American Express Business Gold Card: An Expensive Card With Valuable Rewards

CNET’S PICK

American Express® Business Gold Card

3.8/5

Rating Breakdown 3.8

Welcome Bonus 4.0

Rewards Program 4.0

Value for Money 0.7

Benefits 3.5

Fees and APR 3.0

How We Rate Business Cards

We rate credit cards using our business methodology for cards tailored to business owners. We rank business cards based on earning power, the value you get weighed against the cost, the card benefits and their rates and fees. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards

7.5/10

CNET rates credit cards by comparing their offers to those of their categorical competitors. Each card is individually evaluated through a formula which reflects the standards and expectations of the contemporary market. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards

Intro Offer

Earn 100,000 points Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*

Rewards Rate

1x – 4x Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the top two eligible categories where your business spends the most each month from 6 eligible categories. While your top 2 categories may change, you will earn 4X points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap.*; Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card.*; 1X is earned for other purchases. **

Rec. Credit

670 – 850 Good – Excellent Recommended Credit: Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application. A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.

APR

19.49% – 28.49% Variable

Rating Breakdown 3.8

Welcome Bonus 4.0

Rewards Program 4.0

Value for Money 0.7

Benefits 3.5

Fees and APR 3.0

How We Rate Business Cards

We rate credit cards using our business methodology for cards tailored to business owners. We rank business cards based on earning power, the value you get weighed against the cost, the card benefits and their rates and fees. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards

Card Details

Intro Balance Transfer APR

N/A

Intro Purchase APR

0% on purchases for 6 months from the date of account opening

Regular APR

19.49% – 28.49% Variable

Balance Transfer Fee

N/A

Rewards Rates

4x

Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the top two eligible categories where your business spends the most each month from 6 eligible categories. While your top 2 categories may change, you will earn 4X points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap.*

3x

Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card.*

1x

1X is earned for other purchases. **

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more

Rating Breakdown 3.8

Welcome Bonus 4.0

Rewards Program 4.0

Value for Money 0.7

Benefits 3.5

Fees and APR 3.0

How We Rate Business Cards

We rate credit cards using our business methodology for cards tailored to business owners. We rank business cards based on earning power, the value you get weighed against the cost, the card benefits and their rates and fees. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards

Card Details

Intro Balance Transfer APR

N/A

Intro Purchase APR

0% on purchases for 6 months from the date of account opening

Regular APR

19.49% – 28.49% Variable

Balance Transfer Fee

N/A

Rewards Rates

4x

Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the top two eligible categories where your business spends the most each month from 6 eligible categories. While your top 2 categories may change, you will earn 4X points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap.*

3x

Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card.*

1x

1X is earned for other purchases. **

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more

Our take

The American Express® Business Gold Card is a flexible and rewarding card for business owners who travel relatively frequently. It may not offer as expansive of a benefits package as The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, but it also comes at a lower price tag of $375 annually (see rates and fees) compared with the Business Platinum’s $695 annual fee (see rates and fees). Amex Business Gold cardholders get a rewards program that tailors to how their business spends, providing the greatest rewards in the eligible categories you spend the most in. The card’s rewards are best redeemed for travel, providing outsized value if you can leverage Amex’s 20 hotel and airline transfer partners effectively but significantly worse value -- less than one cent per point -- if you redeem your points directly for merchandise purchases or statement credits. 

Though lacking the premium perks offered by the Business Platinum card, the American Express® Business Gold Card offers a generous welcome offer, good rewards which can then be used to fund your business travels and a nice selection of consumer and travel protections. It’s a perfect middle ground for business travelers who travel enough to redeem their points they earn but don’t travel enough to make the Business Platinum’s full suite of luxury travel benefits worthwhile. Business owners who don’t travel at all, or want to use their credit card rewards to offset other business spending, would be better off with a business cash back card like the American Express Blue Business CashTM Card or one of Chase’s Ink Business cards. 

Pros and cons

Who this card is best for

• Small-business owners that travel occasionally: Small-business owners who travel will love this card’s lack of foreign transaction fees, as well as the rewards redemption options for travel. Not only can cardmembers redeem their points for travel directly through American Express Travel, they can also transfer their points to Amex airline and hotel partners for potentially greater value.
• Businesses that spend a lot in eligible bonus categories: Businesses that spend a lot in the card’s eligible bonus categories can earn 4X points on up to $150,000 in bonus spending each calendar year (then 1X). If a business owner is able to max out this benefit, the American Express® Business Gold Card offers the potential to earn 600,000 Amex Membership Rewards points in rewards annually.
• Amex Membership Rewards enthusiasts: This card is popular for business owners who love Amex Membership Rewards points and want to maximize their rewards within that ecosystem. In fact, you could pair this card with a personal Amex card that earns Membership Rewards as well as other Amex business cards.

