American Express Business Gold Card review: Full details

The American Express® Business Gold Card is an excellent choice for business owners looking to maximize their earnings with a single card. This card features elevated bonus categories that automatically reflect your highest spending areas each billing cycle and earns transferable Membership Rewards points. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

The American Express Business Gold Card offers valuable benefits and business-friendly bonus categories. However, it also comes with a big annual fee of $375 (see rates and fees).

We recommend that applicants have a credit score of at least 670 to increase their chances of approval. If you’re a small-business owner in search of a business card, here’s how the Amex Business Gold stacks up to help you decide if it’s a good fit.

New applicants for the Amex Business Gold can earn 100,000 points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership.

TPG’s May 2025 valuations peg Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece, making this bonus worth a solid $2,000.

This offer is better than the usual one the card provides and is closer to the best-ever offer we have seen.

It’s worth noting that if you’ve ever received a welcome offer for this card, you likely won’t be eligible for a welcome offer again. However, you can downgrade to this card from another Amex business card, such as The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.

Related: The best time to apply for these Amex cards based on offer history

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With the Amex Business Gold, you won’t get luxury benefits like airport lounge access, but the card has some valuable perks.

Statement credits

The most significant Amex Business Gold benefit is the up to $395 in annual statement credits it offers, featuring:

• An up to $240 flexible business statement credit per calendar year (up to $20 per month) for eligible purchases at FedEx, Grubhub and office supply stores*
• Up to $155 statement credit for Walmart+ monthly membership (up to $12.95 per month plus applicable taxes on one membership fee; subject to auto-renewal, Plus Ups not eligible)*

*Enrollment is required; terms apply.

If you’re able to maximize these credits, you’ll more than make up the card’s annual fee from this benefit alone.

Business benefits

The Amex Business Gold also offers several great tools to help you manage your business expenses. You can add up to 99 employee cards ($95 annual fee for the first five, then a $95 annual fee for each card after those first five; see rates and fees) and earn points on their purchases.

You can also easily designate an employee as an account manager, allowing someone other than the primary account holder to review transactions, add new employees and make payments.

It also gives you year-end summaries, auto-expense categorization in Intuit QuickBooks, complimentary Vendor Pay by Bill.com membership for the first user and discounted membership for the second user after a six-month period paying no fees (see rates and fees), no preset spending limit (the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment and credit history) and Pay Over Time option. (Enrollment is required for select benefits; terms apply).

You’ll also enjoy no foreign transaction fees on any purchases you make abroad (see rates and fees).

Protections

Cardholders enjoy several valuable travel and shopping protections with the Amex Business Gold:

• Cellphone protection: Cardmembers can be reimbursed for the cost to repair or replace their stolen or damaged cellphone up to $800 per claim for up to two approved claims per year (with a $50 deductible for each claim)**
• Extended warranty: Eligible warranties of five years or less can be extended by one year*

• Purchase protection: Eligible purchases are covered for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date if it is stolen or damaged (limited up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per account each calendar year)*
• Travel protections: Cardmembers get several travel protections, including baggage insurance,* trip delay insurance** and rental car insurance***

*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

**Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

***Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered, and geographic restrictions apply. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

Access

Cardholders also get access to The Hotel Collection, which includes a $100 on-property credit for stays of two nights or more, and valuable Amex Offers.

Again, you can find more travel and business benefits on other cards, but the statement credits, business benefits and protections that come with the Amex Business Gold make it a perfect fit for many businesses.

And if you like aesthetics, you can opt for a rose gold color of the metal card instead of the standard gold color.

Related: Is the Amex Business Gold worth the annual fee?

One of the unique features of the Amex Business Gold is that your bonus categories can shift each billing cycle to match your spending patterns. You’ll automatically earn 4 points per dollar spent in your top two spending categories each billing cycle, meaning you don’t have to pick a category and commit to it.

If your spending habits fluctuate month to month, Amex will help you earn the most bonus points possible. The eligible categories are:

• Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
• Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• Transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, ride-hailing services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways
• U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery

Your 4-point-per-dollar rate, which equates to an 8% return based on TPG’s May 2025 valuation of Membership Rewards points at 2 cents each, is capped at $150,000 per calendar year across all bonus categories (then 1 point per dollar).

Beyond these bonus categories, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on flights, prepaid hotels, and prepaid flight and hotel packages booked through Amex Travel or AmexTravel.com, as well as 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

If you max out the $150,000 in spending a year, you’ll earn 600,000 Membership Rewards points, which TPG’s May 2025 valuations place at $12,000. This massive earning potential alone might be enough to encourage businesses to opt for this card.

Related: Maximize your earning with the Amex Business Gold

The Amex Business Gold card earns Membership Rewards points, which you can transfer to any of Amex’s airline and hotel partners.

You can also redeem your points by booking travel through Amex Travel, cash them in for a statement credit or gift card or use them to pay for your purchases directly at Amazon or in the Membership Rewards online shopping mall. However, these options will yield a value of 0.5-1 cent per point, so we recommend sticking with transferring your points to get maximum value from them.

Related: How to redeem American Express Membership Rewards for maximum value

Again, the most valuable redemption option for the points you earn on your Amex Business Gold is to transfer them to Amex’s hotel and airline partners, including Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Iberia Plus and Marriott Bonvoy.

TPG senior points and miles writer Ben Smithson loves transferring his Amex points to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, which offers a huge range of airline redemption partners at sensible fixed award chart rates. He also likes transferring to British Airways Club to book short-haul flights from the United Kingdom to other destinations in Europe on British Airways for under 5,000 points each way.

Amex regularly offers transfer bonuses, allowing you to get even more value from your points. Regardless of your travel preferences and goals, you’re sure to find some that work for you in Amex’s extensive list of partners.

Related: The best ways to use Membership Rewards points

If you want more statement credits or have difficulty justifying the annual fee on the Amex Business Gold, you may get more value from one of these cards:

• If you want more statement credits: The Business Platinum Card from American Express comes with unrivaled lounge access and numerous statement credits each year for Dell, Indeed, Adobe and U.S. wireless phone service purchases for a $695 annual fee (see rates and fees). Enrollment is required; terms apply. For more details, check out our full review of the Amex Business Platinum.
• If you want to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards: The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees) earns 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on shipping, internet, cable and phone services, advertising with social media sites and search engines and travel purchases (on the first $150,000 total in combined purchases spent each account anniversary year, then 1 point per dollar). It also comes with a much lower $95 annual fee. For more details, check out our full review of the Ink Business Preferred.
• If you want to earn Membership Rewards with no annual fee: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express earns 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on all eligible business purchases (up to $50,000 spent per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) and has no annual fee (see rates and fees). For more details, check out our full review of the Blue Business Plus.

For additional options, see our list of best business credit cards and best Amex credit cards.

Related: Amex Business Gold vs. Amex Business Platinum

Apply here: American Express BusineAmerican Express® Business Gold CarAmerican Express® Business Gold Cardss Gold

For rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Blue Business Plus, click here.