AmericanExpress® Commercial Gold Card Review

Terms and conditions applicable to American Express benefits and offers. Admission may be required to obtain American Express benefits and offers. Please visit AmericaneXpress.com for more information. Qualifications and income levels vary from card to card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit AmericaneXpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Undertaken by Amex Assurance Company.

When you run a business, every dollar matters. Having the right credit card will not only help you pay your bills, but it will also provide you with a long way to go save money.

As a business owner, you can get cards that offer better rewards and privileges than most personal travel cards.

(And don’t forget: freelancers, helping scammers, and anyone who actually earns can also qualify for a business card. You don’t need to be an LLC or have a formal business setup!!)

One of my favorite cards is the American Express® Commercial Gold Card. It’s simple and straightforward, offers flexible reward categories that actually match your spending habits (I wish there were more cards that could do this), and it’s especially good if you do a lot of paid online advertising.

Here is all you need to know about American Express® Commercial Gold Card to see if it is right for you:

What is an American Express® Commercial Gold Card?

This Business Gold Card is an easy-to-use business card issued by American Express. Its best feature is the ability to earn 4x points in the six eligible categories that your business spends the most monthly (more on this below).

I like that this makes things simple rather than providing a laundry list that declares points to track (although if you are interested in having a card, check out my review of American Express’s BusinessPlatinumCard®).

As an Amex card, you also have access to excellent customer service, AMEX offers and some travel protection.

Here are some of the benefits this card offers:

• You earn 100,000 Member Reward Points after spending $15,000 in the first three months of your card membership to purchase a qualified purchase that you have qualified purchases.
• Get the most from the six qualified categories and earn 4x membership reward points in the first two qualified categories that your business spends the most per month. While your first two categories may change, you will earn 4x points from the first $150,000 earned in these categories (and then 1x) in each calendar year (and then 1x). Only the first two categories can count to the $150,000 cap per billing cycle
• Earn 3x membership bonus points and prepaid hotels on flights on Amextravel.com
• Earn 1x from all other purchases
• Earn up to $20 statement credits per month on FedEx, Grubhub and Office Supply stores (up to $240 per year)
• Earn up to $12.95 per month (plus an applicable tax on a membership fee) after paying monthly with your Business Gold Card.
• No foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)
• Extended warranty, purchase and phone protection*
• Secondary car rental and luggage insurance*

The card does come with an annual fee of $375 (see rates and fees).

*Qualifications and income levels vary from card to card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit AmericaneXpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Undertaken by Amex Assurance Company.

Win membership reward points

As I mentioned, the best feature of this card is the ability to earn 4x in the two categories that your business spends the most (the first dollar of annual spending). It is important to understand that this does not include all expenditure categories, just these six qualified categories:

1. Purchase ads in certain media (online, television, radio) in US media providers
2. Purchased by e-retailers and software and cloud system providers in the United States
3. Buy in restaurants in the United States, including takeout and delivery
4. Buy at a gas station in the United States
5. Transport purchases including trains, taxis, rides, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways
6. Monthly wireless telephone service fees are directly made by wireless telephone service providers in the United States

The good part about this benefit is that your first two categories can vary from a month to reflect your real-time business needs. However, one of the ways to really maximize this benefit is that you can get 4x on online ads, while most other cards can get up to 3x. So if you put all your online ads on this card and keep them as one of your main categories, you can get more points per dollar on ads than any other card!

Don’t worry about tracking which categories are the ones you use most. The card automatically calculates your first two spending categories and awards accordingly (you treat it as 1x until your instructions are closed, then determine your top category and award points).

For me, that’s a huge benefit because it makes things simple. After all, as a business owner, your plate is enough.

On the other hand, your regular business expenses may not match these categories. If this is the case, I suggest you earn more on those categories you spend, or earn more on all categories (you can check out which one I recommend in this post on my favorite business card).

Use your membership bonus points

With the Business Gold Card, you will receive membership reward points that you can transfer to any of Amex’s 21 airlines and hotel partners. Since Amex has a comprehensive travel partner suite, member reward points are the most valuable points out there.

These are Amex’s current travel partners:

• Aer Lingus Aerclub (1:1 ratio)
• Aviation Mexico Rewards (1:1.6 Rate)
• Air Canada Aeroplan (1:1 ratio)
• France-klm Flying Blue (1:1 Ratio)
• Anna Mileage Club (1:1 ratio)
• Avianca Lifemiles (1:1 ratio)
• British Airways Club (1:1 ratio)
• Cathay Pacific Asia Mileage (1:1 ratio)
• Select Privileges (1:1 ratio)
• Delta Skymiles (1:1 ratio)
• Emirates Airlines (1:1 ratio)
• Etihad’s Guests (1:1 ratio)
• Hawaiian rice (1:1 ratio)
• Hilton Honors (1:2 ratio)
• Iberiaga (1:1 ratio)
• JetBlue TrueBlue (250:200 ratio)
• Marriott Bonvoy (1:1 ratio)
• Qantas Frequent Flyer (1:1 Ratio)
• Qatar Airways Privileges Club (1:1 ratio)
• Chrisliere, Singapore (1:1 ratio)
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (1:1 ratio)

Most transfers are instant, although some may take up to 48 hours. Remember to transfer only the exact points required for booking a flight or hotel. Transfers are only one-way.

You can also use membership reward points to book flights and hotels in Amex Travel Portal. However, I recommend not to do this. It’s not as valuable as transferring your perspective to your partners.

Businesses purchase flexible credits up to $395 per year

The Business Gold Card offers two types of stated credit limits, which may save $395 per year (the fee for valid payment cards).

First, you can earn up to $20 per month of statement points after using the Business Gold Card in FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply stores.

Second, you pay for Walmart+ memberships per month (pay by your business gold card) and you can earn up to $12.95 declared points per month. (up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes. Plus unqualified UP.)

I found these statement credits a bit random, and they are not the most useful if you have an online business like me. I usually maximize on GrubHub points!

Visit AMEX Offers

Business Gold Cards also have access to AMEX offers, a changing roster of transactions where you can save money or earn bonuses with select retailers. Offers are targeted, so each cardholder has his or her own unique offer at any given time. For these offers you must add it to the card before you purchase it (or you won’t be able to get a deal).

Usually, they are structured as “spend X, taking Y payments as a statement credit” although sometimes they offer bonus points or a percentage. While you may not be able to take advantage of most quotes, the more you can offset the card’s annual fee.

As old quotes are added, new offers are added to expire, so it is worth checking so that you can add any offers to the cards you may use.

Who is the business gold medal?

This business gold card is best for business owners who spend regularly in six categories where you can earn 4x points. This card is especially ideal for entrepreneurs who don’t want to worry about spinning or pre-selecting reward categories. All you have to do is use it for regular business expenses and you will get points.

Just like using any card, if you bear the balance – or think you might – you shouldn’t get this one. Such travel cards have high interest rates and the rewards you receive will not compensate for the interest expense you will lose. Trust me, there are no points worth repaying!

This card is also not suitable for anyone with poor reputation, as you need excellent credit to qualify. (If it’s you, check out the best credit cards to improve your score.)

American Express Business Gold Card is one of my favorite business cards. The ability to automatically earn 4x points on the first two spending categories each month makes things simple and can help you improve your points quickly. More points equal more travel.

While it’s not as flashy as its better quality counterparts in Platinum Commercial Platinum, I like to keep commercial gold in my wallet because it works hard behind the scenes. If you are looking for a solid business card that works as hard as you do, this is worthy of the same treatment.

Stop paying for travel in full!

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