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American Express Business Gold Card – Full Review [2022]

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"Earn more rewards where your business spends the most"

Get 4x points in 2 select categories where your business spends the most each month (on your first $150,000 spent each year).

Learn More (at Amex's secure site)

Jarrod West

- UPDATED: January 5, 2022

Is the Amex Business Gold Card Worth It?

For business owners who have high monthly business expenses, and are looking for a card to help maximize those purchases, you’re in the right place!

The American Express® Business Gold Card earns 4x points per $1 in the 2 categories (from a list of 6) that your business spends the most money on each month. There’s no need to opt-in or preselect your categories, so you can focus on what matters most — running your business. In this review, we’ll dive in further and look at the top benefits and perks of the card.

Pros

4x Membership Rewards points per $1 on the 2 categories where your business spends the most:
- Airfare purchased from airlines
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
- U.S. purchases made from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants
- U.S. purchases for shipping
25% airline bonus when using Pay With Points
Access to Amex’s The Hotel Collection
Purchase protection and extended warranty protection
Trip delay insurance
Car rental insurance

Cons

$295 annual fee (see rates and fees)
No elite travel benefits like airport lounge access or elite status

Amex Business Gold Card — Snapshot

Welcome Bonus & Info (Partner Content)
- Welcome Offer: Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
- MORE REWARDS: Get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month. 1X is earned for other purchases. **
- **4X points apply to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year.*
- AIRLINE BONUS: Get 25% points back after you use points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel, up to 250,000 points back per calendar year.*
- PAY OVER TIME OPTION: Decide whether you want to pay eligible purchases in full each month—or pay over time with interest.*
- *Terms Apply
Card Categories:
Rewards Center
American Express Membership Rewards
Customer Service Number
800-528-4800
Login Link
https://online.americanexpress.com/
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Great Card If

Your business spends a lot of money on 1 or more of the cards 6 bonus categories
You want a card that earns transferable rewards
You want a card that offers purchase protection and warranty protection

Don't Get If

You want a card with a lower or no annual fee
You prefer a card that offers cash-back rewards
The bonus categories don’t fit your business needs

Amex Business Gold Card — Fees

Annual Fee
- $295
Foreign Transaction Fees
None
Interest Rates
- 14.24% to 22.24% variable
Late fees
- 29.24% variable
Additional Info
See rates and fees

The Ideal Cardholder

Business Owner Amex Business Platinum vs Amex Business Gold — If your business has large monthly expenses each month, why not earn points for those purchases? Image Credit: Dragon Images via Shutterstock

The Amex Business Gold card is a perfect fit for small business owners who have significant spending in 1 or more of the cards 6 bonus categories, and want a card that will help them rack up the points on those purchases.

Further, the card is a great option for traveling business owners as the card comes with several great perks like trip delay insurance and car rental insurance, and it does not charge foreign transaction fees.

How to Earn More Membership Rewards Points

Card Bonus Categories

Amex Business Gold cardholders earn 4x Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on the 2 categories where your business spent the most each billing cycle from the following categories:

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. purchases at gas stations
U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
U.S. purchases for shipping

The 4x per $1 earnings applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year. This gives cardholders the opportunity to earn a massive 600,000 Membership Rewards points per year (worth over $13,000 by our valuations) for those whose business needs meet that threshold.

All Other Purchases

Once you’ve met the $150,000 bonus category threshold, or for any purchases falling outside of the 6 bonus categories, you’ll still earn 1x point per $1 spent. While this is much lower than the 4x you’ll earn on bonus categories, it still provides a great way to earn extra points.

Amex Offers

Amex Offers are available to all American Express cardholders and present a great option to earn extra value out of your card. Each month, you’re presented with dozens of offers from different merchants that can be added to your card.

These offers give you the opportunity for you to either earn additional Membership Rewards points or statement credits for attaching the offers to your card and then making purchases you were planning to make anyway.

To add an Amex Offer to your card, simply scroll to the bottom of your card’s homepage to find all of the offers that are available to you. Then you can click to add whichever make the most sense for you (or all of them if you want), then just pay with your Amex Business Gold card to redeem the offer.

Refer-a-Friend

If you know someone else that you think might benefit from the Amex Business Gold card, or another American Express card, you can refer them to apply for the card and then receive bonus Membership Rewards points if they’re approved.

Hot Tip: American Express allows you to receive a bonus for referring friends even if they don’t apply for the same card that you hold. So if another American Express card is a better fit for their needs, you can still receive bonus points for referring them.

Adding More Membership Rewards Cards

A great way to earn even more American Express Membership Rewards points is by adding more Membership Rewards earning cards to your wallet.

Take The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, which offers 2x Membership Rewards points per $1 on all purchases — up to $50,000 in spending per year.

In this case, you could use your Amex Business Gold card to earn 4x points per $1 in the 2 categories where your business spends the most each month, and then Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points per $1 on all other purchases.

