American Express Business Gold Card 2024 Review: Designed for Business Travelers

American Express Business Gold Card

You might be using a business credit card to grow your business, but there are several reasons to consider card that allows you to earn rewards and perks  that can improve your bottom line.

The is one such card with a rewards program that is ideal for charging travel purchases or everyday business expenses. 

This card does have a fairly steep annual fee (see Rates & Fees; terms apply), though employee cards won't cost you anything extra.

If you're interested in what a credit card could do for your business, we review what the American Express Business Gold Card brings to the table.

*See Rates & Fees. Terms apply.

Big Rewards on Travel & Business Expenses

The American Express Business Gold Card features a generous rewards program for businesses that spend heavily. 

Here's how it works:

• You earn four Membership Rewards points per dollar on the two categories your business spends the most in each billing cycle.
• Other eligible purchases earn one point per dollar.

These spending categories can earn you four (4) points per dollar:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines (for transactions made on or between 10/3/2023-1/31/2024)
• U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
• U.S. purchases made directly from select providers of computer hardware, software and cloud solutions
• U.S. purchases at gas stations and restaurants
• U.S. purchases for shipping (for transactions made on or between 10/3/2023-1/31/2024)

The four points per dollar you can earn applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from your top two categories each calendar year. If you go over $150,000 in purchases, you still earn one point per dollar. 

The American Express Business Gold Card could be great if you do a lot of spending for your business. If you max out the four points per dollar on $150,000 in purchases you'd earn 600,000 points. 

To give you an idea of what they're worth, 10,000 points would be good for $100 in flight credit through Membership Rewards. So 600,000 points could get you $6,000 toward free flights each year. 

Bonus on travel redemptions

When you use your points to book flights with American Express Travel, you'll get 25% of those points back. You can get up to 250,000 points back each calendar year this way. 

This card also offers a nice bump in points right out of the gate with an introductory welcome offer. Just remember that you'll have to meet the minimum spending requirement to qualify for the bonus. 

More Time to Pay When You Need It

The American Express Business Gold Card requires you to in full each month, so you'll avoid interest charges completely. But if you need more time to pay, you can use the Pay Over Time option. 

Pay Over Time lets you carry a balance with interest on purchases of $100 or more. Any purchases under $100 are due in full each month. 

Your Pay Over Time terms and interest rate are based on your creditworthiness and account history. But this could be a great feature to have if you're charging a larger purchase to your card. 

Like many other American Express cards, the Gold card has no preset spending limit. That means your credit limit can fluctuate from month to month. 

Attractive Card Benefits

The American Express Business Gold Card includes a lengthy list of additional features and benefits (enrollment may be required, terms apply), such as: 

The various travel perks could make this card a good option for travel, plus there's no foreign transaction fee. 

For example, with The Hotel Collection you can get complimentary room upgrades and up to a $100 hotel credit when you book a stay. The Travel Collection makes booking group business travel easier. 

Fees

The most important fee to be mindful of with this card is the annual fee. 

If you're going to pay the $295 annual fee ($375 if application is received on or after 2/1/24) (see Rates & Fees; terms apply) for a rewards card, then you should be able to make that up in rewards value.

Which again, you could easily do if you're able to max out the four points per dollar on $150,000 in purchases annually.

Compared to Other Business Credit Cards

The American Express Business Gold Card isn't the only option for business purchases. Here are three other business rewards cards to consider. 

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

*See Rates & Fees. Terms apply.

The is designed for business owners who primarily want to earn rewards on travel. 

This card offers five Membership Rewards points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com. You get 50% more points on purchases of $5,000 or more and receive 35% of your points back when redeeming for flights. 

Many of the card's perks help to balance out the $595 annual fee ($695 if the application is received on or after 1/13/2022 -- see Rates & Fees; terms apply). 

Business Green Rewards from American Express

The offers unlimited points on purchases. 

Booking travel through amextravel.com will earn you two points per dollar. All other purchases earn one point per dollar. 

You can't use Pay Over Time to spread out payments on purchases. But it has a reasonable annual fee of $0 the first year, then $95 thereafter.  

Read the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express editor's review.

Chase Ink Business Preferred

The  offers three points per dollar on the first $150,000 in combined purchases on travel, shipping, internet, cable and phone services and advertising services each anniversary year. 

If you hit that limit, you'll keep earning one point per dollar. All other purchases earn unlimited one point per dollar. 

This card offers an introductory bonus and a bonus when you redeem points. If you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, points are worth 25% more. A $95 annual fee applies. 

Read the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card editor's review.

Business Credit Cards vs. Personal Credit Cards

You may be wondering whether it matters if you use a business or personal credit card for business expenses. 

While you could technically use either, there are several reasons it makes sense to stick with a business credit card for business use:

Personal credit cards can offer more consumer protections than business cards. But a business card is better suited to business use.

And besides that, keeping your business and personal spending separate is also a good idea when it comes to business taxes. 

Business credit cards are more likely to be reported on your business credit history than your personal credit report. But you may need to give the credit card company your social security number to get a business credit card. 

How to apply for a business credit card

Applying for a business credit is a similar process to applying for a personal card. 

You'll need to give the credit card company your name, address and social security number. And you'll also need to provide your business name, time in business, number of employees and revenue. 

If you don't have any revenue because your business is new that's not a roadblock to getting a business credit card. The credit card company can use your personal credit score and income for approval. 

Final Verdict

The could be a good choice for businesses that spend a lot and want a high rewards rate. Earning points with this card could be particularly valuable if you plan to redeem them for business travel. 

You may want to look for another card if you'd prefer to pay a lower or no annual fee or if you'd rather earn cash back or miles instead.

Overall, however, this card shines if you want to combine the benefits of a rewards card with a business card.

See the rates & fees for the mentioned American Express cards: The Business Platinum Card from American Express (Rates & Fees; terms apply) and American Express Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees; terms apply).