The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card, usually just called the Amex Gold card, is one of the most popular first steps into travel rewards in the UK. Unlike the British Airways cards, it does not earn airline miles directly. Instead it earns Membership Rewards points, a flexible currency you can move into Avios and several other airline and hotel programmes when you are ready to book. Add four airport lounge passes a year and no fee in year one, and it is easy to see the appeal.
This review explains how the card earns, what the points are worth, which benefits matter, and whether it is worth keeping once the £195 fee kicks in. If you are deciding between this and an Avios card, compare it with our reviews of the British Airways American Express Credit Card and the BA Amex Premium Plus Card. Details were checked against American Express’s own pages in October 2026.
Representative example: Representative 85.8% APR variable. Based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 at a purchase rate of 29.1% p.a. (variable) and an annual fee of £195 (£0 in your first year). 18+, subject to status. Terms apply.
The Card at a Glance
- Annual fee: £0 in the first year, then £195.
- Earn rate: 3 Membership Rewards points per £1 at American Express Travel, 2 points per £1 spent directly with airlines or in a foreign currency, and 1 point per £1 on other purchases.
- Spending bonus: 5,000 bonus points when you spend £10,000, up to 10,000 bonus points a year.
- Lounge access: four complimentary Priority Pass airport lounge visits a year, which you can share with a travelling companion.
- Other perks: £5 back twice a month on Deliveroo (enrolment required), The Hotel Collection benefits through Amex Travel, purchase and refund protection, and travel cover.
- Minimum income: £20,000. UK residents aged 18 or over with a UK bank account.
Who Is the Amex Gold Card For?
The Gold card suits people who want travel rewards but are not yet committed to one airline. Because Membership Rewards points can be moved into different programmes, you can decide later whether a trip is best booked with British Airways Avios, Virgin Points or another partner. That flexibility is particularly valuable for newcomers who are still learning which programme fits their travel.
It also suits people who fly a few times a year and would use the lounge passes, and anyone who wants to try a rewards card without paying a fee in the first year. It is less suitable for someone who only ever flies British Airways and could reach the £15,000 Companion Voucher threshold on a BA card, and it is not suitable for anyone likely to carry a balance. Once the £195 fee applies, the representative APR is 85.8%.
How You Earn Membership Rewards Points
The card has three earning tiers. You earn 3 points per £1 on bookings made through American Express Travel, the company’s own travel agency. You earn 2 points per £1 on purchases made directly with airlines and on spending in a foreign currency. Everything else earns 1 point per £1. There is no cap on how many points you can earn.
On top of that, American Express adds 5,000 bonus points each time you reach £10,000 of spending, up to 10,000 bonus points a year. In practice, that means a bonus at £10,000 and another at £20,000. For someone who reaches £20,000, those bonuses effectively lift the base earn rate to 1.5 points per £1.
A word of caution on foreign spending. Although it earns double points, American Express charges a non-sterling transaction fee on foreign currency purchases. In most cases, the fee outweighs the value of the extra point, so a fee-free card is usually the better choice abroad. Check the current fee in the card’s summary box.
As with other Amex cards, balance transfers, cash advances, fees, interest and foreign exchange transactions do not earn points. Points usually appear in your account within a couple of days of a transaction posting.
The welcome offer
American Express usually offers new Gold Cardmembers a welcome bonus in Membership Rewards points for reaching a spending target in the first few months. The standard offer has typically been 20,000 points for spending £3,000 in the first three months, and Amex runs larger limited-time offers from time to time. Offers change, so check the current one on the American Express website before applying. You will not qualify if you hold, or have held in the past 24 months, any personal American Express card.
What Membership Rewards Points Are Worth
The value of a Membership Rewards point depends entirely on how you use it. American Express publishes fixed values for its own redemption options, which make a useful baseline.
- Gift cards: 1,000 points = £5.
- Statement credit or covering a purchase: 1,000 points = £4.50.
- Amazon, PayPal and online shopping with points: 1,000 points = £4.50.
