American Express® Business Gold Card review: A highflying card for everyday business expenses
A great choice for business owners who travel and now offering even more value for the asking price.
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Snapshot
5.0
Bottom line
The American Express Business Gold Card is an affordable option for Amex travel rewards — and an even better choice if you spend mostly on everyday business expenses. Many small-business owners may find that the excellent rewards rate, boosted redemption rate on select flights through the Amex portal and packaged travel perks are enough to justify the card’s annual fee, especially with several annual statement credits.
Best business card for points
on American Express's secure site
See Rates & Fees, Terms ApplyIntro offer
Earn 100,000 points
Rewards Rate
1X - 4X
Annual fee
$375
Regular APR
18.49% - 27.49% Variable
4.4
Cardholder rating
Extra perks
Meets needs
Online tools
Customer service
5.0
Bankrate score
Rewards value
APR
Rewards flexibility
Features
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American Express® Business Gold Card overview
The American Express Business Gold Card may be one of the best business credit cards to consider if you’re a small-business owner who can leverage rewards from daily business spending into worthwhile travel redemptions. It offers generous rewards rates on up to $150,000 per year in spending across two of your top eligible business categories (then 1X thereafter).
Amex recently refreshed the 2X-earning categories and gave the travel category its own rewards rate. Now, the 2X selectable bonus categories offer more interesting choices for businesses. These now include eligible purchases from U.S. electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers, U.S. wireless telephone service providers, eligible transit purchases, U.S. media providers for advertising in select media, U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations.
This diverse selection makes the card a great fit if you’re a business owner with a balanced mix of recurring business and everyday expenses. However, this card may fall short if you’re looking for top-of-the-line luxury perks, and its annual fee may be more than you’re willing to pay. If you don’t think you can offset the annual fee, a card with a lower annual fee could be more suitable.
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Rewards
- 4X points on up to $150,000 per calendar year in your top two of six eligible categories (then 1X thereafter; only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count toward the $150,000 cap)
- 3X points on eligible travel purchases (including flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com)
- 1X points on general purchases
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Welcome offer
- Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first three months of card membership*
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- Annual Fee: $375
- Late payment: $39 or 2.99 percent of any past due amounts not paid in full, whichever is greater
- Penalty APR: 29.99 percent variable
- Pay Over Time intro APR offer: 0 percent intro APR for six months from the date of account opening on purchases eligible for Pay Over Time
- Regular APR: 18.49% - 27.49% Variable APR
- No foreign transaction fee
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores, up to $240 annually. Enrollment required.*
- Monthly statement credit for Walmart+ membership when you pay with your Business Gold Card, up to a $155 annual value.
- The Hotel Collection (THC) benefits
- Accidental damage or theft protection
- Cell phone protection
- Pay Over Time
- Baggage insurance plan
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
Amex Business Gold pros and cons
Pros
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You can earn boosted rewards on your top two eligible bonus categories, plus 3X on eligible travel purchases.
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If you’re a frequent traveler, it offers beneficial travel benefits and insurance, like trip and baggage delay insurance.
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The card’s expense management tools can help you keep up with day-to-day business spending and finances.
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It has a flexible spending limit that also allows you to carry a balance with Pay Over Time.
Cons
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You can only earn the highest rewards rate on two eligible categories — and rewards have a $150,000 annual spending cap.
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Unlike other premium business cards centered around travel rewards, it has no airport lounge access and few additional luxury perks.
Why you might want the American Express Business Gold
The American Express Business Gold card’s high spending cap for everyday purchases and business categories offers plenty of variety. The card’s welcome offer can offer a lot of upfront value for businesses. There’s also the advantage of Pay Over Time, giving you a flexible credit limit (all charges that are not added to a Pay Over Time balance, monthly payment plan, or Cash Advance balance must be paid in full each month by the payment due date).
Welcome offer: Valuable points for Amex points enthusiasts
The American Express Business Gold Card offers a promising 100,000 Membership Rewards® points welcome offer after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership (terms apply). This offer is 30,000 points higher than the previous one, requiring a slightly higher spending threshold and holds a ton of value in the right hands.
