The advent of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has people reevaluating their wallet space for premium credit cards. The American Express® Gold Card (see rates & fees) with its high earning potential in various categories has been a consistent keeper in many people’s wallets.

It’s easy to get excited about the new kid on the block and throw out the well-worn card in your wallet.

I’ve been a huge fan of card combinations that can really sweep you off your feet at the ability to rapidly earn tons of points without chasing a bonus. Combos like the Citi Premier® Card and the Citi® Double Cash Card, or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

For the past few years, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® has been my absolute go to combo. However, with some recent updates I think another bank may be wooing me in.

No, it isn’t American Express, Bank of America, or Barclays.

With a wallet full of credit cards, it's best practice to commonly assess your credit card portfolio to ensure that the benefits you receive from the cards outweigh the annual fees that you pay. If not, it's time to close that card or cards in most cases.

The American Express® Gold Card is a rather compelling choice for foodies looking to maximize the return on spending. The card earns a rewards multiplier on purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, and the perks include dining credits at select restaurants and Uber cash credits for Uber Eats orders.

When making purchases with the Amex Gold Card, you’ll earn rewards at the following rates:

4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants (including take-out and delivery)4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at U.S.

Many travelers have Australia on their bucket list. There really is something for everyone, from the snorkeling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef to wineries, cool cities and spectacular beaches. 

The competition for the very limited number of award seats to get there, however, is fierce. Airlines’ frequent miler programs certainly don’t make it easy and finding award space on the nonstop flights from the U.S. could be quite a challenge.

American Express offers two different types of card - regular credit cards we are all very familiar with and the no pre-set spending limit cards.

The American Express® Gold Card, with its high reward rate in certain spending categories, is one of the best rewards cards to hold for dining and travel lovers.

The card’s elevated welcome bonus is enough to book a flight in business class on multiple airlines.

If I had to choose just one card to use for all of my points earnings, I am fairly confident that I would choose the American Express® Gold Card. There’s a lot of compelling reasons why I’d choose the Amex Gold over others.

This workhorse has some of the best earning rates on common spending categories, along with good usable credits.

Since the start of the pandemic, American Express has been quite proactive in adding non-travel benefits to its impressive lineup of credit cards. We’ve seen streaming services, shipping and dining credits, and more in 2020.

But for customers who still aren’t traveling much and aren’t taking advantage of all the travel-related benefits offered by the cards in their portfolio in 2021, Amex wants to make sure you still have a reason to use their products for your everyday spending.

This has been a very strange year for miles and points. We didn’t get a chance to travel and spend a lot of points but we sure did get quite a few great earning opportunities. We saw high-value increased offers, such as the five free nights up to 50,000 points each with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, an updated welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the overhaul and update of the Chase Freedom cards line up.

Never to be outdone, American Express also keeps surprising us.