American Express Rolled Out New “Benefits” For the Gold Card’s 60th Anniversary — Here’s What We Think

American Express is celebrating 60 years of its Amex Gold Card with new one-time benefits at no additional cost. However, “benefits” might be a strong word — that would imply some of these perks are a luxury, when in reality they’re probably the least exciting for Amex ecosystem maximalists.

That said, value is in the eye of the beholder. Some might find value in this promotion, but ironically, the more embedded you are in the Amex ecosystem, the less likely you are to find it valuable.

Let’s start with what might actually be helpful: I reckon most people don’t have the Amex Gold Card for the benefits — they put up with them. Things like $120 in Uber Cash, a $120 “dining” credit, and $100 in Resy Credit are perks people tolerate to earn 4x points on dining and groceries. Still, Amex put out a press release to tout these “new and upgraded benefits”, so let’s dig in on what they did:

• The offers might be useful: Some customers are getting targeted offers they can activate — like free Uber One, 50% off Max, or savings on Vivid Seats, Staud, CLEAR, Cook Unity, and various wine brands. These could be worthwhile for people who’d shop there anyway.
• 5x points on Amex Travel, lol: The most interesting change is that Amex is emphasizing its travel portal by adding a 5x category for spending there — if you’re into that.
• The dining credit is still laughable: Ordering pickup on GrubHub remains the way to go, but Amex is now allowing its dining credit to be used at Buffalo Wild Wings and Wonder — ah yes, great, the most annoying credit now covers private equity slop.

Is This Worth Celebrating?

Yes, these are one-time benefits — we should probably just say thank you and move on. But you know, I think the fundamental view here is that these changes lack exclamation. If we’re marking Gold’s 60th anniversary, it doesn’t feel like it.

• In fairness, Amex was probably limited in how far they could go with “new benefits,” and the result is changes that really didn’t need a press release.
• Pushing a “premium” card is hard work, but I’d argue that Amex would make it easier on itself if it stopped working with brands — won’t name names — that are just not that.

So how would I fix it? I hold that if you’re going to complain, you need to present a solution. I hardly doubt Amex staff are reading this, but if I could make a recommendation, it’s to focus on yourself. Recent refreshes to both the Platinum and Gold Card have leaned more into credits tied to Amex’s own platforms, like Resy. Personally, I think Amex using its ecosystem to support boutique brands and small businesses is where it can truly set itself apart.