2021 Review: American Express Business Gold Card

Our Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars

We gave the American Express® Business Gold Card 5 out of 5 Stars because it’s one of the better high-level options out there for business owners.

The Business Gold is an interesting and flexible card. It’s designed to help fund your business expenses, and is good for making a variety of different purchases.

Most reward cards come with a set of select categories that you have to either take or leave. But the Business Gold gives you six bonus category options. The two categories that your business spends the most in each month will earn 4X Membership Rewards points, which will be retroactively applied to all eligible purchases.

That means you’ll earn more points in the two categories that you spend the most in each month, a good situation for businesses that have a variety of spending. This is a fairly unique offer, customizing the rewards to fit your most frequent business expenses.

You can get a 25% point rebate 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.

You can earn a cash back equivalent of upwards of 8% with this card, if you transfer your points to qualifying airline or hotel loyalty programs. Other redemption methods will provide less value.

Is this a good card to help you pay for business expenses? You may be able to earn a bit back while getting some good value out of the other benefits. Keep reading to find out!

Insider Advice: Getting the Most Out of Your Card

• Use this card for your business spending: Earn 4X Membership Rewards points per dollar in the two categories that your business spends the most in each month, with 1X point for all other purchases.
• Build better business credit: You can use this card to build and improve your business credit. Pay your bill on time and in full each billing cycle to avoid interest and prevent your account from ever entering a negative status.
• Share the wealth: You can get up to 99 employee cards to share with your workers, and set individual spending limits. Use them to manage spending and earn rewards more quickly.
• Redeem for flights or gift cards: The flight and gift card redemption methods are easiest, offering up to 1 cent per point. But you can transfer your points to a partner loyalty program to potentially get a better value.
• You have no preset spending limit: Your spending limit will change over time. Pay your bills on time and be a responsible credit user to potentially increase that limit.
• Look out for discounts: Check out the Amex Offers benefit to find discounts at a wide variety of merchants. This gives you a way to earn more rewards more quickly.

The Rewards

This card can provide the equivalent of 4% cash back when you use the normal redemption methods. Or if you use a point transfer, you can potentially get over 8% cash back.

Earning

Spending Rewards
4X Membership Rewards points per dollar in the two categories with the highest spend per month, up to $150,000 in combined purchases per year (then 1X): Airfare purchased directly from airlines U.S. advertising purchases: online, TV, radio U.S. providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions U.S. gas stations U.S. restaurants U.S. shipping
2X Membership Rewards points per dollar for eligible purchases from American Express Travel
1X Membership Rewards point per dollar for all other purchases

Introductory Bonus
70,000 bonus points for spending $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership

As you can see, this card is pretty versatile. You’ll get more points for the types of purchases you make the most, with 4X points in the two categories that your business spends the most in each month. That makes this a good rewards program for businesses that have a variety of spending throughout the year.

The 4X rate will apply to the first $150,000 spent at that rate in combined purchases per year. After that you’ll earn 1X point.

Redeeming

The Membership Rewards points you earn with this card can be redeemed in a few different ways.

Your basic options are:

• Normal redemption methods (flights, hotel reservations, gift cards, point of sale): 0.5–1.0 cents per point, 25% points back for airfare
• Statement credit: 0.6 cents per point, up to 2.4% cash back equivalent
• Point transfer to frequent traveler loyalty program: Highly variable cash back, equal to over 8% in some cases

Cashing in points for statement credits will only get you 0.6 cents per point, so we don’t recommend that. The other methods can provide up to 1 cent per point, with the exception of point transfers which can yield more.

Airfare booked through Amex Travel will provide a 25% bonus, in the form of 25% of your points back, so that’s a decent option too. It basically means you’re getting 1.25 cents per point, as long as you end up redeeming those returned points for 1 cent each.

So we recommend transferring your points to a loyalty program whenever possible. If you can’t do that, booking airfare and getting the 25% bonus will be your next best option. The statement credit method is the simplest, but it provides the least value per point.

As an example, say you earn a total of 10,000 Membership Rewards points. You can redeem them for flights or certain gift cards at 1 cent per point, which comes to $100. When booking for airfare you’d get 25% of those points back, which would be 2,500 points, so you could value those redemptions at $125. Or you can redeem them for a point transfer, where you may get a value of 2 cents per point or more depending on the details of the transfer, coming to a value of $200. A statement credit, at 0.6 cents per point, would only provide $60.

Travel

When redeeming for travel expenses you’ll have several options, but the most valuable is for airline flights because you’ll get 25% of your points back. The main way is to redeem through American Express Travel, though there are a couple other travel services you can use as well. You’ll be able to redeem 10,000 points in the following ways.

Transferring to Loyalty Programs

You can transfer Membership Rewards points to a variety of different loyalty programs. Some are based in the U.S., while others are not. Many popular airlines and hotels are represented.

Most transfers are at a 1:1 rate, though some are different. And there are also limited-time offers and special deals occasionally. There’s a fee of $0.0006 per point when transferring to US airlines, with no charge for any other transfers. And different programs will allow you to transfer points in different increments, like 500 points at a time or 1,000 points at a time.

Here are some example programs, along with their transfer rates and a point conversion example. Take note that offers may change.

