The American Express Gold Card is a highly sought-after rewards charge card by people who want a card associated with prestige, and I think it does a great job with its generous Membership Rewards Program since it has been around since 1966. This American Express (NYSE:AXP) charge card lets you earn rewards points when you make purchases on virtually anything, and these points can be redeemed for a wide variety of travel, shopping, dining and entertainment rewards.

Before you sign up for the American Express Gold Card, read our review to find out more about its pros and cons. To be approved for this card, you need to have an excellent credit score.

Things We Like About This Card

Pay no interest. The American Express Gold Card is a charge card, which means that you’ll have to pay your outstanding balance in full every month, so there is no need to pay any interest.

The customer service at American Express is legendary, and is well-known for being the best in the credit card industry.

Get 1 point for every $1 spent on all purchases. This allows you to earn as many points as the amount of dollars spent on your purchases when using this card. This non-tiered rewards structure is simple to understand and applies to virtually everything you spend.

Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on booking travel through the American Express Travel website. Simply charge your air tickets, hotel or vacation packages to your Gold Card when buying through their travel site, and you’ll earn double points.

Earn up to 10 points per dollar spent while shopping at their online Membership Rewards site, which has more than 300 participating retailers.

Redeem your points for a wide variety of rewards such as travel rewards, merchandise, gift cards, latest electronic gadgets, designer clothing, gift cards and many more under the Membership Rewards Program. You can even transfer your points to frequent flyer programs of many airlines. With your points, you get to save a lot of money and can purchase things at very low prices. There are over 200 brands to choose from and you can use your points to fly any airline, any time.

Exclusive access to Gold Card Events, such as select concerts, shows, major sporting events and more. With the American Express Gold Card, you are eligible for upgrades and perks that the general public doesn’t have, and in many cases when booking events, you may buy tickets before they are out for sale to the rest of the public.

Points don’t expire and there is no limit to the number of points you are allowed to earn. So really, the sky’s the limit, and you can accumulate your points to redeem a large reward. You won’t have to worry when the points are going to expire.

Purchase Protection Plan. This plan will protect you against any accidental damage or the theft of eligible purchases. American Express will refund, in the case of the store not doing so, up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per card account per policy year.

Free extended warranty. American Express will extend the original U.S. warranty of the items you purchase that have 5 years or less of warranty by up to one year.

Return Protection. Got a change of mind with your purchase, and can’t return it because you’ve lost the receipt or the store is giving you a hard time? No worries! If you try to return an eligible item purchased in the U.S. within 90 days from the date of purchase and the store won’t take it back, the purchase price will be refunded by American Express, up to $300 per item, excluding shipping and handling, up to $1,000 annually per card account.

Flexibility to pay your balances over a period of time.

No over-limit fee. American Express eliminated all over-limit fees effective October 1, 2009. This is especially useful for those of you who normally spend more than the limit the credit card has. As long as you pay your bills on time, there will be no other fee to accompany this over-limit spending.

$100,000 in Travel Accident Insurance. This provides up to $100,000 in accidental death and dismemberment insurance when you pay for your plane/train/ship/bus/helicopter ticket with your card. In addition to this travel insurance, you also get  the Baggage Insurance Plan which covers you against loss of and damage to checked and carry-on baggage.

Our Least Favorite Things About This Card

Annual fee of $125 after the first year. Even though this annual fee would mean a little more spending, by having this card, you will be earning rewards and getting Gold Card exclusive services and benefits that are hard to find anywhere else.

Points take 6-8 weeks to be credited to your Membership Rewards account after you have earned them. Just take this into consideration when planning to use your earned points.

Our Verdict: 4.5/5 Stars

The American Express Gold Card is a card that will suit you if you want a rewards card with no pre-set spending limit, and if you pay your balance in full each month. In my opinion, the American Express Gold Card is a good card to get if you want to take advantage of rewards and benefits ranging from travel insurance, extended warranty to exclusive access to Gold Card Events, which is definitely a plus for those who like to be out and about.

Click here to go to American Express official application to apply online for the American Express Gold Card now. You can get a decision for your online application in less than 60 seconds.

If you plan to spend more than $30,000 a year, the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card (read our review of American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card) will be a much better deal for you as it gives you 15,000 bonus points every year when you charge more than $30,000 to your card. It also offers 25,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months of having the card as a sign-up bonus. You will also earn points faster as you get 3 points per $1 spent on airfare, 2 points per $1 spent on groceries and gas, and 1 point per $1 on everything else. For just $50 more in annual fee, you will get much more benefits out of the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card. Apply online and you can get a response in less than 60 seconds.

Click here to go to the official American Express website to apply online for American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card now.