American Express Business Gold Review 2023

Key Features

• Earn Membership Rewards® points

• Add up to 99 complimentary employee cards

• Linked AmexExpense App for managing expenses, which can be integrated with Xero, Quickbooks, Sage

Rewards

Holders of the Business Gold card from Amex, and employees with cards on the account, can earn one Membership Rewards® point for almost every £1 spent on the card and an extra 10,000 points when they spend £20,000 per quarter, which adds up to a potential 40,000 bonus points per year.

Frequent business travellers may also appreciate the additional points to be earned for every £1 spent on the purchase of flights, hotels, car hire and holiday experiences through American Express Travel Plus. 

Cardholders can use their card, their points or a combination of both to pay for their booking, including taxes and charges.

The main cardholder can also earn 9,000 Membership Rewards® points each time they refer a relative or friend for an Amex card, up to a cap of 90,000 bonus points annually.

Up until 30 March 2023, those in their first three months of card membership are awarded 40,000 bonus Membership Rewards® points if they spend £6,000 on the card, and those who have been cardholders between 14 and 17 months can earn an extra 20,000 points, when they make a purchase of any amount on the card.

Points can be redeemed for statement credits or to treat the cardholder, employees or clients to rewards such as department store or Currys PC World gift cards, Apple products and spa days. 

The card also offers up to £500 in discounts across brands ranging from Airbnb and Amazon to Deliveroo and Paypal. Between January and June, cardholders can get up to £50 in statement credits, and the same reward between July and December, for purchases carried out in the UK with Dell Technologies on the card.

American Express Experiences® also allows cardholders to purchase tickets for music, film and theatre events before they’re available to the general public.

Charges

This is a charge card, not a credit card, which means the balance must be paid every month in full. There is no annual fee to pay on this card for the first year but a charge of £175 is applied each year thereafter. 

Late payments and payments which are returned due to insufficient funds, are subject to a £12 charge. 

Cardholders are also charged to convert transactions to pound sterling if spending abroad. The charge will be 2.99% of the amount once converted.

Protection

If a cardholder purchases an eligible item using the card, and it is damaged or stolen within 90 days, Amex will cover the cost to repair, replace it, or provide a refund of up to £2,500.

The cardholder also has 90 days where they can change their mind about an item they’ve purchased using their card. The card’s refund protection means that Amex will offer to replace or refund the item up to a £300 limit, even if the UK retailer doesn’t. 

Cardholders can check if their item is eligible for protection on the Amex website. Items that are second-hand or have experienced natural wear and tear, for example, will not be covered.

This card also can provide travel cover, if used to pay for the booking.

Will I be eligible?

The American Express® Business Gold card is available to those aged 18 or over with a permanent UK home address. The cardholder’s business must have a UK Bank or Building Society account, and the annual fee of £175 must be paid after the first year of card membership.

Those who are currently enrolled for Membership Rewards® on another Amex Card, or have been enrolled for rewards on another Amex card in the past 13 months, will not be eligible for the welcome bonus reward on this card.

Note that the main cardholder and any additional cardholders may only use this card to pay for products and services related to the business – not for personal transactions. 

What more should I know?

Missing payments can result in additional charges as explained above. It could also negatively affect the cardholder’s credit rating, which could make it more difficult to get credit in the future. 

Legal action may also be taken to recover debt owed. This includes Amex acquiring a court order to recover debt from the sale of the cardholder’s home or other property.

Is it the right card for me?

Any business owner who appreciates the variety of benefits offered through Amex rewards scheme will want to consider this card. It offers ample opportunities to earn extra points by meeting relatively low spending thresholds.

This card is likely to appeal to small business owners, as it has no annual fee for the first year and then a relatively modest annual fee of £175 thereafter.

What are the alternatives?

Heavy spenders may want to consider Amex’s Business Platinum card for bonus points for meeting monthly spending thresholds. Frequent travellers may also appreciate the complimentary airport lounge access that comes attached. However, there is a £650 annual fee to pay for this card.

Certain business owners may spend far less on business travel and other work-related expenses than the Business Gold card requires, to reap the rewards. They may prefer to opt for Amex’s Business Basic card instead. As the name suggests, it offers no perks, and therefore comes with no annual cost.