The American Express® Business Gold Card and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express are built with two different types of businesses in mind. The best one for your business comes down to your priorities.
The American Express® Business Gold Card is the clear winner if you want elevated rewards on regular business expenses. You can earn up to 4X points in popular spending categories like advertising, software and gas. Terms apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is the better option for travel perks — lots of them. This card conveys elite status, airport lounge access and an annual credit for airline incidental fees, among other benefits. But luxury comes at a cost: The annual fee for the AmEx Business Platinum is more than double that of the AmEx Business Gold (which isn’t exactly cheap itself).
Here’s how to choose between two of the best business cards from American Express.
How the cards compare
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Annual fee
$375
$895
Bonus offer
You may be eligible for as high as 200,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $15,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms Apply.
You may be eligible for as high as 300,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms apply.
Rewards
Earn 4X points on the first $150,000 in combined spending in your top two eligible spending categories each month. Terms apply.
- 1 point per dollar on all eligible purchases.
- 2 points per dollar on certain business categories and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million spent per calendar year).
- 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights and prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com.
- Terms apply.
Still not sure?
Deciding factors: AmEx Business Gold vs. Platinum
Welcome offer — 🏆 Toss-up
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Business Gold Card both feature generous welcome offers, which one would expect given the high cost to carry these cards.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: You may be eligible for as high as 300,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: You may be eligible for as high as 300,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms apply.
American Express® Business Gold Card: You may be eligible for as high as 200,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $15,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms Apply.
If the bonus offer is a main deciding factor, shop both cards to get the best offer. With AmEx's "as high as" offer structure, it might come from the American Express® Business Gold Card.
The initial application takes less than two minutes to fill out. You can submit, learn your welcome offer and decide whether to move forward with the application. There's no impact to your personal or business credit score if you don't complete the application.
Ongoing rewards — 🏆 American Express® Business Gold Card
The American Express® Business Gold Card is one of the best business rewards cards, hands down. You'll earn 4 points per $1 in your top two spending categories each month. Yes, there's an annual cap ($150,000). But if you max that out, you'll earn $6,000 worth of Membership Rewards points each year.
American Express® Business Gold Card:
- 4X points on your top two spending categories each month, up to $150,000 in combined spending each year. Eligible categories include: advertising, gas, restaurants, software, transit or wireless service (U.S. purchases only).
- 3X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com.
- 1X points for all other spending. Terms apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express's ongoing rewards are underwhelming, especially considering the annual fee. The majority of the card's perks are coupon-style statement credits.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express:
- 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com.
- 2X points on select business categories and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, up to $2 million spent per calendar year. Eligible categories include: shipping, construction materials, hardware suppliers, software and electronics (U.S. purchases only).
- 1X points for all other spending. Terms apply.
Both cards include monthly statement credits for popular business tools. The American Express® Business Gold Card features credits for Walmart+, Squarespace and FedEx, among others. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express includes statement credits for Dell, Indeed and Adobe.
In May 2026, AmEx added a ChatGPT Business credit to the Business Platinum and Business Gold cards. The credit is worth up to $300 per calendar year. Enrollment required. Terms apply.
Travel perks — 🏆 The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is stacked with travel perks, including statement credits, lounge access and elite status with certain hotel brands. The American Express® Business Gold Card? Not so much.
Here's a rundown of the major travel perks you'll get with the American Express Business Platinum (terms apply).
- Airline fee credit: Up to $200 a year in statement credits for incidental fees, such as checked bag fees or in-flight refreshments. You must select one airline each year to use this credit with.
- CLEAR Plus credit: Receive a statement credit of up to $209 per calendar year toward the cost of a CLEAR Plus membership when you pay for it with your Business Platinum Card.
- Global Entry or TSA Precheck fee credit: Get a $120 statement credit every 4 years for the application fee for Global Entry, or an $85 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck, when you pay for the application fee using your card.
- Airport lounge access. Get access to more than 1,550 airport lounges worldwide, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta) and Priority Pass lounges, among others.
- Elite status (hotels and rental cars). Automatically qualify for premium status with multiple rental car providers, and elite status (Gold) with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors programs. Plus, get perks and credits when booking through Fine Hotels & Resorts.
» COMPARE MORE: NerdWallet’s best business cards for hotels | lounge access
The American Express® Business Gold Card has a few benefits of its own, including a $100 experience credit when you stay at certain hotels. But the majority of its travel features — such as no foreign transaction fees, baggage insurance and trip delay insurance — are available with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express as well.
Annual fee — 🏆 American Express® Business Gold Card
The American Express® Business Gold Card's $375 annual fee is nothing to sneeze at. Still, it's considerably lower than the $895 fee for the AmEx Business Platinum Card, which is higher than other top business travel cards.
Other features to consider
Membership Rewards
Both cards earn Membership Rewards points, rather than cash back. Points offer the most value when redeemed via AmEx Travel. Each point is worth 1 cent, but could be worth even more if you leverage transfer partners.
Your points can also be cashed in for merchandise, charitable donations, gift cards and Amazon.com purchases, often at a lower redemption rate. If you want an AmEx business card for cash back, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is your best bet.
» MORE: What are AmEx points worth?
No preset spending limit
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Business Gold Card are both pay-in-full cards by default, with no preset spending limits — meaning the spending limits are flexible. The amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment and credit history.
But businesses have the option to finance certain purchases, up to a set limit, with AmEx's "Pay Over Time" option. Pay Over Time is automatically enabled on both the Business Platinum and Business Gold card. When enabled, any purchases over $100 are automatically classified as Pay Over Time.
The interest rates for Pay Over Time purchases vary by card:
- American Express® Business Gold Card: The ongoing APR is 17.74%-28.49% Variable APR.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express:The ongoing APR is 17.74%-28.49% Variable APR.
You must pay any charges over your Pay Over Time limit in full. If Pay Over Time is switched off, all purchases are pay-in-full.
Intro APR period
You won't get an intro APR period with either of these cards. The American Express® Business Gold Card used to have one, but that offer expired in July 2025.
If you want Membership Rewards and an intro APR period, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is a good option. While it lacks the premium rewards of the Business Platinum and Business Gold cards, it’s not a pay-in-full card and still earns Membership Rewards points.
You can also check out our full list of best 0% APR business cards.
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Which card should you get?
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Business Gold Card are built for two different types of business owners.
The American Express® Business Gold Card is a better fit for business owners who want a mix of perks and rewards on their day-to-day spending. But The Business Platinum Card® from American Express could be worth the hefty annual fee if you travel often enough to use the upgrades and perks.
To view rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.
To view rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, see this page.
