The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think youll like Business Insider may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network The Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express gets less attention than other Amex charge cards but it actually earns rewards faster The card earns 3x points on airfare 2x on US-located supermarkets US gas stations and US restaurants and 1x on everything else The card also comes with some excellent perks that offset much of its annual fee which is waived the first year While the Platinum Card from American Express is the better-known of Amexs flagship rewards-earning charge cards American Express issues a few other charge cards with lower fees and in some cases better rewards One of the best Amex cards to hold as an anchor within the companys Membership Rewards program is the Premier Rewards Gold card While the card doesnt offer the same flashy and valuable perks as the Platinum card it offers a better points-earning structure that can help you earn more points for your everyday spending Read on to see why the Premier Rewards Gold card or simply PRG is worth opening You can earn a big welcome bonus when you open a new account The Premier Rewards Gold offers new card members 25 000 Membership Rewards points after spending 2 000 in the first three months of card membership Thats a decent welcome bonus especially considering that you can combine the points from all your Membership Rewards-earning cards including the Platinum Card or the Amex Everyday Its possible that you can be targeted for a higher offer too There are plenty of ways to use these points including purchasing gift cards or products using them to book travel or transferring them to American Expresss frequent flyer and hotel loyalty partners thats the most valuable use Theres an annual fee after the first year but you can get some of it back While the cards annual fee is waived the first year its 195 every year after that However the Premier Rewards Gold offers a 100 airline fee credit each calendar year including the first year Once you earn that credit and subtract it from the annual fee its effectively only 95 each year the same as similar cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred The way the airline fee credit works is simple Every January you select an airline for the credit to be applied to Then anytime you pay for a fee on that airline with your card however much of the credit you have remaining will be applied against it The credit applies to things like checked bag fees on-board food or drinks lounge day passes in some cases change fees or upgrade fees and more While it doesnt apply to airfare it can sometimes be applied to gift cards for an airline which can then be used for tickets For example I use my airline fee credit to buy 50 gift cards on Delta Airlines which I use for tickets later on Just make sure to search Google to make sure that the credit works with gift cards from whichever airline youve chosen An awesome feature of this perk is that it applies to every calendar year not card member year That means it resets each January So if you open a PRG in April you can use the card once before December 31 and then again between January 1 and when your card renews Thats 200 in value before youve paid a single annual fee You can earn points quickly on your everyday purchases The Premier Rewards Gold offers useful rewards on your everyday spending Youll earn 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines 2x points on every dollar spent at US restaurants US gas stations and US supermarkets and 1x point on everything else Travel website The Points Guy assigns a value of 19 to every Membership Reward point so using that youll earn a generous 57 back on flights 38 on groceries dining and gas and 19 on everything else Of course that valuation is just a rough estimation sort of a starting point from which to work In practice its possible to get even more value from the points when you transfer them to Amexs 20 travel partners You can read more about why transferring points is the most valuable way to use them and how it unlocks incredible redemptions like flying from coast to coast in business class The PRG has other perks and benefits too As a Premier Rewards Gold card holder youll have access to American Express Travels exclusive Hotel Collection When you book a stay at participating hotels through Amex youll earn 2x Membership Rewards points and youll receive a 75 credit to use at the hotel for things like drinks dining spa services or activities Youll also get a room upgrade at check-in as long as its available The PRG comes with baggage insurance as well If your luggage is lost stolen or damaged while youre traveling with an airline cruise train line or other common carrier youll be covered for up to 1 250 for carry-on and 500 for checked bags as long as you purchased your tickets with the card As with any American Express card the PRG is eligible to receive Amex Offers Thats a program that provides card holders with either discounts or extra points at a variety of retailers restaurants and service providers Each person gets different offers and offers even vary between each card so the more Amex cards you have the wider a range of offers youll receive The PRG features a complimentary ShopRunner membership Youll have to manually activate this perk but once you do youll receive free 2-day shipping at hundreds of online stores Beyond that there are a number of other benefits including purchase protections and extended warranty auto rental protection return protections and more Bottom line The Premier Rewards Gold often gets lost behind the flair of the premium Platinum card Although its certainly possible to get a ton of value from that higher-fee product the PRG remains a solid mid-tier card and an excellent way to earn more Membership Rewards points on daily expenses Click here to learn more about the Amex Premier Rewards Gold card 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