4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on U.S. Supermarkets* (up to $25,000 a year; 1X thereafter)
At restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 a year; 1X thereafter)
Booked directly with the airline or via AmexTravel.com
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
💳 This card earns American Express Membership Rewards points. American Express often runs transfer bonuses where you can get even more points when you transfer to airline or hotel partners at designated times. Transfer bonuses are awesome. Get 20%, 30%, 40% or more bonus miles when you transfer points at the right times. But they are easy to miss!
You can see all past Transfer Bonuses from American Express Membership Rewards here.
Even better? Get notified when a new transfer bonus comes out and again before it ends (either or both, your choice). Sign up for free alerts right here. 🔔
The American Express Gold Card (and the Rose Gold version of the Amex Gold Card) is one of my favorite credit cards on the market.
While many cards have more bonus categories or more features, the simplicity of a card that earns 4X American Express Membership Rewards points on both dining (up to $50,000 annually; 1X thereafter) and at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 annually; 1X thereafter), given how much of my monthly spend is in one of these two categories, makes it an easy top-of-wallet choice. 3X on airfare is also nice.
It helps that I have no problem at all using the included credits, living in a major metropolitan area. In fact, I’ve generally used both of the included credits at GrubHub and Uber Eats by the fifth of each month! The Resy credits are also easy to use if you live in a major metro area (although admittedly not as easy if you don’t!). And the $7 Dunkin’ credits come in handy if you live in a Dunkin’ heavy area (which we do).
While I wouldn’t make it my only credit card, it definitely complements other cards nicely. If you already have the American Express Platinum Card, for example, you’d be better off using the Platinum card for its many benefits and 5X on airfare, but using your Amex Gold Card for your groceries and restaurant expenses.
Keep in mind that all of your American Express Membership Rewards points accrue to one master account. As long as you have at least one card open that earns Membership Rewards points, your points will never expire.
This includes no-annual fee cards like the Blue Business Plus.
Rates and Fees for the American Express® Gold Card
At Hilton portfolio properties when you book direct with Hilton or the hotel. Otherwise, earn 3X points
U.S. dining, including takeout and delivery
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
I’ve long said at MilesTalk that I think the Hilton Aspire is the best hotel credit card on the market.
Setting aside the welcome bonus, here are your yearly benefits:
Hilton Resort Credits – $400: If you stay at Hilton resorts twice annually (although it must be one time January to June and one time July to December, this is as good as cash.
Airline credits – $200 ($50 per calendar quarter): Easy to use if you fly once per quarter
Hilton Honors Diamond status – $950: This could technically be worth a couple thousand if you stay frequently at Hilton properties (and a certain site I won’t name would say it’s worth over $3,000), but that would also likely mean you don’t need this card to earn it, since you’d earn it from nights stayed.
Even if you only stay 10 nights a year, the free breakfast or daily food credits and lounge access for two would be conservatively worth ~$70 a day. Room upgrades are never guaranteed, but they are frequent in my experience. Let’s call those ~$25 a stay even though that’s very light as a value given that some upgrades are likely to be suites. If you stay 10 nights a year, Diamond status is worth $950 using the calculations above.
Annual Free Night Certificates – $500: Valid any night of the week and good at any Hilton properties in the Hilton portfolio. with no points limit. It’s not going to be hard to pick and choose where to use that for maximum value and at any Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria at a busy time, $500 is easy. I recently redeemed my own for the Waldorf Astoria Pedregal in Cabo for a $1,500 night room!
I won’t value the potential free second or third weekend night since those do require $30,000 and $60,000 in spend.
I also won’t value the $189 CLEAR+ credit as that is available on so many other Amex cards.
Total Tangible Benefits from your $550 in annual spend? $2,050
I mean, that is NUTS. And I hope you can tell that if anything I tried to assign lower values to perks than they are probably worth! If anything, I undervalued them. The only thing is that you obviously need to stay at Hilton hotels or resorts a handful of times a year to enjoy the benefits. And really, if you don’t, then you likely don’t need a Hilton credit card.
Rates and Fees for the Hilton Honors Aspire® Credit Card
All information about the Hilton Honors Aspire® Credit Card has been collected independently by Your Best Credit Cards.