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Update: The card has changed as rumored, and those who got in yesterday should be pleased. New post coming…
Doctor of Credit is reporting some very significant changes are coming tomorrow to the Business Gold card from American Express. Assuming the new launch he’s reporting is correct and it follows a similar pattern to the personal Gold card, those interested should consider applying today to lock in the current offer and stack that with the new benefits.
The CURRENT offer and card details:
Update: Now expired
REPORTED CHANGES according to Doctor of Credit
DoC reports a re-launch tomorrow with the following details:
- $295 annual fee, which will not be waived first year
- The BGR will reportedly earn 4x points on the two categories in which your business spends the most each billing cycle, from the following list (up to $150K in combined purchases each calendar year):
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases for shipping
- U.S. computer hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers
- Get 25% points back after you book a flight with pay with points (unclear if this is any flight or just with your selected carrier)
Why you should apply now if you want the card
If you’re interested in this card, I think now is the time to apply. There are a few reasons for that:
The current offer as of 11:50am on 11/7/18 waives the fee the first year(now expired) – DoC is reporting that the new $295 fee will start tomorrow and not be waived.- I wouldn’t bet on a stronger opening offer for the new card.
- You’ll likely still get the same suite of benefits slated to apply to the new card.
- 1+ 2 + 3 = today is potentially the last day to stack no fee for the first year with the current offer and the new benefits
To be clear, I’m trusting that DoC has the details right on this one. Still, I think you could do as well or better today than you will tomorrow. I definitely regret waiting on the personal Gold card as I could have saved $250 if I had applied the night before the new card and benefits launched (and the new offer wasn’t any better than the old).
You currently have 3 options for a pretty good offer on the Business Gold Rewards card – and the annual fee should be waived in all 3 scenarios if you apply today, which should save you $295 over applying after today:
The current public offer. That’s 50K Membership Rewards points after $5K in purchases in the first 3 months (terms apply).The current targeted phone offer. Many people have reported getting a targeted offer for 75K Membership Rewards points after $10K in purchases in the first 3 months (terms apply) simply by calling and asking for it. You would have to call 1-800-971-6736 and choose the option to apply for a card over the phone. When connected to a representative, you would simply say ask if you can get the 75K offer. YMMV as it seems that not everyone is eligible, but many are.Refer in-house for best bang-for-your-buck. If you currently have a card that offers 15K points per referral, you could refer yourself or have your spouse or family member refer you. That would give you the current public offer of 50K after $5K in purchases. With the 15K referral bonus, that’s a total of 65K points after just $5K spend — not quite as many bonus points as the phone offer, but half the spending requirement of that offer.[Expired]
Which of the above appeals to you the most may vary, but I’d say that those who currently have an Amex that can generate referrals might prefer option #3 unless your regular expenses make it easy to meet the spending requirement on the phone offer.
It’ll be interesting to see how the 25% points rebate plays out on this card as well. I would assume that the rebate would only apply to flights with your selected (domestic) airline, but it would be interesting if it turned out to work more broadly…especially in terms of what that might mean down the road for changes to the Business Platinum card.
Bottom line
If you’re in the market for the Business Gold card, now might be the time. While I’d bet that there will eventually be an offer once again with the annual fee waived the first year, it sounds like the new card will cost $295 off the bat at launch. It’s doubtful that it will launch with a better welcome offer than you can get today via options #2 and #3 above even without considering a nearly three hundred dollar difference.
H/T: Doctor of Credit
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[…] Big Business Gold changes reported: how to stack the current deal […]
You’ll also get a reduced fee for the second year with the current offer.
Theoretically, but since it’s a second year fee rather than a first year fee, I’m not sure that they can’t just send you a notice saying the fee is going up next year.
If I had this card in the last, I can’t apply for it right?
Citi Prestige cut their legs out from under them with restaurant 5X with no foreign restrictions. AMEX is on their heels and is the least transparent of the big 3..
There is a selected carrier with the Business Gold card? Isn’t that only for Plat and Gold?
And I have never booked a flight using pay with points? Can someone give an example of a redemption with that 25% rebate so that we can see how much the MR points are worth in this case?
Sorry if I didn’t make it clear enough — Amex hasn’t released any official information yet. I tried to make it clear in the post that Doctor of Credit is reporting these details. I expect he’s got a reliable source, but since Amex hasn’t yet made the changes or released information, we are making educated guesses based on the information he has reported so far.
Under the card as it is as of 11/7/18, there is no selected carrier. But if they offer a 25% points rebate on flights, I noted in the post that it’ll be interesting to see if that only works with one select carrier (as is the case for economy class flights with the Business Platinum card and the airline credits on all Amex cards that offer them) or if Amex allows the points rebate with any airline. Until Amex makes the changes official, which DoC says will happen tomorrow (11/8/18), we won’t know for sure.
I would presume that the 25% rebate would mean that you would need enough points to pay for the flight at $0.01 per point and you’d then get 25% back. For instance, if you wanted to buy a $100 flight, you’d need to have 10,000 points. You’d then get 25% back (2,500) for a net cost of 7,500 points for a $100 flight (a value of 1.33 cents per point). Assuming it works the same as it does with the Platinum card, the rebate will take 6-8 weeks. Again, we don’t know for sure how it’ll work yet — but we’ll certainly post again if and when the changes become official.
is it OK to refer yourself?
This was my question as well. I went through the process of creating a referral from my Platinum and it selecting the “Referral Offer” for this card for 50k points for $5k spend. So it appears to have worked.
Has anyone seen the points post for doing this?
Yes. It works.
Awesome, thanks! 65k Points for only $5k in spend seems like a great deal. I’ll take it!
The number is 1-800-NOW-OPEN for current targeted phone offer
Also timing is 7 am to 12 am EST 7 days a week. Line seems to be very busy now
I tried calling again. They kept going in circles. I got a Business Gold Card with the 50k points and already completed the minimum spend and also received the points. The REP kept going in circles and saying that I need to call Customer Service and she internally called them and they said that I need to click on a link in my account for the upgrade offer.
I have the card now – $175 fee was waived first year, as usual until now, and will come due upon renewal in February. Any guess whether that AF will be grandfathered for current cardholders? If I were guessing, I’d say I’ll be charged $175 for this first renewal and $295 thereafter. What do you think?
I would guess the same, but I’m not positive.