How the Amex EveryDay Preferred Beats the American Express Gold Card
This article was last updated Oct 30, 2019. Terms and conditions may have changed. For the most accurate information, please consult the issuer website.
It’s Amex vs. Amex in this showdown. We’re going to compare two good cards — the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card and the American Express® Gold Card — and help you figure out which one is the best fit for your spending.
In this article:
- Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card vs. American Express® Gold Card
- Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card pros and cons
- American Express® Gold Card pros and cons
- Which card is right for you?
Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card vs. American Express® Gold Card
Here’s a look at the highlights of what each card offers:
| Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card | American Express® Gold Card | |
| Welcome offer | Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. | 35,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 3 months. |
| Rewards | 3x points at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x); 2x points at US gas stations; 1x points on other purchases Earn 50% extra points when you use your card 30 times or more in a billing cycle. | 3X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com and 4X points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X). |
| Intro APR | 0% introductory APR for the first 12 months on purchases, then a 14.49%-24.49% variable APR applies. 0% introductory APR for the first 12 months on balance transfers requested within 60 days of account opening, then a 14.49%-24.49% variable APR applies. | None |
| Annual credits | None |
|
| Annual fee | $95 | $250 |
Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card pros and cons
Pros
Rewards. Earn 3x points at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x); 2x points at US gas stations; 1x points on other purchases.
50% extra points. If you use your card 30 or more times on purchases within a billing cycle, you can earn 50% extra points on those purchases (minus returns and credits).
Once you hit the higher rewards earning threshold, your earning rate is boosted as follows:
- 4.5X points per $1 spent at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then your earning rate at U.S. supermarkets will drop to the boosted base rate of 1.5X points per $1 spent)
- 3X points per $1 spent at U.S. gas stations
- 1.5X points per $1 spent on other purchases
Welcome offer. Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months.
The value of points varies depending on how you redeem them, but if you choose one of the options, where points are worth 1 cent each (such as booking flights through American Express Travel), this welcome offer has a value of $150.
Lower annual fee. The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card’s annual fee is $95 — less than half the cost of the American Express® Gold Card’s $250 annual fee.
Read our review of the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card.
Cons
Frequent purchases required to get extra points. If you use the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card for all your spending, you can probably get to at least 30 purchases within a billing cycle pretty easily. But if you use your card less frequently, you might struggle to get to meet that goal. And if you’re not earning 50% extra points each month, that makes this card less attractive.
No annual travel or dining credits. If you want credits for airline fees or dining, you might like what the American Express® Gold Card offers. The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card doesn’t offer any credits — however, as we noted earlier, it has a significantly lower annual fee.
American Express® Gold Card pros and cons
Pros
Rewards. Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com and 4X points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X).
Welcome offer. 35,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 3 months.
If you choose a redemption option where each point is worth 1 cent (such as booking flights through American Express Travel), this welcome offer is worth $350.
Up to $120 annual dining credit. You can earn a total of $10 in statement credits each month when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at the following:
- Grubhub
- Seamless
- The Cheesecake Factory
- Ruth’s Chris Steak House
- Boxed
- Participating Shake Shack locations
Know that you have to enroll if you want to earn these credits.
Up to $100 annual airline fee credit. You can choose one qualifying airline from which to earn the statement credit and then receive up to $100 per calendar year when you charge incidental fees to this card. Qualifying expenses can include checked bags or an in-flight meal.
Cons
Higher annual fee. The annual fee for the American Express® Gold Card is $250. If you use the dining credit (worth up to $120) and the airline fee credit (worth up to $100) each year, that can effectively reduce the card’s annual fee to $30. But if you don’t use the credits much or at all, $250 is a bit pricey.
Which card is right for you?
Those who travel frequently, dine out a lot and want a big welcome offer will find a lot to like in the American Express® Gold Card. However, for ongoing value, we like the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card.
If you’re earning 50% extra points each month, the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card will earn more points per dollar than the American Express® Gold Card on supermarket purchases. However, one caveat is that the two cards have different spending caps.
With the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card, after you spend $6,000 in a year at U.S. supermarkets, your rewards rate at supermarkets drops to the base rate (1.5X per $1 if you’re earning 50% extra points, 1X per $1 if you’re not). With the American Express® Gold Card, you can spend up to $25,000 per year at U.S. supermarkets before your rewards rate drops to a base rate of 1X per $1 on supermarket purchases. For context, $6,000 a year comes out to a $500 spend a month, while $25,000 a year comes out to roughly a $2,083 spend a month.
When it comes to the other categories the cards reward — gas station purchases for the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card and restaurants and flights for the American Express® Gold Card — it’s a matter of your personal spending habits. The frequent traveler will find more value in getting points for dining and air travel, but we think cardholders who drive more than they fly can get more benefit from a higher rewards rate at the pump.
In short, both are good cards. But for everyday value (pun intended) the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card wins out.
The information related to the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card has been independently collected by CompareCards and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply to American Express credit card offers. See americanexpress.com for more information.
