Business Card

Amex Business Gold Credit Card

Written by: Lenny Pappano

If you qualify for a business card, the American Express Business Gold can be worthwhile. Wait for an elevated sign-up bonus and ensure the monthly credits offset the $375 annual fee.

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Amex Business Gold Credit Card Review

Key Takeaways

If you can qualify for a business card, you’ll want to add the American Express Business Gold at some point. Because American Express points are more expensive to hold, that timing should match a specific intended use. Since American Express uses a “once per lifetime” policy for sign-up bonuses, it’s best to wait for the right special offer. You can offset the $20/month credit on FedEx, Grubhub, or office supply stores and the $12.95/month Walmart+ membership credit against the $375 annual fee, but only if you already plan to spend that money. Otherwise, it’s tough to justify keeping the card long term.

Why This Card Could Be Right For You

The general sign-up bonus offer of 70,000 points after spending $15,000 in the first three months is okay, but there have been public offers as high as 100,000 points for the same spending requirement. You may want to hold out for an elevated offer to maximize your “once per lifetime” bonus—especially if there are other cards on your list you can still qualify for. Once you get the American Express Business Gold, its sign-up bonus alone can be worthwhile if you can meet the spending requirement naturally.

Whether you keep it beyond the first year depends on whether you already use the available credits. If so, those benefits can wipe out the $375 annual fee. Another major perk is 4x points in your top two eligible spending categories each month, on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories (there are six eligible categories). Those 4x points add to your total while you’re meeting your welcome bonus. However, once you meet the spending requirement for the sign-up bonus, you may move on to the next card and its sign-up bonus, making the 4x structure less valuable.

When The Usual Advice Doesn't Apply

Some reasons this card might not be right for you include:

You can’t organically spend $15,000 in the first three months to receive the sign-up bonus.
You want to wait for an elevated sign-up bonus because of American Express’s once per lifetime rule.
You won’t use the statement credits for FedEx, Grubhub, office supply stores, or Walmart+ to offset the annual fee after the first year.

What to Know About Amex Member Rewards

Amex points are great in theory. We just find them harder to collect and more expensive to hold than Chase points.

If you’re in the points game long enough, you’ll dabble in both main systems (Chase & Amex).
Amex has a one card bonus per lifetime rule, so ultimately, there will be more of a limit to how many you can collect via sign-up bonuses.
You’ll need to keep a “fee” card to hold your points.
Delta and Hilton are solid transfer values and having Amex points gives you top-off flexibility if you are invested in either of those systems.
We do find Amex travel a higher quality of service over the Chase travel portal.

How The Amex Business Gold Credit Card Fits In The Amex Member Rewards Ecosystem

The American Express Business Platinum offers a slightly higher sign-up bonus (50,000 points) and more perks, but it carries a $695 annual fee. Public offers for the Business Platinum have gone as high as 150,000 points, so keep that in mind. Meanwhile, the Green Business card isn’t worth mentioning beyond advising you not to get it—the low sign-up bonus and lack of benefits don’t justify its annual fee.

On the personal side, the American Express Platinum is comparable to the Business Platinum. It has the same high fee ($695) and a similar sign-up bonus (typically 80,000 points), with somewhat different benefits. The personal Gold card is also worth a look, but timing is crucial.

If you plan to collect multiple American Express personal cards, remember that if you get the Platinum first, you won’t be eligible for the sign-up bonus on the Green or Gold later. To get all three, apply in the order of Green, then Gold, then Platinum. This specific rule does not currently apply to American Express business cards. Therefore, if you start with the Business Platinum to take advantage of a great offer, you can still get the sign-up bonus on the Business Gold later (assuming the rule remains unchanged).

My Experience, No Filter

Neither my wife nor I could get approved for new Chase business cards, and we had already applied for most other recommended cards that weren’t co-branded airline or hotel cards. I received a targeted offer for the American Express Business Gold card with a sign-up bonus of 175,000 miles after spending $15,000 in the first three months. That amount was high for us, but we had a spring break trip and a large purchase coming up, so it worked out.

We’ve enjoyed the Walmart+ membership for free grocery delivery, which we use at least once per week. We haven’t maximized the $20 monthly credit because we rarely spend much at office supply stores or on DoorDash. We haven’t decided yet if we’ll keep the card after the first year, but the large sign-up bonus made it worthwhile for us initially.

Card Information

Bonus Points	Minimum Spend	Point Value	Annual Value	Annual Fee	1st Year Value
100,000	$15,000	1.4 ¢	$2	$375	$1237

Best Value	Differentiating Perks	Rules
Delta & Hilton transfers	Unique 4X spend categories	No CR , Amex 3/90 , No 5/24 , Amex 1/10

AWARD SYSTEM

BANK

Reconsideration Phone 800.492.3344

OFFER PRIOR TO CURRENT SPECIAL

70,000 Bonus Points for
$15,000 spend ended Aug 2024

Spend Categories

Airfare - »

3X points
4.2¢ Per Dollar Spent

All Other = »

1X points
1.4¢ Per Dollar Spent

Software and Hardware + »