10 American Express^® Business Gold Card Benefits Every Business Owner Will Want

Business credit cards cater to the needs of business owners and tend to offer perks that differ from personal credit cards. While choosing a card can sometimes be a challenge, there are some options like the American Express^® Business Gold Card that make it easier to decide.

The long list of benefits make it well worth the annual fee, and many business owners appreciate the generous rewards program as well as free access to popular business software available to cardmembers.

If you’re wondering if the American Express Business Gold Card is a good choice for you, here’s a list of its top perks to find out more about what this card offers.

American Express Business Gold at a Glance

Current American Express Business Gold Card welcome offer: Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months.

At a glance, the American Express Business Gold is an attractive metal card that stands apart from competitors based on its looks alone.

Dig deeper, though, and you’ll find the card also offers the chance to earn ample rewards in specific categories where you spend the most on your business, plus free access to popular business software, a 25% bonus if you redeem points by booking with American Express Travel, the ability to redeem your points for travel, and more.

Learn more about this card at our Amex Business Gold Card review.

10 benefits of the Amex Business Gold Card

Here are 10 of the top benefits you could enjoy if you sign up for the American Express Business Gold Card.

1. Bonus rewards in custom business spending categories

Many of the best business credit cards offer bonus points for certain kinds of spending, such as travel or office supplies. But American Express does something different with its Business Gold Card — it specifically rewards the type of spending your company is actually doing the most during each billing cycle.

The Business Gold earns 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 means you can choose to earn the most in two specific spending categories where your spending is the highest each month.

Amex Business Gold Card 4X bonus categories (choose two):

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• Advertising purchases with select media in the U.S.
• Purchases of hardware, software, or cloud solutions directly from select technology providers in the U.S.
• Purchases at U.S. gas stations
• Purchases at U.S. restaurants
• Spending on shipping with U.S. shippers

The ability to choose your own bonus categories is the single best feature of the card, with the value of the bonus depending on how much your company spends each month within two of these categories.

2. High spending limit on bonus categories

Many credit cards that offer bonus rewards will cap the amount of spending subject to the bonus, and American Express is no exception. However, the American Express Business Gold Card’s spending limit is much higher compared to other cards at $150,000 per calendar year.

That’s a huge spending limit. By comparison, the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card provides 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year; 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year; and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

3. G Suite services

Cardmembers also get up to one free year of G Suite Basic. This popular business software provides video conferencing, cloud storage, file sharing, and more. To activate the benefit, you will need to sign up at gsuites.google.com and pay with your American Express Business Gold Card. It comes in the form of a statement credit available during the first 12 months as a cardmember.

Your free G Suite perk is available for up to three users. Since G Suite Basic is $6 per month per user, this perk could be worth as much as $216 in your first year as a cardmember.

4. ZipRecruiter subscription

Free access to ZipRecruiter Standard is another perk. As with G Suite access, you can get up to one year free in the form of statement credits when you pay for ZipRecruiter using your card. These credits are available monthly for the first 12 months you’re a cardmember, but you must use your American Express Business Gold Card as the primary payment method when signing up.

ZipRecruiter plans start at $249 per month, so this perk could be worth as much as $3,000 — which more than makes up for the annual fee.

5. Amex Offers

American Express also has special offers you can take advantage of as a cardmember, such as:

• The Hotel Collection benefits when purchasing through American Express Travel: If you stay at least two consecutive nights in a participating hotel, these benefits could include a room upgrade and a $100 hotel credit to be used on resort activities, qualifying dining purchases, or spa services.

• The Travel Collection access: Cardmembers can enroll in The Travel Collection by Travel Leaders Group at no extra cost by calling 877-485-8053. Membership comes with access to travel discounts and extra amenities.

Enrollment is required to take advantage of these offers. But if you do take advantage of these benefits, the hotel upgrades and credits alone could be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending on how often you book trips.

6. 25% airline bonus

If you book a flight with your Membership Rewards points through American Express Travel, you’ll get 25% of your points back. This airline bonus offer is valid when you book any class of flights with qualifying airlines, including first- and business-class flights.

You can get back a maximum of 250,000 points each year, which is a substantial amount of points. However, the specific value of this bonus will depend on how much travel you book.

7. Flexible rewards redemption

American Express allows you to redeem Membership Rewards points with transfer partners, so you have ample flexibility in how your rewards are used. In fact, American Express promises the most point transfer partners of any major credit card rewards program in the United States.