If you’re interested in learning about some other American Express card options, here are some of our favorite Amex business cards and personal cards.

Bottom Line: For even more ways to rack up extra Amex points, check out our best ways to earn Membership Rewards points!

How to Use Membership Rewards Points for Max Value

Business Traveler Airport — The Amex Business Gold card is a great option for business owners who are always on the go. Image Credit: Axpc via Shutterstock

Cardholders have several different options when it comes to deciding how to redeem your Membership Rewards points.

Travel Partners

American Express Membership Rewards points are by far one of the most valuable credit card point currencies out there. This is due to their ability to be transferred to one of Amex’s many airline transfer partners.

We think this is the absolute best option to get the maximum value out of your Membership Rewards points. When you redeem your points this way, you can book award flights in business class and first class (that would otherwise cost you thousands of dollars) for next to nothing!

Hot Tip: If you need help getting started on how to use the American Express transfer partners, check out our detailed guide on how to use them.

Amex Travel

If you prefer to use your points for travel, but not through travel partners, you can use your points to offset travel purchases made through the Amex Travel portal.

When using your points toward an airline ticket you’ll receive 1.25 cents per point (a 25% bonus) when you Pay With Points from Amex for all flights on a single carrier of your choosing.

Keep in mind that you can only select 1 carrier each year. Fortunately, you can still earn the 25% points rebate with other carriers booked through Amex Travel, but this will only apply to business and first-class tickets — which will be significantly more expensive in terms of the number of points needed.

Based on this, you will most likely be better off using airline transfer partners for award flights, unless you find an exceptionally great fare deal.

As far as other travel redemptions go, like hotel stays or rental cars, your Membership Rewards points are worth just 0.7 cents per point.

Statement Credit

American Express gives you the option to use your points to cover purchases you’ve made with your card via a statement credit — just like cash-back.

However, unless you really need, or really prefer the cash, this certainly won’t be your best option as your points are worth just 0.6 cents per point.

Gift Cards

American Express offers you the option to redeem your points for gift cards with dozens of retailers. This may seem like a convenient option if there are a handful of stores, restaurants, etc. that you frequent. But given that you’ll receive just 0.7 to 1 cent per point in value, you’d be better off redeeming your points in a way that will offer you a greater return.

Shop With Points

If your card is linked to your Amazon, Best Buy, or Grubhub accounts, American Express gives you the option to use your Membership Rewards points at checkout instead of charging the item to your card. When you redeem points this way you’ll receive 0.7 cents per point in value. Again, this is a much lower value than you can get with other options.

Bottom Line: Unless you do not have time to, or interest in, travel, we highly recommend using your points with American Express transfer partners. This option by far offers you the best value for your Membership Rewards points. So to maximize value for your points, we do not advise you to use their points for statement credits, gift cards, Shop With Points, or any option that only earns 1 cent per point or less.

Amex Airline Transfer Partner	Min Transfer	Transfer Ratio (Amex > Partner)	Transfer Time
AeroMexico	1,000	1:1.6	2-12 days
Air Canada	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Alitalia	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Aer Lingus	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
ANA	1,000	1:1	3 days
Avianca LifeMiles	1,000	1:1	Almost instant
British Airways	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Cathay Pacific	1,000	1:1	Up to 1 Week
Delta Air Lines	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Emirates	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Etihad Airways	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Flying Blue Air France/KLM	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Hawaiian	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Iberia	1,000	1:1	1-3 days
JetBlue	250	1:0.8	Almost Instant
Qantas	500	1:1	Almost Instant
Singapore Airlines	1,000	1:1	1-2 days
Virgin Atlantic	1,000	1:1	1-2 days

Amex Hotel Transfer Partner	Min Transfer	Transfer Ratio (Amex > Partner)	Transfer Time
Choice Privileges	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant
Hilton Honors	1,000	1:2	Almost Instant
Marriott Bonvoy	1,000	1:1	Almost Instant

Alternative Cards to The Amex Business Gold Card

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Credit Card	Key Benefits & Info
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Learn More (at Chase's secure site)	Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn 25% more value when redeeming points through Ultimate Rewards® travel Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-850) Annual Fee: $95 $2,000 Must Reads: For more info on the Ink Business Preferred, see our guides on its benefits, 7 things to do as a new cardholder, and our full review. This is our favorite Chase business credit card.

Credit Card

Key Benefits & Info

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Learn More

(at Chase's secure site)

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn
25% more value when redeeming points through Ultimate Rewards® travel
Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-850)
Annual Fee: $95

$2,000

Must Reads: For more info on the Ink Business Preferred, see our guides on its benefits, 7 things to do as a new cardholder, and our full review. This is our favorite Chase business credit card.

