The American Express® Business Gold Card is a great choice for business owners who want to maximize their earnings in 4 points per dollar bonus categories.
The card has a high annual fee, with no statement credits to help offset it, but it does offer nice travel and purchase protections.
This article will cover everything you need to know about this card to determine if you should add this card or a different card to your wallet. Let’s dive right in.
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- 4X Points on Purchases in Your Top 2 Business Categories (up to $150,000 in Combined Purchases Per Calendar Year)
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $295 Annual Fee (Rates and Fees)
Welcome Offer
The Amex Business Gold currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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Earning Membership Rewards Points
The Amex Business Gold earns 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar in your top 2 categories each billing cycle, including:
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines;
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio);
- U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions;*
- U.S. gas stations;
- U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery; and
- U.S. shipping purchases.
Annual Fee
The Amex Business Gold Card has an annual fee of $295 (rates & fees). However, you can easily offset this fee if you’re able to maximize the card’s benefits.
Business Gold Card Benefits
The Amex Business Gold Card provides numerous benefits to its cardholders. These benefits include various points bonuses, credits, and insurance benefits. Here’s a closer look at some of the features that make this card a great option for business owners:
Free Employee Cards
You can add up to 99 employee cards at no additional cost, allowing you to earn points on their purchases with the card.
Receive "The Hotel Collection" Benefits
When you book a stay of 2 nights or more through the Amex The Hotel Collection, you’ll get a $100 hotel credit which you can use towards qualifying dining, spa, and resort activities.
You’ll also receive a room upgrade upon arrival, when available.
Trip Delay Insurance*
This card offers trip delay insurance when you purchase your flight with this card.
This reimburses you for reasonable expenses things like hotels, food, transportation, and other necessary items.
Flights are increasingly delayed or canceled, and it is too risky to not use a card that offers free trip delay insurance.
Baggage Insurance Plan*
Lost luggage reimbursement covers the cost to repair or replace your luggage and the contents inside if your bag is lost or damaged during a covered trip.
You must purchase the trip with this card, and it will also cover immediate family members traveling with you.
Secondary Rental Car Insurance*
Secondary rental car insurance covers any damage to a rental car not covered by your primary insurance when you pay for the rental using this card.
Other credit cards offer primary rental car insurance, which pays before your insurance and saves you the hassle of filing multiple insurance claims.
You still need to maintain liability car insurance to cover damage to another person or property.
Purchase Protection*
Purchase protection could save you a lot of money if you bought an eligible item that is damaged or stolen within 90-days.
For example, if you accidentally dropped your new phone or laptop and broke the screen, you could file a claim to get it replaced if the item was purchased within the last 90 days.
Extended Warranty*
Credit card extended warranty protection adds up to an additional year of coverage for eligible purchases on manufacturer’s warranties up to 5 years.
For example, if you bought a TV with a manufacturer’s warranty of three years, this card would extend the warranty for free to the fourth year.
*(Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/
Access to Amex Offers
This card has access to Amex Offers, which are deals that are linked to your card, allowing you to save money or earn extra points on shopping, dining, and travel.
For example, there could be an offer such as spending $200+ at Marriott Hotels and Resorts and receiving $50 cash back as a statement credit.
You can find all of your Amex Offers by signing into your American Express account. You will need to “Add to Card” each offer to be eligible for the special offer.
Redeeming American Express Membership Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards is a popular rewards program that offers a variety of redemption options, including travel, merchandise, gift cards, and more.
However, to get the most value out of your rewards, it’s important to use them strategically.
One of the best ways to use Amex Membership Rewards is through transfer partners.
The program partners with over 20 airline and hotel partners, including ANA, Air Canada Aeroplan, Iberia Avios, and Avianca LifeMiles.
By transferring your points to these partners, you can often get more value per point and enjoy a wider range of redemption options.
