How to use American Express Gold Card dining credit

Although the American Express Gold Card’s annual fee was raised from $195 to $250, it remains a popular choice among cardholders, as it now offers up to $220 in annual statement credits in addition to a welcome bonus of 35,000 Membership Rewards points. The annual statement credits are composed of two different credits: a $100 annual credit for airline incidental fees and a $120 annual credit that can be used toward dining out.

For the airline fee credits, you can select one qualifying airline and receive up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year covering airline incidental fees when those fees are charged to your Gold Card Account. Incidental fees do not include airfare but include fees for checked bags, in-flight refreshments, seat assignment, in-flight entertainment, and more.

For the dining credit, you can earn up to $10 per month in statement credits that is applied automatically to purchases made at the following restaurants and services:

• Grubhub
• Seamless
• The Cheesecake Factory
• Ruth’s Chris Steak House
• Boxed
• Participating Shake Shack locations

The dining credit totals up to $120 in annual savings. Since it is unlikely that you spend under $10 when eating out or ordering from one of these locations, you should be able to take full advantage of the dining credits if you make a purchase from one of these merchants at least once a month.

If you are able to use up all the airline fee credits and dining credit, you should definitely consider applying for the Amex Gold Card. If you spend all of your $220 annual credit, you are only paying a net annual fee of $30, which is a steal compared to most other cards. Although the Amex Gold Card initially looks intimidating based on its annual fee of $250, the card basically pays for itself when you take full advantage of the generous $220 it offers in statement credits.