Is The Amex Business Gold Worth The Annual Fee? How To Decide…

Link: Apply now for the American Express® Business Gold Card

The American Express® Business Gold Card (review) is one of the most lucrative business cards for earning Amex Membership Rewards points. The card has a $375 annual fee (Rates & Fees), which is no doubt steep. In this post, I want to take a look at the value proposition of the card.

Unlike some other business cards, I wouldn’t consider this to be a “one size fits all” card. Instead, this is a card that will be super easy to justify for some, especially if you can take advantage of the bonus categories on spending, plus the credits and benefits. For others, there are better options. So here are my thoughts on the value proposition of the Amex Business Gold Card, in no particular order…

The Amex Business Gold welcome offer is compelling

One of the big incentives to pick up any card is the welcome offer. Fortunately the Amex Business Gold Card consistently has a generous welcome offer. If you ask me, this is a major reason to pick up the card, and give it a try for at least a year. After all, after that you can evaluate whether or not the card makes sense for you.

As I’ve explained before, anecdotally I find Amex business cards to be quite easy to get approved for, and there are several advantages when it comes to applying for the Amex Business Gold, even if you’re new to business cards. There’s no reason to leave those kinds of rewards on the table.

The Amex Business Gold can be great for spending

It always makes sense to pick up a credit card that aligns with the categories in which you spend the most. In the case of the Amex Business Gold Card, it arguably has the most lucrative bonus categories of any Amex business card.

The single biggest reason to pick up this card is because it offers 4x Amex Membership Rewards points in the two categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle. There are a total of six categories to choose from, and you earn 4x points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year, and 1x points thereafter.

Categories eligible for 4x points include the following:

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

Personally, I value Amex Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents, so to me, the card offers the equivalent of a 6.8% return on that spending, which is great. If you spend a lot in a category (or multiple categories) eligible for bonus points, that’s a major reason to apply.

The Amex Business Gold credits can help offset the cost

The Amex Business Gold Card has a steep annual fee, but the card offers some perks that can help offset that. Most significant of all is that the card offers up to a $240 flexible business credit annually, which comes in the form of a statement credit of up to $20 per month toward eligible purchases. This is valid for FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores.

On top of that, the card offers up to a $155 Walmart+ credit, with enrollment being required. This comes in the form of a $12.95 monthly credit toward a Walmart+ membership, which can save you money on shipping and delivery of Walmart purchases, as well as on prescriptions and gas.

As you can see, in theory those credits can more than offset the annual fee. However, a vast majority of cardmembers aren’t going to get full value from those credits.

So, is the Amex Business Gold Card worth it?

What’s my take on the value proposition of the Amex Business Gold Card? I recently picked up the card again, thanks to the current offer, plus given that I was targeted for an offer with “no lifetime language” (meaning I was eligible for the welcome offer, despite having had the card years back).

The card’s welcome offer is of course great, and a big incentive to pick up the card. So I think if you’re eligible, it’s worth giving the card a try for at least a year, and seeing if the card is a good fit. It’s a super compelling proposition for the first year.

In the long run, I tend to think that the Amex Business Gold Card is a polarizing card — for some people it’ll be among the best business cards on the market, while for others, there are cards with lower fees that make more sense.

The way I view it, if you spend a significant amount of money in the categories eligible for 4x points, and if you’re looking to earn travel rewards, then picking up this card is a no brainer, and the fee is very reasonable. Furthermore, the up to $240 in flexible business credits plus the Walmart+ membership (if you value that) can go a long way to offsetting the annual fee.

Personally I find that business credit quite easy to use, especially since FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores, are easy enough to frequent. For others, who either don’t spent much in the 4x points categories, or who wouldn’t get much value from the credits, I tend to think that other business cards make more sense.

For example, cards like The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review), Capital One Venture X Business (review), and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review), are all very compelling in different ways, and probably have more widespread appeal.

Bottom line

The Amex Business Gold Card is a popular business card, which is among the best for earning Membership Rewards points. The way I view it, the card can make sense in the long run if you could benefit from the 4x points categories, especially if you can offset the annual fee with the card’s credits.

For others, there might be better cards out there, either in terms of benefits, having a lower annual fee, or having a more tailored rewards structure. If you’re eligible for the welcome offer, it could always be worth giving the card a try, and then deciding after a year whether it’s a keeper long term.

What’s your take on the value proposition of the Amex Business Gold Card?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees).