American Express Refreshes Buisness Gold Card With New Bonus Categories & Credits

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It has been a few years since American Express made changes to the U.S. version of the Business Gold Card. While the updates were decent, it was hard to justify keeping the card with a $295 annual fee. The only advantage of the card was the ability to earn 4X Membership Rewards in two of the eligible categories you spent the most money in for the past month. The bonus points counted up to the first $150,000 spent while earning 4X each year. After that, all purchases earned 1X points.

Many of the AMEX Cards, both personal and business versions, have been refreshed since then and, to be honest, are much more valuable than the Business Gold Card. While those cards also had an increase in the annual fee, they also added statement credits to offset the higher fees. Some have taken to comparing AMEX cards to overpriced coupon books, but if you take advantage of the credits, it’s easy to earn back more than the fee each year.

That’s why I wasn’t surprised to see AMEX announce a reset of the Business Gold Card. They are tweaking the bonus categories and adding some statement credits, while not increasing the annual fee.

Here’s a recap of the changes to the AMEX Business Gold Card.

New Bonus Categories

Cardholders still can earn 4X points in the top two spending categories each month. However, the categories have changed.

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

4X points are applicable on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year.

Cardholders also earn 3X points for all airfare and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com.

Statement Credits

There are two new monthly statement credits for AMEX Business Gold cardholders.

• (NEW) $240 Flexible Business Credit: earn up to $20 in statement credits each month after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. Enrollment required.
• (NEW) Walmart+ Membership Credit: use the Business Gold Card to pay for a monthly Walmart + membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive a statement credit that covers the full cost each month, valued at $155 annually.

Cell Phone Protection

• (NEW) Cell Phone Protection: with Cell Phone Protection, you can be reimbursed the lesser of your repair or replacement costs following damage, such as a cracked screen, or theft for a maximum of $800 per claim when your cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month’s wireless bill was paid by an Eligible Card Account. A $50 deductible will apply to each approved claim with a limit of 2 approved claims per 12-month period. Additional terms and conditions apply.

Having Cell Phone Protection is a good deal since you can also earn 4X points on your cell phone bill if it’s one of your top 2 categories.

Rose Gold Option For Business Cardholders

Previously, only cardholders of the personal Gold Card could get a Rose Gold card. AMEX now offers a Rose Gold variant of the Business Gold Card.

Final Thought

The previous version of the Business Gold Card was only a long-term keeper if you were able to get close to maxing out the $150,000 4X spending categories. If not, it was hard to justify paying the $295 annual fee. Now that AMEX has tweaked the bonus categories, and added statement credits and cell phone protection for the same price, I think the card deserves another look.

With a 70,000 Membership Rewards sign-up bonus for new members, this is now a card to get for the bonus and keep for the spending bonus categories and monthly credits.

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