[00:02] 5 years now, and I just paid the $325 annual fee to renew it again. So, that $1,650 over the past 5 years for this one card amount, they probably think, "Why on earth would anyone pay that much for
[00:16] other cheaper ones out there?" And I completely get that. But the truth is annual cost is really just a small upfront investment that can very likely features and benefits you get here. Like any credit card though, the value from
[00:31] subjective and based on your own spending habits and how this card's over all the ins and the outs that I've learned about the American Express Gold half a decade now. But, I also want to call out a couple of big problems that I
[00:45] well as some other important things that can really make or break whether it's thing we got to talk about here is going to be the welcome bonus, because the value from a good bonus can be enough to potentially cover your annual fee for
[00:57] the American Express website, you can see that it says apply and find out your says as high as 100,000 membership within the first 6 months. However, they also mentioned that welcome offers may
[01:11] offer. And that's because American Express likes to sort of personalize the you based on your history with them, as well as a bunch of other factors. Essentially, by using vague language like as high as 100,000 points and
[01:24] have hyperargeted signup bonuses that can adjust from person to person systems. And those systems are pretty much designed with the goal in mind of card while hopefully paying out only just enough in signup bonuses, but not
[01:38] too much. Now, as someone who settled on a bonus of only 60,000 points when I wasn't as high as I could have gotten at the time, my advice here is to be out there that other people are getting by just doing a few minutes of research
[01:51] accept a welcome offer if you know that it's going to be competitive based on your mileage may vary with this stuff. But what's good here with American option to apply and then see if you're approved and find out what offer they'll
[02:05] you want to accept that offer or just pass without any effect on your credit score. But let's say you were able to take advantage of a 100,000 point offer we're seeing right now on the MX Gold. So, those points are going to be worth
[02:17] at least 1 cent per point for things like flights that you book inside the MX beginners seem to redeem their points with this card. That redemption rate makes a 100,000 point bonus equal to $1,000 in value in year 1 with this
[02:29] card. So, that's going to be enough to effectively cover the cost of the 325 However, to me and other people out there who would like to optimize our point redemptions by transferring to airline and hotel programs to get closer
[02:41] travel, 100,000 points is going to be worth closer to at least $2,000 in value, which is going to cover the cost of that annual fee for over 6 years. double or sometimes even triple or quadruple the value of your points just
[02:54] way to book things versus booking in a travel portal, what I'm going to say wanted to mention very early on in this video because I do think it's going to if this card is going to be worth it for you. So, what I want to say is that if
[03:08] the AMX Gold, you cannot be redeeming your points for statement credits, gift But instead, you have to understand or at least be willing to learn how to transferring them. Knowing how to double the value of my AMX points that I
[03:22] multipliers on the gold card that I'm going to talk about next year. That's me renewing my annual fee year after it's not only the value of the Amx Gold that keeps me renewing it, but it's also
[03:35] points that it earns. To me, I've always been someone who loves optimizing things in my life. So, obviously, that's going to include optimizing the way I earn the way I redeem my points by transferring and even optimizing the way
[03:47] I travel with what I pack and what I bring. That's why whenever I'm on the high-quality luggage with me that makes packing for my trips feel effortless. suitcase from Away, who I'm excited to say is sponsoring this video. Now, this
[04:00] Carry-On in jet black. And the reason why I love it is because it lets me maximize every single inch of packing space inside it with Away's signature patented interior compression system. This system here has a double buckle
[04:12] pockets for storing any other items I have to bring with me when I'm great whenever I'm navigating through an airport with its super smooth 360° really good about using luggage from away is that every one of their
[04:25] suitcases goes through a rigorous process of 30 plus tests. So, they're wheels are working, how the outer shell is holding up, and even how their To me, I love to hear this because I've actually had issues in the past with
[04:37] cheap luggage where the zipper broke as I was repacking to come home from a something I want to even have to think about because I just want my luggage to to. And Away's suitcases are going to easily check both those boxes. A was
[04:50] also recently able to send me their large toiletry bag and jet black as well actually going to be bringing this with me as I head up to New York City for a quick trip later this week that
[05:02] this video gets uploaded. Now is also a good time to mention that with the perfect gifts to give someone else or just to treat yourself to if you're a upgrade what you bring with you. Away is going to be having their biggest sales
[05:15] where you can shop their savings and take advantage of some great deals. So, link that I'll have down below in the description to this video, or you can to shop Away's biggest sales of the year to find the perfect gift. And thank you