Membership Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
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Aer Lingus Avios
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AeroMexico [1 to 1.6]
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Air Canada Aeroplan
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Air France/KLM Flying Blue
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ANA
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Avianca LifeMiles
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British Airways Avios
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Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
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Delta SkyMiles
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El Al [1,000 to 20]
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Emirates
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Etihad Guest
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Hawaiian Airlines
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Iberia Avios
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JetBlue [250 to 200]
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Qantas
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Singapore KrisFlyer
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Virgin Atlantic
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Choice
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Hilton Honors [1 to 2]
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Marriott Bonvoy
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25% Points Back Via Amex Travel
Another option to redeem Membership Rewards points is to use them for about one cent per point via Amex Travel.
But with the Amex Business Gold you can get 25% of those points back when booking a flight via American Express Travel using the Membership Rewards with the Pay with Points feature.
The flight must be in first or business class flight, or on any cabin on your selected qualifying airline.
There is also a maximum of up to 250,000 points back per year using this redemption method.
Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of the Amex Business Gold:
Pros
- Flexible redemption and points transfer options.
- You can earn 4x points on the two categories you spend the most each billing period.
Cons
- No airport lounge access.
- 4x rate is capped at $150,000 per year.
Alternatives to the Amex Business Gold Card
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review) is an outstanding choice for business owners who want airport lounge access including the American Express Global Lounge Collection, Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, Escape Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, and more.
The Business Platinum card also offers several statement credits to offset the $695 annual fee:
- $200 Airline Fee: Annual airline fee credit of up to $200 on charges by the airline you select per calendar year.
- $400 Dell: Annual statement credit on all U.S. Dell purchases, up to $200 semiannually.
- $120 Wireless Phone Services: Annual statement credits for purchases made directly with any U.S. wireless telephone provider, up to $10 per month.
- $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Business Platinum Card.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Statement credits for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85) every four years (4.5 years for PreCheck).
You can also earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, and 1.5x points on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year
The American Express Business Platinum comes with automatic Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold so that you can enjoy perks like room upgrades, late check-out, and a points bonus.
Additionally, the points you earn can be transferred to several Amex transfer partners such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Delta SkyMiles, and Marriott Bonvoy. This potentially increases the value of your points depending on how you redeem them.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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- 3X Points on Travel, Shipping, Advertising (Social Media and Search Engines), Internet, Cable, and Phone on the First $150,000 Each Account Year
- 25% Additional Points Value in Travel Redemption
- Primary Rental Car Insurance
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
- Cell Phone Protection
- Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $95 Annual Fee
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review) is an excellent choice for business owners looking for a card that offers valuable rewards and benefits.
With this card, you’ll earn:
- 3 points per $1 spent on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines (up to $150,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year).
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases, with no limit on the number of points you can earn.
Beyond the rewards, the Ink Business Preferred provides valuable benefits, including:
- Primary rental car insurance (when renting for business purposes).
- Cell phone protection (up to $600 per claim against theft or damage, with a maximum of three claims per year and a $100 deductible per claim).
- Purchase and extended warranty protection.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
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- Unlimited 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x Miles On Every Purchase
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $0 Intro Annual Fee for the First Year, $95 Thereafter
- Free employee cards which also earn unlimited 2X miles from their purchases
The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is one of the top travel rewards credit cards for small business owners.
The card earns unlimited 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. It also earns unlimited 2 miles per dollar on all purchases, which can be transferred to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners.
The Spark Miles also offers a statement credit for your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application (up to $100) and no foreign transaction fees.
Is the Amex Business Gold Card Worth It?
The Amex Business Gold is an excellent choice for businesses that spend heavily in the card’s 4x bonus categories.
It’s easy to accumulate a significant number of points since these expenses typically cost thousands of dollars each month.
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- 4X Points on Purchases in Your Top 2 Business Categories (up to $150,000 in Combined Purchases Per Calendar Year)
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $295 Annual Fee (Rates and Fees)
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
