American Express Business Gold Rewards Card [Details and Review] • Money Rook

If you are a businessperson and have high business expenses, this might be the perfect credit card for you. In this American Express Business Gold Rewards Card review, I’ll list all of its features, rewards, and requirements so you can decide if it is the right credit card for you.

The American Express Business Gold Rewards Card offers great rewards for business people who regularly spend on select items and other expenses. The annual fee of $295 may be costly. But if your business spends at least $500 every month, the cost can definitely be justified over the course of a year.

Read on to learn more about the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card, its features, requirements, and pros and cons.

About the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card

If you are a business person who regularly spends on select items and other expenses, the American Express (Amex) Business Gold Rewards Card might be the credit card for you. The annual fee of $295 may be costly, but it offers great rewards to cardholders.

If your business spends at least $500 every month, the cost of the annual fee can definitely be justified over the course of a year.

If you are interested in getting an American Express Business Gold Rewards Card, your credit score should at least be 670 points. That way, your application will most likely get approved.

Its regular annual percentage rate (APR) ranges between 14.24% and 22.24%. When it comes to its rewards earning rate, you have the opportunity to earn 4 membership rewards points for every $1. This applies to two eligible categories where your business spent the most per billing cycle. You also get to earn 1 point for every $1 on items that belong to other categories.

The American Express The American Express Business Gold Rewards Card doesn’t offer cash advances.

Who Should Get an American Express Business Gold Rewards Card

This credit card is ideal for business people and rewards strategists.

If you have a small business, you can take advantage of the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card. That way, you can earn rewards points from your business expenses.

So, in case you are both a business owner and rewards strategist, then this credit card is perfect for you. It means that you know how to maximize points or miles earnings across spending categories.

The American Express Business Gold Rewards Card is ideal for business people who find it interesting to receive rewards as Amex membership points instead of cash. Getting points is a little bit more complicated because you need to familiarize yourself first with how Amex’s reward system works.

Of course, we all are interested in receiving cash too. Who isn’t? But if you use the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card, the closest option to converting your rewards points to cash is by using them to buy gift cards.

One of the best things about this credit card is that it is a decent card to use abroad. It doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fee. Other credit card companies charge this fee, typically 3%, on every transaction made outside the country.

American Express Business Gold Rewards Card Bonus Offer

You can benefit from its bonus offer if you’re a new American Express Business Gold Rewards Cardholder. Spend at least $10,000 within the first three months of your membership to receive Membership Rewards of 70,000 points.

Spending at least $10,000 can also allow you to earn back a maximum amount of $150 on U.S. advertising and shipping. This translates to a total of up to $300 reflecting on your statement credits within the first three months of your card membership. The bonus points will reflect on your Amex record approximately three months after meeting the spending requirement.

If my computation is correct, the bonus offer can reach a maximum of $700 when rewards points are used to book flights via the American Express Travel portal. Surely, this bonus offer is interesting as it provides a solid return compared to other business cards.

American Express Business Gold Card Rewards Earning Details

Basically, the American Express Business Gold Card rewards system works by earning 4 points per $1 on 2 out of 6 spending categories in every billing cycle. Those two categories are the ones your business has spent the most. Amex automatically selects these, with your transaction records as their basis.

Suffice to say that American Express will be the one to compute it all for you. You don’t need to track down the spending categories every time you use your credit card. Unless, of course, you opt to personally compute it too to ensure that there are no errors.

American Express Business Gold Rewards Card Spending Categories

american express business gold rewards card review

Here are the six spending categories eligible for bonus rewards:

Airfare bought directly from airlines
Restaurants in the U.S.
Advertising in select U.S. media such as radio, TV, or online
Gas stations in the U.S. except those from warehouse clubs and superstores
Shipping expenses within the U.S.
Computer hardware and software directly bought from technology providers in the U.S.

Note that spending must be done within the United States except for the airfare.

What if you have used your American Express Business Gold Rewards Card, but the transaction doesn’t seem to fit any of the 6 spending categories? In this case, you will earn 1 point for every $1 spent.

American Express Business Gold Card Rewards Redemption Details

There are different ways of redeeming points via your American Express account. These include the following:

Booking travel or upgrading trips using the American Express Travel portal
Paying credit card charges
Shopping via the American Express Shopping portal
Paying at checkout at various retailers
Getting gift cards

The value of each point depends on the redemption option you choose. Suffice to say that each point has a varying value.

In general, you can get the best value per point when you redeem points for trips via the American Express Travel portal. Using your Membership Rewards Points to book flights will allow you to receive 25% of those rewards points back. You are also allowed to transfer your points to a travel partner.

