American Express has announced limited-time updates to the American Express® Business Gold Card, bringing an exceptionally heightened welcome bonus offer and statement credit-earning opportunities.
Now through April 7, 2021, Amex Business Gold cardmembers can earn up to 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership. Additionally, cardmembers can get up to $300 in statement credits: up to $150 back on eligible U.S. advertising purchases and up to $150 back on U.S. shipping purchases (made within the first three months).
The Business Gold’s sister (consumer) card, the American Express® Gold Card, currently offers a 60,000-point welcome bonus after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first six months. This is in addition to its recently launched Uber Cash benefit, which includes up to $120 in Uber Cash annually ($10 a month).
If you’re interested in earning either of these offers, keep reading for information on both the Amex Business Gold and its consumer card counterpart.
Amex Gold vs. Amex Business Gold
As a reminder, here’s a breakdown of the rewards structure, welcome bonus, APR, annual fee and other perks of both the Amex Gold and Business Gold:
| Features | Amex Gold Card | Amex Business Gold |
| Rewards rate |
|
|
| Welcome bonus | Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $4,000 in purchases within first six months |
|
| APR | 15.99 percent to 22.99 percent variable APR | 14.24 percent to 22.24 percent variable APR |
| Annual fee | $250 | $295 |
| Other perks |
|
|
The Business Gold’s 4X category (on up to $150,000 per year in two select categories) includes:
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV and radio)
- U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software and cloud solutions
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
- U.S. shipping purchases
What are the values of each Amex Gold credit card?
According to The Points Guy’s monthly points and miles valuations, American Express Membership Rewards are worth 2 cents apiece when redeemed toward travel—but if you’d rather redeem your Membership Rewards for other purchases, you can utilize Amex’s rewards calculator to work out your earnings potential.
This means if you receive your Business Gold Card’s welcome bonus of 70,000-points (after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months), it could be worth as much as $1,400 when redeemed toward travel; the Amex Gold Card’s bonus could be worth as much as $1,200 toward travel.
While the Amex Business Gold technically offers a higher welcome bonus strictly in terms of point-earning potential, the Amex Gold’s welcome bonus is nothing to snicker about. And thanks to the new limited-time statement credits offered from the Amex Business Gold, both cards now offer a wealth of credit-earning opportunities.
Who is eligible for the Amex Business Gold welcome offer?
To get the Amex Business Gold Card’s new welcome offer, you’ll need to be a new cardmember and apply with a good to excellent credit score (670 to 850). If you’ve owned and closed an Amex Gold or Business Gold Card in the past, you won’t be eligible to earn the welcome offer.
Is either Amex Gold credit card right for you?
If you have an excellent credit history and are in the market for either a rewards credit card with an emphasis on dining and travel or a business credit card that rewards you on select business category purchases, the Amex Gold and Business Gold might be good options. Bear in mind they both charge relatively high annual fees ($250 for the Amex Gold and $295 for the Business Gold), but these can be canceled out by utilizing all the cards’ perks and statement credit-earning opportunities.