Is the American Express Gold Card worth the higher annual fee?

The American Express Gold Card costs $325/yr vs $95/yr for the Bilt Obsidian Card. Compare the year-one vs ongoing value table on this page — the $230 gap must be offset by higher earn rates, welcome offers, or credits you will use (the American Express Gold Card also lists dining credits).

Which card earns more rewards, the American Express Gold Card or Bilt Obsidian Card?

Both cards earn 1X on everyday purchases. The difference is in bonus categories — check the earn rate comparison above for a full breakdown.

What benefits does the American Express Gold Card have that the Bilt Obsidian Card doesn't?

The American Express Gold Card offers dining credits. The Bilt Obsidian Card offers cell phone protection.

Should I get the American Express Gold Card or the Bilt Obsidian Card?

Use the spend scenarios on this page: the Bilt Obsidian Card has a lower $95/yr fee; the American Express Gold Card must earn enough extra (or offer a larger welcome bonus) to justify $325/yr.

American Express Gold Card vs Bilt Obsidian Card

Annual fees: American Express Gold Card $325/yr, Bilt Obsidian Card $95/yr. Strongest bonus categories: American Express Gold Card on hotels, Bilt Obsidian Card on rent and dining.

Card data as of November 13, 2026.

Credit card comparison
Overview
	American Express Gold Card American Express · $325/yr	Bilt Obsidian Card Cardless · $95/yr
Annual fee	$325	$95 Lowest
Welcome offerCurrent public offer	As high as 100,000 points — offers vary	$200 in rewards
Rewards	American Express Membership Rewards	Bilt Points
Foreign transaction fee	None	None
Network	American Express	Mastercard World Elite
Earn ratesPer $1 spent
Dining	4x Highest	3x
Grocery Stores	4x Highest	3x
Flights	3x Highest	1x
Travel	1x	2x Highest
Mortgage	1x	1.25x Highest
Rent	1x	1.25x Highest
Everything else	1x	1x
Statement creditsAs the issuer states them · — means none on record
Travel	—	$100 hotel credit
Rideshare & transit	$120 Uber Cash · $10 monthly	—
Dining & delivery	$100 Resy credit · $50 every 6 months $120 dining credit · $10 monthly $84 Dunkin' credit · $7 monthly	—
Perks & access— means none on record
Hotel status & programs	$100 property credit at 1,400+ upscale hotels worldwide	—
Other perks	Amex Offers Early access to concerts and events 24/7 global travel assistance American Express Preferred Access Events with Amex & Presale Tickets No foreign transaction fees on international purchases	10% intro APR for 12 months 0% foreign transaction fees
Protections & insuranceLimits where published · — means none on record
Trip insurance	Trip Delay Insurance up to $300	Trip cancellation up to $2,000/trip Trip Delay
Baggage	Baggage Insurance Plan up to $1,750	Luggage insurance up to $1,500
Rental car	Secondary rental car insurance for damage and theft	MasterRental Coverage
Purchase & returns	Purchase Protection up to $10,000 per item for 90 days	Purchase Assurance
Extended warranty	Extended Warranty up to one additional year · up to $10,000	Extended warranty up to $10,000/claim
Cell phone	—	Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection
Other protections	Zero liability protection on fraudulent charges Dispute Resolution and Fraud Protection	—
Pros & cons
Pros	4X points on dining worldwide - industry leading 4X at U.S. supermarkets up to $25k/year $424 in annual credits (face value) cover the $325 fee if you use at least $325 of them No foreign transaction fees Transfer to 20 airline and hotel partners	3x points on your choice of dining or grocery (up to $25K/year on grocery) 2x points on travel Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage with no transaction fees $200 Bilt Cash welcome bonus upon approval (no spending required) $100 annual Bilt Travel hotel credit ($50 semiannually)
Cons	$325 annual fee with no waived first year 4X grocery excludes Costco, Walmart, Target No lounge access included Limited non-food spending categories Amex acceptance less universal than Visa/MC	$95 annual fee plus $50 per authorized user Complex earning structure for housing rewards (requires spending tiers or Bilt Cash redemption) Bilt Cash expires at year-end with only $100 rollover Grocery bonus category capped at $25K/year spending Hotel credit requires 2-night minimum via Bilt Travel portal
	Card details	Card details

American Express Gold Card
American Express · $325/yr
Bilt Obsidian Card
Cardless · $95/yr

