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Amex Gold vs. Capital One Savor: Which one should you choose?

  • Meghan Hunter

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    If you’re a self-proclaimed foodie, order a lot of food for delivery or spend much of your budget on groceries, the American Express® Gold Card and the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card can deliver value for your wallet. These cards have a lot of similarities but there are a few notable differences you should be aware of if you’re trying to decide which one is best for you.

    For instance, the Amex Gold earns flexible Membership Rewards points and bonus points on spending U.S. supermarkets. The Capital One Savor earns straight cash back as well as bonus cash back on dining (even for takeout and oftentimes for delivery, too). Each card also offers different welcome bonuses and perks.

    Here is how the Amex Gold and Capital One Savor stack up against each other.

    The information for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

    If you eat out a lot, you can earn tons of rewards with either the Amex Gold or Capital One Savor. (Photo by djile/Shutterstock)

    Amex Gold vs Capital One Savor

    Welcome bonus and redemption options

    If you value simplicity and transparency in your credit card rewards, the Capital One Savor will likely be more attractive. You can earn a welcome bonus of $300 after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Redeeming rewards is easy — you simply request a check or statement credit any time with no minimum redemption amount, or you can set up automatic monthly redemption.

    On the other hand, if you’re the type of person who likes flexibility and the opportunity to get more value out of your rewards, there’s the Amex Gold. You can earn 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.

    Amex’s Membership Rewards points are flexible points that can be redeemed for travel or transferred to any of Amex’s travel partners. They’re generally worth anywhere from 1 cent to more than 5 cents per point.

    As one example of the ability to get loads of value from Amex points, you could transfer 85,000 Amex points to ANA for a business-class flight between the U.S. and Asia worth over $6,300. That’s nearly 7.5 cents per point in value.

    Best card for daily purchases

    You’ll want to look at your spending habits to determine which card will allow you to maximize your rewards.

    With the Amex Gold, you’ll earn (terms apply):

    The Capital One Savor earns:

    As you can see, the biggest differences are in the areas of entertainment, grocery stores/U.S. supermarkets, and flights:

    Annual fee

    The Capital One Savor carries an annual fee of just $95, compared to the Amex Gold which carries an annual fee of $250 (see rates and fees).

    One thing to factor in, however, is that the Amex Gold also includes up to $120 in dining credits (up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. ). Enrollment required for select benefits.

    Miscellaneous perks

    The Amex Gold and Capital One Savor each carries unique perks. Generally speaking, if you travel a bit more frequently or like having discounts at select stores, you’ll probably find the Amex Gold to be more useful. On the other hand, if you use Lyft frequently, the Capital One Savor might be the better fit for you.

    Here are some of the unique perks of the Amex Gold:

    Here are some benefits unique to the Capital One Savor:

    Bottom line 

    Foodies everywhere can do very well with either the Amex Gold or Capital One Savor.

    Amex Membership Rewards are flexible and can be worth quite a bit if you redeem them for travel by transferring them to Amex’s travel partners. On the other hand, if you value simplicity and ease of redemption, it can’t get much simpler than what the Capital One Savor has to offer.

    For an even more detailed look at both cards, check out our full reviews of  the Amex Gold card and Capital One Savor.

    For the latest tips and tricks on traveling big without spending a fortune, please subscribe to the Million Mile Secrets daily email newsletter.

    For rates and fees of the Amex Gold card, click here.

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)