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Most of the welcome offer is distributed monthly for the first 12 months. You’ll earn 5,000 Membership Rewards points for every $1,000 in purchases charged to your card during the month.
For the monthly welcome bonus, it’s best to shop at stores offering 2 points per dollar:
That’s a minimum return of approximately 7% for the first 12 months on each of your first $1,000 in purchases in 2 points-per-dollar categories such as groceries, gas stations, drugstores and travel purchases.
Here’s how you could earn 84,000 points in your first year by optimizing your purchases in the 2X categories:
84,000 points for $12,000 in purchases over 12 months, that’s a minimum return of about 7% if you use your points for a statement credit on any purchase. That’s a value of $840!
If you subtract the cost of the card’s membership fee ($250), you are left with a net value of around $590 in the first year. However, don’t forget that this card comes with annual benefits, such as a $100 travel credit or four complimentary access visits to Plaza Premium lounges in Canada.
This bonus does not land all at once. It pays out month by month over the first year, which completely changes how you should plan for it:
Here is the breakdown behind those 84,000 points, placing the full $1,000 monthly spend in the 2 points per dollar categories:
Every $1,000 therefore returns 7,000 points: 5,000 from the bonus and 2,000 from earning. That is what drives the roughly 7% return over the first 12 months.
With the American Express® Gold Rewards Card, you can transfer your points to Air Canada’s loyalty program: Aeroplan. The conversion rate is 1:1. Thus, 10,000 points = 10,000 Aeroplan points.
The welcome bonus of up to 60,000 points is equivalent to 60,000 Aeroplan points.
With the American Express® Gold Rewards Card, you can transfer your points to the Air France KLM loyalty program: Flying Blue. The conversion rate is 1:1. Thus, 10,000 points = 10,000 Flying Blue Miles.
The welcome bonus of up to 60,000 points equals 60,000 Flying Blue Miles.
With the American Express® Gold Rewards Card, you can transfer your points to Marriott Bonvoy. The conversion rate is 1:1.2. Thus, 10,000 points = 12,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
The welcome bonus of up to 60,000 points is equivalent to 72,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
In 2021, American Express Canada has decided to launch this new metal card (like the American Express Platinum Card® and the American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card).
When you sign up for this card, you can choose one of two versions:
And don’t forget that this is a new product: if you previously held the old version of the Gold Card (and hadn’t renewed it before its features changed), you can get the new version of this Card (and the welcome bonus that goes with it)!
With the American Express® Gold Rewards Card you’ll receive a $100 Annual Travel Credit.
You can use this travel credit directly on the American Express Travel portal to book flights, rental cars or hotels.
This card gives you access to airport lounges worldwide.
First, it offers a Priority Pass membership (a value of about USD 99 per year). You can then pay $32 for each visit to one of the 1,200 Priority Pass lounges worldwide.
In addition, this Card includes 4 comlimentary annual visits to Plaza Premium lounges.
This is good news, since most credit cards that offered Priority Pass or LoungeKey have lost access to the many Plaza Premium lounges in Canada.
For example, you can access the excellent Air France lounge at Montreal-Trudeau.
With the American Express® Gold Rewards Card, you receive a CAD 50 NEXUS credit every 4 years.
This is convenient if you regularly travel across borders.
With the American Express® Gold Rewards Card you get:
For groceries, we always recommend using your American Express Cobalt® Card which offers 5 points per dollar!
This is the easiest way to use your points: you apply them to any purchase made on the card (travel or everyday purchases).
60,000 Membership Rewards points are worth $600 here.
As you can see from the screenshot below, the exchange rate is the same for Airbnb (travel), Couche-Tard and Première Moisson.
This is one of the best ways to use Membership Rewards points from the American Express® Gold Rewards Card:
60,000 Membership Rewards points are worth $1,200 here.
But this only applies to specific flights:
Here are all the transfer partners for American Express Membership Rewards program:
Unlike fixed-value programs, Membership Rewards points are worth whatever you make of them. The gap between the worst and the best redemption here is more than double:
The statement credit is therefore your guaranteed floor. After the $250 annual fee, the first year already clears roughly $590 in net value. With fixed points travel, that same balance climbs closer to $1,430.
That calculation deliberately ignores the annual benefits: the $100 travel credit, the 4 Plaza Premium lounge visits, the Priority Pass membership and the $50 NEXUS credit every 4 years.