The Benefits

• The Hotel Collection: Cardholders can receive a credit for up to $100 per stay to cover eligible expenses at hotels. This can be a nice way to save a bit of money when traveling.
• Lowest Hotel Rates Guarantee: If you book an eligible prepaid hotel room through Amex Travel and then find the same room being advertised online for a lower price, you can be refunded for the difference. You must submit your claim before the check-in date, and be sure to check your card details because some restrictions apply.
• Amex Offers: You’ll have access to extra points at a wide variety of merchants, and the selection changes now and then.
• Tier One Program: Some businesses will be eligible for the Tier One Program from American Express. This comes with benefits that are “designed to streamline and enhance the business’s experience with American Express.”
• Entertainment Access: This benefit, also called Membership Experiences, provides pre-sale tickets to a variety of sports, music, and cultural events, as well as access to certain exclusive experiences. You’ll be able to search by interest, artist, event, or venue.
• Account Manager: Designate a trusted Account Manager to manage your Business Gold account. Must be at least 18 years old.
• American Express business app: A tool to help manage your spending throughout the year. Allows you to add receipts and notes to transactions, making tax time easier.
• Connect to QuickBooks: Provides an easy way to label and transfer your transaction data into a QuickBooks account.
• No preset spending limit: This card has no preset spending limit, which does not mean you can spend an unlimited amount. Instead, this means that your purchasing power will adjust over time. It will change based on your card activity, payment history, credit record, and other financial resources.
• Trip Delay Insurance: Use your card to buy a round trip and if it’s delayed for an eligible reason for more than 12 hours, you could be reimbursed.
• Baggage Insurance Plan: Your carry-on bags are covered against theft and damage to up to $1,250, and up to $500 for checked bags.
• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: Decline the rental company’s insurance and charge the full amount to your card, and your rental will be covered against damage and theft.
• Global Assist Hotline: If you need help away from home, you have 24/7 access to a hotline that can assist you if you’re in need of legal, medical, or other kinds of help.
• Purchase Protection: Your new eligible purchases are covered from damage and theft for 90 days.
• Extended Warranty: You can add an additional year to a manufacturer’s warranty, if it’s a warranty of five years or less.

Enrollment required for select benefits; terms and limitations apply.

The Terms & Fees

American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees)

This was formerly a charge card, and you typically need to pay the statement balance in full. But if you choose to use the Pay Over Time option for eligible purchases over $100, those expenses will accrue interest at the rate above. We recommend always paying your statement balance in full to avoid interest.

Eligible charges can be included in a Pay Over Time balance, up to the Pay Over Time Limit. Eligible charges include purchases, foreign transaction fees, and annual membership fees. The following are ineligible for Pay Over Time: cash advances, including cash and other cash equivalents, certain insurance premiums, and any other fees owed to American Express. Pay Over Time Limit applies to the total of the Pay Over Time, cash advance, and Plan balances.

All charges not added to a Pay Over Time balance, a monthly payment plan, or a cash advance balance must be paid in full each month by the payment due date.

Otherwise, the terms are very simple for this card. If you always pay your statement balance in full, as long as you don’t make any late or returned payments, you’ll just have an annual fee to pay. If you feel like that fee is too high, check out some no annual fee business credit cards.

The Bottom Line

The American Express® Business Gold Card is definitely a contender if you’re looking to earn points on your business expenses.

Take a look at the reward categories — do you spend a lot of money in at least a few of these? If you travel often, there are some good options here. You’ll be able to pick the reward category that you spend the most in, and still get points in the others. For frequent business trips, the airfare and gas rewards are especially useful.

The annual fee may seem high at first. But if you take into account the rewards you can earn and the value of the benefits, the cost should seem pretty reasonable. Just make sure that you’ll spend enough with the card each year to make the fee worth it. You can extend your reach by assigning cards to your employees, gaining rewards whenever they spend.

There are many more business credit cards out there. Check out some alternatives to the Business Gold card below.

How Do I Apply for the Business Gold Card?

You can apply now for this card securely by following the link below. You’ll need to be an authorized officer for your business, responsible for managing finances.

The Amex Business Gold card is designed for cardholders with good credit or better, so you’ll likely have a higher chance of being approved with FICO scores of at least 670. With that said, even excellent credit scores won’t guarantee you approval, as the decision is based on several factors.

What Credit Scores Do I Need to Qualify for the Business Gold Card?

It’s recommended you have good credit before applying for the American Express Business Gold Card.

That means your credit scores will have to be within the ranges of 670–739 for FICO and 700–749 for VantageScore.

Keep in mind credit card issuers look at more than just credit scores to determine your creditworthiness. There are other factors, like income, that play into card companies’ decisions, so even if you have lower scores than what’s recommended you might make the cut. However, that means occasionally even if you have higher scores, you might not be approved.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Must be 18 to apply
• Business identifying information: Business name, company DBA name (if applicable), business name on card, industry type, company structure, years in business, number of employees
• Business address and contact information: Business address, business phone number
• Business financial information: Annual business revenue, estimated monthly costs, federal tax I.D
• Personal identifying information: Role in company, name, Social Security number, date of birth
• Address and contact information: Email, address, phone number
• Personal financial information: Total annual income

Frequently Asked Questions

What benefits come with the American Express Business Gold Card?

The American Express Business Gold comes with some useful benefits including The Hotel Collection and protections like rental car insurance and a baggage insurance plan. Take a look at the complete list of benefits.

Is the American Express Business Gold Card metal?

Yes, the card is metal. Looking for other metal credit cards? We’ve put together a list.