American Express^® Business Gold Card Review [2023]: Rewards Tailored to Your Spending

Your business deserves a card that rewards the spending you do most often, and, for many, the American Express^® Business Gold Card fits the bill. The card customizes bonus rewards to your spending, and if you tend to spend on travel, you can earn and redeem points for airline miles, making your points stretch even further.

While there is an annual fee, the generous rewards and business-specific perks make the cost worth it for many business owners.

This American Express^® Business Gold Card review will help you decide if this business card is right for you or if you should consider other small business cards that might be a better fit.

High Rewards on Your Biggest Spending

American Express^® Business Gold Card

4.8

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

American Express^® Business Gold Card

Learn How to Apply

See rates and fees | Terms Apply

Current Offer

Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$295 - ($375 if application is received on or after 2/1/24)

Rewards Rate

4X Membership Rewards Points on purchases in the two categories with the most spend each billing cycle (up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, after that 1X), 3X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com, and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months
• 4X Membership Rewards on the two categories with the most spend each billing cycle (up to $150,000 annually, after that 1X)
• No foreign transaction fees
• $295 annual fee ($375 if application is received on or after 2/1/24)

Drawbacks

• No intro APR promotion offered
• Has annual fee

Card Details

• Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months
• 4X Membership Rewards Points on purchases in the two categories with the most spend each billing cycle (up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, after that 1X), 3X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com, and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases
• Terms apply

Who should get the American Express^® Business Gold Card?

If you’re a small business owner with diverse spending habits who wants to maximize card rewards, the American Express^® Business Gold Card could be right for you. That’s because there’s no preset spending limit — you can spend more as your needs arise, and you aren’t stuck earning bonus rewards in predetermined spending categories set by the credit card issuer. Instead, your bonus rewards change each billing cycle based on what you’ve used your card to purchase.

It’s also ideal if you tend to spend a lot on business travel in one month, splurge on shipping when you do a big product push, buy new tech tools for your office a few times a year, and sometimes splurge on gas and restaurants. That’s because airfare, gas, restaurants, shipping, and tech are among bonus categories where you could earn extra points. However, you’ll need to spend enough to justify the annual fee, so the card may be better for businesses with heftier monthly expenses. Select benefits require enrollment.

Card basics

American Express^® Business Gold Card benefits and perks

• Generous welcome offer: Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of card membership.
• Airline bonus: Redeeming your points for flights can score you even more rewards. Just use Pay with Points to book your ticket, and you’ll get 25% of your points back to redeem again.
• Flexible business credit: If you use your Business Gold Card to make eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores, you can earn up to $20 in statement credits each month. Cardmembers can earn up to $240 annually. Enrollment required.
  
• Rewards tailored to you: 4X Membership Rewards Points on purchases in the two categories with the most spend each billing cycle (up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, after that 1X), 3X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com, and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases. This unique feature of the card means you can get the most points for whatever spending your business is doing at the time. Plus, if you redeem for travel using Pay with Points, you’ll get 25% of your points back. 
• Employee cards: The American Express^® Business Gold Card offers an employee card option at no additional cost to help you stay on top of expenses.
• Trip delay insurance: If your flight is delayed more than 12 hours, you can also be reimbursed for up to $300 in unexpected expenses per trip. 
• Walmart+ statement credit: If you pay for your monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your Business Gold Card, you can receive $12.95 back in statement credits each month, plus applicable taxes.
  
• Travel perks: These include car rental loss, damage insurance, baggage insurance, and global assistance. Terms apply.
• Purchase protection: This feature can help protect eligible purchases made by cardholders for up to 90 days if the item is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited to up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per calendar year. 
• Extended warranty: Items purchased with your card could also qualify for extended warranty coverage. This extends the original manufacturer's warranty for up to one additional year.
• The Hotel Collection: Book The Hotel Collection with Amex Travel and get a $100 hotel credit and room upgrade upon check-in when you stay at least two consecutive nights. Availability and participating properties may vary.
• Enrollment is required for select benefits.

Drawbacks to the American Express^® Business Gold Card

• High annual fee: This card has a $295 annual fee ($375 if application is received on or after 2/1/24), which is on the higher side. While this can be offset by its numerous perks, you need to make sure the benefits outweigh the cost for you.
• Credit score: You'll need to have a solid credit history to become a Business Gold cardmember. So if your current score is not in the good or excellent range, but you've made it a goal to get this card, then you might start by learning more about how to improve your credit score.
• Spending categories might not match your needs: While this card has generous bonus categories, some businesses may not find this card worthwhile if the categories aren't in areas where you spend. 

Earning & redeeming Membership Rewards points

Best ways to earn

The American Express^® Business Gold Card offers 4X Membership Rewards Points on purchases in the two categories with the most spend each billing cycle (up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, after that 1X), 3X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com, and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases.

You can earn the 4X Membership Rewards points on:

• U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers
• Transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
• 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)
• Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.

4X points can be earned up to $150,000 in combined purchases each year. In addition, you’ll earn 1X point per dollar on all other eligible purchases, including spending in other categories as well as spending above $150,000 on your two bonus categories.

You can earn the most points by concentrating spending on specific categories. For example, you could book your travel, purchase all your advertising during one billing cycle, and then pay for your technology purchases in the next billing cycle.

Maximizing your redemptions

Cardholders can redeem points for gift cards, merchandise, or a statement credit on their bill. Overall, the best way to maximize your redemption is to use your points to purchase directly through American Express Travel. That’s because you get 25% of your points back if you redeem for flights by using Pay with Points. You can book tickets for any class flight to get this bonus, even costlier first- and business-class seats.

American Express also allows you to transfer points to partners and sometimes provides limited-time transfer bonuses of 10% to 40% more miles when transferring to qualifying airline partners. This could supercharge your point value, so be on the lookout for these opportunities. Here is a list of current partners.

American Express^® Business Gold Card FAQs

Other cards to consider

While the American Express^® Business Gold Card is a good option for business owners who spend enough to earn bonus rewards and offset the annual fee, other business cards may be a better fit for some consumers.

For example, the Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card from Chase offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase — which is more generous than the base rewards offered by American Express — plus a $0 annual fee. 

Check out our full Ink Business Unlimited review for more details. The Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card is another Ink card worth considering.

High Rewards on Your Biggest Spending

American Express^® Business Gold Card

4.8

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

American Express^® Business Gold Card

4.8

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Learn How to Apply

Why We Like It

Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months

See rates and fees | Terms Apply

Learn How to Apply

See how these cards compare:

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

• Earn $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
• Intro APR on purchases
• No annual fee

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

• Earn $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• $0 annual fee
• 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months (then 18.49% - 24.49% Variable)
• Up to 5% cash back

Author Details

Christy Rakoczy Christy Rakoczy has a Juris Doctorate from UCLA Law School with a focus in Business Law, and a Certificate in Business Marketing with an English Degree from The University of Rochester. As a full-time personal finance writer, she writes about all things money-related but her special areas of focus are credit cards, personal loans, student loans, mortgages, smart debt payoff strategies, and retirement and Social Security. Her work has been featured by USA Today, MSN Money, CNN Money and more, and you can learn more at her LinkedIn profile.

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