Score a Massive 200K Welcome Bonus Offer on the Amex Business Gold Card [Current Public Offer Is 100K]

The American Express^® Business Gold Card is one of our favorite business cards because of its high earning potential, robust suite of perks and benefits, and reasonable annual fee.

This card has targeted welcome bonus offers that makes the $375 annual fee pale in comparison to the value you’d receive from earning the welcome offer points (rates & fees). You may be able to find a 200,000-point welcome offer, so here’s what you should know about this offer.

Here’s everything you need to know.

^{Targeted offers are discussed in the article below. Please note that these offers are not available to all applicants. Any information related to targeted offers has been collected independently and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.}

Amex Business Gold Card Welcome Bonus Offers and How To Find Them

The current public welcome bonus offer for the Amex Business Gold card is:

• Earn 100,000 points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

That welcome offer is nothing to scoff at, but Upgraded Points staffers are seeing offers of up to 200,000 bonus points with the same minimum spending requirements — double the current public offer.

We value Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents apiece, so the current offer is worth about up to $2,200, and a 200,000-point bonus is worth a whopping $4,400.

Option 1: Check on Amex Directly (Try This First)

We recommend starting directly on the American Express website to check your eligibility for the highest possible offer.

The current public offer is:

• Earn 100,000 points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

However, checking directly will allow you to see what type of offer you’re targeted for. This method yielded a few 200,000-point offers among UP staffers.

We’ve also found that the terms of the welcome offer specifically say this bonus may not be available to you “if you have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card.”

Option 2: Amex Business Gold Referral Offers

Friends and family members with an American Express card can refer you to an Amex card using the refer-a-friend program.

Better yet, referring a friend does not require the person referring you to have the Amex Business Gold card. No matter which American Express card they hold, they can send you their referral offer, and if you’re lucky, you can even receive a targeted welcome offer that earns you even more points.

How To Find and Share Your Personal Referral Link

To find and share your Amex personal referral link, go to the refer-a-friend page on the American Express website.

Then select the card you’re sending a referral for. Once you’ve clicked your card, American Express will show you the number of points you will receive for referring your friend and the number of points your friend will receive as a welcome offer if they are approved.

To send your referral link, enter their email address to have it emailed directly. Or you can generate a unique link you can send them.

Ensure that your friend applies through the link you provide them with or you will not be eligible to receive the referral bonus points.

Option 3: Targeted Email Offers

If you’re still searching, watch for targeted email or snail-mail offers. You need to opt in to receive new card and credit offers in your Amex account’s general marketing email preferences.

Option 4: Check the CardMatch Tool

If you can’t find the offer you’d like on Amex’s website, you can use the CardMatch tool.

CardMatch uses a soft credit check to see if you’re eligible for any elevated offers. Because it isn’t a hard pull, checking offers doesn’t impact your credit score.

Benefits of the Amex Business Gold Card

The Amex Business Gold card has a strong earning structure and plenty of perks and benefits, which provide cardmembers with a strong return on the $375 annual fee.

This card earns:

• 4x Membership Rewards points on the top 2 categories in which your business spends the most every month (up to $150,000 in combined purchases every calendar year; 1x thereafter):
  • Transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, ride-sharing services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
  •  U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers
  • Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
  • U.S. purchases at gas stations
  • U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
  • Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• 3x Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com
• 1x Membership Rewards points on all other eligible purchases

Summer Trips To Maximize Membership Rewards Points

If you maximized the welcome bonus offer by completing the minimum spending requirements solely with 4x-qualifying purchases, you’d have a massive stockpile of 260,000 American Express Membership Rewards points.

Here are a few ideas for maximizing these points for amazing summer destinations:

Book 2 Round-Trip Business Class Tickets to Japan on ANA

One of the best ways to utilize Amex Membership Rewards points is by transferring them to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at a 1:1 ratio and booking tickets in the premium cabin on All Nippon Airways (ANA). Virgin Atlantic charges between 105,000 and 120,000 points for a round-trip ticket in business class between the U.S. and Japan, which means you and a companion can fly in one of the world’s best business class products and still have plenty of points left over.

Alternatively, you can book a single round-trip first class ticket with ANA, as Virgin Atlantic charges between 145,000 and 170,000 points for these tickets between the U.S. and Japan. In this scenario, you’d still have a healthy amount of points remaining after booking a ticket.

Summer in Japan usually comes with heat and humidity, especially in the bigger cities of Osaka and Tokyo. The upside to higher temperatures is typically fewer crowds and lower prices. You might want to get out of the city unless you prefer higher temperatures. Consider visiting Hokkaido for cooler temperatures and vibrant festivals, visiting Okinawa’s beautiful beaches and marine activities, or exploring Mount Fuji.

Book 2 Round-Trip Business Class Tickets to Europe

Using Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program, you can book business class tickets to Europe from 60,000 miles one-way on Air France, KLM, and other SkyTeam partner airlines. Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio, meaning 1 Amex point becomes 1 Flying Blue mile.

You can book 2 round-trip tickets in business class between the U.S. and Europe for just 240,000 Flying Blue miles, leaving you a hefty stash of Amex points left over if you maximize your minimum spend requirement.

Europe has amazing summer destinations, including Alpine lakes and valleys in Switzerland, beautiful Spanish beaches, and ancient history to explore in Rome or Greece. Flying business class would allow you to get there and back in style.

Final Thoughts

This is one of the best welcome bonus offers we’ve ever seen for the Amex Business Gold card — if not the best.

It may not have the firepower of The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express, but it’s significantly less expensive to carry in your wallet.

Get this card and you could enjoy thousands of dollars worth of points when meeting (and maximizing) the minimum spend and have a card in your wallet that allows you to earn handsomely on purchases. If you’ve considered adding this card to your roster, there may not be a better time.