Overview

Annual fee: American Express Gold Card
$325
Bilt Obsidian Card
$95
Lowest
Welcome offerCurrent public offer: American Express Gold Card
As high as 100,000 points — offers vary
Bilt Obsidian Card
$200 in rewards
Rewards: American Express Gold Card
American Express Membership Rewards
Bilt Obsidian Card
Bilt Points
Foreign transaction fee: American Express Gold Card
None
Bilt Obsidian Card
None
Network: American Express Gold Card
American Express
Bilt Obsidian Card
Mastercard World Elite

Earn ratesPer $1 spent

Dining: American Express Gold Card
4x
Highest
Bilt Obsidian Card
3x
Grocery Stores: American Express Gold Card
4x
Highest
Bilt Obsidian Card
3x
Flights: American Express Gold Card
3x
Highest
Bilt Obsidian Card
1x
Travel: American Express Gold Card
1x
Bilt Obsidian Card
2x
Highest
Mortgage: American Express Gold Card
1x
Bilt Obsidian Card
1.25x
Highest
Rent: American Express Gold Card
1x
Bilt Obsidian Card
1.25x
Highest
Everything else: American Express Gold Card
1x
Bilt Obsidian Card
1x

Statement creditsAs the issuer states them · — means none on record

Travel: American Express Gold Card
—
Bilt Obsidian Card
$100 hotel credit
Rideshare & transit: American Express Gold Card
$120 Uber Cash · $10 monthly
Bilt Obsidian Card
—
Dining & delivery: American Express Gold Card
$100 Resy credit · $50 every 6 months
$120 dining credit · $10 monthly
$84 Dunkin' credit · $7 monthly
Bilt Obsidian Card
—

Perks & access— means none on record

Hotel status & programs: American Express Gold Card
$100 property credit at 1,400+ upscale hotels worldwide
Bilt Obsidian Card
—
Other perks: American Express Gold Card
Amex Offers
Early access to concerts and events
24/7 global travel assistance
American Express Preferred Access
Events with Amex & Presale Tickets
No foreign transaction fees on international purchases
Bilt Obsidian Card
10% intro APR for 12 months
0% foreign transaction fees

Protections & insuranceLimits where published · — means none on record

Trip insurance: American Express Gold Card
Trip Delay Insurance up to $300
Bilt Obsidian Card
Trip cancellation up to $2,000/trip
Trip Delay
Baggage: American Express Gold Card
Baggage Insurance Plan up to $1,750
Bilt Obsidian Card
Luggage insurance up to $1,500
Rental car: American Express Gold Card
Secondary rental car insurance for damage and theft
Bilt Obsidian Card
MasterRental Coverage
Purchase & returns: American Express Gold Card
Purchase Protection up to $10,000 per item for 90 days
Bilt Obsidian Card
Purchase Assurance
Extended warranty: American Express Gold Card
Extended Warranty up to one additional year · up to $10,000
Bilt Obsidian Card
Extended warranty up to $10,000/claim
Cell phone: American Express Gold Card
—
Bilt Obsidian Card
Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection
Other protections: American Express Gold Card
Zero liability protection on fraudulent charges
Dispute Resolution and Fraud Protection
Bilt Obsidian Card
—

Pros & cons

Pros: American Express Gold Card
4X points on dining worldwide - industry leading
4X at U.S. supermarkets up to $25k/year
$424 in annual credits (face value) cover the $325 fee if you use at least $325 of them
No foreign transaction fees
Transfer to 20 airline and hotel partners
Bilt Obsidian Card
3x points on your choice of dining or grocery (up to $25K/year on grocery)
2x points on travel
Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage with no transaction fees
$200 Bilt Cash welcome bonus upon approval (no spending required)
$100 annual Bilt Travel hotel credit ($50 semiannually)
Cons: American Express Gold Card
$325 annual fee with no waived first year
4X grocery excludes Costco, Walmart, Target
No lounge access included
Limited non-food spending categories
Amex acceptance less universal than Visa/MC
Bilt Obsidian Card
$95 annual fee plus $50 per authorized user
Complex earning structure for housing rewards (requires spending tiers or Bilt Cash redemption)
Bilt Cash expires at year-end with only $100 rollover
Grocery bonus category capped at $25K/year spending
Hotel credit requires 2-night minimum via Bilt Travel portal

Card details

Add a 3rd or 4th card to this comparison →

Category-by-Category Winner

The Bilt Obsidian Card wins in 3 of 4 categories. The American Express Gold Card leads in 1. 3 more categories depend on booking channel or caps.

