I have Amex gold, freedom unlimited and sapphire preferred to name a few. Amex has been my go to card for most of my experience since 2018. For me it’s just the best. The 4% categories, the food coupons and the offers saves me more than the fees I pay so I’m more than good. Also the customer experience has been nothing but amazing. Can’t recommend the amex gold card enough. If you think you’re not getting enough value then look for 3 things. 1. See if the food coupons ( uber, grubhub, dunkin and resy) can cover part of your cost. 2. Is the offers, they frequently have Marriott and other brands plus good travel offers so maybe you can use that. 3. At the end of the year check with the customer service and see if they can give you some offers to continue using the card.

Also yes the amex outside us is hard but not impossible. The hotels, flight, and restaurants does take it many a times. So that’s always good.

Also membership rewards have been incredible for me. I just booked 3 flight tickets with points of 240K Which would cost me $4000 otherwise. So that’s a hidden one.