Amex Gold vs. Sapphire Preferred: Dining and Grocery Earn Compared
Card data current as of October 2026.
The Gold card's 4x on dining and groceries earns well above Sapphire Preferred's rates there — enough, for our representative persona ($6,000/yr dining, $8,000 groceries, $7,000 travel), to cover its $325 fee (more than 3x Sapphire Preferred's $95) and still come out about $179/yr ahead. Grocery spend carries most of that: below roughly $3,700/yr in groceries (holding everything else at the persona), Sapphire Preferred comes out ahead instead. Sapphire Preferred's 3x on gas is its main edge.
Who wins for your spending?
Defaults to a representative household budget — edit any field to match your own; the numbers below update live.
What are your points worth?
We default to a conservative value per point. Redeem for premium travel and points can be worth more; cash out and they're worth about 1¢ — set your own.
Credits you'll actually use
Each credit starts at a conservative estimate — set the dollar amount you'll really redeem on each card (most people don't use every credit). This is where the call gets personal.
Gold
$202 counted- Dining Credit (Grubhub, Cheesecake Factory, Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, Wonder)$of $120
- Dunkin Credit$of $84
- Hotel Collection Credit$of $100
- Semi-annual $50 Resy Credit$of $100
- Uber Cash$of $120
Sapphire Preferred
$148 counted- DashPass$of $120
- DoorDash Promo$of $120
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit$of $120
- Hotel Credit$of $100
Gold
Ahead$325/yr fee
$997/yr net
$1,199/yr after your credits
Sapphire Preferred
$95/yr fee
$818/yr net
$966/yr after your credits
Gold nets +$179/yr more on these numbers, before credits.
After your credits, Gold nets +$233/yr more.
Your personal crossover
- Sapphire Preferred wins while your groceries spend stays under ~$3,743/yr; above that, Gold takes over — holding your other numbers fixed at what's entered above.
- Gold wins while your gas spend stays under ~$9,386/yr; above that, Sapphire Preferred takes over — holding your other numbers fixed at what's entered above.
- Gold wins while your streaming spend stays under ~$7,286/yr; above that, Sapphire Preferred takes over — holding your other numbers fixed at what's entered above.
Category by category, on our representative persona
| Category | Gold | Sapphire Preferred |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries | $448/yr $8,000 × 4× × 1.4¢ | $112/yr $8,000 × 1× × 1.4¢ |
| Dining | $336/yr $6,000 × 4× × 1.4¢ | $252/yr $6,000 × 3× × 1.4¢ |
| Travel | $294/yr $7,000 × 3× × 1.4¢ | $196/yr $7,000 × 2× × 1.4¢ |
| Gas | $42/yr $3,000 × 1× × 1.4¢ | $126/yr $3,000 × 3× × 1.4¢ |
| Streaming | $13/yr $900 × 1× × 1.4¢ | $38/yr $900 × 3× × 1.4¢ |
| Transit | $21/yr $1,500 × 1× × 1.4¢ | $21/yr $1,500 × 1× × 1.4¢ |
| Everything Else | $168/yr $12,000 × 1× × 1.4¢ | $168/yr $12,000 × 1× × 1.4¢ |
| Total (before fee) | $1,322/yr | $913/yr |
Fee & credits
Gold
Sapphire Preferred
The category table above is earn-only. The calculator's “after your credits” verdict folds in the credit amounts you set — seeded to a conservative estimate, never full face, since most people don't use every credit. For a full per-credit breakdown of Gold, see the worth-it calculator.
How we calculate this: each category is valued at its best-case bonus rate using conservative, program-specific point values (spend above a bonus cap is not counted; rotating quarterly bonuses and issuer status tiers are excluded). This page scopes two cards and one spend vector — it doesn't allocate spend across your whole wallet. These are estimates, not offers — always confirm current terms with the issuer. Read our full methodology ›
Frequently asked questions
- Which should I get if I spend mostly on dining?
- Gold earns more on dining at every spend level we model (4x vs. 3x). Whether that covers its higher fee depends mostly on your grocery spend — for our representative household it does, by about $179/yr — so a dining-heavy household with light grocery spend should check the calculator below.
- Which earns more on gas?
- Sapphire Preferred — it earns 3x on gas versus Gold's 1x. For our persona it would take roughly $9,400/yr of gas on its own to tip the overall pick back to Sapphire Preferred, so for most households gas narrows the gap rather than closing it.
- Is the Gold card’s $325 fee worth it?
- It depends heavily on your dining, grocery, and travel spend, and on how much of Gold's dining/Uber/other statement credits you'll actually use — this comparison excludes credits (a separate, conditional line below). Try our Amex Gold worth-it calculator for a credit-aware answer.
See the full ranking for these categories
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