Hotels

Depends: via issuer travel portal

American Express Gold Card earns 5X when conditions are met; Bilt Obsidian Card earns 1X (1X without restrictions)

Flights

American Express Gold Card earns 3X vs 1X

Dining

Depends: up to $50,000/yr

American Express Gold Card earns 4X when conditions are met; Bilt Obsidian Card earns 3X (1X without restrictions)

Grocery Stores

Depends: up to $25,000/yr

American Express Gold Card earns 4X when conditions are met; Bilt Obsidian Card earns 3X (1X without restrictions)

Rent

Bilt Obsidian Card earns 1.25X vs 1X

1.25X via tiered option or up to 1X via Bilt Cash option; no transaction fee; no annual cap on housing payments

Mortgage

Bilt Obsidian Card earns 1.25X vs 1X

1.25X via tiered option or up to 1X via Bilt Cash option; no transaction fee

Travel

Bilt Obsidian Card earns 2X vs 1X

Year One vs Ongoing Value

Modeled net value (bonus categories at unconditional rates, caps applied). Spend mix: dining 15%, groceries 15%, gas 10%, travel 10%, everything else 50%. Statement credits use the same recurring usable estimates as each card's detail page; first-year-only credits count in year one only. Welcome offers valued at each card's program rate shown on this page.

Both scenarios favor the Bilt Obsidian Card on net value (rewards, usable credits, fees, and welcome offer).

Scenario	American Express Gold Card	Bilt Obsidian Card	Ongoing winner	Year-one winner
Light spender: $1,000/month	Rewards: $180 Credits (our usable estimate): $212 − Annual fee ($325) Ongoing: $67 Year one: $67	Rewards: $264 Credits (our usable estimate): $20 − Annual fee ($95) Ongoing: $189 Year one: $389	Bilt Obsidian Card	Bilt Obsidian Card
Heavy spender: $4,000/month	Rewards: $720 Credits (our usable estimate): $212 − Annual fee ($325) Ongoing: $607 Year one: $607	Rewards: $1,056 Credits (our usable estimate): $20 − Annual fee ($95) Ongoing: $981 Year one: $1,181	Bilt Obsidian Card	Bilt Obsidian Card

Is the Fee Difference Worth It?

The American Express Gold Card costs $325/yr — that's $230 more than the Bilt Obsidian Card ($95/yr). To justify that gap, you need to extract at least $230 in annual value from the card's higher earn rates and benefits.

The American Express Gold Card includes dining credits. Those perks are not included in the earn-rate scenario table above — compare their dollar value to the $230 fee gap for your own usage.

Bottom line: Use the year-one vs ongoing table for modeled earn value at your spend level. The $230 fee gap means the American Express Gold Card needs roughly $230 more in annual rewards (or credits you will use) to break even on hotels and dining and everyday spend.

The Bottom Line

Both scenarios favor the Bilt Obsidian Card on net value (rewards, usable credits, fees, and welcome offer).

Published annual fees: American Express Gold Card $325/yr, Bilt Obsidian Card $95/yr — a $230 difference before welcome offers and credits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the American Express Gold Card worth the higher annual fee?: The American Express Gold Card costs $325/yr vs $95/yr for the Bilt Obsidian Card. Compare the year-one vs ongoing value table on this page — the $230 gap must be offset by higher earn rates, welcome offers, or credits you will use (the American Express Gold Card also lists dining credits).
Which card earns more rewards, the American Express Gold Card or Bilt Obsidian Card?: Both cards earn 1X on everyday purchases. The difference is in bonus categories — check the earn rate comparison above for a full breakdown.
What benefits does the American Express Gold Card have that the Bilt Obsidian Card doesn't?: The American Express Gold Card offers dining credits. The Bilt Obsidian Card offers cell phone protection.
Should I get the American Express Gold Card or the Bilt Obsidian Card?: Use the spend scenarios on this page: the Bilt Obsidian Card has a lower $95/yr fee; the American Express Gold Card must earn enough extra (or offer a larger welcome bonus) to justify $325/yr.

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Official issuer pages: American Express cards · Cardless cards

Editorial disclosure: CardRewards.ai is an independent comparison service. Card data comes from issuers' published terms; catalog last published November 13, 2026, and each card page shows when its terms were last checked. Card issuers do not influence our rankings or content.