Many thanks for the advice.

As promised, I was given a call-back this evening by Amex. The agent was still pushing for me to take the gold card, but I declined using some of the arguments above. They are obviously desperate for new charge card members as she said she would 'request' a Platinum charge card for £95 (the price of gold). Still not convinced I need it (Citi Ultima/RBS Black offer the same benefits if not more). I will wait and see if the request is successful. She will call back tomorrow am.

Thanks again.