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American Express® Business Gold Card review
Earn 4x points on two categories your business spends most in every month.
- Get this card if your business can meet the annual reward spending cap of $150,000 to maximize rewards.
- Pick something else if you want a card with more perks for the price or a card with a smaller annual fee.
- Apply with a good to excellent credit score of 670 or higher.
4x points on two categories on up to $150,000 combined annually, then 1x points after that and on all other purchases
Rewards
$295
Annual fee
14.24% to 22.24% variable
Purchase APR
670
Minimum Credit Score
Details
| Annual fee | $295 |
|---|---|
| Welcome offer | 70,000 points after spending $10,000 in the first 3 months |
| Rewards | 4x points on two categories on up to $150,000 combined annually, then 1x points after that and on all other purchases |
| Purchase APR | 14.24% to 22.24% variable |
| Balance transfer APR | N/A |
| Minimum Credit Score | 670 |
| Issuer | American Express |
Review by
Steven Dashiell
steven.dashiell@finder.comSteven Dashiell is a writer at Finder specializing in all things credit cards. With more than 300 articles under his belt, he aims to help readers embrace credit cards and maximize their rewards. Steve is studying to become a Certified Educator in Personal Finance, and is a frequent face on Finder’s YouTube channel, offering the latest in credit card hacks and advice. His expertise has been featured on numerous outlets, including U.S. News & World Report, Time, CBS, Fox Business, Lifehacker, Martha Stewart Living and more.
Expert review
The American Express® Business Gold Card offers businesses some interesting flexibility, offering up to 4x points on your top two expenditures among Amex’s six category choices. A solid welcome offer of 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 within the first 3 months and no foreign transaction fees further distinguish this business card.
Strangely, this card doesn’t feature much in the way of additional perks or features — unusual for a card with a high annual fee. The major benefits of the card are the 25% points back received after you use points on a flight booked through Amex Travel, up to 250,000 points back per calendar year, and the flexible, strong 4x rewards on select categories. Make no mistake, these benefits are more than worth the $295 annual fee – 25% back on a flight booked for 80,000 points is 20,000 back, or roughly $200 in value. And 4x points on up to $150,000 each calendar year is huge value if you can max it out – a value of roughly $6,000.
The American Express® Business Gold Card also allows you to pay off eligible purchases over time, helping cement this card as an excellent flexibility choice for mid- to large-sized businesses. If you’re less concerned with travel perks and more concerned with raw earning power, the American Express® Business Gold Card is a terrific choice.
How to apply for the American Express® Business Gold Card
- Go to the provider's site and select Apply now.
- Complete the application with details like your name, address, annual income, Social Security number and business information.
- Review and submit your application.
What should I know before I apply?
To apply for the card, you must be:
- At least 18 years old.
- A US resident.
Information you’ll need
To complete the application, you’ll need to provide information about yourself and your business, including:
- Your name and contact information, including your email address and phone number.
- Your Social Security number and date of birth.
- Financial information like your annual income and your monthly rent or mortgage.
- The name of your business, its mailing address and its phone number.
- Your employee count, business type and business structure.
- Your years in business, annual business revenue and monthly business spending.
- Your tax identification number.
What credit score do I need?
You’ll have a better chance of approval with a good to excellent credit score of 670 or higher. If you have a healthy business and excellent credit, your likelihood of approval is strong.
How long will it take to get my American Express® Business Gold Card?
Because Amex automates conditional credit card approval online, you may get a decision on your application within 30 seconds. If there are issues with your application, it could take a few days to a few weeks to hear back.
After you’re approved, you’ll typically receive your card by mail within 10 business days.
American Express® Business Gold Card benefits
- Welcome offer. Enjoy a welcome offer of 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
- Rewards: Up to 4x points. Earn 4x points in the two categories you spend the most in each month among American Express’s six options on up to $150,000 in combined purchases each year. After you reach that cap, your rewards rate reverts to 1x points in those categories. You’ll also earn 1x points on all other eligible purchases. You’ll have six options to receive accelerated rewards:
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines
- US purchases for advertising in select media
- US purchases at restaurants
- US purchases at gas stations
- US purchases for shipping
- US computer hardware, software and cloud computing purchases directly from select providers
You can spend your points on a variety of redemption options, including travel, gift cards, statement credit and more. Check out our Membership Rewards redemption guide for more information.