Again, what does the American Express Business Gold Card offer? The American Express Business Gold Rewards Card offers rewards for business people. If your business spends at least $500 per month, the annual fee of $295 will definitely be worth it after a year.

How to Transfer American Express Business Gold Card Rewards Points

You can transfer American Express Business Gold Card Rewards points to the Frequent Flyer programs of the partner airlines of Amex. The values of the rewards points, however, vary per airline.

What is probably unusual among card issuers is that Amex imposes a charge of 0.0006 cents per point for partner transfers. This totals to a maximum amount of $99. It means that you need to redeem additional points to cover such a fee.

However, you will receive the most value out of your rewards points despite the transfer fee. The mere fact that you can transfer them to another rewards program is already a great benefit itself.

How to Maximize Your American Express Business Gold Card Rewards

Here are several ways you can maximize your American Express Business Gold Card Rewards:

Use It for Expenses That Fall under the 6 Amex Business Gold Rewards Card Bonus Categories
Take Advantage of the Amex Business Gold Rewards Card Welcome Offer
Books Flights Through the American Express Travel Portal
Get Additional Amex Business Gold Rewards Cards for Employees

Let’s briefly talk about these:

1. Use It for Expenses That Fall under the 6 Amex Business Gold Rewards Card Bonus Categories

To get the most out of your Amex Business Gold Card, it’s best to use it for paying for products and services that fall under the six bonus categories. Amex will automatically determine your top two categories every billing cycle, wherein you will earn 4 points for each dollar spent. At the same time, your other purchases will allow you to earn 1 point per $1.

2. Take Advantage of the Amex Business Gold Rewards Card Welcome Offer

As a new cardmember, make sure you take advantage of the Amex Business Gold Rewards Card Welcome Offer. In the first 3 months of your card membership, you must be able to spend a total amount of $10,000 or more. This will allow you to earn approximately $798.

3. Books Flights Through the American Express Travel Portal

Use your rewards points to book flights through the American Express Travel portal. It will earn you 25% of the points back.

After spending the annual maximum amount of $150,000 under the 4-points-per-$1 categories, you may do this. This enables you to recoup 150,000 points which may be equivalent to roughly $2,310.

4. Get Additional Amex Business Gold Rewards Cards for Employees

Another way of maximizing your American Express Business Gold Card Rewards is by getting Amex Business Gold cards for your employees. That way, they can pay for products and services on behalf of your business, which would further increase your earned miles.

You might also want to enroll your cards in Delta’s corporate SkyBonus program. Requirements include at least 5 employees with Amex Business Gold Rewards cards who cumulatively spend $5,000 or more every year on Delta flights. This program is free and allows both the employee and the employer to earn miles rewards.

Amex Business Gold Card Pros and Cons

american express business gold card limit

Here are two main advantages of using an Amex Business Gold Rewards Card:

Provides flexible rewards in categories where you spend the most
Offers flexibility in terms of limits and payment options

There are also disadvantages of owning this card, which include:

Less travel perks or none at all
Expensive annual fee

Let’s discuss all these pros and cons:

American Express Business Gold Rewards Card – Pros

1. Provides Flexible Rewards in Categories Where You Spend the Most

The products or services you pay for using your Amex Business Gold card must fall under any of Amex’s 6 spending categories. Typically, you will earn 1 point for every $1 spent. However, the rewards system is even better with your top 2 bonus categories, wherein you will earn 4 points per $1.

2. Offers Flexibility in Terms of Limits and Payment Options

The Amex Business Gold Rewards card has a Pay Over Time feature, allowing eligible cardmembers to carry a balance but with interest. It also doesn’t have a pre-set spending limit.

Also, cardmembers will have access to the Amex Working Capital Terms program. This will allow them to pay vendors on an installment basis. It comes with a flat fee ranging between 0.6% and 5.25%.

American Express Business Gold Rewards Card – Cons

1. Less Travel Perks or None at All

If you often have business trips and look forward to traveling perks, the Amex Business Gold card might not be the right credit card for you. Unlike other cards, it doesn’t have travel perks, such as the following:

Access to airport lounges,
Free checked bags, and
Global Entry membership credits.

2. Expensive Annual Fee

The annual fee of $295 is undeniably expensive. But then, the target market for this type of credit card is business people. The amount is supposed to be affordable under the premise that all business purchases will be paid using the Amex Business Gold Rewards Card.

Conclusion – American Express Business Gold Rewards Card

If you’re a business owner who makes big business purchases every month, the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card may be an ideal card for you. However, check out all its other features to figure out how you can maximize its use.