How to use Amex Gold airline credit?

The American Express Gold card is a great credit card for people looking to elevate the quality of their travels in exchange for a $250 annual fee. While this fee might seem like a lot, it allows American Express to offer exclusive rewards that few other credit cards can match. 

One of the rewards this card offers is statement credit for purchases made in three different categories. As a cardholder, you are given $120 in dining credit, $100 in airline fee credit and $100 in hotel collection credit every year. These credits are  provided to you to make your travels more comfortable. 

What can you use the airline credit for?

The $100 airline credit itself cannot be used for bookings or airfare. However, it can be used for supplemental purchases like inflight meals, incidental expenses and baggage fees. Considering the unpredictability of air travel, this $100 credit can come in handy for frequent flyers. However, a possible drawback is that before you use the airline credit, you have to declare your airline of choice though your American Express account. Once you declare your airline, you can only use the airline credit on flights of that airline for the next calendar year. This might be limiting for those that fly unusual routes with multiple airlines. 

What is covered by the airline credit?

The goal of this airline credit is to eliminate the additional headaches that come with flying. Therefore, its coverage is pretty solid. The credit allows you to reimburse the following expenses: 

• Checked baggage fees
• Overweight baggage fees
• Flight change fees
• Phone reservation fees
• Pet flight fees
• Airport lounge day passes and annual memberships
• Seat assignment fees
• Inflight amenity fees 
• Inflight entertainment fees (not including onboard wifi)

The airline credit that comes with this card is very practical in nature and can come handy when needed. Also, if fully utilized, it can help you earn back almost half of this card’s $250 annual fee, so make sure you try to maximize the usage of provided credit.