American Express Business Gold Review 2023 – Forbes Advisor UK

Main feature

• Earn Membership Rewards® points

• Add up to 99 free employee cards

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

Present

Business Gold cardholders from Amex, and employees with the card in an account, can earn one Membership Rewards® point for nearly every £1 spent on the card and an additional 10,000 points when they spend £20,000 per quarter, which amounts to a potential of 40,000 bonus points per quarter. year.

Frequent business travelers can also appreciate additional points earned for every £1 spent on flights, hotels, car rentals 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 fees.

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

Until 30 March 2023, those within the 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 additional 20,000 points, when they make purchases of any amount on the card.

Points can be redeemed for statement credit or to treat cardholders, employees, or clients with gifts such as department store or Currys PC World gift cards, Apple products, and spa days.

The card also offers up to £500 off brands from Airbnb and Amazon to Deliveroo and Paypal. Between January and June, cardholders can get up to £50 in credit, and the same rewards between July and December, for purchases made in the UK with Dell Technologies on the card.

American Express Experiences® also allows cardholders to purchase tickets to music, film and theater events before they become available to the public.

Cost

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

Late payments and payments returned due to insufficient funds are subject to a £12 fee.

Cardholders are also charged for converting transactions into pounds sterling when shopping abroad. The fee will be 2.99% of the amount after conversion.

Protection

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

Cardholders also have 90 days in which they can change their mind about items they have purchased using their card. The card’s refund protection means that Amex will offer to replace or refund an item up to the £300 limit, even if the UK retailer does not.

Cardholders can check whether their items qualify for protection on the Amex website. Items that are used or have experienced natural wear and tear, for example, will not be covered.

This card can also provide travel protection, if used to pay for bookings.

Will I qualify?

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

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

Note that primary and supplementary cardholders can only use this card to pay for business-related products and services – not for personal transactions.

What else should I know?

Missing payments may result in additional fees as described above. It can also negatively impact a cardholder’s credit rating, which can make it more difficult to obtain credit in the future.

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

Is this the right card for me?

Any business owner who appreciates the multiple benefits offered through the Amex rewards scheme will want to consider this card. This offers many opportunities to earn extra points by meeting a relatively low spending threshold.

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

What are the alternatives?

Heavy spenders may want to consider Amex’s Business Platinum card to earn bonus points for meeting the monthly spending threshold. Frequent travelers may also appreciate the free airport lounge access that is included. However, there is a £650 annual fee to pay for this card.

Certain business owners may spend significantly less on business travel and other work-related expenses than a Business Gold card requires, to get results. They may prefer to choose Amex’s Business Basic card. As the name suggests, it offers no perks, and therefore no annual fees.