Double (Or Triple) Dip: How I Maximize Dining Rewards With the Amex Gold

The American Express^® Gold Card is one of my all-time favorite cards for everyday spending.

This is mainly because I love food and spend more than I should at restaurants worldwide, where the card earns 4 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent, up to $50,000 per year. This is an industry-leading earning rate, and it’s even more valuable when you consider how easy it is to redeem these points for over 2 cents per point in value for travel.

But the Amex Gold card is only part of my equation for earning more points. I stack the card with dining rewards programs, Amex Offers (enrollment required), and other tools to earn even more restaurant rewards. Over the years, this strategy has helped me earn thousands of extra points.

Here’s a look at how I use the Amex Gold card and various stacking opportunities to earn more rewards when I dine out.

Amex Gold Card Overview

Before we discuss stacking, let’s look at the Amex Gold card. Given its high earning rates in both categories, this card is among the best for groceries and restaurants. It earns 4 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000, then 1x) and at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000, then 1x).

It also offers up to $120 in annual dining credits (up to $10 per month) with participating dining partners, including GrubHub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.

By adding my Amex Gold card to the Uber app, I also receive up to $120 in Uber Cash annually, which is given out as up to $10 in monthly Uber Cash. This Uber Cash can be redeemed for Uber Eats orders and Uber rides in the U.S., so it’s easy to use every month.

The Amex Gold card earns American Express Membership Rewards points, which we value at 2.2 cents per point when redeemed through transfer partners like Air Canada Aeroplan and Air France-KLM Flying Blue. It’s easy to get more value than this, too, when redeeming for business- and first-class flights.

There’s a $325 annual fee (rates & fees), though the attractive welcome bonus offer helps cardmembers rack up points even faster.

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American Express^® Gold Card

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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!

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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

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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

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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

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Stacking With Dining Rewards Programs

The easiest way to stack rewards when using your Amex Gold at restaurants is to enroll in a dining rewards program. These are offered by most major airlines — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and others have their own dining programs — but you can only earn with 1 at a time. (This is because Rewards Network usually runs these programs.)

Using these programs is remarkably simple. Just sign up for the dining program of your choice and link your credit cards. Then, you earn bonus rewards when you dine at participating restaurants. The number of points you earn correlates to how much you spend, with some programs offering up to 5 miles per $1 spent.

In the past, I kept my Amex Gold card linked to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Dining. I value Alaska miles highly, especially for short-haul flights, which start at just 4,500 miles. However, I recently enrolled my Amex Gold card with Bilt Dining to earn 3 Bilt Rewards Points per $1 at participating restaurants — and that’s on top of the Membership Rewards points I earn.

This is because Bilt points transfer to many of my favorite loyalty programs, including Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, World of Hyatt, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, and others. Each Bilt point I earn through Bilt Dining also helps me qualify for Bilt elite status.

Enroll in Dining Amex Offers

Amex Offers are available on all American Express cards, giving you cash-back or bonus points at specific merchants. These are usually for shopping at particular stores, but a handful of restaurant-focused Amex Offers are usually available on my Amex Gold card.

For example, I recently went to a Yard House in Las Vegas with a friend. His Amex Gold card had an Amex Offer that awarded 2 extra points per $1 spent at the restaurant, in addition to the 4 points per $1 that the card earns at all restaurants. Ultimately, our $127 bill earned him a whopping 762 Membership Rewards points.

Generally, dining-focused Amex Offers are for chain restaurants. At the time of writing, my Amex Gold card has Amex Offers for Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Jamba Juice, Olive Garden, Little Caesars, Shake Shack, and others. I enroll in these to my card whether or not I plan to use them to avoid losing out on bonus points or cash-back.

Keep an eye on your Amex Offers and add dining offers to your Amex Gold card. If you’re using the card for all of your restaurant spending anyway, you might be surprised by the extra rewards you can earn.

Earn Dining Points With OpenTable

OpenTable awards Dining Points when you make reservations at select restaurants through the platform. You can redeem these for Amazon gift cards and dining certificates. You can view your earnings when you make a reservation.

This won’t give you a game-changing amount of value when you dine out, but points add up over time if you use OpenTable regularly.

Final Thoughts

The Amex Gold card will not leave my wallet anytime soon. And as you learned in this article, there are ways to earn even more at restaurants with your Amex Gold card. From airline dining programs to OpenTable points, you can stack earning opportunities for more travel rewards and cash back.