25,000 Point Sign-up Bonus for the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

For the past year or so, the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express has had a 15,000 point sign-up bonus, but today American Express raised it to 25,000 after $2,000 in spend within the first three months and the $195 annual fee is waived the first year. While 25,000 isn't exactly earth-shattering, it's still a 67% increase. However, some TPG readers have gotten 50,000-75,000, so if you feel lucky, it might make sense to hold off for a targeted offer, though there's nothing you can do to increase your chance of getting one. Also, if you've applied recently and only got 15,000 points, it could be worth a shot to send a secure message to Amex to ask for the 10,000 point difference in sign-up bonus.

If you are currently a Premier Rewards cardholder, you can refer friends and receive 5,000 Membership Rewards points by using this link (you must be logged out of your Amex account or else it may not load properly).

While 25,000 points isn't the highest sign-up bonus out there, this card is all about the point-earning benefits. For me, it's my #2 workhorse card after the Sapphire Preferred card because it's the most lucrative earning Amex card out there.

Key benefits:
3 points per dollar spent on airfare booked through any site (including airlines directly) as long as the purchase is coded as airfare and 4 points per dollar if booked through Amex Travel.
2 points per dollar spent on gas and groceries
Purchase Protection

Main downsides:
2.7% foreign transaction fee. I never use this card abroad
$0 Intro annual fee for the first year, then $195 is steep compared to $95 on the Sapphire card

Related information: Comparing the Premier Rewards Gold vs. the normal Gold card