Just Got the Amex Gold? 5 Things to Do Before April 2026

March 2026 has been wild for American Express sign-up bonuses. If you just picked up the Preferred Rewards Gold Card during the massive promotional push, you are holding one of the most lucrative beginner cards in the UK. But getting approved is only half the battle.

We are rapidly approaching the end of the month, and Easter travel is looming right behind it on April 5th. New cardholders have a very narrow window to activate specific perks before they reset or expire entirely. Here’s the thing: leaving these benefits on the table means you are literally throwing away points and cash.

If you want to extract the maximum value from your first year, you need to move quickly. Here is exactly what you should do before April arrives.

Claim the 9,000-point supplementary bonus immediately

You can get an extra 9,000 Membership Rewards points right now just by adding a free supplementary card to your account. American Express is heavily incentivising secondary cardholders this month, and this is the easiest points haul you will ever get.

Log into the Amex app, navigate to Account Management, and add a partner, family member, or trusted friend. The first supplementary Gold card is completely free. The 9,000 bonus points usually post to your account within a few days of the secondary card being activated.

To put that in perspective, Membership Rewards transfer at a 1:1 ratio to British Airways Executive Club. Those 9,000 points equal 9,000 Avios. That is enough for a one-way Reward Flight Saver ticket to almost anywhere in Europe. Do not wait around on this offer because Amex frequently pulls these supplementary bonuses without warning.

Burn your March Deliveroo credits

You must use your two £5 Deliveroo statement credits before 23:59 on March 31st. The Amex Gold provides £120 annually in Deliveroo credits, but they are doled out strictly as two £5 increments each month. They do not roll over.

If you reach April 1st without using them, your March credits vanish. The easiest way to trigger them is to order a midweek takeaway. If you do not want a hot meal, use Deliveroo HOP to order £10 worth of groceries or household essentials. Split your orders if necessary to ensure both £5 credits are triggered.

The statement credit usually takes three to five days to appear on your Amex timeline. As long as the transaction dates show as March, you will receive the money back.

Register for Priority Pass today for Easter travel

You need to manually enrol in Priority Pass via the Amex website right now if you want lounge access for the Easter school holidays. Your Amex Gold card itself will not get you into an airport lounge.

The card gives you four free Priority Pass lounge visits per year, which you can use for yourself and guests. Subsequent visits cost £24. But you cannot just turn up at a No1 Lounge waving your gold plastic. You will be turned away.

Go to the Benefits tab on your Amex online account and hit the enrol button. This generates your Priority Pass membership number almost instantly. You can then log into the Priority Pass app and use the digital QR code for immediate access. The physical black card takes up to 14 days to arrive in the post, which is entirely useless if you are flying out for Easter Sunday on April 5th. Get the digital pass sorted today.

Front-load your minimum spend requirement

You have six months to spend £5,000 and trigger the main 40,000-point sign-up bonus, but front-loading your expenses now takes the pressure off. Many people struggle to hit that target through organic daily spending alone.

Look at your upcoming April bills and prepay them. The most effective method in March is prepaying your council tax for the upcoming 2026/2027 tax year. Many UK councils accept American Express directly through their online payment portals. If yours does not, you can usually take your council tax bill to a local Co-op store and pay via PayPoint, which generally accepts Amex.

One method you should avoid is using the card abroad to hit your target. The Gold card earns 2 Membership Rewards points per £1 on foreign currency transactions, which sounds tempting. The math does not work. The card charges a 2.99% non-sterling transaction fee. The points you earn are worth roughly 2p, meaning you are losing money on every swipe. Keep your spending in the UK.

Save Q1 Amex Offers before they expire

You need to check the Offers tab in your Amex app immediately and save any relevant cashbacks to your card. The end of the first quarter means many lucrative deals are expiring in early to mid-April.

Right now, there are several strong hotel promotions, including spend £300 get £100 back at Marriott and Hilton properties. These offers have strict enrolment caps. Once a certain number of cardholders save the offer, it disappears for everyone else.

Even if you are only vaguely considering a hotel stay next month, hit the save button. It costs nothing to attach the offer to your card, and it guarantees you lock in the cashback rate before the promotion vanishes.

How the Gold card stacks up against the competition right now

The Amex Gold is currently the best beginner travel rewards card in the UK, but you need to understand how it compares to the alternatives available in 2026.

American Express is also running a massive promotion on the Platinum card right now. The Platinum offers incredible benefits like unlimited lounge access and elite status at various hotel chains. It also carries a £650 annual fee. For most people starting out, the Gold is far superior. It is completely free for the first year. It also earns points faster on daily spend because it offers 2 points per £1 on airline bookings and 3 points per £1 via Amex Travel. The Platinum only earns a flat 1 point per £1 across the board.

The Barclaycard Avios Plus is the other main competitor. It costs £240 per year and earns 1.5 Avios per £1 spent. Because it is a Mastercard, you can use it anywhere. If you are a pure Avios collector, the Barclaycard is a stronger long-term earner. But the Barclaycard does not offer the flexibility of Membership Rewards, which can be transferred to 11 different airlines and 3 hotel chains. The Amex Gold gives you options, and options are the most valuable currency in travel rewards.

My honest verdict on the Amex Gold in 2026

I genuinely believe getting the Amex Gold right now is a no-brainer for the first twelve months. You are paying zero account fees, picking up 40,000 points from the sign-up bonus, grabbing an extra 9,000 points from the supplementary card, and getting £120 of free Deliveroo food.

The part I keep coming back to is year two. From month thirteen onwards, the card costs £195 per year. Honestly, I’m not convinced the maths works for most people once that fee kicks in. Unless you are religiously using every single Deliveroo credit and maxing out the four lounge passes every year, £195 is steep for a card that only earns 1 point per £1 on standard UK spend.

My advice is simple. Maximise the card aggressively right now. Hit your £6,000 spend, claim your 49,000 total points, and enjoy the free lounge visits for your 2026 holidays. When March 2027 rolls around, evaluate your spending and decide if you want to keep it, downgrade to the free Rewards credit card to keep your points alive, or cancel entirely. If you want more strategies on managing your points strategy, explore more guides on Points Uncovered.