How I Earned 200K Points in 1 Year With This Amex Card

The most reliable points-earner I have in my wallet is the American Express^® Gold Card. Just from my everyday spending, I’m able to earn hundreds of thousands of points with this excellent rewards card.

Eligible new applicants can score a giant welcome bonus offer and continue to earn on 2 of my biggest purchases every month: restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets. Here’s a look at how I earned more than 200,000 points in 1 year — and how many points I continue to earn on a daily basis.

Amex Gold Card: Earn As High As 100K Points

The Amex Gold card has a generous welcome bonus offer for new applicants: Apply and find out if you're eligible for as high as 100,000 points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

This setup is unique as submitting your application for the card won’t affect your credit right away. If you’re approved, you’ll be shown a personalized welcome offer, with the chance to be targeted for as high as 100,000 bonus points.

NEW OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

American Express^® Gold Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!

Apply Now(at Amex's secure site)

Apply With Confidence

Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

American Express^® Gold Card

This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!

Welcome Offer

You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

As High As 100,000 Points. Find Out Your Offer.

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $2,200

Annual Fee

$325

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The American Express^® Gold Card is a game-changer.

With this card, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants, up to $50,000 per calendar year, and you’ll also earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1x.

There isn’t another card on the market that offers a 1-2 punch like this. Of course, there are several other benefits of the Gold Card as well, including extra monthly dining rewards and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 4x points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, up to $50,000 per calendar year; then 1x thereafter
• 4x points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 per calendar year; then 1x thereafter
• 3x points per dollar on flights purchased directly from airlines or at AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $325 annual fee (rates and fees)
• No lounge access

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
• Earn 4X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
• Earn 4X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
• Earn 2X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
• Earn 1X Membership Rewards^® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards^® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
• $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express^® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
• $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express^® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express^® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
• Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• Annual Fee is $325.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Should you choose to open the account, your credit may be impacted. However, if you decide not to proceed, only a soft credit check will have been run, which does not affect your score.

I strategically applied for the card when I was able to score the maximum welcome offer — 100,000 points — as these are unique opportunities to earn a ton of rewards at once. I met the $6,000 minimum spending requirements effortlessly by dining out at restaurants (4x points on up to $50,000 spent per year) and grocery shopping at U.S. supermarkets (4x points on up to $25,000 spent per year), so this card quickly became my go-to for those kinds of purchases.

In sum, I earned 100,000 points from the bonus offer and 24,000 bonus points from the minimum spend requirements.

Maximizing My Food Budget With the Amex Gold Card

Food is our largest monthly expense after rent, and the Amex Gold card helps us make the most of it by earning Membership Rewards points that we can put toward travel throughout the year.

My partner and I travel fairly often, but when we’re home, we typically budget around $1,000 for groceries (combined) and about $500 each for dining out. These amounts can vary when we’re on the road and eating out more frequently, but we also don’t mind covering the bill for larger group dinners and then splitting costs afterward through apps like Zelle or Venmo.

In 2024, we spent just under $20,000 combined on eligible restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases. Since that’s well below the maximum threshold for earning 4x points in each category, it’s not something we ever worry about. Even so, those 2 categories alone earned us 80,000 points in one year.

What Are 200K Amex Points Worth?

Combined with the welcome bonus offer and spending throughout the first year of card membership, we earned more than 200,000 Membership Rewards points.

American Express Membership Rewards offers the widest variety of airline and hotel transfer partners of any credit card program, with most transfers at a 1:1 ratio. While you can redeem points through the AmexTravel.com portal at a flat 1 cent per point, we avoid that option. Instead, we leverage transfer partners to book flights and hotels, often getting 2 to 3 cents (or more) in value per point.

Upgraded Points values Amex Membership Rewards at 2.2 cents each, which I find to be spot-on given the variety of redemptions I’ve made over the years. Therefore, 200,000 Amex points are worth roughly $4,400 for travel.

We often use Air Canada Aeroplan to book domestic United flights at lower rates than United itself offers, and the same goes for using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book Delta flights. Those same transfer partners have also helped us snag multiple business class flights to Europe, Asia, and beyond. Having instant 1:1 transfer access to these key partners and flexibility in our rewards makes all the difference.

Earning 75K to 100K Amex Points Every Year

The Amex Gold card has a $325 annual fee (rates & fees), but the points-earning potential alone makes up for that yearly charge. Even without a welcome bonus offer, we consistently earn 75,000 to 100,000 Membership Rewards points on restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets.

Not only that, but the Amex Gold card comes with up to $424 in annual statement credits:

• Up to $120 in Uber Cash: Add your Amex Gold card to your Uber account and receive up to $10 per month in Uber Cash, which is good for rides and Uber Eats orders in the U.S. Terms apply.
• Up to $120 in dining credits: Receive up to $10 per month with participating dining partners: GrubHub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
• Up to $100 Resy credit: Receive up to $50 semi-annually in statement credits, redeemable at any U.S. Resy restaurant and other eligible Resy purchases. Enrollment required.
• Up to $84 in Dunkin’ credit: Receive up to $7 per month in statement credits at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.

It’s worth mentioning that not every benefit hits the mark for me. For instance, the Dunkin’ credit goes unused since I’m not a fan of their coffee (or donuts). On the other hand, the $100 annual Resy credit has been a consistent win, fully covering meals we would have purchased anyway at our favorite restaurants, and the Uber Cash is effortless to use for airport runs or rides around town.

The dining credit can be hit or miss for us, only because we sometimes forget about it. However, when we order takeout or delivery through Grubhub, it’s easy to find value in it.

Final Thoughts

With its mix of unique statement credits and a strong 4x earning rate on select purchases, the Amex Gold card is exactly the kind of card I see myself keeping long-term. In my first year alone, I racked up over 200,000 points, and thanks to its generous bonus categories, it continues to deliver year after year.