American Express Membership Rewards points are extremely flexible and valuable. The Amex Business Gold’s welcome offer could be worth around $1,000 toward eligible flights booked through the American Express travel portal. However, according to our latest points valuation, these points can be worth around $2,000 when transferred to the right American Express transfer partner.
Rewards rate: Amazing travel redemption value
The rewards process automatically tracks your transactions after each billing cycle to determine which two of the following eligible categories you'll earn rewards in:
- U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
- Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
- Transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways.
- Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV and radio)
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
You’ll earn 4X points on those two eligible spending categories for up to $150,000 in combined bonus category spending for the calendar year (from six eligible categories). Afterward, you’ll earn only 1X points on those purchases.
The Business Gold also earns 3X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com. Amex used to include this category as part of its capped spending category, so it's great that you won’t need to factor travel into your spending caps — especially if you travel frequently for business. Other qualifying purchases that don’t qualify for 4X rewards still earn 1X points.
Reward value: Some of the most flexible and valuable points available
The maximum value of the American Express Business Gold Card’s rewards lies with the Membership Rewards point program. You can pool points with other Amex cards in the program or transfer them to travel partner loyalty programs for greater value. Although you can get the best redemption value with transfers, you’ll still retain great value with travel redemptions on AmexTravel.com.
If you want to keep it simple, booking flights through the Amex portal provides the best value, as you get a 1:1 redemption rate.
If you’re looking for maximum value with strategic point transfers, your best bet is to find the right transfer partner to net around 2.0 cents per point. Other travel and non-travel options get you a value of 0.5 to 0.7 cents per point.
Perks: Statement credits can help offset the annual fee
If you were previously uncertain about applying for the Amex Business Gold, now is a great time to revisit the card. In addition to updated bonus categories, Amex has simplified offsetting the card’s annual fee.
The Amex Business Gold Card now offers several statement credit opportunities to help offset the card’s annual fee. You can earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after using the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub and Office Supply Stores — an annual savings of up to $240. You can also receive a Walmart+ monthly membership reimbursement when you pay with your Amex Business Gold Card. This is valued at $12.95 monthly, which can add up to $155 if you pay for 12 months.
Booking an eligible property within The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel for at least two consecutive nights can also net up to $100 in hotel credits toward qualifying activities (like eligible dining, spa and other resort activities that vary by property).
American Express has also added cell phone protection to its perk lineup. You can receive reimbursement for the lesser of the costs to repair or replace your damaged or stolen cell phone, up to a maximum of $800 per claim. Claims are limited to two approved requests within a 12-month period, provided that your cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the previous month's bill was paid using your Business Gold Card.
Why you might want a different business card
Overall, the American Express Business Gold Card offers solid travel and business rewards, but the Amex Business Gold’s benefits aren’t nearly as substantial. You’ll need to rely on rewards category spending to earn enough points to offset the high annual fee, which is easier for some cardholders than others. If your spending won’t push your rewards balance past a total value of $375 annually, you may want to find a more affordable card, even if it has lower rewards rates.
Rates and fees: Possibly difficult to offset the annual fee
One drawback of the American Express Business Gold Card is its annual fee, which is higher than most business credit card annual fees. While it isn’t as difficult to make up for this annual fee as it once was, thanks to the card’s statement credit opportunities, these credits may not help your business needs. You can still offset that cost with rewards, but you’ll need to spend a little more than $400 in your 4X categories each billing cycle (based on an estimated point value of around 2.0 cents per point) to earn enough rewards value to offset the annual fee.
That also assumes you can get a high redemption value by transferring to a top airline or hotel travel partner. With a more straightforward redemption method, such as booking travel via the Amex portal, you’ll need to spend around $800 each billing cycle throughout the year in 4X categories to break even with your points (assuming you get a value of 1 cent per point when you redeem for eligible flights on AmexTravel.com).
You also earn points from employee card spending, which can help offset the card’s annual fee. However, your card shares the same $150,000 spending cap for earning 4X points with employee cards, and your point value drops when you redeem points for options other than travel. Consider setting a company-wide redemption policy with points you accrue through employee spending.
