So I have an American Express Gold Card. Now what?

a) If you are significantly dissatisfied with a purchase, call AmEx and talk to them about it. b) That's the money that's available to be spent right now. c) It changes based on your credit and spending history. You won't be able to buy a Picasso with it. d) There are other rewards programs. You may or may not be able to change your card's rewards program easily. You should not pick your credit card based solely on the rewards program, but rather on the interest rate and fees. e) It means you have a basic card. f) Stick with the card you have until you've built up a decent amount of credit. Your card is not a substitute for money. Do not use it simply because you have it. In general, it should be a tool for emergency use only. If you would like to build some credit history, you might like to make one small purchase on it per month that you can afford to pay in cash, then immediately pay off the balance. Doing this each month will show you are reliable and a safe credit risk, and additional credit and offers for credit will come in. Ignore them, for the most part.

I've been a cardholder for about 12 years and I just upgraded to the gold card when I got married. The gold card in most cases includes: 1. Membership rewards without an extra yearly fee (different from the standard green card). 2. Up to five (I think) authorized cardholders on the account at no extra fee. I think there are some concierge perks and the like, as well as some travel benefits but I'm not sure. The platinum card, with it's hefty annual fee can pay for itself if you'll use the companion tickets and other perks that come with it, but you really have to understand your card usage and travel patterns ahead of time.

Oh, and about the "no pre-set limit" thing; instead of having a pre-set credit limit, AmEx has something called an "http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22american+express%22+%22exposure+limit%22" which basically is determined at time of purchase. It's not exactly "pre-set" and it can fluctuate based on your spending habits (frequency/type/number of purchases) and payments, etc. Too large a single purchase, or too many small purchases in a very short time period can trigger hitting the exposure limit. Mostly in the name of fraud prevention. I once made a ten thousand dollar purchase on an amex corporate card, and they called me about it, asking me to to confirm that it was actually me. You can call up customer support and ask them to see if you can figure out what your exposure limit is, or ask any other questions you might have. The http://creditboards.com/forums/ is also a very good place to ask this kind of question.

I use my Gold Card for almost every purchase I make, if the vendor allows it. Pros: - Automatic insurance/replacement: Doubles the mfg's warranty, and they'll reimburse you if the item is lost, stolen, or damaged. That's significant, especially on electronics purchases (iPod, laptop, camera gear, etc). - Rewards: Not the greatest return (Basically you get $1 worth of goods for every $200 you spend), but it's better than nothing, and if you use the card for everything, it adds up that much quicker - Must be paid off monthly, meaning you can't get yourself in too deep if you're dangerous with a credit card - Allows flexible spending, meaning that if you do know what you're doing and can accept the responsibility, you can spread out expensive (over $300) purchases and pay them off over time. Obviously a standard interest rate applies, but it's nice to have the flexibility if you want to make a purchase on the card but don't want to pay it off immediately. I did this with a recent laptop purchase; I wanted to use the Gold Card for accident protection & extended warranty coverage, but I didn't want to pay the complete balance at the end of the month. Now I'll just pay it over 2-3 months and get all the benefits. - Free car rental insurance - Travel bonuses, security, etc Cons: - Annual fee - Not cash back You just have to decide whether the benefits it offers are important to you. Personally, I'd much rather have double warranty and accident coverage for everything I buy than a few measly bucks in cash back. Also, I'm slightly concerned that someone would sign up for a credit card (especially one with an annual fee) just to get a free miniature radio (that probably could've been bought on eBay for a fraction of the annual fee, and without any hassle whatsoever).

a) I've used this functionality once - but did have to return the merchandise, which I had absolutely no problem doing (and why wouldn"t I, if I was so dissatisfied). It took some time, but it was great to have someone else hassle the merchant for me. I believe they undertook to try to negotiate a settlement with the merchant first, but if he continued to resist, Amex would foot the bill. On another occasion, I bought a pair of sunglasses for about $100 using my gold card, a couple of days later I took them to the shooting range, and put them down while I wore my eye protection. I left the range without the sunglasses, came back an hour later and they were gone. Upon phoning Amex, they credited my account the $100 dollars and I went and got a new pair. I doubt that they would do that too often to the same card member, though.

(b) You are required to pay off each month what was on that month's statement. If your statement is a statement of the charges as of the 7th of the month, and it's due on the 30th of the month (I'm just making up dates here), anything you charge on the 8th of the month will not appear on that month's statement, and won't be due until the 30th of the following month. The $300 is the amount you've charged to the card and not paid off, but the $0 was your balance as of the last statement date (probably before you got the card, since it's new). And yeoz is right: you can't make a payment until your first statement has been issued--I found this out when I recently got an Amex Blue card. I'm in the practice of paying off the total balance on my cards each month, regardless of whether the charges have appeared on the current statement or not, just because I find it easier to assess how much I actually have to spend once I've done that. I couldn't do that the first month I had my Blue card. After you've received your first statement, however, you can pay charges beyond that "in advance" if you want to.

http://ask.metafilter.com/75411/So-I-have-an-American-Express-Gold-Card-Now-what#1120699 refers ONLY to the Rewards Plus Gold Charge Card, NOT the standard Gold Charge Card. Please call the number meehawl posted and speak to someone in customer service. They'd be delighted to help you and they have accurate information. By Invitation Only/Gold Card Events are indeed a benefit of the Gold Charge Card. You get special opportunities for things like Per Se evenings, concert tickets and the like. But please, please call customer service. Don't rely on internetians about your credit card.

http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif/cda/page/0,1641,24690,00.asp

This is in Australia, and maybe not up to date, but: - the green card required earnings of 75% of median weekly earnings when I got one. - the gold card required 125% of median earnings. - platinum and (oooh-ah impress the shop assistant) black cards seem quite rare here. I know two platinum card holders, they both earn circa 300% median earnings. I met a black card holder - he was cranky when his card was refused at a pub restaurant because the bar maid didn't know what it was. He said "if I can fill up my Lear jet, I think I can pay for some steaks with it". Some of the advice up thread is for credit cards, this is a deferred payment card, so it doesn't really apply. The annual fees are considerable, and I would not keep this card for the points unless you were able to push a large amount of your spending through it. The fees are not, however, compulsory. I have had them waived one year when I threatened to cancel. The next year I rang back to ensure it would be waived again and the supervisor said it was not possible to waive them, but did give me a free night in a hotel of about the same value. I forgot to call last year, but it is worth the threat.