With the American Express® Gold Rewards Card you’ll benefit from a host of attractive insurance options.
This insurance provides coverage up to a maximum of $5,000,000 for eligible emergency medical expenses incurred by a person under age 65 while travelling outside their province or territory of residence in Canada for the first 15 consecutive days of an insured trip.
You can be reimbursed for the non-refundable and non-transferable portion of your travel expenses when they are charged to your Card before your departure date, should you need to cancel your trip for a covered reason.
When you charge your travel arrangements to your Card, this insurance reimburses you for the unused, non-refundable and non-transferable portion of your travel arrangements paid prior to your departure date in the event your trip is interrupted or delayed for a covered reason.
Coverage is available up to $1,500 per insured person per trip, for a maximum of $6,000 for all insured persons combined.
Save when you travel with the flight and damage Insurance for rental cars included with your Card This insurance provides compensation for theft, loss and damage up to the market value of the rental car with a maximum MSRP of $85,000 depending on the year of the model.
To take advantage of this benefit, simply decline the loss/damage coverage or similar option offered by the rental company and charge the entire rental to your Card. There’s no additional charge for this coverage, and you save yourself the daily insurance fee (usually $16 to $23 per day) charged by the car rental company.
Having booked your flight with your Card, you can receive up to $500 (maximum in combination with Flight Delay Insurance) for any necessary and reasonable everyday purchases of clothing and minor items deemed essential that you make within four days, if your baggage is not returned to you within six hours of arriving at your departure flight destination.
If you charge the full cost of your airline ticket to your Card, you are covered for loss or damage to your personal effects, carry-on baggage or checked baggage while traveling, up to a combined maximum of $500 per trip .
Charge your airline tickets to your Card and receive up to $500 (maximum in combination with Baggage Delay Insurance) for reasonable and necessary hotel, motel, restaurant or incidental expenses incurred within 48 hours if your flight is delayed or you are denied boarding for four hours or more without alternate transportation.
Travel Accident Insurance provides automatic coverage of up to $500,000 for accidental death and dismemberment for you, your spouse and dependent children under age 23 when you travel on a common carrier (plane, train, boat or bus) and charge the full cost of all tickets to your Card. Supplementary Cardholders, their spouses and dependent children under 23 are also covered.
Simply pay for your hotel or motel room with your card and you will receive coverage of up to $500 in case of loss of most personal belongings in the event of a burglary at your hotel or motel room.
Eligible items purchased on your card may be insured for a period of 90 days from the date of purchase against accidental property damage and theft up to a maximum of $1,000 per claim (all items purchased combined).
Your coverage can automatically extend the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to one additional year when you charge the full purchase price of eligible items to your Card.
If you need to review the insurance certificate, it is available at this here.
We have followed the American Express Gold Rewards Card since it moved to metal in 2021, and several members of our team carry it. The screenshots above come from real accounts.
Its real strength is not the multiplier, which is modest at 2 points per dollar. It is the currency: Membership Rewards points transfer to Aeroplan and Flying Blue at 1:1, which very few Canadian cards allow.
The monthly structure of the bonus also deserves attention. It rewards consistency rather than one large purchase. For someone already charging everyday expenses to a card, that is comfortable; for an irregular profile, it is a bonus you never fully collect.
Our calculations rest on three constant rules. First, we value Membership Rewards points at 1 cent, the guaranteed statement credit rate (1,000 points = $10). That is deliberately the floor, since fixed points travel and transfers push the value higher.
Second, we count only the benefits actually received during the first year. Finally, we always weigh point value against the real $250 annual fee.
The earnings table assumes a specific profile: $1,000 per month, placed entirely in the 2 points per dollar categories. If part of your spending falls outside those categories, apply the 1 point per dollar rate to it before comparing.
The offer terms come from American Express. Our analysis remains independent of the commercial agreements we hold with card issuers.
To see how this offer stacks up against the rest of the market, browse our best credit cards page. Also, sign up for our newsletter to get new welcome offers every week.
The American Express® Gold Rewards Card is a very interesting Membership Rewards card.
Take advantage of the current welcome offer to get yours!
This article was not sponsored. The views and opinions expressed in this article are purely my own.
American Express is not responsible for maintaining or controlling the accuracy of the information published on this website. For complete and up-to-date product information, click on the Apply Now link. Terms and conditions apply.
Here are frequently asked questions in the milesopedia community about this card.
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