Amex Business Gold Card Review: Premium Points On Your Biggest Business Expenses

Business owners with high spending in the right areas could earn plenty of rewards points using the American Express Business Gold Card. This card is special in that its bonus categories depend on where you spent the most money each billing cycle. Since it has a $295 annual fee (see rates and fees), you'll want to ensure it's a good fit before you apply. Read our full American Express Business Gold Card review to find out.

This credit card is a good fit for: Business owners who want to earn big rewards in the categories where they spend the most.

Top perks

There are quite a few valuable benefits you get with the American Express Business Gold Card.

Welcome offer

You earn 70,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases with your card in the first three months. Terms apply.

Rewards

The American Express Business Gold Card has one of the more unique and beneficial rewards structures of all business credit cards. Each billing cycle, you earn 4 points per $1 on whichever two of the following categories your business spent the most money:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• U.S. purchases for shipping
• Terms apply

The bonus rate of 4 points per $1 applies to your first $150,000 in bonus spending per calendar year. On all other spending, this card earns 1 point per $1.

Learn more: Best Rewards Credit Cards

Versatile points

A big benefit of American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points is how useful those points are. The Membership Rewards program has one of the largest rosters of airline and hotel partners, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to transfer your points and get lots of value from them.

In addition to points transfers, you can also redeem your points towards the cash price of an airline ticket through American Express's Pay with Points feature. You get a value of $0.01 per point this way, but the American Express Business Gold Card will also refund you 25% of your points on flights with your selected qualifying airline and first or business-class bookings with any airline. Terms apply.

Consumer and travel protections

This card offers several complimentary protections that can come in handy, including:

• Purchase protection against damage and theft*
• Extended warranty coverage*
• Baggage insurance*
• Trip delay insurance**
• Car rental insurance***
• Terms apply

Hotel benefits

When you book The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel and stay at least two consecutive nights, you're entitled to the following benefits at participating properties:

• $100 credit for qualifying dining, spa, and resort activities (qualifying activities vary by property)
• Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
• Terms apply

See more: Best Hotel Credit Cards

No foreign transaction fees

As you'd expect from a card that earns travel rewards, the American Express Business Gold Card doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee (see rates and fees).

Related: Check out The Ascent's guide to the Best American Express Credit Cards.

What could be improved

The American Express Business Gold Card has a couple areas where it could be better.

Annual fee

With a $295 annual fee, the American Express Business Gold Card isn't cheap. And unlike many credit cards in this price range, it doesn't offer much in the way of spending credits or travel perks.

For the annual fee to be worth it, you need to get enough value from those bonus categories. A good rule of thumb is to consider getting this card if your business spends at least $2,000 per month in bonus categories. With that much spending, you'd earn 96,000 points per year. Even at a conservative value of $0.01 per point, that's $960. After subtracting the annual fee, you'd be getting $665 in annual value.

Keep in mind that it doesn't take nearly as much spending to break even on the annual fee. You'd earn enough to offset the annual fee with $615 per month in bonus spending.

To have a good chance of approval for the American Express Business Gold Card, your FICO® Score should be at least 670. This is a premium business credit card, and it's aimed at business owners with good to excellent credit scores.

You will also need a business to open this card. Keep in mind that you're eligible for a business credit card with any type of business, including a sole proprietorship or a side hustle.

If your business spends in quite a bit of money in one or two bonus categories, then the American Express Business Gold Card could be just what you need.

The business owners who will benefit the most are those who spend upwards of $2,000 to $12,500 per month in this card's bonus categories. Any less than $2,000 and you'd probably be better off comparing credit cards with lower annual fees. Any more than $12,500 and you'll need a card with a higher spending cap on its bonus categories. But if your bonus spending is in that range, you'll get your money's worth from all the points you earn.

Our Credit Card Methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.