Just about a month after revamping the personal Gold Card, Amex did it again with the new Business Gold Card with the following changes.
In general, even with the increased annual fees, the new card represents a major enhancement over the old card, especially considering that the non-fee Amex Blue Business Plus already offers very impressive 2x points on everything and the old Business Gold Rewards Card only returns one extra point on one single category which we have been criticizing as lackluster. Now the new Business Gold Card pairs extremely well with Blue Business Plus by adding two extra points for two major categories. You only needs to spend approximately $10K on 4x categories each year to beat the $295 annual fee, and everything beyond that will be your net earning with this card. For example, if your business' annual 4x category spending is $30K, you will earn approximately $600 in addition to your Blue Business Plus.
In addition, you may even strategically add the personal Amex Gold Card to the mix and use it for 4x on groceries and dining while using Business Gold Card for 4x on airfare and gas (or other categories). Of course, if you value the lucrative travel perks such as airport lounge access and luxury hotel privileges by having the personal or business Amex Platinum Card, you will have 5x points on airfare and can adjust your 4x categories accordingly. The Amex MR ecosystem finally becomes internally harmonic and poses a great threat to the Chase UR ecosystem. At least on paper, Amex seems leading the way. We will have a separate post to compare two ecosystems.
- The name is changed from "American Express Business Gold Rewards Card" to simply "American Express Business Gold Card".
- The annual fee is increased from $175 to $295; in addition, the first year annual fee is no longer waived.
- The signup bonus is changed from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to one year of G Suite Basic + one year of ZipRecruiter Standard (estimated to be over $3,000 if you take the value on paper).
- Bonus category changes: the old Business Gold Rewards Card offers 3x MR points on one category selected by cardmember from airfare, U.S. gas stations, U.S. shipping, U.S. advertising, and U.S. computer purchases, 2x the rest of the five categories, and 1x everywhere else; the new Business Gold Card offers 4x points on two categories you spend most each month from six categories (five as above plus newly added U.S. restaurants) and 1x everywhere else.
- In addition to the miles/points transfer feature, Business Gold Card now offers a new redemption option - 25% points rebate with the "Pay with Points", essentially making MR points fixed value at 1.33 cents a piece, when buying First/Business Class tickets with any airline through amextravel.com, and Economy Class tickets with your selected airline also through amextravel.com. While we value miles/points transfer feature a little higher at 1.5 cents a piece, we do think the 1.33 fixed value option is much easier to achieve for most consumers.
In general, even with the increased annual fees, the new card represents a major enhancement over the old card, especially considering that the non-fee Amex Blue Business Plus already offers very impressive 2x points on everything and the old Business Gold Rewards Card only returns one extra point on one single category which we have been criticizing as lackluster. Now the new Business Gold Card pairs extremely well with Blue Business Plus by adding two extra points for two major categories. You only needs to spend approximately $10K on 4x categories each year to beat the $295 annual fee, and everything beyond that will be your net earning with this card. For example, if your business' annual 4x category spending is $30K, you will earn approximately $600 in addition to your Blue Business Plus.
In addition, you may even strategically add the personal Amex Gold Card to the mix and use it for 4x on groceries and dining while using Business Gold Card for 4x on airfare and gas (or other categories). Of course, if you value the lucrative travel perks such as airport lounge access and luxury hotel privileges by having the personal or business Amex Platinum Card, you will have 5x points on airfare and can adjust your 4x categories accordingly. The Amex MR ecosystem finally becomes internally harmonic and poses a great threat to the Chase UR ecosystem. At least on paper, Amex seems leading the way. We will have a separate post to compare two ecosystems.
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