Amex Gold - OUR FAVORITE!!

When it comes to turning your everyday spending into free travel and luxury perks, few cards beat the American Express Gold Card. Grace and I have used it religiously for years, and last year alone, we earned over 200,000 Amex Membership Rewards points. Here’s how we did it, and why this card should be in your wallet too.

The current Amex Offer can be all the way up to 100k Points when being referred🤯 Which is the highest on record!

Use our link! Try in incognito mode for the best chance at getting the highest offer!

4x Points Where You Already Spend Money

The Amex Gold gives you 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants and grocery stores, making it a no-brainer for food lovers, couples, families, and anyone who eats (aka, all of us). But here’s where it gets really fun:

Yes, that 4x grocery store bonus includes Whole Foods, HEB, Kroger, and most local supermarkets.

And guess what we do all the time? We buy Amazon gift cards at Whole Foods before making big Amazon purchases. That means we’re earning 4x points on Amazon – without shopping at Amazon directly. It’s a simple trick that really adds up, especially during holidays or large household buys.

Other gift card hacks we love: buy Home Depot, Best Buy, or sometimes even Gas station gift cards at the grocery store. Boom, 4x points instantly.

Our Secret 200,000+ Point Strategy: Uber & DoorDash

One little-known tip Grace and I used last year was this: if you drive for Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, or any other gig economy job, you can often use your own card to make purchases and be reimbursed by the company. We did this dozens of times and racked up hundreds of dollars of reimbursed spend on the Gold card.

Here’s the key:

• Always ask if you can use your own card.

• Keep all receipts (they’re tax deductible).

• Track reimbursements carefully.

This worked wonders for us and made our side hustle even more valuable. Every tank of gas, every order pickup, every hot bag we bought – 4x points when purchased at grocery stores or food stops.

Another major secret weapon in our Amex strategy is Rakuten. Most people use Rakuten for cashback, but you can link your Amex account and earn Membership Rewards points instead. In the last year, we’ve earned more than 85,000 Amex points through Rakuten alone!

One of our favorite wins? We booked a helicopter tour in Hawaii through Expedia with Rakuten offering 20x points—yes, 20x. That single purchase earned us thousands of Amex points in one shot.

The Value of Amex Points

Amex Membership Rewards points are some of the most valuable points in the travel world. In Fact, The Points Guy values them at 2 cents per point, just 0.05 of a cent off from the top spot. You can:

• Transfer to top airlines like Delta, ANA, Emirates, and Air France.

• Book hotels with partners like Hilton and Marriott.

• Use Pay with Points directly through Amex Travel.

With good transfer partners and timing, your points can be worth 2-5x more than basic cashback. We’ve used Amex points to book business class flights, luxury hotels, and even cover taxes on free cruise bookings.

Don’t Forget the Monthly Bonuses!

Amex Gold isn’t just about points – the monthly perks are legit and can add up to serious value:

🍽️ $10/month Uber Credits

Use them on Uber Eats or rides, including pick-up orders. Got more than one Amex Gold (or other eligible Amex cards) in your household? Link them to the same Uber account and stack those credits for even more Uber Cash every month.

🍔 $10/month Dining Credit

This works at places like Cheesecake Factory, Five Guys, Goldbelly, and more. If you don’t plan on dining out that month, go in person and buy a gift card instead (must be in person for the credit to trigger). Grace and I do this all the time and stockpile gift cards for those extra-expensive Five Guys meals we crave.

🍩 $7/month Dunkin’ Donuts Credit

This one’s new and easy to miss, but we’ve got the best trick: Download the Dunkin' app and reload your gift card balance inside the app using your Amex Gold. That way, you can save up multiple months of credits and treat yourself when you’re ready — without stepping into a store until it counts. And yes, the App triggers the credit. Just hit that "Quick Reload" button and add a custom amount of $7 once a month!

🍽️ $100/year Resy Dining Credits

Grace and I don’t usually hit up fancy restaurants, so we assumed this one wouldn’t get much use for us. But then Grace discovered something NOBODY is talking about.

There seems to be a secret connection between Resy and InKind (a food credit app). While it’s not publicly stated anywhere, restaurants we paid through InKind have consistently triggered the Resy credit. Even restaurants not listed in the Resy app!

For example, we love True Food Kitchen, which isn’t on Resy—but when we paid with InKind, we still got the $50 bi-yearly credit. No one else seems to know about this, so try it and let us know!

📲 Download the Inkind App Here

Leave a comment if the InKind trick worked for you!

If used correctly (and I truly believe these are the best ways to use them), these credits add up to $424 a year, 🤯 and that doesn't even include the points you build up from groceries and restaurants. This card is a no-brainer!

Want 15,000 Easy Points? Refer Someone.

Here’s one of the quickest ways to stack more Amex points: refer a friend. Every time someone signs up using your Amex referral link, you can earn up to 15,000 points (with a 100k cap per year).

We’ve added our referral link below — if you find this helpful and want to support the blog, use it to apply. Then, drop your referral link in the comments.

Once Grace and I hit our referral cap, we’ll randomly select user links from the comments to feature in our "Apply Now" button going forward. That way, we can all win together.

Let us know your favorite point-earning tips below!