How I Use The Amex Gold To Travel The World For (Mostly!) Free

The American Express® Gold Card has one of the best points-earning structures for everyday spend categories. Since you get a bonus for spending at supermarkets, restaurants and even airline tickets, earning a chunk of points is a breeze.

The card earns 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at restaurants (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar beginning on 1/1/2025), 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), 3 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on American Express Travel, 2 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

Supermarkets

I use the card’s rewards for travel, but at the end of the day I spend the most time at home. Earning 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar on all my supermarket purchases is a huge win. There is a $25,000 cap each calendar year, but if your family spends around $500/week at grocery stores, you’ll easily max it out.

Another good practice is to verify which shops in your area qualify as supermarkets since many eligible stores sell nongrocery items, including household goods—and some even have garden centers. You can call the store’s customer service and ask them or look at your most recent billing statement to see how Amex categorized your purchase. There might be some places you’re already shopping where you’re able to use your Amex Gold and get bonus points.

Restaurants

The same 4 points per dollar bonus at supermarkets also applies for restaurants worldwide (capped at $50,000 per calendar year). So no matter if you’re eating at home or on the road, you’ll get one of the best points earnings at restaurants you’ll find on any card.

Airline Tickets

Most ticket purchases I use my miles and points so the only part that I charge to my credit card is the taxes and fees. However, if I am going to pay cash for an airline ticket purchase, I use my Amex Gold as the default card—that way when I buy my tickets directly with the airline, I’m earning 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar.

Amex Travel

American Express has a robust travel portal where you can book flights, hotels, rental cars and more. If you use your American Express® Gold Card via Amex’s travel portal, you’ll snag an extra point per dollar for a total of 2 points.

Rakuten Shopping Portal

One of the best parts of buying things online is the convenience of never having to step foot in a store. The second best is being able to score extra Membership Rewards for all those purchases.

Via a partnership with Rakuten—an online shopping portal—you can link your American Express account and instead of earning cash back, you’ll be paid in Membership Rewards points. When a website says you’ll earn 3% cash back, you’ll instead earn 3 Membership Rewards per dollar spent.

This has been a huge source of Membership Rewards for me. So far this year I’ve received over 52,000 Membership Rewards points just from doing my normal shopping.

Referrals

Once you open an Amex card, you’re able to refer your friends and family to sign up and earn Membership Rewards for the referral. The cap on earning referral rewards is typically 100,000 per year, and the amount you’ll earn from a referral varies every couple of months.

At certain times, Amex might run promotions where you can earn bonus points attached to the referral as well. Earlier this year I was able to refer my best friend and get 20,000 Membership Rewards and 10 bonus points per dollar on all restaurant purchases for three months. So instead of 4 points per dollar I earned 14 points per dollar at all restaurants for three months.