American Express® Business Gold Card Review

AMERICAN EXPRESS® BUSINESS GOLD CARD BENEFITS

The CardName is specifically designed to fit the needs of a small business owner. It features a rewards program that is lucrative, flexible and, perhaps most importantly, low-maintenance. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.

New cardholders can earn a welcome offer bonus of 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after making $10,000 in eligible purchases within three months from account opening.

From Day 1, you earn four Membership Rewards® points per $1 spent (up to $150,000 spent in these categories each calendar year) in the two categories (among six) your business spent the most in each month. You don't have to choose your bonus categories; American Express automatically recognizes which two categories you spend the most in each month.

Categories include:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• U.S. purchases of online, TV and radio advertising
• U.S. purchases from select providers of computer software, hardware or cloud solutions
• Purchases at U.S. gas stations
• Purchases at U.S. restaurants (including takeout and delivery)
• U.S. shipping purchases

Remember, the 4X points applies to the first $150,000 spent in the bonus categories each calendar year after which you earn one point per $1 spent on those purchases. You earn one point per $1 on all your other purchases.

You have myriad options when it comes to redeeming your Membership Rewards® points, which are some of the most sought-after rewards currency out there. While you can redeem for dining out, entertainment, travel and gift cards from more than 500 brands, perhaps the most obivious and popular use of these rewards is for travel. You can redeem points directly for travel through the American Express travel portal or transfer them to one of multiple airline and hotel loyalty partners. If you want a fuller picture of Membership Rewards®, check out the CardRatings Guide to Membership Rewards® Points.

One specific reward redemption option to keep in mind: if you book your flight through amextravel.com and pay with points, you can get 25% of those points back to use on a future redemption (up to 250,000 points back per calendar year). To take advantage of this offer, book any first or business class flight or any class ticket with your pre-selected airline.

FEATURED CARD

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
• Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel
• 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
• Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more

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Credit Needed:

Excellent

AMERICAN EXPRESS® BUSINESS GOLD LIMIT

The CardName has no preset spending limit like a traditional card. Instead, the amount you can spend depends on factors such as your spending history, credit history, payment history and more. Even so, this feature could be very help with your business' cash flow, potentially giving you spending power even in months when revenue may be delayed.

When it comes to paying your balance, the Business Gold Card offers you payment options. Of course, you can always pay your balance in full each month, but you can also choose the "Pay Over Time" option on eligible purchases. The interest rate on those purchases comes in at RegAPR, depending on credit worthiness (See Rates and Fees).

AMERICAN EXPRESS® BUSINESS GOLD FEES

First, the good news: the CardName charges no foreign transaction fees, which can save real money if you travel overseas frequently for business or if your business requires purchases of products or services in foreign currency (See Rates and Fees).

Now for the bad news: there is a AnnualFees annual fee to consider (See Rates and Fees). You want to be sure the perks and rewards of the card will more than offset that fee before your decide to take it on. There are certainly business cards out there with lower annual fees (we'll discuss a few in the compare section below), so make sure this is definitely the card for you before deciding to apply.

Ready for more good news? Employee cards are available without an additional annual fee and all rewards earned on those employee cards accumulate in the primary cardholder's account.

AMERICAN EXPRESS® BUSINESS GOLD CARD CASH ADVANCE

Cash advances are not available through the CardName. That's not necessarily a bad thing as cash advances are expensive in terms of their interest rates and are almost never a good idea.

AMERICAN EXPRESS® BUSINESS GOLD CARD CARDHOLDER SCORES

CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results:

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

HOW THE BUSINESS GOLD CARD COMPARES TO OTHER BUSINESS CARDS

Business Gold Card vs. CardName

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While these cards have different strengths, both are excellent options for small business owners interested in racking up some rewards on those everyday business purchases.

CardName has a significantly lower annual fee (AnnualFees vs. AnnualFees for the AmEx card). Neither card charges foreign transaction fees and both offer healthy welcome offer opportunities, though Ink probably wins out on that front if you have the spending opportunity to earn it.

Earn 100,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards® points when you spend $15,000 in the first three months. Those points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for travel the the Ultimate Rewards® portal, so that bonus could be worth $1,250 in travel (or even more if you transfer points strategically to one of multiple travel partners). Obviously, the points earn is higher with the Chase card, but so is that spending requirement.

On an ongoing basis, Ink Business Preferred offers three points per $1 spent (up to $150,000 spent annually) on travel; shipping; internet, cable, and phone services; and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines. Earn one point per $1 on other eligible purchases.

This decision may come down to whether you prefer the Ultimate Rewards® or Membership Rewards® program as well as whether you can justify the higher annual fee of the AmEx card.

Business Gold Card vs. CardName

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The CardName card's cash-back program isn't as generous as that of the American Express card, but it also doesn't have spending caps and it's simpler to wrap your mind around. Cardholders earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, so you get the same amount no matter what you buy or how much of it. It isn't the 4x points you can earn on some purchases with the Business Gold Card, but it also doesn't limit your categories or cap when you'll earn that top cash back.

The CardName card's AnnualFees annual fee is obviously more affordable than that of the American Express card, but the fee becomes irrelevant, of course, if you more than offset it with your rewards.

The Spark card offers a one-time bonus of up to a $1,000 cash bonus; $500 once you spend $5,000 in the first three months, and $500 once you spend $50,000 in the first six months of account opening.

Neither card charges foreign transaction fees.

Business Gold Card vs. CardName

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See Rates and Fees

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If you like the idea of earning Membership Rewards® points, but can't justify the hefty annual fee of the Business Gold Card, CardName could be just right.

That's because this card no annual fee at all, but does offer two points per $1 spent on all your eligible purchases (up to $50,000 spent in a calendar year, then one point per $1). If you do the math, maxing out that spending cap means you'll rake in 100,000 Membership Rewards® just on that spending and that doesn't take into account the one point per $1 you'll keep earning after hitting the annual cap.

Blue Business® Plus also offers 15,000 bonus Membership Rewards® points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months of card membership, and you can also take advantage of an introductory 0% APR on purchases for the first 12 months from account opening (then, RegAPR). This card does charge foreign transaction fees, though, as compared to the Business Gold Card, which does not.

IS THE BUSINESS GOLD CARD A GOOD CARD?

At the end of the day, as with most cards, a small business owner will need to decide how much they will use the CardName if they are approved for membership. If it is your go-to card for business expenses, the annual fee could be easily worth it when you consider the perks, features and rewards-earning opportunities.

On the other hand, if you only plan to use your card for certain expenses, there are less expensive alternatives with strong rewards programs, like those listed above.

Survey Methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September and October 2022 to conduct surveys among 1,554 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2022-Aug. 31, 2022 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents' scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. "Current Scores" reflect scores from the most recent survey (2022); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2021 survey.

For rates and fees of the American Express cards mentioned in this article, please see the following links: CardName (See Rates and Fees); CardName (See Rates and Fees)