I'm going back and forth between getting the AmEx Gold. I have a CFU and a CSP as my two right now, but am wondering if an AmEx Gold would be the last card to maximize points. My main expenses are around 400-450/month on groceries, 150-250 on eating out, and then 1250 in rent (usually don't pay that on a card besides trying to hit the spend goal for a welcome offer, unless I should be paying it on a card if someone corrects me?) Saving for travel is my biggest thing, so i am wondering if AmEx Gold will aid that even more, or if it will make the CSP sort of obsolete. I like how CSP works with United easily, but is AmEx Gold also a valuable card to help my travel goals? Or is it just a waste of money? Thanks for any help!
College student here, please help me decide if AmEx Gold is worth it
byu/JustExamination123 inCreditCards
Posted by JustExamination123
9 Comments
Only you can figure out if it’s worth it for you.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. Can I use all the Amex Gold credits naturally?
2. Once I accrue points, is there a transfer partner I’d get value from? (if you’re thinking United with Chase it’s probably Delta)
You don’t really spend enough for that card to be particularly good for you. Just get the AAA daily advantage or PayPal debit and take the 5% cashback on groceries.
Chase Aeroplan card with pay yourself back could be a good play for you as well, prolly don’t have the resources to take advantage of it enough though.
I’ll just paste this comment in again from the other Amex gold question today:
Does Delta or another Amex transfer partner have a strong presence at your local airport?
Do the credits/coupons that come with the Amex gold fit into your natural spending habits well enough to make up for the annual fee?
No. You can’t ignore the $325 on the Gold card. It’s going to erase a lot of your earnings, and credits are just coupons that push you to spend more money. Just get a no annual fee that earns a lot of points or cash on groceries like the AAA Daily Advantage or Citi Custom Cash.
Just do the math. AF is $325, and you can earn 4x on dining and supermarkets.
So if you can’t use any of the credits, you’d need to spend **$8125** on dining or at supermarkets **just to break even**. Do you think your spending will exceed that amount?
No. The Amex gold is not geared towards students but travelers and spenders. Get the CSP instead.
hard to justify an AF that high when your spend is basically nothing
If you just want to maximize your cash back, go get a card for grocery (PayPal debit/citi custom cash/amex blue cash preferred) and maybe a Bilt card. Chase freedom flex is also an option.
I used a service to analyze my spending and recommend the best card for me. It’s called TheCreditCardAdvisor.com just sharing if people are interested