Dear Clever Credit,
Given the American Express® Gold Card fee increase, what is the best alternative? My wife and I have our own Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card for individual purchases, and we have Gold for joint. Just wondering if there’s any “one-stop shop” that can compete with AmEx Gold for groceries, restaurants and travel?
Signed,
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
Dear Gold,
I completely understand the urge to dump the AmEx Gold card after that annual fee increase. I have the card, as well, and the new fee — to $325 from $250 in 2024 — certainly has me looking elsewhere. See Rates & Fees
Since you have the Venture X card, there are a couple of options you can explore. First, let’s take a look at possible alternatives to the Gold card.
| U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | |
| Annual Fee | $0 | $95 |
| Rewards Rate |
— 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Travel Center — 4 points per dollar spent on other travel purchases, at gas stations and EV charging stations (on your first $1,000 every quarter) — 2 points per dollar spent on dining, streaming services and at grocery stores — 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases |
— 5 points per dollar spent on travel purchased through Chase Travel? — 3 points per dollar spent on dining — 3 points per dollar spent on online grocery purchases, excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs — 3 points per dollar spent on select streaming services — 2 points per dollar spent on all other travel purchases — 1 point per dollar spent on everything else |
| Travel Perks |
— Airport lounge access (four free visits per year) — TSA PreCheck or Global Entry statement credit — Travel protections like trip cancellation and interruption insurance and trip delay reimbursement |
— $50 annual hotel credit — 10% anniversary boost — Travel protections like trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement and lost luggage reimbursement |
As you can see, these options either don’t have an annual fee or a much lower one. You’ll lose the premium travel perks that make the American Express Gold so enticing, but your Venture X could possibly pick up the slack in that regard.
Another option is to use the Capital One Duo strategy since you already have the Venture X. This is when you pair a cash back card with a card that earns miles to maximize your rewards. In this case, you would apply for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card, which earns:
— 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases
— 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
— 3% cash back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services
— 1% cash back on all other purchases
The Savor also comes with an introductory offer of $200 cash back after you spend $500 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account. And there’s no annual fee!
With the Savor, you can pool your rewards with your Venture X card, converting your cash back into miles. It’s a 1-to-1 valuation, so think of it as earning 3 miles on groceries as opposed to 3% cash back, for example.
My recommendation would be to check out the Savor and employ the Capital One Duo strategy since you’re already halfway there.
Happy travels!
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Clever Credit: I Want to Dump My AmEx Gold. What Do I Replace It With? originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/04/26: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.