[05:29] Now, back to the AMX Gold where I want to talk about the spending multipliers card are going to be great for food expenses because you're going to be able to earn 4x points at restaurants worldwide on up to 50K in purchases per
[05:42] calendar year, as well as 4x points on groceries at US supermarkets on up to There's also a couple other less talked about multipliers like 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amxravel.com and then 2x points on
[05:55] prepaid hotels and other eligible travel booked through MX Travel. But to me, points on restaurants and supermarkets that are the big selling points for this wallet over the years. That's because for my wife and I, food spending is
[06:08] budget after housing costs. So, we budget around $800 per month for dining out. Now, there's some months when we're over those amounts and then of estimate that we're going to spend around $1,200 on combined food
[06:22] categories over the course of an average month, which is going to be $14,400 per year. At 4x points per dollar, that equals $57,600 AMX points annually that card when it's used consistently. And at a minimum value of 2 cents per point,
[06:36] that's going to get us $1,152 in travel value every single year. redeeming with Transfer Partners. So, when you add up those points earned from the points earned every year from the spending multipliers and then you factor
[06:50] the higher upside by transferring them, that's going to potentially bring a lot of value back to some people for paying that 325 annual fee. However, there's get as well here on the gold card that can effectively help you to reduce your
[07:03] net- out-ofpocket cost each year. So, if any of these credits fit well into your is going to become more and more worth it in my experience. Now, over on the to see that they're advertising over $500 in value annually with the
[07:16] those are going to be a resi credit, Uber Cash, something MX has called the hotel collection, a Duncan credit, and a dining credit. So, if we go ahead and scroll down on their website, the first thing they list is $120 of Uber cash,
[07:29] where you're going to get $10 each month to use on orders and rides in the US. to make sure that an MX card is selected for the Uber transaction. So, basically just go over to your Uber account and then add your MX Gold card. And then
[07:43] get $10 of Uber cash deposited over there. But just make sure you are using going to disappear at the end of the month if it's unused. Then after that, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with
[07:58] your MX Gold at US Duncan locations. And for this one, enrollment is required. going to the benefits page for your gold card over in your American Express this benefit, which you can see that I've already done for myself. Now, this
[08:11] credit that will not roll over from one month to the next if it goes unused. And the terms for this benefit, where they talk about the eligible purchases that specifically say that eligible purchases do not include gift cards purchased
[08:25] online. However, if you're reading about this card on places like Reddit, there's people actually do reload the balance of their digital Duncan card within the Duncan app that does seem to trigger this credit as of now. So, I'm all about
[08:37] card issuer set. And I guess this technically is not a gift card according mentioning it. But I also wouldn't be surprised if the ability to do this goes just keep all this in mind. Next, we've got a $100 resi credit where you can get
[08:51] up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with your MX Gold card to dine at US Resi restaurants or to make other eligible resi up into 50 bucks in credits from January through June and then another 50 bucks
[09:03] from July through December. Enrollment is required here as well. So, make sure benefits page within your account before you actually try using this credit. But with this, Resi is one of those online restaurant reservation platforms and
[09:16] There's tens of thousands of restaurants that use this platform across the world their website to see what restaurants near you might qualify for this credit. And once you're enrolled for this within your MX account, it's going to be super
[09:29] do is just pay with your MX gold card at that Resi restaurant. And AMX is going restaurant is a part of that network with Resi. So, they'll just then post Now, there's also a $120 dining credit to go along with this on the Amx Gold
[09:43] focused card. So, with this one, you can earn up to a total of $10 in statement MX Gold Card at participating partners of GrubHub, Cheesecake Factory, Gold Belly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Again, enrollment is going to be required for
[09:57] don't forget to do that. And this is going to be another one that is a use it going to roll over from month to month. Now, to figure out just how much value these credits are going to be giving you to truly help offset the annual fee, you
[10:09] these credits are covering things that you would already be spending money on within your normal spending habits, even if you did not have the MX Gold. So, for resi restaurants throughout the year. So, I value this credit at the full $100
[10:23] my normal spending habits. But with the Duncan credit, I never really go to Duncan just because it's personally not where I like to go for coffee or food. view it as a nice little extra coupon that I get every single month. But I'm
