Capital One Savor vs American Express Gold on dining and groceries
Both cards pay extra on dining and groceries. Savor pays cash back with no annual fee. Gold pays Membership Rewards points and has a $325 annual fee. Whether Gold's extra earning covers that fee depends on how much you spend in those categories, which credits you'd actually use, and what one point is worth to you.
What the issuers list today
| Capital One Savor | American Express Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | Capital One Savor$0 | American Express Gold$325 |
| Dining | Capital One Savor3% cash back | American Express Gold4X points at restaurants worldwide, up to $50,000 a calendar year, then 1X |
| Groceries | Capital One Savor3% at grocery stores, excluding superstores such as Walmart and Target | American Express Gold4X at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 a calendar year, then 1X |
| Everything else | Capital One Savor1%; 3% on entertainment | American Express Gold1X; extra points on travel booked through Amex Travel or directly with airlines |
| Listed credits | Capital One Savornone listed | American Express Golddining partners, Uber Cash, Resy, Dunkin', The Hotel Collection; most need enrollment |
Verified Oct 4, 2026.
The math
Gold's 4X stops at its caps: $50,000 a calendar year at restaurants and $25,000 at U.S. supermarkets, then both drop to 1X. Past a cap, each dollar in that category earns 1 point on Gold against 3% back on Savor.
On dining and grocery spend inside Gold's caps, Gold's extra value each year is:
spend × (4 × what one point is worth − 3%) + credits you'd use − $325
It breaks even when spend = ($325 − credits you'd use) ÷ (4 × point value − 3%).
If one point is worth 0.75¢ or less to you, Gold never catches up on these categories, because 4 points earn no more than 3% back.
The two cards don't count groceries the same way. Savor's 3% excludes superstores such as Walmart and Target, and Gold's 4X is for U.S. supermarkets. Count only spend that qualifies on each card.
| What one point is worth | $0 credits used | $120 used | $240 used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8¢ | $162,500 (past Gold's caps) | $102,500 (past caps) | $42,500 |
| 1¢ | $32,500 | $20,500 | $8,500 |
| 1.5¢ | $10,833 | $6,833 | $2,833 |
This counts only dining and groceries. Superstore, warehouse-club and entertainment spend goes in separately.