American Express Gold Rewards card is among the best travel rewards credits in Canada and it is presently certainly one of the best cards available on the market. It has an annual fee of $150, but has a huge signup bonus of 25,000 Membership Reward points. Should you sign-up using a membership for example Perkopolis, Venngo, CPA Canada, eSurvus, etc. You can obtain a statement credit of $150 which basically helps make the card free for that the first year.
I really like how flexible Membership Rewards points are with their transfer partners. For context, you are able to transfer your Membership Rewards to Aeroplan on the 1:1 basis. Which means your 25,000 signup points includes a worth of 25,000 Aeroplan Miles that are enough for any roundtrip ticket to any place in Canada and also the continental flight in States. That ticket is definitely worth $600.
Keep reading my American Express Gold Rewards card review to discover other benefits incorporated and why it is among the best American Express charge cards in Canada.
American Express Gold Rewards card benefits
- $150 Annual fee – first year free when signing up via Perkopolis, Venngo, CPA Canada, eSurvus
- 25,000 Signup points after charging $1,500 in purchases
- Earn 2 points per $1 spent on grocery, gas, pharmacy, and travel
- Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Comprehensive travel insurance package included
- 1 Free supplementary card ($50 value)
Okay, let’s address the annual fee. As pointed out, should you fit in with a subscription program, you’ll be able to obtain the special offer with a RSVP code. Honestly, that RSVP code could be found after some research, but you’d be cheating the system. The $150 annual fee is fairly reasonable considering the signup bonus.
Earning 2 points per $1 allocated to grocery, gas, pharmacy, and travel is preferable to many similar cards.
Even though the card has a comprehensive insurance package, it’s important to note that trip cancellation isn’t incorporated. I do not think it is a deal breaker since trip cancellation is extremely specific and difficult to assert, but when it’s vital to you, you might want to think about a different card for the travel cover needs.
You get one free extra American Express Gold Rewards card is a nice touch since families can definitely improve their earnings potential.
An important factor to notice, and it is the greatest knock against American Express is that it isn’t recognized in all merchants. To tell the truth, more retailers aren’t accepting American stock exchange nowadays, andso I use this card as a quick way to earn points.
How does American Express Memberships Rewards work?
To claim 1 $ in travel, you’ll need 100 American Express Membership Rewards points, which means using the American Express Gold Rewards card, you’re earning 2% in points when paying for grocery, gas, pharmacy, and travel. Other purchases enable you to get 1% in points.
This isn’t bad, but it’s truly the additional features of Membership Rewards which should appeal to you.
Together with your points, you are able to transfer these to Aeroplan or British Airways Avios in a 1:1 ratio. Additionally, Amex occassionally runs promotions where should you transfer 20,000 points, you receive another 5,000 points free of charge making your ratio 1:1.25
Other air travel programs where one can transfer your points include Alitalia MilleMiglia,Asia Miles,Delta SkyMiles, and Etihad Guest, however your transfer ratio 1:.75
If you like to transfer points to hotels, you will get exchange your Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy in a 1:1.2 ratio in order to Hilton Honors in a 1:1.
Claiming points for travel is simple, however, you must make your reservation with the American Express TripFlex Program. This particular service doesn’t have the lovliest interface, but you can book any travel you’ll need. What’s nice is you can make use of your points to cover charges and taxes soit’s possible to have no out of pocket expenses..
In addition, there’s the Fixed Points Travel Program which could offer the best value, usually, you’ll have more from your points should you transfer these to air travel partners making your booking through their particular programs.
How the Amex Gold Rewards card compares to others
The very best card tcompare the Amex Gold Rewards cardmay be the BMO World Elite Mastercard. Using the BMO card, you get 3 points per $1 allocated to travel purchases, however, you need 140 points claim 1$ in travel making your return 2.1% on travel purchases. Other purchases enable you to get 2 points per $1 spent or perhaps a 1.4% return.
When searching in the base earn, theBMO World Elite Mastercard is comparable and annual airport terminal lounge passes, but you’ve got no transfer partners with BMO. Amex Gold Rewards tend to be worth more because you can transfer your suggests airlines and hotels.
Both cards made my list of the very best travel charge cards in Canada, so it’s a real personal selection of which card you decide to go with given that they have similar features.
Final word
Overall my American Express Gold Rewards card review is positive. The Amex Membership Rewards program offers full flexibility since you can transfer to various loyalty programs. Also keep in mind that with Membership Rewards, you can combine your points if you have other Amex cards by calling customer service.