American Express Business Gold Card is a credit card designed mainly for small businesses still growing. The card allows you to choose between paying your complete balance fully every month.
Or making use of the Pay Over Time feature. The Pay Over Time feature enables cardholders to carry a balance with interest on purchases of $100 or more.
The American Express Business Gold Card earns four points per dollar in the 2 qualifying categories where your business spent the most every month.
This also applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases each year. And after that, the purchases earn a point per dollar. Every other eligible purchase earns a point per dollar.
And the cardholder benefits include damage insurance and car rental loss, also a baggage insurance plan as well as and access to the Global Assist Hotline.
American Express Business Gold Card
The Business Gold Card is also a great option for entrepreneurs whose spending patterns can vary widely from month to month.
However, there are still other options that give a similar rewards structure without the huge annual fee.
Automatically, the American Express Business Gold Card earns higher rewards in the 2 categories from a list of 6 where you spend the most money every month.
There is actually no need to opt-in or select your categories, which is a cool break from cards that needs more active management.
However, the annual fee of $295 is expensive when being compared with alternatives.
Also, if your spending doesn’t position with the 6 areas that are qualified for those bonus rewards, then a different option is the way forward.
Key Features of the American Express Business Gold Card
Read the key features of the Business Gold Card below:
Card Type: Small business.
Annual fee: $295
Welcome fee: You will earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership with the Business Gold Card. Terms Apply.
Rewards
With the American Express Business Gold Card, you can earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar in the 2 categories.
From the following list below where your business spends the most each billing cycle.
The 4X rewards apply to the first $150,000 in joint spending per year from these 2 categories. Whereas, the rest of the spending earns one point per dollar. Terms apply. The categories include:
U.S. purchases for:
- advertising in select media (Tv, online, radio)
- made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware,
- software and cloud solutions.
- for shipping
- at restaurants
- at gas stations.
The American Express Membership Rewards points are basically worth 0.5 cents to 1 cent a piece. Though, it depends on how you redeem them. Generally, the most valuable is the travel and gift card redemptions.
Also, points are transferable and can even be worth more if strategically redeemed after it has been transferred to the other loyalty programs.
Pros and Cons of the Business Gold Card
Pros of the card:
- Huge travel benefits
- It has flexible redemption and points transfer options.
- It has automatic 4x points on 2 select categories you spend the most on each month.
Cons of the card:
- Its 4x points rate is restricted to the first $150,000 in spending annually.
- The Business Gold Card by American Express has a high annual fee.
- Base 1 point earning rate per dollar spent on standard purchases.
Benefits of the American Express Business Gold Card:
As a cardholder, you qualify for benefits like:
- Global Assist Hotline access
- Car rental loss and damage insurance
- Baggage insurance plan
Other benefits include:
- Amex offers Targeted discounts that can give you bonus points or even a statement credit on everyday purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Employee cards: $50 flat fee for about 99 extra employee cards.
- Baggage Insurance: About $500 per person for checked bags and for stolen, carry-ons for lost or damaged baggage, $1250 per person.
Rates and Fees
The rates and fees of the credit card include:
Issuer Name: American Express
APR: 14.24%-22.24% Variable
Credit Needed: Good, Excellent
Penalty APR: 29.24% Variable
Annual Fee: $295
Foreign Transaction Fee: None
How Do I Qualify for the American Express Business Gold Card?
To qualify for the Business Gold Card, you will be needing at least good credit. Good credit is a score of at least 690.
However, only a credit score is not enough to qualify for any of the credit cards. Issuers take your existing debts, your income as well as other information into account.