Who this card isn’t best for

• Frequent travelers who want luxury perks: If you want premium benefits like annual travel credits, fee credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership or airport lounge access, the American Express® Business Gold Card isn’t for you. 
• Businesses that don’t spend a lot in the card’s bonus categories: Business owners who don’t spend much in the card’s 4X point categories may be better off with a business card that better matches their spending patterns.
• People who prefer to redeem rewards for cash back or statement credits: While you can redeem Amex Membership Rewards points for non-travel options, you’ll get less than one cent per point of value if you do. The Membership Rewards program only gives you 0.7 cent per point if you pay with rewards at checkout with eligible retailers, 0.6 cent per point for statement credits, and 0.5 cent per point if you use your points to pay directly for merchandise.

A closer look at the American Express® Business Gold Card

Welcome offer and rewards

The American Express® Business Gold Card starts new cardmembers off with earning 100,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership. 

While the minimum spending requirement is rather high for this bonus (at least $5,000 in average monthly spending for three consecutive months), the rewards are worth it if you can meet the threshold through your business’s natural spending. American Express Membership Rewards points are worth on average two cents each, according to The Point Guy’s valuations, when you transfer rewards to partners for travel redemptions. This means the welcome bonus on this card could be worth $2,000 or more depending on how you redeem your rewards.

Welcome offer aside, cardholders also earn 4X points in the two eligible categories their business spends the most in each billing cycle (on up to $150,000 in combined spending from these categories each calendar year, then 1X), 3X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com, plus 1X points on other purchases. Only the top two eligible categories each billing cycle will count toward the $150,000 cap. The categories are:

• Transit
• U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers
• U.S. monthly wireless telephone service charges
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• U.S. purchases at gas stations

Fees

The American Express® Business Gold Card charges an annual fee of $375 and no foreign transaction fees. Other fees to be aware of include a late payment fee of $39 or 2.99% of any past due Pay in Full amount (whichever is greater; see rates and fees) and a returned payment fee of $39 (see rates and fees).

Notable business perks

The American Express® Business Gold Card doesn’t have the most impressive benefits, especially considering its high annual fee. That said, it does come with some useful protections including trip delay insurance*, a baggage insurance plan*, secondary car rental loss and damage insurance*, purchase protection*, and extended warranties*.

There are two annual business credits for cardholders to use. You can earn up to $240 back annually for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores, dolled out as up to $20 in monthly statement credits. There’s also an annual Walmart+ membership credit worth $155 (subject to auto-renewal). You’ll get up to a monthly $12.95 statement credit for the subscription cost (up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes on one membership fee).

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Alternative cards

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card comes with an annual fee of just $95, and cardholders earn 3X points on up to $150,000 in spending each year in eligible bonus categories (then 1X points) and 1X points on other purchases. New cardholders can also earn 120,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases within three months of account opening.

The big difference here is the fact that Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to a different set of airline and hotel partners, of which there are 14 in total. Some transfer partners available through Chase Ultimate Rewards but not Amex Membership Rewards include Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MilagePlus and World of Hyatt. Plus, cardholders get 25% more value (1.25 cents per point) when redeeming their points for airfare, hotel stays, car rentals and more through Chase Travel℠.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express comes with a much higher annual fee of $695 (see rates and fees), but it offers premium travel benefits like airport lounge access, a fee credit toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership, up to $400 annually in statement credits toward U.S. purchases with Dell Technologies (up to $200 back semi-annually), up to $360 in statement credits per year for purchases with Indeed, up to $120 in statement credits per year for wireless telephone service purchases made directly with a wireless provider in the US, up to a $200 airline incidental fee credit each year at one selected qualifying airline, up to $199 per year in statement credits toward CLEAR® Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) and a 35% points rebate when using your points to book qualifying airfare through Pay with Points with American Express Travel (up to 1,000,000 bonus points back per calendar year).

Cardholders can also earn a much higher welcome offer of 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership, plus 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com and 1.5X points in key business categories and on eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (on up to $2 million in combined spending per calendar year). All other eligible purchases earn the standard rate of 1X points per dollar spent.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

FAQs

For rates and fees of American Express Business Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees of American Express Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card from American Express, click here.

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.

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