Tuesday, August 2, 2016

The Complete Guide to Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card

If you’re on the hunt to find the right credit card for your business, you have a lot of options to consider. There are so many business credit cards to choose from—how will you ever decide?

Well, you can begin by gathering as much information as you can on each card out there in order to make an informed choice for your business.

But because that takes a lot of time and effort for busy small business owners, we’ve already done it for you—giving you everything you need to know about every business credit card available.

Your next credit card for consideration? It’s actually a charge card: Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card.

Here’s everything you need to know about this Amex business charge card.

Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card: Here’s Why It’s Great

Every business credit card will have its perks, and the Amex Business Gold Rewards Card certainly has its fair share.

Here’s why your small business should be using this charge card:

1. Enjoy a sign-up bonus

When you sign up for Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card, you’ll get a bonus of 25,000 Membership Rewards points once you’ve spent $5,000 in purchases on the card—within the first 3 months of being a cardmember.

Let’s back up for a second—how do Amex’s Membership Rewards points work?

With the Membership Rewards system, you’ll earn a certain amount of points as you use your Amex Business Gold Rewards Card. You can then redeem those points through Amex and use them at eligible retailers and services—think restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, gas stations, airlines, and more.

Amex lets youto use your points in an easy, flexible way. Here’s their three-step process:

  • Log into your statement. Select your “Current Statement,” then click on “Use Points for Your Charges.”
  • Select your charges. Choose the eligible charges that you want to use your points towards.
  • Get your credit. Your credit will be applied to your account within the next 48 hours. 

And that’s it!

Pretty simple, right? With the Amex Business Gold Rewards Card, you can easily make use of the points you’re earning on your business purchases.

2. Earn Rewards… Lots of them

The Amex Business Gold Rewards Card is a smart choice for business owners who are in it for the rewards. With this card, you have the ability to earn Membership Rewards points for a variety of your business expenses.

Here’s the deal:

  • Earn 3 points per $1 spent in one of the following categories:
  • Airfare purchased directly from airlines
  • Purchases at gas stations in the U.S.
  • Purchases for print advertising in select media in the U.S.
  • Purchases for shipping in the U.S.
  • Purchases for computer hardware and software in the U.S.
  • Earn 2 points per $1 spent in the four remaining categories you didn’t choose—up to $100,000 in purchases
  • Earn 1 point per $1 spent on everything else—up to $100,000 in purchases

The Business Gold Rewards Card’s tiered Membership Rewards systems is definitely a reason to love this business credit card.

As the owner of your small business, only you will know what your business spends on most. The Business Gold Rewards Card allows you to earn the most points on the categories you spend the most on—and you’ll still earn on all your other purchases, too.

Once you earn these points, you can redeem them in a variety of ways: airfare, hotel stays, gift cards, and more.

3. Take advantage of the $0 introductory annual fee

For your first year of being a cardmember, you’ll have a $0 annual fee. Once you’ve hit 12 months, your annual fee goes up to $175.

The $175 annual fee might be hard to swallow… But in the long run, you’ll easily cover what you pay in annual fees if you get even kind of close to maximizing those rewards benefits.

Plus, if you need to add an employee card to your account—you won’t be charged too much for it. There’s no annual fee for the first year of your first additional card, and after that, it’s just a $50 annual fee.

And if you get more employee cards? You won’t pay an annual fee on those at all.

4. Don’t worry about a preset spending limit

The Amex Business Gold Rewards Card isn’t a traditional credit card: it’s a charge card.

So instead of having a preset spending limit decided by your personal and business financials, you won’t have a preset spending limit.

That means you have the flexibility to make large purchases without hitting your limit or restricting your purchases down the line.

This is a major perk of using the Business Gold Rewards Card—especially when you consider your rewards earnings. Your rewards rate depends on how much you spend, so if you have no preset spending limit, then spending big means you’ll get the most rewards.

5. Benefit from the OPEN Savings program

The Amex Business Gold Rewards Card is a part of the OPEN Savings program. With Amex OPEN Savings, you’ll earn a 5% discount or 2 additional Membership Rewards points when you spend at participating merchants.

Let’s put some numbers to these extra savings.

Say you spend $1,000 at a OPEN Savings partner. If you choose the 2 additional points benefit option, you can get 2,000 additional Membership Rewards points.

Prefer getting the 5% cash back? You’ll get $50 back on the $1,000 purchase.

Where can you earn these benefits? Amex has partnered with a variety of retailers and services—like HP, Hertz, FedEx, and 1-800-flowers.

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Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card: What’s Not to Love?

When you’re shopping for any business credit card, it’s important to consider the downsides to using the card.

Before you sign on the dotted line for Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card, keep in mind that…

You Can’t Carry a Balance

Because the Business Gold Rewards Card is a charge card, you can’t carry a balance from month-to-month.

Instead, you need to pay your balance in full each month. This might be a deal breaker for business owners who like having more time to pay off their balance, or for those planning on making a large, one-off purchase that you’d pay off over several months.

The upside to using a charge card is that you don’t pay interest on your spending with the card. But remember, you’ll have a late fee if you don’t pay off your balance each month—which can really put a ding in your finances.

When you pay late, you’ll either fork over $38 or pay 2.99% on any past due amount in your balance—whichever amounts to more.

Is Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card Right For Your Business?

All things considered, the Business Gold Rewards Card’s points system will mean substantial rewards benefits for your small business—especially if you’re planning on spending a lot on the card.

If you’re hesitant about the $175 annual fee, don’t be. Frequent spenders will more than make up for the annual fee by earning Membership Rewards points on their purchases.

Let’s get specific here—in order to make up for the annual fee, you’ll need to spend at least $6,000 in your chosen triple-point category to earn back the equivalent of the $175 fee in points.

So if you know that you’ll spend each this much on your business expenses, then Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card is a smart choice for your business.

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The post The Complete Guide to Amex’s Business Gold Rewards Card appeared first on Fundera Ledger.



from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/2016/08/02/complete-guide-amex-business-gold-rewards-card/

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