Amex Business Gold Card vs. Amex Plum Card [Detailed Comparison]

Every business owner can benefit from having the right tools to help run an effective organization. One of those tools could arguably be the right business card. A business credit card can help you organize expenses, monitor your business’ growth, and assist with potential cash flow challenges.

American Express, with its broad collection of business card products, knows the needs of business owners and designs its cards to match business spending profiles, redemption priorities, and offer benefits and protections that provide value.

We’ve selected 2 very different Amex business cards today to illustrate the variety of choices a business owner has when deciding on the right Amex business card.

Let’s get started and quickly dive into all the key features and benefits of the American Express^® Business Gold Card and The Plum Card^® from American Express.

Amex Business Gold Card vs. Amex Plum Card — Overview

	American Express® Business Gold Card	The Plum Card® from American Express
Welcome Offer	Earn 70,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.	No welcome offer available.
Earning Potential	4x points on the top 2 categories where your business spends the most, up to $150,000 per calendar year (terms apply) 1x points on other purchases	Get an unlimited 1.5% Early Pay Discount on eligible charges within 10 days of your statement closing date and see the discount applied to your next statement when you pay at the least the Minimum Payment Due by the Please Pay By date.
Redemption Options	Transfers to travel partners Amex Travel bookings Statement credits, online shopping, gift cards, charity, Amazon.com, PayPal.com	Statement credits only
Statement Credits	None	None
Travel Benefits and Protections	Secondary car rental insurance, baggage insurance plan	Secondary car rental insurance
Shopping Benefits and Protections	Purchase protection, extended warranty No foreign transaction fees (rates and fees)	Purchase protection, Extended warranty No foreign transaction fees (rates and fees)
Annual Fees and Authorized Users	$295 annual fee, no additional annual fees to add up to 99 total employee cards after the first employee card annual fee of $50 (rates and fees)	$250 annual fee; no additional annual fees for up to 99 total employee cards (rates and fees)

The Value of a Welcome Bonus Offer

Welcome bonuses change over time, but here’s a snapshot of the current offerings and associated rates and fees for our 2 featured cards:

Amex Business Gold Card

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 110,000 points with the Amex Business Gold card! The current public offer is 70,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

Amex Plum Card

The Amex Business Gold card offers a generous welcome bonus offer that could be worth over $1,000 depending on how your rewards are redeemed. The Amex Plum card does not offer a welcome bonus offer at this time.

You’ll find that welcome offers can fluctuate, so be sure to check current offerings, as well as rates and fees, before applying for any card.

Bottom Line: The Amex Business Gold card’s welcome offer is worth over $1,000, while the Amex Plum card does not offer a welcome offer.

Comparing Earning Potential

One of the most critical aspects of maximizing earnings on any rewards-earning business card is to ensure the card’s earning structure aligns with your business’ spending mix.

Let’s look at the types of purchases that earn rewards on our featured cards:

Amex Business Gold Card

Amex Plum Card

4x points on your 2 highest purchase categories each statement period, maximum $150,000 each calendar year in purchases; categories include: Airfare purchased directly from the airline Online advertising via select U.S. media Computer software/hardware, and cloud solutions via U.S. merchants U.S. restaurants U.S. gas stations U.S. shipping 2x points on qualifying travel purchases via Amex Travel 1x points on all other purchases

Unlimited 1.5% Early Pay Discount on eligible charges within 10 days of your statement closing date and see the discount applied to your next statement when you pay at the least the Minimum Payment Due by the Please Pay By date.

Bottom Line: If your business spending aligns with the common business bonus categories of the Amex Business Gold card and your business involves travel, you’ll receive value with the card. If your business has large expenses, such as major equipment purchases, office furniture, or another heavy non-bonus category outlay, the Amex Plum card may be a possible solution, especially if you can make use of a flexible payment option. 

Comparing Redemption Options

Our featured cards have very different redemption options.

Membership Rewards are earned on the Amex Business Gold card and can be redeemed in several ways. The Amex Plum card does not have a redemption program due to offering direct cash-back rewards.

Here’s how the cards differ at redemption time:

Redemption Option	Amex Business Gold Card	Amex Plum Card
Travel via Amex Travel	Redeem points for 1 cent each via Amex Travel	N/A
Transfer to Travel Partners	Transfer to 20+ transfer partners, most at the rate of 1:1; an excise tax applies for domestic airline transfers	N/A
Statement Credits	Redeem Membership Rewards points for statement credits at the rate of 0.6 cents per point	The amount of the cash-back bonus earned is applied automatically as a statement credit
Additional Redemption Options	Upgrade flights, merchandise, gift cards, and shopping at retail partners	N/A

Bottom Line: While the Amex Business Gold card earns Membership Rewards points that have several flexible redemption options, the Amex Plum card offers the simplicity of a cash-back bonus applied at full value directly to subsequent monthly statements.

Travel Benefits and Protections

If your business involves travel, having access to any travel protections and benefits is a plus. Here’s how our 2 featured cards compare when we look at offered benefits in this category:

Benefit/Protection	Amex Business Gold Card	Amex Plum Card
Car Rental Insurance	Secondary coverage with the option to purchase Amex Premium Protection for 1 low fee that covers the entire rental period; prices range from $12.95 to $24.95
Trip Delay Coverage	Receive up to $300 in reimbursement for eligible expenses if your trip is delayed more than 12 hours, up to a maximum of 2 claims per 12-month period	N/A
Baggage Insurance	Receive up to $1,250 for lost, stolen, or damaged carry-on luggage and up to $500 for checked luggage, per person/per trip	N/A
Global Assist Hotline	Enjoy access to 24/7 travel and emergency assistance prior to and during your travels more than 100 miles from home
Travel Accident Insurance	Up to $100,000 for death or dismemberment — terms apply
The Hotel Collection	For stays of 2 nights or longer at Hotel Collection locations, receive $100 credit to use on-property, an upgraded room when available, and 2x earnings on prepaid bookings via Amex Travel	N/A

Bottom Line: Neither of our featured cards offers an extensive list of travel benefits, but the Amex Business Gold card is supreme over the Amex Plum card with its trip delay coverage, baggage insurance, and benefits from The Hotel Collection. 

