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 in Categories You Select

American Express^® Business Gold Card

American Express^® Business Gold Card

Learn How to Apply

See rates and fees

Current Offer

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

Annual Fee

$295

Rewards Rate

4X Membership Rewards points for the first $150,000 spent in two select categories each year (after that 1X), 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 points in selected categories
• No foreign transaction fees
• $295 annual fee. Terms apply.

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 for the first $150,000 spent in two select categories each year (after that 1X), and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases
• Terms apply

Who should get the Business Gold Card from American Express?

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

Amex 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.

• Rewards tailored to you: 4X Membership Rewards points for the first $150,000 spent in two select categories each year (after that 1X), and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases. This unique feature of the card means you always 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 Amex Business Gold 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. 
• 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 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 Amex Business Gold Card

• High annual fee: This card has a $295 annual fee, 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 an Amex 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 bonus points on two select categories (up to $150,000 annually, after that 1X) you select each quarter where you spend the most.

You can earn the 4X Membership Rewards points on:

• Airfare bought directly from an airline
• U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, including online, radio, and TV ads
• Buying hardware, software, or cloud solutions as well as making other technology purchases from select U.S. providers
• Purchases at U.S. gas stations or U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• Shipping costs within the U.S.

4X points can be earned up to $150,000 in combined purchases each quarter. 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.

Amex 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.

If you’re not interested in paying an annual fee but like the idea of earning a solid rate on every purchase, The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express may be what you’re looking for. You’ll earn 2X Membership Rewards points on everyday eligible business purchases up to $50,000 each year, and 1X points on eligible purchases after that. Cardmembers will also receive a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, then 18.24% to 26.24% (variable). All of this without paying a penny in yearly fees thanks to the $0 annual fee, terms apply.

Check out our full Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express review for more details.

High Rewards in Categories You Select

American Express^® Business Gold Card

American Express^® Business Gold Card

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

Learn How to Apply

See how these cards compare:

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

• Earn $750 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

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months
• 2X Membership Rewards points on everyday eligible business purchases up to $50,000 each year (1X points after that)
• No annual fee. Terms apply.
• See rates and fees

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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