American Express® Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card review

Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 31% (variable) p.a. with a fee of Year 1 - £0, Year 2 onwards - £195 per annum, your representative rate is 88.8% APR (variable).

Our verdict

We chose the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card as our best credit card for rewards because of the large number of rewards and benefits that come with it.

If you're looking for a statement premium rewards card, it's hard to look past this Amex credit card. As you'd expect from a card with this many adjectives in its name, it's a truly premium offering, with meaningful rewards and a hefty annual fee to match. As such, it's really designed for big-spending customers who are confident they'll not carry a balance from month to month, and who are serious about getting as much as possible from their credit card. For everyone else, there's plenty of other Amex options out there.

Pros

It's a gold Amex. enough said. OK, not enough said – a good credit card has to do more than just look the part – but it's certainly a card that raises a few eyebrows.

The array of benefits the card offers is enormous. This could be Amex trying to keep customers on board after year one, because there's a decent chance cardholders will still be uncovering new benefits at 12 months in!

Amex customer service is refreshingly good. When we put it to the test there was no waiting on hold and no being transferred from pillar to post.

Cons

Despite the network's recent "Shop small" campaign, if you're in the sticks and paying at a small independent merchant, Amex could well be off the table. To its credit, Amex is trying to fix this (you could earn cashback on your spending at participating small businesses), but it's not going to change overnight. Carry a decent back-up option and it's not really a problem.

Some of the card's perks take a bit of research and "activating" on your own part. It's all about getting cardholders engaged.

That annual fee. it's not small. However you can use year one to try the card on for size, and to get an idea of the true value to you personally of all those perks, points and offers.

• Our verdict
• Details
  • Product overview
  • Fees and charges
  • Application requirements

  There's no getting away from it: a gold Amex is quite a statement. In the Finder offices we call this one the "Am-Flex". If you use your credit card heavily but don't carry a balance from month to month, Amex's Preferred Rewards Gold Card really can offer meaningful benefits – including airport lounge access and reward points by the truckload. Here are the specs in detail:

  Details

  Product overview

  Issuer	American Express
  Network	Amex
  Representative APR	88.8% APR (variable)
  Annual/monthly fees	Year 1 - £0, Year 2 onwards - £195 per annum
  Loyalty scheme	Points
  Incentive	New Cardmembers earn 20,000 Membership Rewards® points when you spend £3,000 in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Terms Apply. 18+, subject to status.
  Incentive on opening	New Cardmembers earn 20,000 Membership Rewards® points when you spend £3,000 in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Terms Apply. 18+, subject to status.
  Additional Rewards Info	Access to tickets for must-see music, theatre and film events, often before they go on sale to the general public with American Express Experiences. Travel accident insurance on public transport when tickets are charged on the card. Global Assist support 24/7 when you travel outside of the UK. Eligible for American Express Connect where cardmembers can choose offers from selected retailers to obtain discounts or cashback. Cardmembers are eligible for two £5 vouchers per month (£10 total), when they spend at Deliveroo on their Gold Card. Get 20% cashback at 1,000+ restaurants until 19 May 2024.
  Lounge access	4 complimentary Priority Pass airport lounge visits every year to use at over 1,300 airports globally.
  Purchases	31%
  Purchases interest-free period (days)	56
  Balance transfers	31%
  Potential costs	3.0 ★★★★★
  Doing its job	4.3 ★★★★★
  Extras	4.7 ★★★★★
  Overall Finder Score	4.0 ★★★★★

  Fees and charges

  Minimum monthly payment	2% or £25 (whichever is greater) or the total of any interest, default fees and charges, 1/12th of annual fee plus 2% of the outstanding balance.
  Annual/monthly fees	Year 1 - £0, Year 2 onwards - £195 per annum
  Balance transfer fee	3% (min. £3)
  Foreign usage charge (EU)	2.99%
  Foreign usage charge (rest of world)	2.99%
  Cash advance fee	3% (min. £3)
  Late payment fee	£12
  Replacement card fee	£0
  Duplicate statement fee	£2
  Exceeding limit fee	£0
  Additional card fee	£0
  Dormancy fee	£0

  Application requirements

  Minimum Age	18
  Residency	UK resident and has a UK bank or building society account.
  Availability	Available to new customers

  How premium is it?

  When we received this card at the Finder office, there were some murmurs of “I thought it would be more… gold”. It’s a sort-of deep gold – less bling than it could have been, but when it catches the light you’ll want your sunnies at the ready.

  Plenty of card issuers throw the terms “gold” or “platinum” around without really meaning it, but Amex’s Preferred Rewards Gold Card does stay true to the original concept. It offers meaningful rewards for people who use their credit card heavily and aren’t deterred by an annual fee. This is the network’s preferred card: they’d prefer you to take this one over one of the more entry-level products.

  

  New applicants will benefit from a waived fee in the first year plus a lump sum of Membership Rewards points (subject to a minimum spend) that could potentially be redeemed for a free flight. From then on, it’s points on all purchases, annual anniversary bonuses and ongoing benefits like American Express Experiences. Frequent travellers can take advantage of perks including hotel room or car hire upgrades and airport lounge access.

  You can track your spending in real time and watch your points piling up (hopefully!) in Amex’s very respectable mobile app. The app also lets you turn on/off a range of handy alerts – you can get updates whenever a purchase is made, when you’re within a specified amount (you choose the amount) from your credit limit, when your statement is ready and when a payment is due (again, you get to specify how much notice you want). You can also browse and activate offers for nearby merchants.

  You can also hook the card up to Apple Pay, or just use Amex Pay if you’re on Android, but in our opinion this is a card that deserves to be seen!

  How does the lounge access work?

  Within a few days of your new card landing you’ll be sent another – your Priority Pass membership card. This is the one you’ll need to get into a lounge (not your credit card – that won’t work). Amex has a network of VIP lounges covering 300+ airports worldwide. Your first four lounge visits each year are on Amex. After that you’ll need to pay a small fee.

  We put the lounge access deal to the test at Gatwick’s No.1 lounge and had no problems at all.

  How do the points work?

  Whenever you make purchases on the card, you’ll earn points – one for every pound. You’ll earn double points when you spend in a foreign currency (unfortunately the currency conversion fee of 2.99% will outweigh the effective 1% that you’ll earn in points) or directly with airlines and triple points when you spend through American Express Travel – the company’s in-house travel agency.

  As well as all this there’s your hefty welcome bonus and anniversary bonus (both subject to a minimum spend requirement) plus a bonus if you refer a friend and they’re approved.

  In terms of redeeming points, American Express Membership Rewards are perhaps the most versatile credit card points going. When you pay online using your card you’ll get the option to cash-in points or in the app you can just pick charges from your statement and pay them with points. Alternatively, you can even switch your points to partner programmes including those of British Airways, Hilton and Virgin Atlantic. You can book a hotel stay, car hire or a flight via the app (using your points or credit or a combination of the two) but be warned: it’s rather clunky.

  However we were very impressed with Amex’s customer service, which you can contact if you have any questions about earning, redeeming or converting points. We’ve tested it several times. There’s real humans (!) at the end of the line, and they genuinely do seem to want to help you out and leave a good impression.

  For more info on earning and redeeming Amex rewards, we’ve put together an in-depth guide:

  Rewards calculator

  This tool is designed to help you get an idea of what you could earn in points in year one. Don’t forget that some transactions might not be eligible for points, and cash advances definitely won’t be.

  Expected monthly card spend

  £ 750