Feel Like Gold With The American Express Gold Rewards Card

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The American Express Gold Rewards Card is a charge card that is designed for individuals with good credit. It is an instant decision credit card, which means American Express can approve or deny the card online in sixty seconds or less.

This charge card typically comes with an annual fee, but American Express makes it easy by waiving the first year fee and not applying the annual fee until the second year. In regards to supplementary cards, one free card is allowed on the account and this helps earn points faster.

Other highlights to this card include a Welcome Bonus of Membership Rewards when a specific dollar amount of purchases is charged to the card within a certain amount of time. Double points can be earned on everyday and eligible travel purchases.

If you are part of a frequent flyer program, you can transfer your points to that program or to Aeroplan and Avios. Points may also be used to pay for travel when that travel has been charged to the card.

Rewards

Rewards are easy to earn, as virtually every purchase on the card earns at least one point. Cardholders can earn double points for every $1 spent in eligible travel purchases that are paid for by the card, including last minute hotels, holiday packages, airline reservations, cruise vacations, car rentals, and much more. Double points can also be added to eligible drugstore, gas, and grocery purchases.

For the traveler, any travel can be charged to the card with no seat restrictions. The points that were earned from booking that travel can then be redeemed to cover some of the trip. This can save a great deal of money on travel costs, especially if this strategy is used every time you travel. If you wish, you can redeem points for the taxes and fees up to 12 months after the travel purchases were made.

If you have a friend that you believe would like to become a card member, you can refer them and earn bonus Membership Rewards if they are approved for the card. American Express emphasizes the fact that the individual needs to be someone you know. The status of the application will not be revealed to you, but the points will be applied at some point after they have been approved.

Insurance

When the card is used for travel, there are different types of insurance coverage that is provided. The first type is Emergency Medical Insurance. This provides coverage when emergency medical expenses have been incurred while traveling outside of the territory or province of residence. It is available the first 15 days of a trip for all eligible individuals.

If the trip is interrupted, Trip Interruption Insurance provides coverage when part of the unused travel is non-refundable. Again, the trip must be charged to the American Express card in order to qualify. Coverage is capped at a certain amount per trip per insured person and up to a certain amount for all insured individuals combined.

Complimentary Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance can help save money if the rental car is stolen or it is damaged due to an accident or vandalism. Add this to Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance, Flight Delay Insurance to cover expenses incurred on the card due to the delay, Travel Accident Insurance, Travel Network Coverage, and Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance and you have a long list of protections that can cover you when you are away from home. All you have to do is charge the applicable expenses on the card.

Recreation

If you like entertainment and shopping, this is a card that is going to have you covered. If you enjoy concerts and other events, you can take advantage of Front Of The Line ticket access. This benefit allows you to buy tickets before they are on sale to the public. You can also take advantage of reserved seating, which is what you can enjoy when American Express reserves a block of seats at specific events. When buying the tickets, use your Membership Rewards at Ticketmaster and save a great deal of money.

When it comes to shopping, which is something that everyone has to do, there are protections that guard your purchases. First, you have financial flexibility because there is no pre-set spending limit. Because this is a charge card and you pay your balance in full every month, there is a lot of savings to be had because you earn reward points for those purchases. You also have access to the Buyer's Assurance Protection Plan, which allows you to take advantage of an extension of the manufacturer's warranty on eligible items purchased with the card. You can also take advantage of the Purchase Protection Plan that protects eligible purchases from theft and damage.

If you have to make a claim, you can call the 24/7 customer service to inform them of the damage to the items. In fact, you can call customer service for any reason, such as finding out your account balance, checking transactions, making a payment, redeeming points, and much more. Many of these functions can also be carried out online through online account management. When you manage your account online, you can manage your account at your own pace and have a visual aid when looking at the numbers.

To be eligible to apply for this card, you simply need to be a Canadian resident with a Canadian credit file, an annual income that meets the minimum requirement, the age of majority where you live, and have no bankruptcies within the past 7 years. If you meet these requirements, then your odds of being approved for this card are very good.

Final Word

Overall, the Gold Rewards Card is a charge card that gives its cardholders a great number of benefits from travel to shopping and it doesn't stop there. Cardholders are also able to enjoy some of the most sought after events and much more while saving money through reward earnings and redemptions.

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