This card is a great choice for those looking for a more well-rounded option. While it doesn’t earn 4x points like the Amex Business Gold card, it does earn 3x points per $1 on up to $150,000 in combined purchases on travel, shipping, ad purchases made with social media sites or search engines, internet, cable, and phones services, and you’ll earn those points on every category — instead of 2 with the Amex Business Gold card.

Further, the annual fee is just $95.

American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

AMEX CARD	CARD INFO & BENEFITS
New Welcome Offer American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card Learn More (at Amex's secure site)	Earn a $250 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months. Earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%. Cash back earned is automatically credited to your statement. From workflow to inventory to floor plans, your business is constantly changing. That’s why you’ve got the power to spend beyond your credit limit with Expanded Buying Power. Just remember, the amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express and other factors. 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 13.24%-19.24%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors as determined at the time of account opening. Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-840) Annual Fee: $0 Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Blue Business Cash Card, click here. $250

AMEX CARD

CARD INFO & BENEFITS

American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

Learn More

(at Amex's secure site)

Earn a $250 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months.
Earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%. Cash back earned is automatically credited to your statement.
From workflow to inventory to floor plans, your business is constantly changing. That’s why you’ve got the power to spend beyond your credit limit with Expanded Buying Power.
Just remember, the amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express and other factors.
0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 13.24%-19.24%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors as determined at the time of account opening.
Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-840)
Annual Fee: $0
Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Blue Business Cash Card, click here.

$250

If you’re someone who prefers a no annual fee, cash-back credit card, then the Amex Blue Business Cash card could be a great option for you. The card offers 2% cash-back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%.

We’ve also compared the Amex Business Gold with a number of other leading business credit cards in the posts below:

For rates and fees for The American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.

Featured Image Credit: American Express

Frequently asked questions

What is the annual fee on the Amex Business Gold card?

The annual fee is $295. However, you can easily get thousands of dollars in value per year by maximizing the cards perks and benefits.

Is the Amex Business Gold card worth it?

It absolutely can be! If you’re a small business owner who has a significant level of spend in 1 of the 6 bonus categories (such as advertising on Facebook, Google Ads etc), and would benefit from card perks like purchase protection and extended warranty coverage, then the card might be a great fit for you.

How do I qualify for the Amex Business Gold card?

Any small business owner, including sole-proprietors, freelancers, or independent contractors, is eligible to apply for a business credit card. Your approval will depend on factors like your credit score (which we strongly suggest should be 700+), years in business, and annual revenue.

Does the Amex Business Gold card charge foreign transaction fees?

No, there are no foreign transaction fees when using the card.

Is the Amex Business Gold Card metal?

Yes, it’s a heavy metal card.

Does the Amex Business Gold card come with airport lounge access?

The Amex Business Gold doesn’t offer any airport lounge access. If you’re looking an Amex business card that comes with lounge access, consider The Business Platinum® Card from American Express which comes with the best lounge access.

What is the credit limit for the Amex Business Gold Card?

There is no “preset” credit limit as it can change every month depending on your spending habits, how much (and how fast) you pay off your balance etc. Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing how much you’ll be able to spend before applying. There

How can I get the 100,000 welcome bonus for the Amex Business Gold?

Unfortunately, this offer is not public anymore and was only available for a short term by Amex. Instead, you can expect offers of 35,000 to 50,000 points for signing up. You can check your current offer here.

About Jarrod West

Jarrod first became fascinated with the world of points and miles as the perfect way to visit dream destinations without breaking the bank. On his first major award trip, he spent 3 months traveling through Europe, financed nearly entirely with points; while flying in premium cabins and staying in 5-star hotels along the way. Now, he is on a mission to help others realize their travel goals and upgrade their travel experiences. Jarrod has been writing about credit cards and travel loyalty programs for 4 years, and his work has been featured by Travel and Leisure, The New York Times, Matador Network, Yahoo Finance, and U.S. News.

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Featured Cards

Is the Amex Business Gold Card Worth It?

Pros

Cons

Amex Business Gold Card — Snapshot

Great Card If

Don't Get If

Amex Business Gold Card — Fees

The Ideal Cardholder

How to Earn More Membership Rewards Points

Card Bonus Categories

All Other Purchases

Amex Offers

Refer-a-Friend

Adding More Membership Rewards Cards

How to Use Membership Rewards Points for Max Value

Travel Partners

Amex Travel

Statement Credit

Gift Cards

Shop With Points

Alternative Cards to The Amex Business Gold Card

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

Frequently asked questions

What is the annual fee on the Amex Business Gold card?

Is the Amex Business Gold card worth it?

How do I qualify for the Amex Business Gold card?

Does the Amex Business Gold card charge foreign transaction fees?

Is the Amex Business Gold Card metal?

Does the Amex Business Gold card come with airport lounge access?

What is the credit limit for the Amex Business Gold Card?

How can I get the 100,000 welcome bonus for the Amex Business Gold?

About Jarrod West

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