Amex Gold Refresh 2026: 5X Hotels, Hertz Five Star, Same $325 Fee

American Express refreshed the Gold Card on April 30 — its 60th anniversary — and the headline number is 5X Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com or the Amex Travel App. That’s up from 2X, and it arrives at no change to the $325 annual fee.

Context

The Gold Card has historically been positioned as the dining and groceries card within the Amex product lineup — earning 4X at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. The 2026 update extends the earning power into travel, specifically around prepaid hotel bookings through Amex’s own booking platform. The timing coincides with Amex’s push to deepen travel ecosystem loyalty ahead of the summer booking season, and the card’s 60th anniversary gives the refresh a marketing moment that justifies the changes without a fee increase — a deliberate competitive signal against Chase Sapphire Preferred and other mid-tier travel cards.

The Detail

The 5X hotel points earning applies to prepaid bookings made through amextravel.com or the Amex Travel App — not to hotel stays booked directly with the property. This matters for cardmembers who currently use other booking channels: the benefit only activates through Amex’s own platform, which typically requires forfeiting hotel-branded loyalty points in exchange for Membership Rewards earnings. Whether that trade-off works depends on individual loyalty program status, but at 5X it becomes a stronger argument for high-frequency hotel bookers who value Membership Rewards transferability.

The Hertz Five Star status benefit is new and automatic for Gold cardmembers. Five Star status in the Hertz Gold Plus loyalty program includes space-available vehicle upgrades, wider Ultimate Choice availability at participating locations, and bonus points on Hertz rentals. This is the first car rental status benefit on the Gold Card and adds meaningful value for cardmembers who rent frequently — particularly if they’ve been paying for Hertz status through other card programs.

The $120 annual dining credit gets updated partners. Buffalo Wild Wings and Wonder (a food delivery platform) join the eligible merchant roster, while Goldbelly and Wine.com phase out through June 30. Continuing partners include Cheesecake Factory, Five Guys, and Grubhub. The credit structure remains $10 per month with enrollment required — unchanged in total value.

For the 60th anniversary, Amex layered in time-limited offers: a statement credit of up to $96 for Uber One annual membership (through October 30), a 20% bonus when transferring Membership Rewards points to Hilton Honors (through May 30), and Hotel Collection offers through July 15. These are enrollment-required and expiry-dated — useful for cardmembers who plan around them, invisible to those who don’t. The welcome offer changed as well: new applicants now need to spend $8,000 in the first six months (up from $6,000), though the 100,000-point bonus, valued at approximately $2,000 by TPG’s April 2026 valuations, remains unchanged.

Source: The Points Guy

Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.