Shopping Benefits and Protections

Accidents happen. That phone you just purchased slips out of your hand, your office chair breaks a wheel, the possibilities are endless. While shopping benefits and protections are low on the priority list when it comes to selecting a business card, it’s worth noting the coverages that do come with each card.

Here’s how our 2 cards compare in those categories as well as additional savings opportunities:

Benefit/Protection	Amex Business Gold Card	Amex Plum Card
Extended Warranty	For manufacturer’s warranties of 5 years or less, 1 additional year is added for eligible items, up to a maximum of $10,000 per covered item and $50,000 per covered card per year
Purchase Protection	If an eligible item is accidentally damaged or stolen within the first 90 days after the purchase date, you may receive up to $10,000 per item, up to a maximum of $50,000 per calendar year
Return Protection	N/A	If a merchant won’t accept the return of an eligible item within 90 days of the purchase date, you could receive up to $300 per item, up to $1,000 per account per calendar year
Amex Offers	Log in to your online card account and select available Amex Offers to save money or receive bonus earnings on eligible purchases

Bottom Line: Both of our cards come with extended warranty coverage, purchase protection, and Amex Offers. The Amex Plum card offers additional return protection coverage.

Business Management Tools

The right business card will make tracking and managing your expenses easier. Here are some of the tools you’ll find on both of our featured cards:

• Authorized Users — Both cards allow you to add authorized users at no additional charge. The Amex Business Gold card (rates and fees) allows up to 99 total users, and the Amex Plum card has no stated limit (rates and fees).
• Mobile Account Management — Use the Amex app to keep track of the activity in your account, make a payment, or manage spending limits.
• Custom Account Alerts — Add account alerts that can limit employee purchases, notify you when large transactions are made, or remind you that a payment is due.
• ReceiptMatch with QuickBooks — Take pictures of paper receipts and add them to QuickBooks using the app or download expenses directly from your QuickBooks bank feed.
• Year-end Statements — Access periodic and annual statements that organize your expenses by category, vendor, and more.

Amex Business Gold Card vs. Amex Plum Card — Summary

We covered a lot of information on our featured cards, so it’s time to summarize our findings:

Best for Earning Rewards — There’s no doubt that the Amex Business Gold card wins in the earning category if your business expenses fall into the bonus earning categories.

Best for Redeeming Rewards — Once again, the Amex Business Gold card offers greater flexibility and value for your rewards with the option of redeeming for travel and transferring points to travel partners for even greater potential value.

Best for Travel Benefits and Protections — The Amex Business Gold card has better travel benefits and protections with its trip delay coverage, baggage insurance, and The Hotel Collection benefits. However, these benefits only add value if your business will use them.

Best for Shopping Benefits and Protections — Both cards offer similar shopping benefits and protections with the Amex Plum card edging out the Amex Business Gold card slightly by offering return protection.

Best for Business Management Tools — Both cards offer the same helpful business management tools. However, the one business management tool that is only offered by the Amex Plum card is the flexibility of making payments 60 days after the statement date without interest (terms apply). If this cash flow management feature is more important to your business than earning rewards, you should investigate the card further.

Bottom Line: While the Amex Business Gold card is the overall best card of our 2 featured cards, if your business values the flexible payment options offered by the Amex Plum card, and you don’t mind paying the annual fee for that privilege, you may want to look further into the benefit of having that card. 

Alternative Amex Business Cards

We mentioned earlier that American Express offers a business card for nearly every type of business.

Here are 2 additional cards worth considering: The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express and The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card.

Amex Business Platinum Card

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 170,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum. The current public offer is 120,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

Well-known as a premium business rewards card, the Amex Business Platinum card offers travelers worldwide lounge access to over 1,400 lounges, elevated earnings, and a long list of travel and shopping benefits and protections.

Amex Blue Business Cash Card

If you’re running a small business, keeping track of bonus-earning categories or multiple redemption options may not be a priority. Perhaps you just want to keep things simple — the Amex Blue Business Cash card can help you do that.

The card also offers a 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 18.49% - 26.49%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors as determined at the time of account opening. APRs will not exceed 29.99% (rates and fees) — a sure money saver if your business has large upcoming purchases.

Bottom Line: Regardless of the size or structure of your business, chances are there’s an Amex business card that will serve as the perfect match for your operation. 

Final Thoughts

Business owners with unpredictable and/or seasonable cash flow who have a need for flexibility when it comes to paying expenses may find the Amex Plum card attractive.

Also, if your business spends big and you’re able to make sufficient payments each month in time to receive the Early Pay Discount, there may be some value to be had.

But the card’s flexibility and unlimited earnings do come at a price — the card has no welcome offer, and cash-back rewards are earned only when you pay your card off early.

The Amex Business Gold card, conversely, offers an excellent welcome bonus offer and has robust bonus earning categories plus travel and shopping benefits your business can use. And it does it all for a marginal increase in annual fee compared to the Amex Plum Card.

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For rates and fees of the American Express^® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Plum Card^® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, click here.