by Daniel | Last Updated June 16th, 2021
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So today I am going to review the American Express Gold Business card and then go over some of the benefits and rewards that it offers and then I will decide whether it is worth it.
So the first thing to note about this card is the annual fee, which is currently $295. And just for comparison, this is $300 less than the Amex Platinum Business card, which is currently $595 per year
Now with the sign-up bonus that Amex is offering for the Gold card, it is actually possible to offset the card fee for the first 2 years if you qualify for the sign-up bonus.
Sign-up Bonus
So to begin with the Gold Amex Business card comes with a generous 70,000 membership rewards points when you first sign up for the card.
And to receive these points you will need to spend a minimum of $10,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of opening the account.
Although this is quite a high spend limit to receive the bonus points, it is actually $5,000 less than what the Platinum Amex Card requires, which is a $15,000 spend before you are able to receive the bonus points.
So if you do run a business that spends at least $10,000 every couple of months, then this card offers quite a lot of value that you can take advantage of.
Just the sign-up bonus alone of 70,000 points is worth up to $700 when you use them through Amex, or they can be worth substantially more if you transfer them to partner hotel or airline loyalty programs.
So if you are mindful of how you actually use your points you can easily offset the annual fee for two years just with the signup points.
Just a side note, if you have previously held an Amex Business Gold card and received any welcome offer you will not be eligible for this offer.
Earning Points
Now when it comes to earning points with this card there are a few options.
First of all, you will receive 4 times points on any flights that are booked directly with airlines.
You will also receive 4x points when making payments at the following:
– Gas stations.
– Restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
– Shipping.
-Online, TV, and radio advertising.
-Computer hardware, software, and cloud systems from select technology providers.
The 4x points are available for up to $150,000 in purchases each calendar year and anything over the spending limit will receive 1 point per dollar spent. And then after the calendar year, it will be rest.
So if you are able to spend $150k on these items, you will be able to earn 600,000 membership reward points which are worth at least $6,000, and substantially more if you transfer the points to a partner hotel or airline loyalty program.
This really is great value if you are spending this much each year through your business, as over time you can accrue a ton of value just by using the card.
Travel Related Perks
25% Airline Bonus
A nice perk that comes with the Gold Amex Card is the 25% Airline bonus.
So with this, if you choose to pay with all or some of your points for a trip you will receive 25% of the points back, up to a maximum of 250,000 points per calendar year.
Just note that it must be one of their qualifying airlines to be eligible for the bonus.
Hotel Benefits
The Hotel Collection
If you book through American Express Travel at any participating hotels for a minimum of 2 nights you will receive room upgrades when available, and $100 credit for things such as the spa, dining, or resort activities.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
As with the Platinum Amex Business Card, the Gold card also has no foreign transaction fees, which gives you the freedom to use the card when traveling without the worry of extra fees.
Just note that on the Amex website they do say that it is possible that some ATMs or merchants may charge a fee on foreign transactions, so keep this in mind if you do want to use the card overseas.
Insurance Related Perks
The Amex Business Gold card comes with Trip delay insurance,
As long as you pay for the entire trip with your Amex Gold card and the trip happens to be delayed more than 12 hours by a covered reason, Amex may reimburse up to a maximum of $300 per Covered Trip, and they allow for 2 claims per 12 consecutive month period.
Auto Benefits
Another useful benefit that you will get is Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance.
So if you pay for the entire car rental with your card you can choose to forgo the collision damage waiver from the car company which will save you money.
But be aware there are a few exclusions and restrictions that come with this.
You will not have coverage in Australia, Italy, or New Zealand and it does not include liability coverage.
Baggage Insurance
You will also get baggage insurance if you purchase the entire fare on your card, and this will cover up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage.
Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty
A nice extra that also comes with this card is that you also get purchase protection, and this gives you up to 90 days to help protect any recent purchases if they are lost, stolen, or accidentally damaged.
And it will cover up to $1,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per cardmember per calendar year.
Along with purchase protection, you also get Extended warranty with AMEX.
This will match the original manufactures warranty for up to 1 additional year as long as you purchase the item with your Gold card.
And this is only available for products that have a warranty of 5 years or less and that are sold in the United States. The coverage is up to $10,000 per item, with a maximum of $50,000 per calendar year.
Is It Worth $295 Per Year?
So is the Gold American Express Business Card really worth it?
I think if your Business has been established for some time and you can easily cover the $10,000 initial spend limit to receive the 70,000 bonus points, and you also spend up to $150k over the year to take full advantage of the 4x points earnings.
Then I think it is definitely worth looking into.
But if you are a new business with a small turnover I would not recommend this card as it will be hard to get enough value from the card due to the relatively high spend requirements to receive bonuses.
A cheaper option to look at would be the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card, as this has an annual fee of just $95 and offers similar rewards and benefits.
If you want to learn more about the Chase Ink Card you can click here to watch my review or click this link to read my review.
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