First-year value vs. ongoing value
The $375 annual fee may seem overwhelming, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to offset if you spend heavily in the card’s 4X categories and take advantage of the card’s statement credits.
The average small-business owner can expect to earn just under $700 in rewards per year via card spending, based on a redemption value of 1 cent per point and our business card value scoring formula, which assumes a $40,000 annual spend. Big spenders who maximize the card’s 4X rewards rate could earn even more — around $6,000 in annual rewards value — by spending $150,000 in the card’s 4X bonus categories with a redemption value of 1 cent per point.
Here’s a look at how your earnings may unfold in the first year and beyond based on our business card value scoring formula and a redemption value of 1 cent per point:
| Benefits and Costs | First-year value | Ongoing value (no welcome offers) |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly rewards | +$676 | +$676 |
| Welcome offers | +$1,000 (Membership Rewards welcome offer points redeemed through American Express Travel) | — |
| Perks (of monetary value) |
+$495 (combined credits for qualifying bookings with The Hotel Collection, Flexible Business Credit, and Walmart+ reimbursement) |
+$495 (combined credits for qualifying bookings with The Hotel Collection, Flexible Business Credit, and Walmart+ reimbursement) |
| Annual fee | -$375 | -$375 |
| Total value | $1,796 | $796 |
We tried it: Here’s what our experts say
Bankrate credit cards writer Ryan Flanigan uses his American Express Business Gold card wisely to fill gaps in spending for big rewards.
I love the flexibility of this card. Based on what I need for my business, I’ll use it to spend in different bonus categories almost every month. The value of the points I earn makes it a keeper for me because I can never have enough Membership Rewards points, and this generates a lot of them. I’m meticulous enough to focus my spending in two categories each month based on my current needs, so I can easily max out this card’s potential. The flexibility of the American Express Business Gold covers many of my needs, making it valuable to my overall card-earning portfolio.
— Ryan Flanigan, Writer, Credit Cards
How the American Express Business Gold Card compares to other business cards
The Amex Business Gold card is a great choice if you have large business expenses that fall into the card’s select bonus categories. But the following options might be better if you’re looking for premier perks, like lounge access or a card with a lower annual fee that still earns decent rewards.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
Rewards rate
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the top two eligible categories where your business spends the most each month from 6 eligible categories. While your top 2 categories may change, you will earn 4X points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap.*. Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card.*. 1X is earned for other purchases. **.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Rewards rate
Earn 5X Membership Rewards Points® on Flights, and Prepaid Hotels Booked through AmexTravel.com. Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus. Earn 1X points on other eligible purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards rate
Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases – with no limit to the amount you can earn.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Best cards to pair with the American Express Business Gold
For maximum value, you should only use the American Express Business Gold Card for spending within two of the card’s six bonus categories. When covering the other four categories and purchases that would only earn 1X points, find a rewards credit card that charges no annual fee and offers high rewards on all purchases or in specific categories relevant to your business.
Who is the Amex Business Gold right for?
If you want plenty of opportunities to earn rewards on your business spending, the Amex Business Gold may be right for you. Here’s who should consider this card for their business.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the American Express Business Gold Card worth it?
If you’re a business owner with a large budget and a lot of travel planned, you will find that the American Express Business Gold Card can be worth it. Businesses with dedicated spending in two top eligible bonus categories may easily offset the annual fee while taking advantage of a solid welcome offer, valuable statement credits and a robust portfolio of travel partners.
However, if you’re unsure whether you can offset the annual fee, this may not be the best choice for a business credit card. If you’re an owner with a smaller business budget or have fewer travel needs, you will not reap the full rewards of this credit card.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here
For rates and fees of the Business Platinum Card from American Express, please click here.
Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit AmericanExpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
How we rated this card
Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring business credit cards, including each card’s rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more.
We analyzed over 50 of the most popular business credit cards and scored each based on how its key features stacked up compared to those of other cards in its category.
Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score:
Frequently asked questions
What cardholders think
American Express® Business Gold Card
In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
