Amex UK Gold Card lounge access benefit?
Jun 2, 2018, 9:04 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 35
Amex UK Gold Card lounge access benefit?
Hello,
I am fairly new to Amex and rewards cards in general - we currently use the Virgin Atlantic Amex which is about to end and so I am looking into other options. From what I’ve seen, the new Amex Gold seems to be a great option with the first fee waived. I know it gets you two lounge visits a year- is this per cardholder or per household? (I.e. if we had two cardholders, would we get four lounge visits?) Is it better to apply for one card and then add an additional cardholder or if two cards are applied for, does that offer more benefits?
I would be really grateful for any feedback about this card, or if there are any better options currently (I’m in the U.K.). We would be looking to accrue rewards points for flights if that changes anything!
Thanks in advance!
I am fairly new to Amex and rewards cards in general - we currently use the Virgin Atlantic Amex which is about to end and so I am looking into other options. From what I’ve seen, the new Amex Gold seems to be a great option with the first fee waived. I know it gets you two lounge visits a year- is this per cardholder or per household? (I.e. if we had two cardholders, would we get four lounge visits?) Is it better to apply for one card and then add an additional cardholder or if two cards are applied for, does that offer more benefits?
I would be really grateful for any feedback about this card, or if there are any better options currently (I’m in the U.K.). We would be looking to accrue rewards points for flights if that changes anything!
Thanks in advance!
Jun 4, 2018, 3:11 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: FB Gold, BA Silver, HH Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Marriott Plat Premier
Posts: 71
Hello,
I am fairly new to Amex and rewards cards in general - we currently use the Virgin Atlantic Amex which is about to end and so I am looking into other options. From what I’ve seen, the new Amex Gold seems to be a great option with the first fee waived. I know it gets you two lounge visits a year- is this per cardholder or per household? (I.e. if we had two cardholders, would we get four lounge visits?) Is it better to apply for one card and then add an additional cardholder or if two cards are applied for, does that offer more benefits?
I would be really grateful for any feedback about this card, or if there are any better options currently (I’m in the U.K.). We would be looking to accrue rewards points for flights if that changes anything!
Thanks in advance!
I am fairly new to Amex and rewards cards in general - we currently use the Virgin Atlantic Amex which is about to end and so I am looking into other options. From what I’ve seen, the new Amex Gold seems to be a great option with the first fee waived. I know it gets you two lounge visits a year- is this per cardholder or per household? (I.e. if we had two cardholders, would we get four lounge visits?) Is it better to apply for one card and then add an additional cardholder or if two cards are applied for, does that offer more benefits?
I would be really grateful for any feedback about this card, or if there are any better options currently (I’m in the U.K.). We would be looking to accrue rewards points for flights if that changes anything!
Thanks in advance!
Welcome to the addictive world of miles and points!
With the Amex Gold (including a supplementary card) you only get 2 x Lounge Passes in total.
Amex Platinum (hefty annual fee of £450) provides two Priority Passes that can be used for a total of 4 people at a time and is unlimited.
It really depends on how many times you are looking to travel. Platinum comes with hotel statuses, better insurance and more. But if you are a light traveller the Gold card is the best one to start with normally.
Jun 7, 2018, 3:23 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 59
Hello,
I am fairly new to Amex and rewards cards in general - we currently use the Virgin Atlantic Amex which is about to end and so I am looking into other options. From what I’ve seen, the new Amex Gold seems to be a great option with the first fee waived. I know it gets you two lounge visits a year- is this per cardholder or per household? (I.e. if we had two cardholders, would we get four lounge visits?) Is it better to apply for one card and then add an additional cardholder or if two cards are applied for, does that offer more benefits?
I would be really grateful for any feedback about this card, or if there are any better options currently (I’m in the U.K.). We would be looking to accrue rewards points for flights if that changes anything!
Thanks in advance!
I am fairly new to Amex and rewards cards in general - we currently use the Virgin Atlantic Amex which is about to end and so I am looking into other options. From what I’ve seen, the new Amex Gold seems to be a great option with the first fee waived. I know it gets you two lounge visits a year- is this per cardholder or per household? (I.e. if we had two cardholders, would we get four lounge visits?) Is it better to apply for one card and then add an additional cardholder or if two cards are applied for, does that offer more benefits?
I would be really grateful for any feedback about this card, or if there are any better options currently (I’m in the U.K.). We would be looking to accrue rewards points for flights if that changes anything!
Thanks in advance!
I'm just about finishing up my first year for the gold card. 2 entries per card holder (main card + any other supplementary card holders. Note you actually need the priority pass number which comes separate in the post a month or two later. If you get the card and threw yourself into the lounge straight away, call up priority pass to get your membership number so you can quote it to the lounge staff.
I'd also wait to see an offer to add a supplementary card. It's shows up on your account page when you log in. You might get offered extra MR points by being patient. I believe I was offered 2k points if i remember correctly...
I'm definitely keeping the charge card, and I'm considering to upgrade my gold to the plat and testing it out (upgrade offer 20k for 1k spend). I know I'm keeping the gold card anyways, so if i don't like the plat then I can downgrade back to gold and refund the AF pro rata.
With the gold card you can get an extra 2k (22k total) MR points if someone refers you.
Depending on which airline scheme you're aiming towards you can try to push for extra value.
If you're collecting virgin atlantic flyer miles then you could go for the no AF virgin atlantic mastercard that came our not so long ago. If you have a curve card then you can actually use that to pay your amex bill (up to £200 before it's treated as a cash advance) and bill it to your virgin card. Meaning per £1 spent, you'll get 1MR point on the amex gold and 0.75 virgin from the virgin mastercard. It's a way to double dip for points, not sure how long this will be allowed though. Curve card is a mastercard debit card that links visa and mastercards into one account and rebills transactions to one of your other cards. Currently a £5 in points offer if you use an invite code (as above, if you don't have an invite I can share you one.) These cards have no AF and curve card has no search on credit file, it's not a credit card.
This is my current method of spending and trying to maximize my rewards from spending.
Other than that I'll just sign up for cards and hit minimum spends then come back to using the setup above.
I've been at this for about 8 months and have managed to find myself at 100k points in the period. I expect year 2 to slow down but i'll see what I can get out from it.
Hope it helps.
Last edited by mia; Jun 7, 2018 at 4:16 pm