My review of the American Express Gold card (+ referral)
If you’re interested in the American Express Gold card, I can refer you! On top of all the perks, you’ll get 25,000 bonus reward points. That’s a minimum value of €125
To get my referral, click this link.
Always on the lookout for interesting cards to maximize benefits, here’s my review of the American Express Gold card. I encourage you to give it a try—you’ve got nothing to lose since it’s 100% free (at least for the first year!).
For those interested, I’ve already written reviews on the cards American Express Air France Gold (which let you earn Flying Blue miles) and American Express Business Platinum (which gives you access to airport lounges).
American Express: What Is It?
Since the concept of American Express (and credit cards in general) is largely unknown in France, it’s worth a quick refresher.
American Express is a company that offers credit cards—it’s not a bank.
Here’s how it works: when you sign up for American Express, you provide a bank account details form with authorization to debit your bank account (so you don’t have to switch banks).
In your day-to-day life, you use your American Express card like any other bank card. However, you’re not charged for each purchase; American Express gives you credit (for free), and you’re only debited at the beginning of the month for all your previous month’s expenses.
For merchants that accept American Express (which are more and more numerous), the fee Amex charges is slightly higher than what banks take. That’s why American Express can afford to offer you a number of perks, which we’ll go over in this article.
American Express Gold: rates and conditions
The only real condition to be eligible for the American Express Gold card is to prove an income of at least €35,000 gross per year (whether as salary or otherwise).
The other conditions are trivial: you must be of legal age and have a bank account in euros (from which Amex will debit your previous month’s expenses each month).
The first year is 100% free. From the second year onward, you’ll have a fee of €15/month.
But the fee is mostly theoretical. Every year, a month before my membership anniversary, I call support to cancel my card. They then offer me another free year. It’s been going on for four years, and I’ve been enjoying my Amex without paying any fees.
Welcome benefits
The American Express Gold card is generous with new sign-ups; you’ll get:
- €80 refunded (provided you spend at least €800 with your card within the first 3 months)
- Free Amazon Prime for one year
- The Fnac+ card free for 3 years.
These perks alone can justify signing up for the card since, remember, it’s free the first year.
Cashback
Every time you use your Amex Gold, you’ll earn points Membership RewardsWith a super easy-to-remember rate: €1 spent = 1 Rewards point.
1,000 points are worth €5. You just pick a purchase you made with your card to request a full or partial refund in exchange for points.
That works out to 0.5% cashback.
But you can do better than that because Amex allows you to convert points with a number of partner programs.
For example, I convert my Amex points into points for the Marriott hotel chain’s loyalty program.
This way, I can exchange my Amex points for hotel nights and get better cashback, around 1%.
Regular discounts
Throughout the year, Amex offers you discounts at merchants that accept American Express as a payment method.
All you have to do is sign up (for free) for the offers that interest you, pay for your purchase with your card, and the discount is automatically credited to your account.
Insurance
Like many bank cards, Amex offers a range of insurances.
I usually don’t pay much attention to them.
However, there’s one particularly interesting insurance: the one for car rentals.
If you pay for your car rentals with your Amex card, you don’t need to pay for the optional insurance. American Express covers you in case of a problem (accident, theft, flat tire, etc.) up to €75,000. Only a €150 deductible will be on you.
While we’re on car rentals: Amex has a partnership with Hertz that gets you 10% off.
The downside: foreign transaction fees
For me, this is the big downside: American Express isn’t competitive with other cards when it comes to spending in foreign currencies.
As soon as you’re outside the eurozone, Amex charges you a 2.8% exchange rate. Abroad, I therefore prefer to use my card Boursorama Ultim. I don’t get cashback, but there are no currency conversion fees.
Pro tip: add your Amex to Paypal
While American Express cards are becoming more widely accepted by merchants, both in-store and online, it’s still not a given.
If you have a Paypal account, you can add your American Express card. This way, you can use it to pay with any merchant that accepts Paypal, even if they don’t accept Amex natively.
A referral offer
On top of all the benefits described above, you can earn a rewards points bonus if I refer you.
You’ll get 25,000 points, worth at least €125.
To be referred, click this link.
Conclusion
Without being perfect, the American Express Gold card is very appealing: you get welcome gifts, cashback, and rental car insurance.
Don’t hesitate to get it while it’s free. The day it becomes a paid card, it’ll be time to figure out if you consider it worth the cost or not.