- Expense management tools. Add employee cards to your account, designate a person to manage your credit card account, set spending limits and use the American Express® Business App to add digital notes to your transactions via mobile or desktop. You can also label and transfer your transactions from your American Express online statements into your QuickBooks account. These can be useful features for a business owner, especially if you make many monthly purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees. You won’t incur fees when you use your card abroad or on foreign websites. Typically, providers charge a 3% fee each time you use your card for an international transaction. It doesn’t sound like much, but it can add up over a trip spanning several days.Because the American Express® Business Gold Card comes with no foreign transaction fees, it can be a good choice for vacations or business trips.
- Travel benefits. When you purchase the entire fare of your eligible transportation ticket with your American Express® Business Gold Card, you’re covered by American Express’s Baggage Insurance Plan. The plan insures your bags against theft, damage or accidental loss according to American Express’s terms. You’re also covered by Travel Accident Insurance, which provides accidental death and dismemberment coverage on eligible transportation.When you’re more than 100 miles from home, access the Global Assist Hotline for medical, financial, legal and other emergency assistance.
Finally, you’ll enjoy travel benefits while traveling by car. Call the Roadside Assistance Hotline from the road if you need help with towing, battery charges and more. And when you pay for a car rental with your American Express® Business Gold Card and decline the collision damage waiver, the vehicle is covered against damage or theft.
- Purchase benefits. The card extends warranties on eligible items you buy with your card. And with Purchase Protection, your eligible items may be covered against damage or theft.You can also access Amex Offers for extra rewards and discounts at select retail and dining partners.
American Express® Business Gold Card drawbacks
- Annual fee: $295 annual fee. The American Express® Business Gold Card has a steep $295 annual fee.This is a higher annual fee than many other business credit cards. Several business cards that offer a $0 intro annual fee charge annual fees of just $95 in your second year.
- No balance transfers. American Express does not allow balance transfers for this card. However, many business credit cards do allow you to transfer balances.
Compare business credit cards
If you want more information about how the American Express® Business Gold Card compares to other business cards on the market, select up to 4 cards and click Compare to view them side-by-side.
What size business is the American Express® Business Gold Card good for?
Mid- to large-sized businesses are best positioned to make the most of the American Express® Business Gold Card. High annual fee aside, the card’s value is only maximized with big spending. Ideally, you’ll want to reach the $150,000 cap on 4x points each and every calendar year to make this card truly shine. Smaller businesses that don’t carry a lot of annual costs may not be able to push their spending to this cap reliably. And unlike travel business cards, the American Express® Business Gold Card doesn’t offer complimentary credits to take the sting out of the annual fee. Instead, you’ll have to generate at least the value of the fee each year to break even on the card.
Giving each Membership Rewards® point an approximate value of 1 cent, you’ll need to earn 29,500 points to break even on a $295 annual fee.
Here’s how much you’ll need to spend to earn those points based on each earning category:
| In your 4x-point categories | $7,375 |
| In your 1x-point categories | $29,500 |
Consider whether your business spends heavily in the card’s 4x-point categories. If the answer is no, you may get more out of another rewards card.
American Express® Business Gold Card reviews and complaints
American Express Company has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 1948 and earns an overall A+ rating as of August 2021. However, roughly 90% of its reviews are negative — and it’s attracted nearly 3,400 customer complaints. Amex cardholders in general complain about rude customer service reps, missing statement credits and issues disputing charges.
As of August 2021, the company earns a Trustpilot score of 1.9 out of 5. Many negative reviews cite unhelpful customer service and inflexible company policies. Positive reviews say the company employs pleasant customer service representatives. Overall, your mileage may vary with American Express customer support.
Bottom line
The American Express® Business Gold Card is best suited for businesses that can take advantage of the accelerated points categories. Strong rewards come with a decent welcome offer and travel benefits.
Before you apply for a credit card, consider other business cards to find one that best suits your business needs and spending.
Compare American Express® Business Gold Card with other cards
How we determined the value of Amex Membership Rewards points
To determine the average value of an Amex Membership Rewards point, we looked at the equivalent dollar value a redemption option would cost in the Amex Membership Rewards program. We calculated this average across all redemption options available through Amex to reach the approximate value you can expect when redeeming these points on average. In this case, the average value of a single Membership Rewards point came out to 2 cents per point.
Remember that your points could be worth more or less depending on what you redeem them on, so this value should be used as a general guide.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
Images: AmericanExpress.com