- Booking through American Express Travel with points: 1,000 points = £4.50.
In other words, the floor is roughly half a penny per point. The real opportunity lies in transferring points to airline partners. American Express lets you move points to partner programmes including British Airways and Emirates Skywards, and for UK Cardmembers most airline partners, including Avios, have transferred at 1 point to 1 airline point. Hotel partners use different ratios. Check American Express’s current partner list and ratios before you transfer.
Used well, especially on premium-cabin reward flights or when cash fares are high, airline points can be worth considerably more than half a penny each. Our guide to how airline miles and points benefit regular travellers explains how to work out the value of a specific redemption.
Three transfer rules matter. Transfers cannot be reversed, so only move points once you have found the reward seat you want. Points can only go into a loyalty account in your own name. And it can take time to link a new partner account, so set that up in advance.
Do Membership Rewards points expire?
Not while your account is open and in good standing. However, American Express states that if you miss a monthly payment you forfeit the points earned in the previous month, and if you close your card you have 30 days to use your points before they are lost. If you plan to cancel, redeem or transfer your balance first.
Airport Lounge Passes
Gold Cardmembers get a Priority Pass membership with four complimentary lounge visits a year, usable at over 1,300 lounges worldwide. You can use all four yourself or share them with a friend or family member travelling with you, so a couple could use two visits each on a return trip.
Four visits will not transform frequent business travel, but for someone flying on holiday a couple of times a year, they turn a crowded departure hall into a calmer start to the trip, with food, drinks and a seat. Lounges vary widely in quality and some limit Priority Pass access at busy times, so check the Priority Pass app for your airport before you rely on it.
Other Benefits
- Deliveroo credit: £5 back on eligible Deliveroo orders twice a month, up to £120 a year, once you enrol. Useful only if you already order takeaways.
- The Hotel Collection: book two or more nights through American Express Travel and receive noon check-in, late check-out and a room upgrade when available, plus a US$100 credit towards eligible on-property charges. Rates booked this way may be higher than elsewhere, so compare before booking.
- Purchase protection: eligible items bought on the card are covered against theft or accidental damage for 90 days, up to £2,500 per item, subject to an excess.
- Refund protection: if a UK retailer will not take back an eligible item within 90 days, American Express will refund up to £300.
- Travel cover: travel accident insurance up to £250,000 and travel inconvenience insurance up to £200 when you book travel with the card, plus 24/7 Global Assist abroad.
- Amex Offers and Experiences: targeted statement-credit offers, presale tickets and access to the American Express Lounge at The O2 in London.
- Referrals and supplementary cards: at least 9,000 points for each approved friend you refer, up to 90,000 a year, and a supplementary card so a partner’s spending earns points too.
The insurance is card-linked cover with limits and exclusions, not a replacement for full travel insurance. Read the insurance documents on the American Express website before relying on it.
Is It Worth £195 After Year One? A Worked Example
The first year is straightforward: with no fee, the card costs nothing as long as you pay in full, and any welcome bonus is a pure gain. The harder question is year two. Here is an illustrative example using round numbers.
Imagine someone who spends £20,000 a year on the card: £2,000 directly with airlines, £1,000 through American Express Travel and £17,000 on everything else. They would earn 4,000 points from airlines, 3,000 from Amex Travel and 17,000 from other spending, plus 10,000 bonus points for reaching £20,000. That is 34,000 points a year.
At the gift card value of £5 per 1,000 points, that is worth about £170, which on its own does not cover the £195 fee. Add four lounge visits and, if you use it, the Deliveroo credit, and the picture improves. Transfer those 34,000 points to Avios and use them on a reward flight where you get well above half a penny per point, and the card can comfortably pay for itself. Spend much less than this, or redeem only for gift cards, and it probably will not.
A sensible approach is to treat the first year as a trial. Before the fee is due, look at how many points you earned, how many lounge passes you used and what you redeemed for. If the total is comfortably above £195, keep it. If not, you can close the card after using or transferring your points, or ask American Express what other options are available.
