American Express Gold

Hi - has anyone had any experiences with the Gold Amex card? I travel quite a lot so seems like a good option?

Grateful for any advice!

Thanks 

Daniel 

Hi there,

The American Express Gold Card has a strong reputation as an exclusive charge card. However, in Switzerland, the American Express Gold Card is not issued directly by American Express but by Swisscard AECS, a joint venture between Credit Suisse and American Express. This does not affect the card's usefulness as a payment card, but it does affect the benefits which you receive as a cardholder.

You still benefit from the Gold Card Travel Service, which is practical if you prefer to book through an agent rather than doing it yourself online. You also benefit from offers in the Vacation Collection. You get Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Membership and a 10% discount on Hertz car rentals. A big advantage of the Swisscard version of the Amex Gold is that you get foreign travel medical expenses insurance which does not come with the card in many other countries. The complimentary travel insurance which comes with this card also includes travel accident insurance, trip delay and trip cancellation insurance.

But the Swisscard version of the American Express Gold Card has a relatively high annual fee (300 francs) and does not deliver the hotel credits and high rewards on airline and hotel bookings which the Gold Card is known for. You only earn 1 point per 1 Swiss franc spent on all purchases. Another drawback is that the Membership Rewards points which you earn can only be redeemed through the local Swiss Membership Rewards program and not through the global American Express rewards program.

The Swiss program is more limited. For example, you do not benefit from 1:1 point transfer to frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs (transfer rates are 2:1, 3:1 or 5:1). On the upside, the program offers flexibility in that you can transfer points to several loyalty programs: Miles & More; Flying Blue; Millemiglia; Etihad Guest; BA Executive Club; Delta Skymiles; Hilton Hhonors; SPG. You can also redeem points for travel directly through the local American Express travel service.

If you only fly with a limited number of airlines, then a specialized airline credit card may be a better option. If you fly with Miles & More partner airlines, then using the SWISS Miles & More American Express® Gold is more rewarding as you earn 2 miles for every 2 Swiss francs charged to the card. This card comes bundled with a Mastercard with a lower miles-earning rate for use where Amex is not accepted and delivers complimentary travel insurance coverages. At 220 Swiss francs, the annual fee for the 2-card bundle is lower than the annual fee of the Amex Gold Card.

If you primarily fly British Airways, then the Diners Club British Airways Card with 1 Avio per 1 franc charged is a good choice for earning Avios on spending. Dedicated airline cards for Iberia and Flying Blue are also issued in Switzerland.

If you mainly travel to countries in Europe or North America, then you should not have much trouble using an American Express or Diners Club credit card. In many other countries, however, these cards are not as widely accepted as Visa and Mastercard credit cards. If you travel to many different locations, then using a Visa or Mastercard credit card may be a preferable.

A number of Visa and Mastercard travel credit cards are issued in Switzerland. The Bonus Card Visa Libertycard Plus, for example, delivers high rewards (4 points per franc for travel purchases, 1 point for other purchases), has a concierge service which can handle many tasks for you in addition to travel bookings, and provides solid complimentary travel insurance (travel accident, trip delay, trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel medical expenses, luggage loss, search and rescue, travel legal and collision damage waiver for rental cars. The annual fee is half that of the American Express Gold at 150 francs per year. The downside is that points redemption options for travel (SWISS and Emirates vouchers and Miles & More points transfer) are more limited than those of the American Express card.

The Cumulus Mastercard has no annual fee and delivers complimentary travel accident insurance, flight delay coverage, travel legal insurance and insurance against cancellations due to airline bankruptcy. However, options for redeeming the Migros Cumulus points which you earn for travel are limited and the process is more complicated. Points can be redeemed for vouchers which in turn can be redeemed towards travel purchases at Migros Ferien/Vacances.

The interactive credit card comparison on moneyland.ch makes it easy to compare Swiss credit cards based on their benefits and costs to find the card which best suits your needs.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Credit card comparison
Frequent flyer programs: Making the most of your miles
Travel insurance in Switzerland: Helpful tips