Source: The Points Guy
Summary
The article details a summer road trip to coastal Maine, focusing on the use of the American Express® Gold Card to maximize rewards and benefits. The trip included flights, car rentals, hotel stays, dining, and other expenses. Specific destinations mentioned include Portland, Two Lights State Park, Peaks Island, and Rockland. The authors highlight the card’s perks, such as bonus points, hotel credits, and dining benefits, while also describing their experiences at local attractions and restaurants.
Our Reading
The escape is carefully planned.
Flights from Houston and Los Angeles, car rental upgrades, hotel stays with perks, and dining at local spots.
Points earned on airfare, dining, and hotel bookings through AmexTravel.com.
Visits to lighthouses, lobster shacks, and art museums, all while using card benefits.
Travelers who plan ahead often end up paying less, even if it feels like an expense.
Author: Evan Null
Fly and drive
Getting to Maine meant flights from opposite sides of the country: Summer from Houston and Eric from Los Angeles.
We booked our airfare with the Amex Gold because it earns 3 points per dollar on airfare booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App™ or directly with airlines.
This meant we earned Membership Rewards points before the trip even began.
Next, we took one of the card’s new benefits for a spin. Literally.
At the rental counter, Eric’s complimentary Hertz Five Star status (enrollment required) paid off with an upgrade from a compact car to a Buick Encore SUV — much appreciated for a few days of driving along Maine’s coast.
Day 1: Lighthouses and lobster rolls
Rather than head straight into Portland from the airport, we pointed the car south to rugged Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth, about 20 minutes away.
We parked our car and wandered along the rocky headland for a bit before stepping up to the counter at the Lobster Shack at Two Lights, an area institution, for our first lobster rolls of the trip.
Eric ordered a whoopie pie so Summer could try this quintessentially Maine dessert on her first trip to the state, plus a slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie for good measure.
The salt-tinged Atlantic breeze made that first Maine meal taste even better. As a bonus, Eric earned 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar by paying with his Amex Gold Card, which is a fantastic return for restaurant purchases.
Our next stop was the Portland waterfront, where we caught the Casco Bay Lines ferry for the half-hour ride out to Peaks Island, enjoying sun-splashed city views along the way.
A collection of perks with The Hotel Collection
When we docked, we headed up the hill to our hotel, the Press Hotel, Autograph Collection.
The hotel is unique, charming and full of personality, located in the former offices of the Portland Press Herald newspaper.
You can find fun allusions to the building’s past, including a wall in the lobby mounted with 62 vintage typewriters, woodblock installations and even vintage Scrabble sets for tests of wit (or vocabulary, at least).
Because the Press Hotel participates in both Marriott Bonvoy and American Express’ The Hotel Collection, we were able to double dip a bit, earning Marriott points and elite benefits while also taking advantage of The Hotel Collection perks.
Amex Gold cardholders who book prepaid hotel stays through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App can earn 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar.
Delicious savings with Resy
A local friend recommended we spend an evening dining at the cozy Wayside Tavern, located in an 1881 Italianate mansion right on Congress Street, and whose dining room is a delightful warren of rooms bathed in natural light and the flicker of candles.
Conveniently, it’s bookable on Resy, which meant it was time to put the Resy statement credit benefit on the Amex Gold to use.
Once enrolled, you can enjoy up to $100 in annual statement credits on eligible Resy purchases, up to $50 from January-June and up to $50 from July-December after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases.
We started with sumptuous bites from chef Mike Sindoni’s menu, like buttery broiled oysters and clams and silky scallops drizzled with rich bearnaise sauce and a briny dollop of caviar on top.
For our mains, we had creamy tonnarelli pasta with guanciale and black pepper and a juicy filet of halibut bathed in brown butter, lemon and capers with roasted mushrooms.
Day 2: Road trip snacks and seafood shacks
After breakfast at the hotel courtesy of the $100 credit toward eligible charges, we grabbed complimentary coffee in the lobby and stopped at Whole Foods for road-trip essentials such as locally made Maine Root sodas, popcorn and trail mix.
Paying with our Amex Gold Cards meant earning 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases annually, then 1 point per dollar for the rest of the year) before we headed northeast along the coast.
Our drive took us over meandering rivers, across verdant woodlands and through postcard-perfect fishing villages until we reached the seaside enclave of Rockland.
Although we’d filled up on fresh seafood the night before, we both craved lobster for lunch, so we headed for Archer’s on the Pier.
Summer had a simple salad of leafy greens and grilled veggies … heaped with nearly a full pound of fresh local lobster, while Eric went in a more purist direction, ordering a simple lobster cocktail with melted butter for dipping.
