What the Amex Gold Actually Did for Us (After Getting It Wrong First)

If you’ve been reading my posts, you know I’m not the person who says “get this credit card and you’ll fly for free”. For me, cards are an accelerator, not the main way to collect points. And that’s not just an opinion. It comes from my family’s own experience, including a couple of mistakes.

So let me tell you our real story with the Amex Gold. My husband’s and mine.

First, we got it all wrong

When I got my first credit card in the UK, I applied for the free British Airways American Express. I got 5,000 Avios as a welcome bonus and thought I was doing amazing. Then I referred my husband, and he applied for the same card. So between the two of us, including my referral bonus, we got around 14,000 Avios, when we could have got so much more.

With Amex, whether you get a welcome bonus depends on which of their cards you’ve had before, and in what order you apply for them. And we did it in the worst possible order. Those small bonuses blocked us from the big ones. (The order you apply in is so important that I wrote a whole post about the order I’d apply for Amex cards if I started again!)

So we cancelled those cards, and we spent two years without any Amex at all.

And you know what? We kept collecting points. We had our Barclaycard and our Virgin card, plus shopping portals, Nectar and Clubcard. That’s why I always say that a credit card helps, but it’s not the main thing. We lived it.

Starting again, the right way

After those two years, we started again with Amex. But this time, properly.

We started with the Amex Gold, because it’s free in the first year and it has one of the biggest welcome bonuses. And we didn’t just apply anytime. We waited for a boosted welcome offer, and when one came along with around 50,000 points, my husband applied.

That’s something we always do as a couple: one of us applies for a card, we use it for a while, and later the other one applies. That way, we make the most of each welcome bonus, instead of both applying at the same time.

Those points went straight into our pot. And with all the trips we’ve done since, including my trips to Brazil, they’ve been part of how we’ve paid for our flights.

What we actually used

The lounge passes

We used them, and lounges are now part of every trip we take. The Gold comes with four Priority Pass lounge visits a year.

I still remember our very first time in a lounge. We didn’t even have a credit card back then. We’d added the Barclays Travel Pack to our bank account, which any Barclays current account customer can do, and it came with four lounge visits through DragonPass. And after that, there was no going back! You arrive, you have somewhere to sit, something to eat and drink. And with kids? Even better. Many lounges have a kids’ area with toys, so they’re entertained while you relax before the flight.

The Deliveroo credit

This is the one we used the least. We don’t really order delivery, it’s just not something we do. So I don’t count it as real value for us. If you already order Deliveroo, great. If you don’t, don’t let it convince you.

The purchase protection

I never thought we’d use this, but we did once. I paid for a service online, quite a big amount, and it wasn’t delivered as promised. Only part of it was. I opened a dispute with Amex, and I promise you, on the same day, the refund for the part we never received was back on the card. Paying by debit card, I’d have had much less protection.

Why we upgraded after a year

The Gold is free in the first year, and from the second year there’s an annual fee of £195. When the card was about to renew, my husband and I looked at how we travel as a family and decided to upgrade to the Amex Platinum instead. For us, it made more sense.

My business partner here at Fly Smart Club, Nat, shared how the Platinum’s lounge and hotel benefits help her family, and she also wrote a guide to what to activate first when you get the card. And I’ll tell you about my family’s experience with it in another post too!

One thing you must know before cancelling

If you decide the Gold isn’t for you after the first year, that’s completely fine. But please, before you cancel, move your points. If you cancel an Amex card and you don’t have another card that collects the same points (Membership Rewards), you can lose the points that are still in your account. So transfer them to Avios, Virgin Points or another partner first.

If you upgrade or downgrade instead of cancelling, like we did, your points stay with you.

So, is it worth it?

For us, yes. Not because of the Deliveroo credit, and not even because of the lounges. Because of the welcome bonus. It’s free in the first year, and if you apply at the right moment, with a boosted offer, it gives you a big boost of points in one go.

But only if:

• You pay your card off in full every month
• The minimum spend fits into what you already spend
• You check that you’re eligible for the welcome bonus before applying

If you’d like to apply, it’s always worth using a referral link, because you usually get a bigger bonus than applying directly on the Amex website. If you’d like to use mine, here it is. Full transparency: I get a referral bonus too, at no cost to you. But only apply if it makes sense for you.

And if credit cards aren’t for you, that’s okay too. Remember, we spent two years without Amex and we kept travelling. Shopping portals, Nectar and Clubcard will take you a long way.

Lots of love, and see you next time! Xx

Fly Smart Club is an educational website. The content in this article is based on my personal experience and is for information only. It is not financial advice. Card benefits, fees, welcome offers and terms can change, so please check the latest details with the provider and consider your own circumstances before making any financial decision. Some of our articles contain referral links. If you sign up through one, Fly Smart Club may receive a reward, at no extra cost to you.