New 70,000 Point Bonus on the American Express Business Gold Card

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Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.

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Because American Express welcome offers are once in a lifetime, it usually pays to wait until a higher than normal, standard offer comes along. So if the American Express® Business Gold Card has been on your radar, and you’ve been waiting for an increased welcome offer, now’s the time to act.  

The New American Express Business Gold Offer

For a limited time through April 7, 2021, the Amex Business Gold is offering a special welcome bonus. You can earn:

• 70,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $10,000 within the first three months
• Up to $300 back in statement credits – up to $150 back on U.S. advertising in select media and up to $150 back on U.S. shipping on eligible purchases within the first three months Offer expired.

This really is an amazing offer for this card because the standard offer is 35,000 Membership Rewards points and there are no statement credits.

The annual fee is $295 (Rates & Fees), not waived the first year. If your business spends on advertising or shipping, the new limited time credits will definitely help offset the annual fee.

This is a no pre-set spending limit card, so it won’t count toward the four credit card limit with Amex. And because it’s a business card, it also won’t count toward Chase’s 5/24 rule.

The card has no foreign transaction fees.

Flexible Payment Option (Enrollment Required)

One of the benefits of this card could be especially useful for a business that regularly makes large purchases. The Pay Over Time option lets you carry a balance, with interest, on purchases of $100 or more (all purchases under $100 are due in full each month).

This is how it works:

• Purchases of $100 or more are eligible to be paid over time, up to the amount of your Pay Over Time limit on your account.
• You can choose to pay for these purchases over time with interest, or you can pay your full balance.        

Why We Like The American Express Business Gold

The card has generous rewards in the bonus categories, but the way the bonus categories are determined is unique to this card. The card earns 4X in certain categories and those change every billing cycle based on your spending patterns. The 4X categories include:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• U.S. purchases at restaurants
• U.S. purchases for shipping
• U.S. computer hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers

You can earn a 4X bonus on up to $150,000 in combined purchases annually on the two categories you utilize most per billing cycle. All other purchases will earn 1X Membership Rewards point per dollar.

The card has no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees).

Redeeming American Express Membership Rewards Points

Membership Rewards points are one of our favorite transferable currencies. After meeting the minimum spending requirements, you should end up with at least 80,000 Membership Rewards points and maybe closer to 100,000 points if you had any spend in the bonus categories.

Amex has extremely valuable transfer partners, including ANA, Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic and Avianca Lifemiles.

And to sweeten the deal, Amex regularly runs 15%-40% transfer bonuses to some partners. So you can fly anywhere in the world if you have a stash of Membership Rewards points because the transfer partners cover every major airline alliance in the world, as well as non-alliance partner airlines.

Amex Transfer Partners

Airline	Transfer ratio
Aer Lingus AerClub	1,000:1,000
Aeroméxico Club Premier	1,000:1,600
Air Canada Aeroplan	1,000:1,000
Air France/KLM Flying Blue	1,000:1,000
Alitalia MilleMiglia	1,000:1,000
ANA Mileage Club	1,000:1,000
Avianca LifeMiles	1,000:1,000
British Airways Executive Club	1,000:1,000
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	1,000:1,000
Delta SkyMiles	1,000:1,000
El Al Frequent Flyer Club	1,000:20
Emirates Skywards	1,000:1,000
Etihad Guest	1,000:1,000
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles	1,000:1,000
Iberia Plus	1,000:1,000
JetBlue TrueBlue	250:200
Qantas Frequent Flyer	500:500
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	1,000:1,000
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	1,000:1,000

American Express hotel transfer partners:

Hotels	Transfer Ratio
Choice Privileges	1,000:1,000
Hilton Honors	1,000:2,000
Marriott Bonvoy	1,000:1,000

If you aren’t sure what to do with your newfound riches, here are some ideas:

• Book around the world ticket by transferring Membership Rewards points to ANA
• Book a one-way in business class to Europe or Israel by transferring Membership Rewards points to Air France/KLM Flying Blue for 53,000 Flying Blue miles
• Book a one-way nonstop award in business class between the U.S. and Europe for 50,000 Virgin Atlantic miles and fly in Delta One

You can also use Membership Rewards points to book flights on Amex’s travel portal.

Why would you want to do that instead of transferring the points to a partner airline? Because one of the major perks of the Amex Business Gold Card is a 25% points rebate for all business and first class flights on any airline booked through the travel portal. The rebate is limited to 250,000 points per calendar year.

So if you come across a great business class cash fare sale, you might need fewer miles booking the deal through the portal than transferring to a partner airline. And there’s of course no hunting for award space, or, if booking for a family, hoping the airline releases more than one or two seats.

The rebate also applies to economy flights on the pre-selected airline. To take advantage of the rebate, don’t forget to select your airline before booking economy class flights through the portal.

Great Travel Benefits

The Amex Business Gold comes with great travel benefits, such as trip delay insurance. To be eligible, you’ll need to charge the full amount to your Amex card or pay the award taxes and fees with your Amex Business Gold card.

In case your trip is delayed at least 12 hours, the trip delay insurance will reimburse for reasonable additional expenses, such as meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items up to $300 per covered trip.

Another valuable benefit is the baggage insurance. Again, in order to take advantage of this benefit, the tickets need to be purchased with the Amex Business Gold Card. The coverage includes loss or damage to the checked-in or carry-on bags and personal effects up to a maximum of $500 per trip.

The card also provides insurance coverage for delayed bags if the trip is delayed by six or more hours. You are eligible for up to $500 coverage for purchases of essential clothing and personal care items up to four days into the trip.                        

Hotel and motel burglary insurance is also included for hotel stays fully booked and paid for with the Amex Business Gold. If your hotel or motel room is burglarized, the insurance will cover up to $500 against the loss of most personal items (excluding cash).

Shopping Benefits

Amex Business Gold also comes with great shopping benefits that include purchase protection and extended warranty.

The purchase protection will kick in when you use your American Express Business Gold Card for covered purchases. That includes protection from accidental damage or theft for up to 90 days from the purchase date (exclusions and restrictions apply).

All eligible purchases also include up to one extra year of warranty added to the original manufacturer’s warranty. This applies to warranties of five years or less on covered purchases in the United States or its territories (exclusions and restrictions apply).

Final Thoughts

The current offer of 70,000 Membership Rewards and up to $300 in travel credits is extremely generous. So if this card has been on your radar, now is the time to apply.

Amex Business Gold won’t count toward your 5/24 with Chase and won’t count toward the four credit card limit with Amex. The $300 in statement credits definitely help offset the annual fee and you can book some great trips with the welcome bonus.