Hey everyone, how's it going? It's Ernest from Trip Astute. In this video, we're
going to be covering some tips to help you maximize your American Express Gold card.
(light chiming music)
The revamped American Express Gold card was all the rage last year, so I
know a lot of you applied for the card, especially to take advantage of some of
the promotional benefits and the special rose gold color. I know that I've been so
focused on Chase cards for the past few years, so I wanted to share some things
that you might miss if you're new to the Membership Rewards program. I did a
similar video on maximizing the Chase Sapphire Reserve card a few years ago
that still seems to be popular, so I thought doing something similar for this
card would be helpful. So today, I'm going to run through some of my
recommendations for those of you who are new to the program, especially if you
just recently got the Gold card. Some of these recommendations might be very
obvious for those of you who are more experienced in the points of miles hobby
but I'm hoping that the video is still a good reminder and I tried to include some
more obscure tips as well that should be useful for those of you who are veterans
in this hobby. Before we jump in, if you're new here, welcome to our channel.
Trip Astute is a travel channel that is focused on sharing ways to make travel
easier, affordable, and more enjoyable. Traveling can be stressful and expensive,
so we're looking for ways to help you maximize your experience through travel
tips, points and miles, and innovative gear. If that sounds interesting to you,
please consider subscribing. So, let's jump through the list of suggestions for
maximizing your American Express Gold card. Number 1: Add the card to your
account. Most times when you activate a new American Express card, it should
automatically appear in your profile alongside any other American Express
cards that you might have. But I know that some people, including some of my
friends, activated their cards and noticed that American Express wanted them to
create a new profile. If that happens, you're going to want to use the Add
Another Card option under your profile. That way, you'll be able to see all your
American Express cards using the same login and dashboard.
Number 2: Enroll your preferred airline for the $100 fee credit.
American Express allows you to designate your preferred airline every January.
Once you select a preferred airline, you can get up to $100 a year in credits for
incidental fees. This can be a bit confusing, especially if you're used to
using the travel credits on the Chase Sapphire
Reserve which doesn't have any restrictions. Instead, the $100
incidental fee credit from American Express covers fees other than your
ticket. Things like change fees, baggage fees, in-flight snacks and drinks, and
airline lounge passes. This makes it a bit tricky. For example, Wi-Fi on the
plane might not trigger a credit if it's not charged by the airline. In many cases,
the in-flight Wi-Fi is from a company like Gogo, which means that you'll get a
charge on your card from Gogo instead of the airline, which means that you won't
be eligible for the credit. Another thing to keep in mind is that gift cards are
technically not considered eligible for the bonus. However, a few airline gift
cards that are purchased directly from the airline will still trigger the
credit. As of January 2019, people are reporting that the credit does appear for
American, Delta, and Southwest gift cards. Though this might change so I wouldn't
bank on it. Instead, I recommend using it for any fees that you might incur from
the airline, like change fees or even food and drinks on the plane. Lastly, you
should be able to take advantage of this benefit twice in your first year of
having the card, so make sure you're using your airline credit before the end
of the year. And if you're in your first year of card membership, make sure to use
it early the following year if you're not 100 percent sure you're gonna keep
the card. Number 2: Enroll and use your monthly dining credit. The American
Express Gold card gives you $120 of dining credit. The catch is that you
can you only use up to $10 per month of the credit and it has to be at one of
the following restaurants or food delivery services. On that note, be
careful of GrubHub and Seamless purchases. While it's a good way to use the
credit, I've noticed that the prices on GrubHub and Seamless can sometimes be
higher than purchasing directly from the restaurant. For example, a local Mexican
restaurant chain called Sharky's is on Seamless, but I noticed that the prices
were higher than the prices listed on their own ordering system. Since the
restaurant is within walking distance of my place, I usually just pick up the order and
save on the delivery fee. But I thought I'd share just in case you're ordering
on Seamless and you notice that the prices seem a little bit higher. Number
3: Add your card to dining rewards programs. Since the American Express Gold
card earns four membership reward points per dollar on dining charges, it makes
sense to use it as your dining card. Though if you're like me, you're probably
used to using your Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred card, and you
probably enrolled your Sapphire card or Freedom card in your dining rewards
program. For example, I use the United MileagePlus Dining Rewards program and
completely forgot to add my American Express Gold card until recently. So
don't forget to add your Gold card, especially since you're likely to be
using it for dining out expenses. Number 4: Enroll in ShopRunner. Your American
Express Gold card comes with a complimentary membership to ShopRunner.
