American Express Gold Credit Card in Germany – Is It Worth It? (2025)

It’s a fair question — why choose a paid credit card when there are free alternatives available? The answer lies in the value it provides. Unlike most free credit cards, the Amex Gold credit card allows you to earn Membership Rewards Points that can be converted into airline miles from multiple frequent flyer programs, plus other rewards. The 40,000-point welcome bonus alone is worth several hundred euros in flight value, making the card more than pay for itself. Additionally, the card includes travel insurance benefits, covering trip cancellations, medical emergencies, and rental car accidents on trips paid with the card.

How to Earn Membership Rewards Points with the Amex Gold Credit Card

How exactly do the rewards work? Your American Express Gold credit card lets you earn points through spending: every euro spent with the Amex Gold earns you one Membership Rewards Point. You can increase this earning rate by activating Amex Turbo, which costs €15 per year and increases your earnings to 1.5 points per euro spent. If you’re serious about maximizing your miles, Turbo is a no-brainer, at least for the first year when you have to reach the minimum spend on the card — the extra points you get with Amex Turbo will more than recoup the €15 annual fee.

The welcome bonus is another major point-earning opportunity. Right now, new applicants can get 40,000 Amex Membership Rewards Points when they sign up — enough for a transcontinental economy flight! To qualify, you need to spend €6,000 with your American Express Gold credit card in the first six months and not cancel or downgrade the card within the first year.

There’s also a simple way to get an extra 3,000 points: ordering a free additional Amex Gold card. This might be useful if you share expenses with someone, as their spending also contributes to your points balance. Finally, Amex Offers can boost your point earnings: these short-term promotions give increased rewards or cashback for spending with specific partners — check the Amex app or website for the latest deals.

How to Redeem Amex Membership Rewards Points for Flights

The best way to redeem Membership Rewards Points is by converting them into airline miles. Most frequent flyer programs have a transfer ratio of 5 to 4: this means that 1,000 Membership Rewards points earned on your Amex Gold credit card become 800 miles after conversion. Amex partners with 12 airline programs, including British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Etihad Guest, Emirates Skywards, SAS EuroBonus, and Finnair Plus (indirectly through the British Airways program). Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Delta SkyMiles have a slightly lower conversion rate of 3:2.

If you want Lufthansa’s Miles & More miles, it takes an extra step. Since Miles & More is not a direct transfer partner, you must first convert your Membership Rewards Points earned on your Amex Gold credit card into Payback points at a 3:1 ratio and then transfer those Payback points into Miles & More miles at a 1:1 ratio. This means that for every 1 Membership Rewards Point, you get 0.33 Miles & More miles. While this isn't the best transfer rate, Miles & More sometimes has promotional reward flights that can be significantly cheaper than those from direct Amex partners, making it a competitive option.

On average, expect a Membership Rewards point to be worth around 1 to 2 cents — but in the best-case scenarios, such as first-class flight redemptions, it can climb as high as 5 cents per point. That means the 40,000-point Amex Gold welcome bonus can easily get you an intercontinental flight or multiple flights within Europe, translating to €400 to €800 in travel value. Check websites like seats.aero, blogs like meilenoptimieren.com and frequent flyer program websites to find the best deals. Last-minute bookings are one of the best ways to maximize award travel, as regular flight prices tend to skyrocket close to departure, whereas award ticket rates remain relatively stable.

Other Ways to Use Your Amex Membership Rewards Points

For those who prefer spending their points on hotels over flights, American Express allows transfers to hotel loyalty programs such as Hilton Honors (1:2), Marriott Bonvoy (1:1), and Radisson Rewards (1:3). However, the value per point is lower for hotel rewards, generally around 0.4 to 0.6 cents per point.

You can also convert Amex Gold Membership Rewards Points to Payback points at a 3:1 ratio. This is what you'll have to do if you’re aiming for Miles & More miles — otherwise, it’s not the best use of your Amex points, as you will only get the redemption value of 0.33 cents per 1 point compared to 1-2 cents for flights.

Can you convert Amex Membership Rewards Points to cash? Not directly, but you can redeem your points for gift cards or use them to pay at checkout in online stores — which is as close to cash as it gets. The value is also quite low here (usually 0.4 to 0.5 cents per point), so I don't recommend this option. Long story short, if you're not interested in travel rewards, the Amex Gold credit card is likely not worth it for you.

Other Benefits of the American Express Gold Credit Card

The American Express Gold credit card comes with some additional perks, most notable of which is the travel insurance, which includes international travel health insurance, trip cancellation insurance, transport accident insurance and Europe-wide motor vehicle protection insurance. Keep in mind that, as with most credit card insurance, it only applies when the trip has been paid for with your Amex Gold credit card.

Other benefits include extended return policy (up to 90 days to return a product purchased with your card), which can be a helpful safety net if you tend to forget returns; discounts on car rentals (up to 10% off with Sixt and Hertz and 15% off with Avis), and a 25-35% discount on the Priority Pass lounge access membership. While none of these perks are game-changers on their own, they do add extra value to the Amex Gold credit card, especially if you travel often.

