The American Express Business Gold card provides many competitive advantages for the average holder. With 4X the points on up to $150,000 of spending in two major business categories, including air travel, gas expenditures, restaurant purchases, and more, the Amex Business Gold card gives you a lot back on your most frequent purchases. For larger businesses with recurring costs, the Amex Business Gold card could be one of the best available options. Smaller companies with fewer expenses may find it difficult to justify the high annual fee. However, businesses that can justify this expense will likely find great value in the card’s rewards program.
Amex Business Gold Card Benefits Overview
With the Amex Business Gold card, you are given access to a very hefty rewards system, meaning you can get more bang for your buck. The more you spend, the more you will earn, and the more you can use your points to find the best deal at the best time. This card allows you to earn up to 4X membership rewards points on the purchases your business makes most frequently, up to a specific limit.
Further advantages unveil when you travel with Amex’s partners. By spending your membership rewards on eligible Amex Travel flights, you will receive 25% of the points you spend back from the purchase, allowing you to make the most of your spending when it comes to travel expenses. This rebate applies whether you’re paying for all or part of your flight with membership points.
The Amex Business Gold card also offers Pay Over Time to make purchases more flexible. This feature does cost interest, however. This credit card offers excellent value for businesses with high expenditures and frequent travel costs. Still, it may not provide as much savings for smaller companies that do not spend enough to experience all the benefits of the card’s reward program.
Amex Business Gold Benefits Details
The American Express Business Gold card provides many advantages over its competitors. Read on to learn more about some of this credit card’s unique benefits.
4X the Points
Earn up to 4X membership rewards points on purchases in your company’s top two monthly spending categories. These categories range beyond travel, including business expenses such as advertising, gas purchases, computer hardware, software, and cloud purchases directly from supported providers. Upon spending a combined total of $150,000, subsequent purchases in the top two of your company’s highest spending categories will only earn 1X rewards.
Pay Over Time
Cardholders can pay eligible purchases in full each month or pay over time with interest, giving you more flexibility to pay off your purchases in your own time. It will cost something extra, however, as interest rates for this feature currently range from 15.74% to 23.74% APR.
Amex Travel Rebate
Any time cardmembers use rewards points as a part of an eligible flight booking with Amex Travel, they will receive 25% of the points spent on that purchase. Members can earn back a maximum of 250,000 points every year.
Welcome Offer
Amex will reward new cardholders by making the most of the card early on. It offers 70,000 bonus rewards points to users spending $10,000 within the first three months of membership. Smaller businesses without this kind of budget may not benefit from this offer as much as larger businesses with more frequent expenditures.
Flexible Spending Limit
The Amex Business Gold card doesn’t come with preset spending limits. Instead, each cardmember’s limit is determined by multiple factors, including credit history, purchases, and payment records.
Expense Management Tools
Cardmembers receive multiple helpful tools for managing accounts. Business owners can connect their accounts to Quickbooks, automatically categorizing expenses. Amex offers additional employee cards with no annual fees. Other tools include a year-end summary that outlines spending, account alerts, online statements, and a highly-rated mobile app.
The Hotel Collection
American Express Travel offers $100 in credit for qualifying hotel facilities like spas, dining, or recreation. Room upgrades may also be available for those using their Amex Business Gold Card at participating properties.
Travel Assistance and Insurance
For traveling cardmembers, Amex offers a 24/7 global assist hotline that can help with emergency wire transfers, medical or legal referrals, and other problems that may arise while on the road.
When you use the Amex Business Gold card to pay entirely for travel fares, you can receive up to $1,250 coverage for carry-on luggage and $500 for checked baggage. Likewise, if you rent a car using this credit card, you may be covered if the vehicle is damaged or stolen.
Pros and Cons of the Amex Business Gold Benefits
Pros
Earn up to 4X points on purchases in major business categories
25% rebate on point redemptions for Amex Travel flights, up to 250,000 points back per year
Flexible spending with Pay Over Time option
Cons
Comparatively high annual fee
4X point earning is limited to $150,000 of spending
Alternatives to the Amex Business Gold Card
Other options might be preferable for businesses that can’t justify the high annual fee of the Amex Business Gold card.
dash.fi: This card pays 3% cash back with no limits on what you can earn for eligible purchases with online advertising platforms (Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, etc.). dash.fi does away with the need for physical cards, allowing you to instantly create a new card with a unique name, address, and zip code for all your accounts and expenses. There are even discounts on advertising through dash.fi’s agency partners. With dash.fi, you will find a flexible experience that you can tailor to suit your business's needs.
Chase Ink Business Preferred: This card offers a considerably lower annual fee and a similar rewards structure to the Amex Business Gold card. This card gives holders 3X rewards points for every dollar spent on qualifying travel and business categories each year, up to $150,000. This type of card may be preferable for smaller businesses.
Capital One Spark Business 1.5% Cash Select: The Spark 1.5% Cash Select card has a $0 annual fee and earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase without making you worry about categories or limits. You can also earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One Travel. With a one-time $500 cash bonus upon spending $4,500 within the first three months, you could experience more benefits with this cost-effective card if your expenses are slightly lower.
Is the American Express Business Gold Worth It?
The Amex Business Gold card certainly has many enticing rewards for those who can handle the high annual fee, making it one of the best choices you are likely to find today. If your business sees recurring expenditures that fit into one or two of Amex’s travel and business categories, this card can be worth the cost for you.
If your budget does not meet the heights of this card’s best rewards offers, one of our alternatives might be a better fit for you. In particular, if you’re looking for a card that rewards you for high spending in bonus categories but doesn’t have an annual fee, dash.fi might be just what you’re looking for.