ShopRunner is like Amazon's Prime shipping service but for other online
businesses. You basically get unlimited and free two-day shipping from a ton of
different retailers. In fact, I used mine last month when I ordered my DJI Osmo
Pocket from Adorama and I was really impressed that I was able to get free
two-day shipping with my order. So make sure you enroll because it won't be
active until you click the Enroll Now button and complete the process. Number 5:
Check Amex offers. We've covered this tip on a couple of other videos. One of the
most underrated features with all American Express cards is the Amex
offers. We use these all the time and I really appreciate the way that American
Express implemented this bonus. You don't have to use a special portal in order to
qualify for the offer. All you have to do is add the offer via the app or online,
and you'll get the bonus when the charge hits your card. This also means that you
can use coupon codes or even cash back portals to really maximize your rewards.
Number 6: Shift your spending. If you have this card, then you're probably going
to want to use it for its bonus categories of dining out and groceries. I
know it's hard for me to remember which card to use at times. This is similar to
my rotating bonus categories cards where I often can't remember which card I need
to use, and I end up relying on my phone's reminder wallpaper.
Since dining and groceries tend to be my most common daily expenditure, I actually
moved this card to the front of my wallet and made it my default card on Apple
Pay. Obviously, everyone's going to have a different system and method for
remembering, but I recommend doing something to help you use the right card
in the right situation. One more thing about the dining and grocery spend that a
lot of people seem to miss is that the bonus only applies to US restaurants
and grocery stores. Even though the card doesn't have any foreign transaction
fees, you'll only earn the extra bonus points when using the card in the US. So
if you're traveling abroad and using your credit card at
restaurants, you're going to want to pack a card with a dining bonus that isn't
restricted to the US, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred card, or
even the Capital One Savor card. Plus, American Express typically isn't as
widely accepted as Visa and MasterCard, so it's always good having a backup.
Number 7: Confirm your welcome offer. If you're like me, you can get
paranoid not knowing whether you got the right welcome offer, especially if you
didn't get an automatic approval when applying. If this is the case, I highly
suggest using American Express' chat functionality on their website. You can
use this feature to confirm information regarding your welcome offer. In fact, I
recently used American Express' chat functionality to downgrade my Blue Cash
Preferred to the EveryDay card since I'm planning to use my Gold card for
groceries. I was amazed that I was able to do it all via chat. Americans
Express' chat function is very robust and functional, and makes it very easy to get
information and even make account changes. Number 8: Refer your friends.
Since this is a dining out card, you'll likely have friends who ask about it
when paying your bill at a restaurant. I highly recommend taking advantage of
American Express's referral system. Your friends will not only get more
Membership Rewards points in their welcome offer than the standard posted
offer, but you'll also get a nice referral bonus of 10,000
Membership Rewards points. As of January 2019, the standard welcome offer for the
American Express Gold card is 35,000 points after
spending two thousand within three months of account opening. However, you
can get them 40,000 points by sharing your referral code. Keep in mind
that you can only earn up to 55,000 Membership Rewards points every year
through referrals, and the welcome offer could change at any time. However, if you
have friends and family who are interested, it's a great way to get
rewarded for referring them to American Express. Do you have any tips for
maximizing the American Express Gold card? If so, please share in the comment
section below. Also, if you recently got this card, let me know what you think of
it. If you're interested in applying for a new credit card, we would love it if
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easy way to support our channel, especially if you found our content to
be valuable and helpful. Also, we recently launched a free card consultation
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safe and travel smart.