[10:35] like trying out other local coffee shops whenever I'm out traveling. So, I'm credit at $0 in my life because it's not a place that I'd be going to if I did to how I currently value this card, I get the full $100 back from the resi
[10:50] credit. Again, I view the Duncan credit as being worth $0 to me personally. I sometimes use the dining credit for GrubHub orders, but not a ton. So, I'm bucks. And then the Uber cash is something that I'd say I probably value
[11:02] because there's some months where I just know I'm not going to get to use it. Italian places that we order from a lot is getting added to Uber Eats very soon. So, this credit might be worth the full value next year for me. But, as of
[11:15] today, that means I'm getting $210 in value back from these combined credits to help partially offset the $325 annual fee. That lowers my effective annual fee on the gold card down to around $115 per year at the moment. But then on top of
[11:27] that we're earning and redeeming, there's still going to be a few other well that can give you some additional value. So, one of those things is called before. And basically, the hotel collection is just going to be a group
[11:39] of hotels that American Express handpicks, which then gives you some of those through the Annex travel portal. Some of those benefits include 12 p.m. check-in, a room upgrade, and late checkout, all when available, and
[11:51] eligible charges, which vary by property. However, in order to get any collection, you do have to book a stay of two nights or more. And I have stayed this program over the past couple of years, and I've had good experiences
[12:04] obviously going to depend on where you're traveling to and how much you thing I wanted to mention that really gets overlooked a lot are the AMX offers at the bottom of your AMX app. And these are great to scroll through every once
[12:18] savings are out there that you could find at a ton of popular retailers and actually managed to save around 60 bucks over the past year or so from offers that included brands like 1800 Flowers, Lululemon, and even using Apple Pay just
[12:31] that you do need to actually remember to go and add these offers to your card in thirdparty apps and browser extensions out there that I can make a separate for just adding and then keeping track of these offers. But for the average
[12:45] person, I think you can easily estimate that you'll save an additional 20 to 50 that you can find on the gold card as well. So definitely do not forget about the annual fee on this card is worth it. Now that's going to bring me to a couple
[12:58] here that I think the MX Gold is facing right now as we head into 2026. So the really hear people talk about enough, but that would be restaurant search becoming too common these days. You don't really see these search charges
[13:12] with bigger national restaurant chains. But for more local restaurants over the to expect that I'm going to see some fine print at the bottom of my bill that says we'll be charging an extra 3% fee for customers who pay with a credit
[13:24] card. Now, personally, I really dislike this. Obviously, even though I do accept credit cards and how they can just eat into a restaurant's thin cash or using a debit card because
[13:36] methods. Now, the good news is that earning 4x points per dollar on the MX Gold is effectively like earning 8% back if I'm getting 2 cents per point in exceed the 3% search charge. And it's why the MX Gold is one of the cards that
[13:50] this card's benefits are going to make added cost that's there sometimes is something that's a bit hard to account eat into your credit card rewards. Even though, again, it's hard to estimate for
[14:03] way of knowing how often you're going to come across these search charges when something to be aware of that I wanted to call out here, but there's no opinion. And then the other problem facing the MX Gold right now to me is
[14:16] talking about competition from other cards earning maybe slightly less at 3x cheaper annual fees, as well as competition from more premium cards out people are getting really tired of paying for all at the same time. So, for
[14:30] example, both the $95 per year City Strat Premiere and the $0 Capital 1 groceries. For some people, getting those cards with the lower annual fees just one less point or mile per dollar
[14:44] all the credits and the higher upfront costs. I think more and more people are it comes to managing high annual fee cards and all the coupon booking that's also have to look at if you do want to be holding the $325 MX Gold is do you
[14:59] also want to have the $895 MX Platinum, the $795 Chase Sapphire Reserve or any then just know that you're going to need to get super organized to keep track of all the monthly, quarterly, semianual, and annual credits on a bunch of those
[15:13] think cards like the Ammex Gold are going to be facing moving forward is credit cards out there because many people might be getting more selective with choosing only one of those cards at most. Now, before it was fine to have a
[15:26] and maybe just a couple of credits here and there because it was all manageable. But now in 2025 and 2026, there's so much more involvement as you venture it only looks like it's getting worse. So again, I think we're going to see
[15:40] out of playing this high annual fee coupon book game entirely, even when the because it is just too much time and effort now. But let me know what you guys think about the MX Gold card. Is this card still worth having as we head
[15:53] going to continue to see the value in it? And again, if you want to see some more value, then make sure to go ahead and check out this video over here on the screen next. But as always, thanks so much for watching.