Amex Gold Credit Card Fees and Spending Limits

The Amex Gold credit card has a fee of €12 per month or €140 per year. As for other fees, they can easily be avoided. A 2% foreign currency fee means that it’s not the best choice for spending outside the eurozone (ironic, but common for travel-focused cards) — so if you travel frequently outside the EU, it makes sense to get an additional card like Consors Finanz that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Cash withdrawals are also best avoided, as Amex charges a 4% fee (minimum €5 per withdrawal) for ATM withdrawals. And while you won’t have to worry about late payments, since your balance is automatically debited from your linked bank account at the end of the billing month, make sure your account has enough to cover it — otherwise, you’ll have to pay interest charges. See the full list of fees and benefits here (in German).

What about credit limits? The Amex Gold credit card doesn’t have a fixed one; instead, your limit is dynamic and adjusts based on your spending patterns and repayment history. As you use the card more and consistently repay your balance on time, your limit will gradually increase. If you're curious about your current limit, you can check it in your American Express account.

How Hard Is It to Get (and Cancel) the Amex Gold Credit Card?

The Amex Gold credit card is relatively easy to qualify for — a lower income is often sufficient, and even students have a chance of approval. You need an address in Germany, but in practice, they don’t ask for the official registration. When I applied, I wasn’t asked for income proof, and your credit score doesn’t seem to be checked in advance either, which makes this a great card if you’ve just arrived in Germany or don’t have a fixed income.

If you decide to cancel your Amex Gold credit card, you can do so at any time with a month's notice and even get a pro-rated refund of your annual fee if you pay annually. However, canceling within the first year will cause you to lose your welcome bonus, so avoid this if you can. If you cancel, make sure to transfer your points to a frequent flyer program of your choice beforehand to ensure you don’t lose them. Alternatively, you can downgrade to another American Express card like the free Blue Card or €5/month green American Express card to keep your Membership Rewards Points active (the Amex Payback credit card doesn’t count). Pro tip to maximize your bonuses: you can cancel your card after 12 months and reapply after another 18 months (grace period subject to change) to get a welcome bonus again.

Is American Express Widely Accepted in Germany?

A common concern I hear about Amex in Germany is acceptance, but in reality, it’s more widely accepted than you might expect. Most major supermarket chains, gas stations, and larger retailers accept American Express without issue. During my first six months of using the Amex Gold credit card, I switched most of my everyday spending to the card to meet the minimum spend requirement, and I rarely encountered problems, except perhaps a few restaurants and small businesses.

For online shopping, link your Amex Gold credit card to PayPal — this will allow you to use it anywhere that accepts PayPal or to send money to other people (which I particularly appreciate since I buy a lot on Kleinanzeigen). You will still need a backup card for places that don’t take Amex, but overall, I’ve found it more usable than some people assume.

Verdict: Is the American Express Gold Credit Card Worth It?

Is the Amex Gold credit card right for everyone? No — if you’re not interested in travel rewards and would rather receive your bonuses and rewards as cashback, this card is likely not for you. But if you’re looking for award flights and airline miles, this is one of the best credit card options available in Germany. Amex Membership Rewards program offers excellent earning potential, and the ability to transfer points to multiple frequent flyer programs gives it a significant advantage over most German credit cards. At a minimum, you’re looking at a 1-2% return on your spending, with the potential for higher value if you optimize your redemptions.

If you’re considering getting the American Express Gold credit card, now is a great time — they are offering a very generous welcome bonus of 40,000 Membership Reward points until March 11. This bonus alone could be worth between €400 and 800 — potentially enough for a free transatlantic flight! It’s an easy way to kickstart your miles balance and get serious value right from the start. Sign up with the link below to take advantage of this offer.

Amex Gold Not for You? Here Are Some Alternatives

No credit card is one-size-fits-all, and if the Amex Gold isn’t the right fit for you, here are some great alternatives. If you don’t want to pay an annual fee but still want a credit card with a welcome bonus, have a look at Consors Finanz Credit Card, which is free and comes with a generous €75 sign-up bonus (offer valid until March 16). While it doesn’t offer any rewards besides the bonus, it’s a really good option for everyday spending and travel — it doesn't have any foreign currency fees and lets you withdraw cash worldwide for free. It also offers a lot of flexibility in terms of repayment: you can pay immediately, delay payment for up to 90 days interest-free, or opt for installments with interest if needed.

If you want to earn rewards without an annual fee, the Amex Payback Credit Card is also a solid option. It’s free, comes with 4.000 Payback points (equivalent to €40) welcome bonus and lets you collect Payback points on your purchases. Naturally, because it's a free card, you earn rewards at a slower rate — three times slower than Amex Gold, to be precise, with 1 Payback point for 3 euros spent.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re a high spender and want benefits like airport lounge access, elite hotel statuses, and higher earning rates, the Amex Platinum credit card might be worth a look. It has a much higher annual fee of €700 but comes with perks that luxury travelers might find valuable. It's not a card I can see myself getting, but it might be right for you!