8. Cash flow benefits

Many small businesses struggle with cash flow issues, but the American Express Business Gold Card provides solutions to help avoid this pitfall. Here’s how:

• No pre-set spending limit: This feature means your spending limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.

• Pay Over Time option: If you make a purchase of at least $100 on your American Express Business Gold Card, you have the option to pay off your balance over time. You’ll have to pay interest, though.

• Working Capital Terms: With this program, American Express pays invoices up front to vendors, and you repay the loan back over 30, 60, or 90 days. You have to enroll in this program, and you must have at least one year of account history. American Express also considers your creditworthiness. If you qualify, you pay a low fixed fee when American Express pays your vendor invoice for you, and you repay it over time.

9. Tools for managing business expenses

Cardmembers get access to a variety of expense management tools to easily track and organize expenses. For example:

• You can connect your account to QuickBooks. This makes it quick and easy to transfer transaction data from American Express statements to QuickBooks, where you can organize and label your transactions. Enrollment is required and you'll need to connect your Amex card to get this benefit.

• Spend Manager helps you manage card expenses. You can use your desktop or mobile device to add receipts and notes directly to your transactions.

• Year-end summaries are provided free of charge. This helps you to more easily see where your money went over the course of the year.

• You can add employee cards. You can earn rewards and track expenses on purchases your employees make, and there’s no fee for adding as many employee cards as you need.

• You get access to Vendor Pay by Bill.com. This is free for the first month, but additional fees may apply thereafter depending on plan and number of users. Bill.com makes it easy to pay business expenses. Enrollment is required for this benefit.

10. Top-notch customer support and service

American Express offers round-the-clock relationship care service to provide you with support and help serve your unique needs. Holders of American Express credit cards also have access to the Global Assist Hotline if you travel more than 100 miles from home. This includes 24/7 access to medical, legal, and financial help as well as coordination of emergency services.

While third-party providers may charge for services, American Express will help with many things directly, including offering assistance with cash wires, missing luggage, and passport replacement.

Additional benefits to know

In addition to the benefits above, the American Express Business Gold Card also offers lesser-known secondary perks as well.

	Benefit details
No foreign transaction fee	You can use your card to make purchases abroad without worrying about extra fees.
Baggage insurance plan	You can receive up to $1,250 in coverage for carry-on bags and up to $500 in coverage for checked bags if your baggage is lost, damaged, or stolen.
Dispute resolution	American Express will work with you to resolve problems with fraudulent or incorrect charges.
Rental car loss and damage insurance	You’ll have secondary coverage on eligible rentals if vehicles are damaged or stolen.
Purchase protection	Purchase protection covers you in case of accidental damage or theft for 90 days on eligible products.
Extended warranty protection	On products with warranties of five years or less, American Express will provide up to a one-year extension of the original manufacturer’s warranty.

To be eligible for these benefits, you must pay for the costs of your trip, car rental, or purchased items using your card.

Is the Amex Business Gold Card worth it?

For many small business owners, the American Express Business Gold Card is well worth the $295 annual fee. By taking advantage of some of its most lucrative perks, like the ZipRecruiter service, you can more than make up for the annual fee, not to mention earning four points per dollar spent in categories where you spend the most each month.

That said, if your business doesn’t spend much on travel, gas, shipping, at restaurants, or in other bonus categories, you may be better off with a different business credit card.

When should you choose the Amex Business Gold over the Amex Business Platinum?

American Express offers some top business card features, so even if you want the benefits that American Express offers, you don’t necessarily need to opt for the Business Gold Card. Another option worth considering is The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express.

The Business Platinum Card is even more expensive than the Business Gold Card, with a $695 annual fee. However, the Business Platinum offers 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on Amextravel.com; 1.5X points on eligible purchases at U.S. suppliers of construction materials and hardware, U.S. retailers of electronic goods, U.S. providers of shipping, software and cloud systems, and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million per year, then 1X); and 1X points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases. 

 The American Express Business Platinum Card also provides 35% back when you use points for flights instead of 25% back like the Business Gold — and you get 50% more rewards on business purchases of $5,000 or more.

The Business Platinum Card also offers a $200 airline fee credit on one qualifying airline, up to $400 in statement credits for purchases with Dell, and access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection. (Enrollment is required in select benefits.)

If you’ll take advantage of the lounges and claim the other statement credits, the American Express Business Platinum could be a better card for you. But if you’d rather have more flexibility in how you earn bonus rewards or you won’t use enough of the other perks to justify paying a much higher annual fee, the American Express Business Gold Card is a better choice.