship”
“I have used AMEX for aeromexico which is generally about 2cpp. Because Amex is always 1:1.6 ratio with aeromexico.”
“Outside of the credits everyone receives on certain cards, what’s a time the benefits on your card really came through and you got a significant return on it? Be it purchase protection, fraud prevention, trip delay, phone insurance, status, medical evacuation and so on. I travel quite a bit and am spending over $4000 a year in annual fees on cards but they have been well worth it. I have a couple of Platinum cards that have easily paid for themselves for multiple years to come. Besides maxing ou”
“Bilt has much better transfer partners and gives you more points if you run your rent through it vs VX. The only real downsides are Bilt's fintechy-ness (poor support, complex program, uncertain future, etc) and the hotel credits being a bit more difficult to use. With that said, Bilt's reward program has been an absolute game changer for my setup. Being able to get regular AA flights through AS for 7,500 points and Hyatt redemptions have both been enormously valuable and easy to use.”
“Hi, I just got an AMEX Blue Cash Preferred (BCP) with a $12,000 starting credit line. My goal is to get a 3x Credit Line Increase (CLI) after 91+ days, or 3 statement cycles. My strategy is: ~20% utilization month 1, 2, 3 Pay every statement balance within 2-3 days after post (bye bye $5 in savings interest, LOL) I'll move almost all my spending to the AMEX during these 90 days, so my score would stay around 740 Request 3x CLI to $32k on Day 91+ after the 3rd payment clears. I think $35k is”
“Amex gold for everyday spending but costco citi visa for gas and costco purchases”
“I use the Amex gold since my main spending are in restaurants and groceries and I fly delta the most. I used to use 3 at a time to maximize points but it got really complicated that I only use one for everything now. I like the simplicity submitted by /u/la_ne [link] [comments]”