American Express® Business Gold Card Review
The American Express® Business Gold Card rewards high spenders with a lot of valuable Membership Rewards points. The card offers the ability to earn 4x based on your ToP areas of spend. In this American Express® Business Gold Card review we will look at the card's welcome offer, earning structure, benefits and share our overall thoughts.
Current Welcome Offer
The Amex Business Gold currently has the following welcome offer:
- Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards after spending $10,000 within the first 3 months. Terms Apply
- This card has an annual fee of $295 that is not waived the first year. (Rates & Fees)
*It should be noted it may be possible to get higher offers with personal referrals.
Amex Application Rules
If you choose to apply, remember that Amex typically will not approve you for more than two Amex credit cards during a 90-day period. They also have a 10 card limit on the colored Membership Rewards earning cards (of which this is one of). This includes personal and business cards. This is separate from the 5 card limit on credit cards.
Amex also has a once per lifetime welcome offer rule on each card. This is more like every 5 – 7 years in reality though, and not actually your lifetime. That timeline is based off of when you last held a card, not when you last earned a welcome offer on the product though. If you are ineligible for the welcome offer for any reason American Express will usually let you know that with a pop-up before the application is processed. You can cancel the application at this time with no hard pull.
American Express® Business Gold Card Review: Earning Rate
The Amex Business Gold comes with the following earning structure:
- 4x in your ToP two areas of spend on the first combined $150,000 per calendar year from the following options:
- Airfare purchased directly from the airlines
- US purchases on:
- Online, TV, and radio advertising
- Computer hardware, software, and cloud systems purchased from select technology providers
- Gas stations
- Restaurants (including takeout and delivery)
- Shipping
- Once you have spent $150,000 in combined purchases in a calendar year, those categories code as 1x.
- 1x on all other purchases.
Amex Gold Card Benefits
The Amex Business Gold card comes with a variety of travel benefits for the small business owner. These include:
25% Airline Bonus
When you book air travel via the American Express Travel Portal using MRs, you will receive 25% of those points back. This is valid for any first or business class fare, or economy fare with your chosen airline. This is valid for up to 250,000 points back per calendar year and is similar to the 35% points back offered on the Amex Business Platinum card.
$100 Hotel Credits
Get a $100 credit when a cardholder books their stay through the Amex Hotel Collection and stays at least two consecutive nights. The $100 credit applies to qualifying dining, spa, and resort activities. Additionally, you will receive a room upgrade upon arrival based on availability.
Trip Coverage
- Baggage Insurance: if your luggage is lost, stolen, or damaged and the ticket is purchased with your card, you receive coverage up to $1,250 for a carry-on bag and up to $500 for a checked bag.
- Trip Delay Reimbursement for round-trip tickets purchased entirely with your card for trips delayed over 12 hours.
- Rental Car Insurance: you can be covered for damage to or theft of a rental vehicle when you book the rental with your card and you decline the rental agency’s collision damage waiver.
Large Purchase Benefits
- An additional year to the original manufacturer’s warranty on purchases with warranties of five years or less.
- Purchase protection on covered purchases for up to 90 days from the purchase date if an item is stolen or accidentally damaged. This coverage is limited to $1,000 per incident, up to $50,000 per calendar year.
ToP Analysis
The Amex Business Gold card has a strong earning power and mediocre benefits. The flexibility to earn 4x on a variety of categories makes this card a keeper for high spenders. The ability to earn 600,000 MRs per year from a single card makes the $295 annual fee a bargain, assuming you can maximize the opportunity.
The benefits are “lite” versions of more premium cards. The Business Gold offers 25% points rebate via the Amex Travel Portal and access to The Hotel Collection. This can come in handy in times where the cash price of a flight makes more sense than the award price.
While the card does provide some travel coverage, the coverage provided by other competitors is easier to use. Amex's rule that you must book the flight as a roundtrip on the card makes its usefulness cumbersome.
The card's welcome offer combined with it not impacting your 5/24 slots makes it a great card to apply for if you are eligible for business cards and trying to maintain your 5/24 status. Further, the Business Gold card is a great keeper card due to the flexibility of the 4x categories. This is especially a great option for those with high gas and shipping spend.
American Express® Business Gold Card Review: ToP Thoughts
The American Express Business Gold card can be a great addition for those who have significant spend in the bonus categories. The card's powerful earning structure easily offsets the annual fee, despite lacking strong benefits. It's also a great option for those looking for a solid welcome offer while being mindful of their 5/24 status.
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For rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold please visit here
