What Credit Score Do You Need for Amex Gold?

Vault’s Viewpoint

• The Amex Gold Card is a top option for Amex Membership Rewards enthusiasts and people who spend big money on fine foods and dining out each year.
• Consumers typically are recommended to have a good credit score or better to qualify for this card and other top tier rewards credit cards from American Express.
• In addition to having a good credit score, applicants can potentially boost their approval odds with a strong household income that shows they can repay what they borrow.

More About the American Express® Gold Card

The American Express® Gold Card falls somewhere in the middle when it comes to premium credit cards, and so does its annual fee ($250). While it doesn’t have as many lucrative travel benefits as top tier cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, it does have an exceptional rewards rate in everyday spending categories and a few statement credit offers that help cardholders get more value.

Some of the most important card factors to consider with the American Express® Gold Card include:

• Annual fee: $250
• Welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months from account opening

Rewards rates are incredibly generous when it comes to food and airfare. Cardholders can earn:

• 4X points at restaurants worldwide, plus on takeout and delivery in the U.S.
• 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X points)
• 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
• 1X points on other eligible purchases

The following Amex Gold benefits also apply:

• Up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (given out in monthly increments of $10 that expire at the end of each month)
• Up to $120 in dining credits annually (given out in monthly increments of $10 in statement credits)
• $100 experience credit on eligible hotel bookings of two nights or longer with The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel
• American Express Preferred Access, which offers access to premium seated tickets to sporting events, concerts and more
• No foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)

The fact the American Express® Gold Card earns points in the American Express Membership Rewards program is another major benefit. Points earned in this program are incredibly flexible and valuable, with a Newsweek valuation of an average value of 1.19 cents each and potential value up to 2 cents each (and potentially more) when used for premium travel redemptions.

Not only can you redeem Amex Membership Rewards points for merchandise or gift cards, but you can also use them to book travel directly on AmexTravel.com. Points also transfer to a range of Amex airline and hotel partners including British Airways, Delta SkyMiles, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy and more.

Credit Score Needed for the Amex Gold

American Express considers its approval process to be proprietary information, thus it doesn’t list a minimum credit score listed for applicants to meet. However, it’s common knowledge that consumers are recommended to have a good credit score at a bare minimum to get approved, and that’s after other qualifications are met.

What does having “good credit” entail? If you look at the FICO scoring model, which is the most common type of credit score used by 90% of top lenders, you can see that scores fall between 300 and 850. From there, the following credit score ranges apply:

• Exceptional: 800+
• Very good: 740 to 499
• Good: 670 to 739
• Fair: 580 to 669
• Poor: 579 or below

A good FICO score is any score of 670 or higher, and it may be possible to qualify for the Amex Gold with that score. However, a FICO score of 700 or even higher may increase your approval odds even more.

Other factors can apply as well, including having adequate income to qualify for a line of credit and showing a history of employment. Approval odds for the Amex Gold are best for those with a very good credit score and a high and steady income.

Finally, you should know that American Express has a “once per lifetime” rule that says you cannot earn the welcome bonus on their individual cards more than once. In reality though, a lifetime for American Express is around seven years. This factor doesn’t mean you won’t get approved if you qualify, however. American Express offers applicants the courtesy of informing them if they don’t qualify for a welcome offer before they process their application and add a hard inquiry to their credit reports.

What If You Don’t Qualify?

If you don’t qualify for the Amex Gold, that doesn’t mean you’ll never qualify in the future. The fact is, you may be able to get approved for the card later on if your credit score or financial situation changes.

Consider these steps if you applied for the Amex Gold and didn’t get approved, or if you know you don’t meet the minimum credit score requirements right now.

• Call Amex reconsideration. American Express says clearly on its website that you can call in and ask them to reconsider if you’re not approved. You can call Amex at 1-800-567-1083 to go over the details in your application and see if they’ll change their mind.
• Work on improving your credit score. If your credit score isn’t quite high enough to get approved, you have moves you can make to help increase it. You can start improving your credit by making sure all your bills are paid early or on time, and by paying down revolving debt you have to reduce your credit utilization ratio. You should also check your credit reports for errors that may be dragging your score down.
• Apply for a different credit card. You can also apply for a different credit card and use it to build credit in the short-term. Many credit cards are easier to get approved for than the Amex Gold, including credit cards for fair credit.