American Express^® Business Gold Card Review: A Great Choice for Flexible Business Spending

If your business spending fluctuates from month to month, the American Express^® Business Gold Card is a standout card. It automatically lets you earn 4X points in the top two categories you spend the most in each month — like restaurants and gas stations. get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 eligible categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. Terms apply.

This card does come with a $375 annual fee. But, you can potentially get more than $300 in credits* and a generous earning rate that can easily offset the cost, especially if you spend $9,375 annually in its 4X categories. get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 eligible categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. Terms apply. Unfortunately, it lacks travel perks like lounge access and airline and hotel credits. If you’re a frequent traveler who wants top-notch luxury treatment, you may consider The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express instead.

• Annual fee: $375
• Regular purchase APR: 18.49% - 29.24% Variable (see rates & fees)
• Foreign transaction fee: None
• Welcome offer: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
• Rewards: Get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 eligible categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. Terms apply.
• Other benefits:
  • Up to $240 flexible business credit (up to $20 monthly) after you use your card for eligible U.S. purchases (enrollment required)
  • Around $155 each year for Walmart+ (up to $12.95 in monthly statement credits when you pay for your membership with your card, subject to auto-renewal and applicable taxes)
  • Baggage insurance plan¹
  • Car rental loss and damage insurance²
  • Trip delay insurance³
  • Cell phone protection³
  • Extended warranty¹
  • Purchase protection¹
• Recommended credit: Good / Excellent

• Solid welcome offer

  You’ll earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.* If you use your Membership Rewards points to book flights through the Amex Travel portal, they’ll be worth 1 cent each, making the welcome offer worth as much as $1,000. Points can also be redeemed for other travel, gift cards or merchandise, or used to cover your card charges — but often for less value.

  You can typically squeeze the most value from your Membership Rewards points by transferring them to one of American Express’s travel partners, largely at a rate of 1:1. Partners include British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Marriott Bonvoy and more.

  Learn more about maximizing Amex points with our 2025 Membership Rewards Program Guide

• Generous rewards on your top spending categories

  When you use the American Express^® Business Gold Card, you’ll get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 eligible categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. Terms apply.

  The 4X bonus categories include the following: get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 eligible categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. Terms apply.

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

  If you max out the spending cap, you can earn as much as 600,000 points per year on those purchases.

• Business credits

  The American Express^® Business Gold Card offers credits which could make up for the annual fee and then some on its own.

  One credit is up to a $240 flexible business credit, which lets you earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use your card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub and office supply stores (enrollment required).

  The card’s other business credit is a Walmart+ credit around $155 each year. You can receive up to a $12.95 statement credit back each month if you pay for a Walmart+ monthly membership with the American Express^® Business Gold Card (subject to auto-renewal and applicable taxes).

  Tip

  You can use your Walmart+ membership to access Paramount+ for free, along with other perks like gas savings, auto care, free online pet care and more.

• Foreign transaction fee: None

  While many cards charge foreign transaction fees ranging from around 3% to 5% of the amount of each transaction when you make purchases outside of the U.S., the American Express^® Business Gold Card saves you on these fees. This makes the card ideal to bring along when traveling abroad.

• Travel benefits and protections

  The American Express^® Business Gold Card comes with several types of insurance and travel perks that can help you further offset the annual fee, including:

  • Baggage insurance plan¹
  • Global Assist® Hotline when traveling more than 100 miles from home⁴
  • Trip delay insurance³
  • Car rental loss and damage insurance²
  • Up to $100 experience credit for qualifying dining, spa and resort activities when you book a participating property in The Hotel Collection with American Express Travel and stay at least two consecutive nights

• No preset spending limit

  Unlike most cards, which have a set credit limit you have to keep your spending within, the American Express^® Business Gold Card has no preset spending limit. Now, that doesn’t mean you can spend an unlimited amount with this card — rather, the limit is flexible and adapts based on factors like your credit history and your purchase and payment history.

• Pricey annual fee

  With an annual fee of $375, the American Express^® Business Gold Card won’t be cheap to carry. The welcome bonus can more than make up for that amount during the first year of card membership. But, you’ll have to spend at least $9,375 per year after that in the 4X categories to offset the annual fee (assuming you redeem those points for a 1-cent value each). get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 eligible categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. Terms apply.