The Downsides
- The fee from year two. £195 a year needs real use of points and perks to justify it.
- Interest is expensive. Once the fee applies, the representative APR is 85.8%.
- No Companion Voucher. If you mainly fly British Airways and spend £15,000 a year, a BA card’s voucher may be worth more.
- Foreign spending fee. Double points abroad rarely offset the non-sterling transaction fee.
- Acceptance. Some UK retailers and billers still do not accept American Express.
- Missed payments cost points. Miss a payment and you lose the previous month’s points as well as facing charges.
- Low cash-out value. If you only redeem for statement credit or shopping, you get about half a penny per point.
Amex Gold vs the British Airways Amex Cards
The choice comes down to flexibility versus the Companion Voucher. The Gold card earns points you can send to several airlines and includes lounge passes, but has no voucher. The free BA Amex Credit Card earns 1 Avios per £1 with no fee and an economy Companion Voucher at £15,000 of annual spend. The BA Amex Premium Plus Card earns 1.25 Avios per £1 for £300 a year and has a voucher you can use in any cabin.
BA Amex Credit Card: Representative 29.1% APR variable, based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 at a purchase rate of 29.1% p.a. (variable), no annual fee. BA Amex Premium Plus Card: Representative 135.7% APR variable, based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 at a purchase rate of 29.1% p.a. (variable) and a £300 annual fee. 18+, subject to status. Terms apply.
Note that the Gold welcome bonus is not available if you have held any personal American Express card in the past 24 months, including a BA Amex. If you want to collect both welcome bonuses, the order in which you apply matters, so read each card’s eligibility rules carefully.
How to Get the Most From the Gold Card
- Pay in full every month by Direct Debit, which also protects your points from forfeiture.
- Book flights directly with airlines on the card to earn double points.
- Compare Amex Travel prices before booking there for triple points; the extra points only help if the price is competitive.
- Aim for the £10,000 and £20,000 bonuses with spending you would make anyway, never by overspending.
- Transfer only for a specific booking, and watch for occasional Amex transfer bonuses to partners.
- Enrol in the Deliveroo benefit and save relevant Amex Offers in the app.
- Review the card before the fee is charged each year.
Our Verdict
The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card is an excellent first-year card and a solid long-term one for the right person. With no fee in year one, a welcome bonus, four lounge passes and flexible points, it is one of the easiest ways to start collecting travel rewards in the UK. From year two, it earns its £195 fee only if you transfer points to airlines for good-value redemptions and make use of the perks. If you mostly fly British Airways and spend £15,000 a year, a BA Amex card may serve you better. Whichever you choose, pay in full every month.
As with any credit product, approval depends on your circumstances and applying can affect your credit file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Amex Gold card free?
It has no annual fee in the first year. From the second year, the fee is £195.
Can I convert Amex Gold points to Avios?
Yes. British Airways is one of the Membership Rewards transfer partners. Transfers cannot be reversed, so only transfer when you have found the flight you want, and check the current ratio first.
How many lounge visits do I get?
Four complimentary Priority Pass visits a year, which you can use yourself or share with someone travelling with you.
Do Membership Rewards points expire?
No, while your account remains open and in good standing. Missing a payment forfeits the previous month’s points, and closing the card leaves you 30 days to redeem.
Can I get the welcome bonus if I have a BA Amex card?
No. The Gold welcome bonus is not available if you hold, or have held in the past 24 months, any personal American Express card.
Representative example: Representative 85.8% APR variable. Based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 at a purchase rate of 29.1% p.a. (variable) and an annual fee of £195 (£0 in your first year). 18+, subject to status. Terms apply. Late or missed payments can cause serious money problems and make it harder to obtain credit.
Card details were checked against American Express UK in October 2026 and may change at any time. Welcome offers and transfer ratios vary; always read the current terms, summary box and insurance documents on the American Express website before applying. This review is general information, not financial advice. My Miles Journey is independent and is not affiliated with American Express.
Photos via Unsplash: Marko Pavlichenko, GeoJango Maps, D YQ and Erik Mclean.