Why we picked it

The American Express Business Gold Card’s base rewards rate of one point per dollar spent is standard for the business card category. What makes this card stand out is the generous bonus rewards rate in broad categories that we think will be useful for many business owners, and which you can tailor to your own business spending.

The card’s bonus rewards rate is four points per dollar spent and it applies to whichever two bonus categories you spend the most in. Amex’s Membership Rewards Points are worth a penny each when redeemed for airfare with American Express Travel and up to a penny when redeemed for gift cards and at some online retailers.

The card’s bonus rate is capped at $150,000 in combined bonus category spending per year, but we think that’s high enough to accommodate all but the largest businesses. And while you may be able to find a card with a higher bonus rewards rate in certain narrow categories, we think this card’s bonus categories that include advertising, shipping, gas, computer software and more mesh well with where many businesses rack up big spending.

This card’s welcome bonus is also among the most generous out there—100,000 points, after spending $15,000 in the first three months. The value of those points alone could easily outweigh this card’s $375 annual fee.

Are the rewards worth the fees?

To judge business cards we assumed your business would spend $10,000 a month. While that might be a lot for, say, a gig worker, a restaurant owner or contractor buying building materials could easily hit that threshold. You can see how we arrived at the figure in our methodology, below.

Our budget means that, based on American Express Business Gold Card’s base one-point rewards rate, you would earn 120,000 points annually (220,000 in first year), which would be worth $2,200 if redeemed for travel.

But, again, where this card really shines is its bonus categories, like travel and shipping, where you receive four points per dollar spent, up to $150,000 in combined category spending. Spending $120,000, with half your spending in the bonus categories would yield 300,000 points, worth up to $3,000 depending on how you redeem them.

That said, while this card offers hard-to-beat benefits in our budget range, it isn’t for everyone. You have to be willing to redeem the points for travel to get their full value. And if you spend a lot less than $10,000 a month, you could probably do better elsewhere, especially given this card’s $375 annual fee. If you put $3,000 a month on the card, with half your spending in the bonus categories, you would earn 90,000 points each year (and wouldn’t earn the welcome bonus offer). In that case, check out our Best Card for Cash Back Rate or Best Card for Simplicity below.