American Express® Business Gold Card review: One of the best for business owners | ZDNet

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American Express® Business Gold Card is one of the best cards for business owners. Not only do its cardholders gain access to great expense management tools, but they also earn 4X the points on select purchases, 70,000 rewards points if they spend $10,000 in the first three months, and a 25% airline bonus. If you’re a frequent flyer, there is, perhaps, no other card on the market that’s better for you and your company. 

What are the pros and cons of the American Express Business Gold Card?

Pros: 

• 70,000 rewards points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases
• 2X points for rental cars booked through American Express Travel
• 4X points on business spending in top two business categories per billing cycle (up to $150,000 in one calendar year)
• Free access to expense management tools
• No preset spending limit
• No foreign transaction fee
• $100 hotel credit with each booking when you stay for at least two consecutive nights

Cons:

• $295 annual fee
• $150,000 spending cap on 4X points rewards in select categories in one calendar year

Does the American Express Business Gold Card have a Welcome Offer?

70,000 Rewards Points

If you spend $10,000 within the first 3 months, you will earn 70,000 rewards points. 

Eligible purchases can be made by either the main cardholder or by an employee using their employee card. Gift cards, traveler’s checks, prepaid cards, and person-to-person payments are not eligible. 

Year-Round benefits of the American Express Business Gold Card

4X Membership Rewards Points

Business Gold cardholders get 4X the rewards points in two select categories in which they spend the most money each billing cycle.

The categories you have to choose from include:

• Airfare
• Advertising
• Computer hardware
• Software
• Cloud Storage
• Restaurants 
• Gas stations
• U.S. purchases for shipping

After you spend $150,000 in combined purchases in the select categories in one calendar year, the rewards points drop to 1 point per dollar. 

25% Airline Bonus

Whenever you book your flight through the American Express online travel portal and use your points to pay, you get 25% of your points right back. If you make use of this feature a lot, you can get up to 250,000 points back each year. 

The 25% bonus applies to any class flight with a qualifying airline booked through the travel portal.

No preset spending limits

Your spending limit with Business Gold is flexible. This means that the amount you have available may change over time as data points revolving around your purchase and payment history, as well as credit score and credit history, are considered. If you pay your bills on time and have a strong credit score, American Express may increase your spending limit by a significant amount.

Pay over time

Each billing cycle, you can carry a balance of $100 or more on eligible purchases. Any charges under $100 are due in full each billing cycle on the due date. Charges that cannot carry over include express cash, traveler’s cheques, insurance premiums, purchases at casinos, gambling transactions, and any fees charged by American Express. All other charges may be paid for overtime if they are $100 or more.   

Free access to expense management tools

Business Gold members get free access to the American Express Business App and a free year-end summary to help them organize their expenses. To further help with taxes, cardholders can also have their purchases automatically loaded into QuickBooks. 

Furthermore, cardholders get:

• Free employee cards
• Account alerts
• Online statements
• Vendor pay by Bill.com 

$100 Hotel Credit

Book your hotel through the travel portal, stay for at least two consecutive nights, and you’ll get a $100 hotel credit at participating vendors. The credit can only be used during the stay booked. Depending on the location, the credit can be spent on anything from dining to spas or other resort activities per booking. You can also get a free room upgrade upon arrival whenever they are available. 

How do I redeem points with American Express?

American Express cardholders can log into their account at membershiprewards.ca. From here, you can redeem your points for gift cards, merchandise options, entertainment options, and more.

If you’re primarily interested in travel options, you can go directly to American Express Travel. Through American Express Travel, you can use your points to book:

• Flights
• Hotels
• Rental Cars
• Cruises 

Remember, you get 25% of your points back for airline purchases.

How do I calculate the value of my points?

American Express offers an online points calculator to help cardholders see how much their points are worth. If you spend $10,000 in the first three months and receive 70,000 rewards points, those rewards points would be worth:

$490 at:

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Boxed
• Dell
• Grubhub
• JustGiving
• Newegg
• PayPal
• Rite Aid
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Seamless
• Staples
• Starbucks
• Uber

$595 with:

• Bloomin Brands Multi-Brand
• Bonefish Grill
• Carrabba’s Italian Grill
• Panera Bread
• Subway
• Apple
• Regal Cinemas

$700 with:

• Bahama Breeze
• Barnes & Noble
• Benihana
• NYC Taxi
• California Pizza Kitchen
• Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
• Olive Garden
• Numerous flights booked through American Express Travel

For the full list of vendors and gift cards available through American Express, click here.

The value of your points changes dramatically depending on where and how you spend them. Cardholders typically get the most value for their points by redeeming them through American Express Travel because of the 25% flight bonus.

Is the American Express Business Gold Card right for me?

Despite having an annual fee of $295, the American Express Business Gold Card can help you accumulate many rewards points if you make it your primary business card. 4X points for every dollar you spend on certain business expenses adds up quickly. If your business’s spending is eclectic, however, you may want to find another card that doesn’t bottleneck where you need to spend to accumulate the most rewards points.       

Is the American Express Business Gold Card worth it?

There are a lot of reasons to love the American Express Business Gold card. The 70,000 rewards points after spending $10,000 is a solid reason, and the 4X points on your two most used business expense categories per billing cycle is another great one. There are only two downsides to the Business Gold — the $150,000 cap on 4X points in one calendar year, and the $295 annual fee. When you consider the perks you get with the rewards points, however, the Business Gold is a card that quickly pays for itself if you use it for your business’s routine expenses. 

What is the bottom line?

Business Gold’s 4X points on two select categories is hard to find with other credit cards. While the $295 annual fee may dissuade many business owners, you only have to spend a few hundred dollars each billing cycle in your 4X categories before the card pays for itself. If your job has you on the road and/or in the air throughout the year, consider putting Business Gold at the top of your list. 

Are there alternatives to the American Express Business Gold Card?

American Express Business Gold Card is excellent, but American Express does have other business cards, such as Business Platinum and Business Green Rewards. Business Platinum has a $595 annual fee, but you can earn up to 130,000 rewards points after spending $15,000 in your first three months. Green Rewards has a $0 intro fee, but then charges $95 after the first year. Spend $3,000 in the first three months with Green Rewards, and you’ll get 15,000 rewards points. 

If you’re not sure what to look for in a business card, read Business credit cards: Everything you need to know. 

FAQ

For rates and fees of the American Express Business Gold Card, click here.