The Amex Gold card is not a credit card but a charge card. There are only 2 major differences the first being you have to pay off your balance in full at the end of the month or you have to pay 30% annual interest. The other difference is that you have no preset limit, if Amex thinks they can lend you more money they will allow you to spend more.

Annual Fee & Signup Bonus

• $150 Annual Fee
• 25,000 MR Points when you spend $1,500 in the first 3 months

Earning rates + Bonuses

• 2x per dollar spend on gas, grocery, and drugstores in Canada
• 2x per dollar spend on travel purchases
• 1x on everywhere else
• +1 on perches on amextravel.com on hotels and card rentals
• 5,000 MR Points per referral up to a maximum of 75,000 MR Points per calendar year
• Up to $100 Hotel Credit + one-category room upgrade on the Amex The Hotel Collection
• Amex Offers will give you exclusive discounts or bonuses
• Hertz Gold Plus

Redemption Options

• Transfer to airlines partners form ratios of 1:0.75 to 1:1
• Transfer to hotel partners from ratios of 1:1 to 1:1.2
• Amex Fixed Point Travel with a value of between 1.5–1.75 CPP and 2 CPP on popular routes in Economy Class and a value of between 1.6–1.8 CPP in Business Class
• amextravel.com
• Statement Credits at 1000 points = $10 on travel a value of 1 CPP
• Statement Credits at 1000 points = $7 on everything else a value of 0.7 CPP
• Amazon.ca Credits at 1000 points = $7 a value of 0.7 CPP
• Gift Cards at a value of roughly 0.8 CPP

Insurance

• Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance up to $5,000,000 for people under 65 in the first 15 days
• Trip Interruption Insurance up to $1,500 per person per trip to a max of $6,000
• Baggage Delay Insurance up to $500 (aggregate maximum with Flight Delay Insurance)
• Flight Delay Insurance up to $500 (aggregate maximum with Baggage Delay Insurance)
• Hotel Burglary Insurance up to $500
• Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance up to $500
• Travel Accident Insurance up to $500,000
• Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance
• Travel Emergency Assistance
• Buyer’s Assurance Protection Plan
• Purchase Protection Plan

Thoughts

The Gold card is a really good card to get as it gives you 2x points on most peoples biggest spending categories of gas, groceries, and pharmacy along with travel purchase, the one thing Amex could do to make this card even more appealing would be to add dining to the 2x categories.

With RM Points you can transfer them to many different airline and hotel partners at a rate of 1:1.2 to Marriott Bonvoy, a rate of 1:1 to Air Canada, British Airways Avios, and Hilton Honors, and a rate of 1:0.75 to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Etihad Guest, Delta SkyMiles, and Alitalia Millemiglia.

You also have the option of using the Amex Fixed Point Travel but I would not recommend using it because if you were the Amex Cobalt has better earning rates but can not be transferred to airline partners.

The gift cards and statement credits are not worth it as the evaluation is really low and you could get way better redemption value if you transferred the points to Air Canada.

Amex Travel portal is a good place to check when traveling as if you can get a competitive price Amex gives you a $100 Credit to spend on spa's, food, or other things, it depends on the property, they also will try to give you a room upgrade.