The American Express® Business Gold Card has a few well-known (and well-advertised) perks, including 4 points per dollar on your top two spending categories each month from the following list:
- Airfare purchased from airlines.
- US purchases for advertising in select media.
- US purchases for shipping.
- US purchases at gas stations.
- US purchases at restaurants.
- US purchases made from select technology providers.
The card’s welcome offer is sizable, too: you’ll earn 70,000 bonus points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with your card in the first 3 months of cardmembership.
Still on the fence? Here are six lesser-known perks that could sell you on the Amex Business Gold.
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25% pay with points bonus
Following the lead of some other Amex cards, the Amex Business Gold offers a rebate when redeeming your points for the cost of airfare through the Amex Travel portal.
While you need to have the full amount of points in your account at the time of booking, the 25% rebate (which will be credited to your account within 6-10 weeks) gives you a minimum redemption value of 1.33 cents per point. This is still below TPG’s valuation of Membership Rewards points at 2 cents each, but this can still be a great deal in the right circumstances.
If you find a cheap cash fare, it might cost fewer miles to pay with points than to transfer to a travel partner to book. You’ll also earn both elite and redeemable miles on these bookings which can help lock in your elite status and bump up your return. This rebate is capped at 250,000 points a year and is valid on all first- and business-class tickets, as well as economy tickets with your selected airline.
Pay over time
The Amex Business Gold automatically enrolls all cardmembers in its Pay Over Time program, which gives you the option to carry a balance and structure payments on charges over $100. The interest rates are painfully high, though, varying from about 15-25% depending on your credit history.
While this likely won’t be your first choice for managing your cash flow, it’s a nice option to have if you need it in a pinch.
Account management tools
Keeping with the theme of primarily rewarding larger businesses, the Amex Business Gold card offers a comprehensive suite of account management tools. For a flat fee of $50 a year (waived the first year), you can add up to 99 employee cards.
You can also designate an employee as your account manager, allowing you to delegate the tasks of making payments, adding employee cards and tracking expenses to someone you deem trustworthy. Or use the Amex receipt match feature, which lets you upload receipts from mobile or desktop, tag and annotate transactions and even sync with QuickBooks to keep all your accounting streamlined.
The Amex Hotel Collection
Amex Business Gold cardmembers will also enjoy benefits on select travel bookings. In addition to earning points on bookings made through Amex Travel, you’ll enjoy a $100 experience credit to spend on qualifying dining, spa and resort activities.
You’re also eligible for room upgrades upon check-in, when available. Certain room categories are not eligible for an upgrade.
And like all Amex cards, you’ll have access to Amex Offers, which can help you save money or earn bonus points on purchases you were already planning to make. Many of these offers are targeted to specific card holders, and while this is purely anecdotal, Amex sometimes appears to target Gold and Platinum cardmembers with the best offers.
Travel, car rental & baggage insurance
While these are not the most generous policies on the market, the Amex Business Gold offers a number of travel insurance policies in the event that things go wrong while you’re on the road.
The first and most gruesome is travel accident insurance. In the event that an accident results in your death, your beneficiaries may be entitled to compensation if you paid for your entire fare with the Business Gold Card. Note that this excludes award tickets, even if you pay for the taxes with your Business Gold Card.
If you use your Business Gold Card to pay for the entire cost of a rental car, you’ll be entitled to secondary coverage beyond and in addition to your own personal policy in the event of theft or damage.* There are a number of restrictions to be aware of, such as excluded countries (Australia, Italy and New Zealand, for example), excluded vehicle types (off-road vehicles, limos, antiques) and the fact that you must decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver to be eligible.
You’ll also be eligible for reimbursement if your baggage is lost, stolen or damaged, again, if you pay for the entire cost of the ticket with your Business Gold Card.** Coverage limits are $1,250 for carryon baggage and $500 for checked baggage, and New York state residents are limited to $10,000 for all covered persons per covered trip.
*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.
**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.
Extended warranty, purchase and return protection
There’s something exciting and nerve-wracking about the first days after you buy a new phone, laptop or camera. If you use your Business Gold card for eligible purchases, you can enjoy up to 120 days of purchase protection against theft or accidental damage.*
You can also rest easy with extended warranty benefits.** On eligible purchases with warranties of five years or less, you can get up to two extra years added to the original manufacturer’s warranty.
(This card previously offered return protection, whereby cardmembers could receive compensation when a store would not accept an eligible item for return within 90 days of purchase. This benefit was removed on Jan. 1, 2020.)
*Purchase Protection is underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Subject to additional terms, conditions and exclusions. For full Terms and Conditions, see americanexpress.com/PPterms. If You have any questions about a specific item, please call 1-800-228-6855, if international, collect at 1-303-273-6498.
**Extended Warranty is underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Subject to additional terms, conditions and exclusions. For full Terms and Conditions, see americanexpress.com/EWterms. If You have any questions about a specific item, please call 1-800-228-6855, if international, collect at 1-303-273-6498.
Bottom line
The Amex Business Gold Card clearly targets high-spending businesses looking for a simple, rewarding strategy that doesn’t involve managing multiple cards or carefully studying and maximizing benefits.
If this is going to be your primary card, these lesser-known perks can add a ton of value and simplicity to your life. From tools to help your business track expenses to insurance policies in the event that your trip goes wrong, there’s more to the Amex Business Gold Card than meets the eye.
For rates and fees of the American Express Business Gold Card, click here.
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.
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