  If you don’t plan on spending enough to justify the annual fee, you may want to consider a no annual fee card, like the The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express (see rates & fees). Just know that rewards cards with no annual fee often offer lower rewards rates and less robust benefits than those that do charge one.

• High spend requirement to earn welcome offer

  You’ll have to spend a higher-than-usual amount to earn this card’s welcome offer. If your business operates on a smaller scale, you might time your application for the card with a major business purchase to earn the welcome offer. But if the spending threshold is too big of a stretch, you may want to consider a card that requires a lower spend to earn the welcome offer.

• Bonus categories may not align with your spending

  If your spending fits well within the six categories that can potentially earn the 4X rewards rate, the American Express^® Business Gold Card can be a great choice. get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 eligible categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. Terms apply. But if you spend more in other categories — such as hotels, grocery stores, commuting, shipping or online purchases — a card that offers accelerated rewards on those purchases will likely serve you better.

• Can't carry a balance on some purchases

  With the American Express^® Business Gold Card, you usually have to pay your full balance at the end of each billing cycle. You can only carry a balance from month to month on some charges by opting into its Pay Over Time feature. Once Pay Over Time is toggled on, eligible charges are added to your Pay Over Time balance, up to a certain limit, and you can pay them off by making at least a minimum payment each month. You will accrue interest on your balance.

  If you want to finance a large purchase and pay it off over time interest-free, you should consider a card that offers a 0% intro APR on purchases for a year or longer. The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express, for example, comes with a 0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening, after which an APR of 17.49% - 27.49% Variable applies (see rates & fees).

American Express^® Business Gold Card vs. The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

If you’re a business owner who travels frequently and doesn’t mind paying a much heftier price tag for more premium travel benefits, such as airport lounge access, The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express will be a better fit.

This card does charge a high annual fee of $695 (see rates & fees), but if you take advantage of its valuable travel benefits and credits, you can more than make up for that amount each year. Along with access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection® and a 35% airline bonus*, it includes more than $1,000 worth of credits*.

American Express^® Business Gold Card vs. Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is a $95-annual-fee card that lets you earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases-with no limit to the amount you can earn.

It offers rewards on shipping, which the American Express^® Business Gold Card does not. If your business would benefit from that or a lower annual fee, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card may be a better fit.

It also offers a valuable sign-up bonus if you can meet the spending requirement: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

American Express^® Business Gold Card vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is a simpler business travel card than the American Express^® Business Gold Card. It lets you earn the same rate on every purchase with no cap and no categories to keep track of. You’ll earn 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site. You can redeem your miles instantly for any travel-related purchase. You can also transfer miles to more than 15 travel partners, though — unlike the American Express^® Business Gold Card — that doesn’t include any major U.S. airlines.

You’ll also get a few other travel perks, including a credit for TSA PreCheck®/Global Entry.

You can get a lot of value from the American Express^® Business Gold Card, if its bonus categories align with your spending, and you can take advantage of its business credits.

But if you want access to even more luxurious travel benefits and credits that can be worth more than $1,000 per year, The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express may be a better fit. Or, if the fee is too much for you, you should consider lower annual-fee cards like the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card and the Capital One Spark Miles for Business (see rates & fees).

We use calculations to estimate the value of each card for the average cardholder, based on LendingTree and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

• Average value over two years (80% of rating): We calculate the value of rewards and perks for the average cardholder using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and an annual spend of $20,000, minus the annual fee. This value includes the card’s sign-up bonus, annual bonus (including free night certificates) and travel perks like lounge access and travel credits. We look at the average rewards earned over two years to balance out a card’s ongoing value with its first-year value.
• Flexibility of rewards (15% of rating): We consider how easy the rewards are to use, looking at factors like expiration dates, minimum thresholds to redeem, blackout dates and the availability of flexible redemption options like travel statement credits and cash back.
• Other features (5% of rating): We also compare a card’s benefits, such as purchase protections, travel protections and elite status benefits, against benefits from other cards.