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American Express® Business Gold Card Review
The American Express® Business Gold Card - earn 4x on your top 2 eligible categories like social ads and U.S. shipping.
By Sebastian F.|Updated on 2/2/2024
Back
The American Express® Business Gold Card is one of the best cards to earn points for business owners. The card is ideal for businesses with moderate to high spend on relevant categories.
American Express® Business Gold Card
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.*
The American Express® Business Gold Card is one of the best cards to earn points for business owners. The card is ideal for businesses with moderate to high spend on relevant categories like U.S. advertising, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. restaurants.
Point Multipliers
The American Express® Business Gold Card earns 4X Membership Rewards (MR) points on your top two spend categories each billing cycle from the following categories:
- U.S. advertising (in select media such as online, TV, and radio)
- U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
- Transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
- Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
- U.S. gas stations
- U.S. restaurants
The 4X rate applies to the first $150,000 in combined spending from two categories from the above list each calendar year. After this, it’s 1X. Terms apply.
You’ll also earn 3X on purchases on flights and pre-paid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com and 1X on everything else.
Optimal Strategy
The American Express® Business Gold Card is only really useful if you have spend in the 4X categories. If not, there are other cards that might be a better fit.
Redeeming Points
The card earns Membership Rewards (MR) points, and the base redemption rate (as a statement credit) is 0.6 cents per point (CPP). This means 4x = 2.4%.
Luckily, Amex has many other redemption options for things like travel that yield 1 CPP (4x = 4%).
Amex points are great if you’re looking to do aspirational travel (first and business-class flights) and are the perfect option for small business owners who want to earn a vacation.
Alternatives
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (i.e., 3x on advertising, etc.) offers similar categories but with a lower annual fee. Depending on your spending level and which ecosystem you’re in, that might be a better fit.
If your business spending is low – or not in these categories – it might make sense to consider The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (2x on everything for the first $50,000 spent per calendar year).
On the flip side, if you have very high business spend, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus might be better, earning 2% on everything.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a great option if you spend a lot in business categories and want to get elevated value from your Ultimate Reward points.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
The Blue Business Plus is a great option if you're looking for a catch-all business card and you're not planning to spend more than $50,000 on the card.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus
$2,000 Cash Back once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year
If you are a business owner with strong credit who travels frequently and doesn't mind paying a higher annual fee, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card may be a good choice. This card has a $150 annual fee, which is higher than some similar cards, but the rewards you can earn can make it worthwhile for travelers.
Main Takeaway
The American Express® Business Gold Card is one of the best points earners for business owners who have relevant spend and want to earn MR points.
For rates and fees of The American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.