Amex Enterprise Gold vs. Amex Enterprise Platinum: Bank card showdown

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

In the American Express lineup of small-business cards, the American Express® Business Gold Card and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express are two popular offerings.

But just like their consumer counterparts, these two cards are each geared toward cardholders with different goals and needs.

With the Amex Business Gold Card, you’ll earn 70,000 points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with your card in the first three months of card membership. The Amex Business Platinum Card allows new applicants to earn 120,000 points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership.

So, with two great offers, which one might better fit your business needs? Let’s look at these cards and see which one works best.

As premium travel rewards cards, both come with many of the same features:

• Membership Rewards points — Membership Rewards points can be transferred to miles with over 20 airline and hotel loyalty programs. When used in this manner, points are worth 2 cents each, according to TPG’s latest monthly valuations.
• Purchase protection* — Your eligible purchases are covered against accidental damage or theft for 90 days for up to $1,000 per incident with the Business Gold and up to $10,000 per incident with the Business Platinum up to $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. However, coverage related to natural disasters is limited to $500 per incident.
• Extended warranty* — Your purchases receive up to one additional year of warranty service on purchases with warranties of five years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per card member account per calendar year.
• Baggage insurance* — Business Gold cardholders receive up to $500 worth of insurance for damaged, stolen or lost checked bags ($1,250 for carry-ons). In comparison, Business Platinum cardholders receive up to $2,000 for checked bags ($3,000 for carry-ons) when traveling on any common carrier such as aircraft, trains, ships or buses. You must pay for the full fare using the card — just paying taxes and fees on an award ticket doesn’t count — and there’s a $1,000 cap ($250 for the Business Gold) for high-risk items.

• Account manager — This service lets you easily designate employees or other individuals who can manage your account with either full or limited access, making it easier to delegate tasks like reviewing statements, adding authorized users, making payments and disputing charges.
• American Express Business App — This tool allows you to manage expenses from your desktop or mobile device by entering receipts, tagging transactions and adding notes to your statements. You can also sync this data with QuickBooks.
• Employee card features —To help you earn rewards from your employees’ spending while mitigating the risk of fraudulent transactions, Amex small-business cards allow you to limit authorized cardholders’ purchases and set real-time alerts.
• No foreign transaction fees — Both the Amex Business Gold (see rates and fees) and the Business Platinum (see rates and fees) waive foreign transaction fees when you use your card abroad.
• Metal card — Both the Business Gold and the Business Platinum feature heavy metal cards.
• Pay Over Time — These cards have no preset spending limit. You can, however, use Amex’s Pay Over Time feature to extend payment on certain purchases.

* Eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

American Express Business Gold Card overview

Current welcome offer

Earn 70,000 bonus points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership.

Rewards

Earn 4 points per dollar spent — an 8% return based on TPG’s valuations — on your first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1 point per dollar) from two of the following six categories where your company spent the most each billing cycle:

• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
• Airfare purchased directly from airlines.
• U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio).
• U.S. gas stations (not including supermarkets or warehouse stores).
• U.S. shipping.
• U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software and cloud solutions.

Amex will automatically calculate which categories you spend the most in each month to award your 4 points per dollar. You then earn 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases, with no limits.

Other benefits

• Pay with Points rebate — You’ll get 25% of your points back when you redeem points at Amex Travel to pay for first- or business-class airfare on any airline or economy class tickets with a carrier you can select each year. Award flights booked this way are treated as revenue tickets, so you’ll earn both redeemable miles and elite credit on them. Note that you must have the full number of required points in your account to book travel, and your rebate will be issued within 6-10 weeks. This rebate is capped at 250,000 points per calendar year.
• Trip delay insurance** — If you book a trip with your card, and it’s delayed by more than 12 hours for a covered reason, an eligible traveler can be reimbursed for reasonable expenses (including but not limited to meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items) up to $300 per covered trip.
• Secondary car rental loss and damage insurance*** — Cardmembers are covered for damage to or theft of a rental car when using their card to reserve and pay for the rental (you must decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver). This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage, and not all vehicle types or rentals are covered.
• Pay Over Time — Business Gold card members are automatically enrolled in the Pay Over Time program, which offers an extended payment option for eligible $100 or more purchases.
• Global Assist Hotline**** — Get 24/7 emergency assistance and coordination services, including medical, legal, and passport referrals, emergency cash wires, and missing luggage assistance while traveling more than 100 miles away from your home. Card members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.
• Hotel Collection perks — Get $100 of experience credit that can be used on qualifying dining and resort activities when booking a stay of two or more consecutive nights at a participating hotel from The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel. You can also receive a complimentary room upgrade, if available, though not all categories are eligible.

**Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

***Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered, and geographic restrictions apply. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

****Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. If approved and coordinated by Premium Global Assist Hotline, emergency medical transportation assistance may be provided at no cost. In any other circumstance, cardmembers are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

See our full card review for more details.

Annual fee: $295 (see rates and fees).

Related: Maximize your earning with the Amex Business Gold

Official application link: Amex Business Gold Card

The Business Platinum Card from American Express overview

Current welcome offer

Earn 120,000 points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership.

Rewards

Earn 1 point for every dollar you spend on everyday purchases. You can also earn bonus points on the following:

• 5 points per dollar spent on flights and prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com.
• 1.5 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases in business categories and purchases of $5,000 or more, for up to $2 million in purchases a year.
• Terms apply.

Benefits

American Express has a slew of benefits for the Business Platinum card — enough to justify the card’s $695 annual fee (see rates and fees). Below is a list of the current benefits.

• Pay with Points rebate — Receive a 35% points rebate when you redeem your Membership Rewards points to book any first- or business-class flight. This also applies to economy class with your designated airline. Valid on bookings through amextravel.com. Rebate is capped at 1,000,000 points back per calendar year.
• Trip delay insurance** — When you book a trip with the Business Platinum card, this protection covers expenses like meals, lodging, toiletries, medication and other personal use items if your trip is delayed for more than six hours due to a covered reason (up to $500 per covered trip).
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance**— This protection can reimburse you for prepaid, nonrefundable expenses forfeited when you must cancel or interrupt a trip booked on the card for a covered reason — including accidental bodily injury, loss of life or sickness, inclement weather, or quarantine imposed by a physician for health reasons.
• Airport lounge access — Enjoy complimentary access to more than 1,300 airport lounges, including American Express Centurion lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (only when flying Delta), Priority Pass lounges (with two guests), and Airspace and Escape lounges.
• Airline fee credit — Receive an up-to-$200 airline fee credit on one selected airline each calendar year.
• Statement credits at select merchants — Receive up to $400 in yearly statement credits for eligible purchases made with Dell ($200 January through June and $200 July through December), up to $360 in yearly credits for job search company Indeed, up to $150 in annual credit at Adobe Creative Solutions and an up to $120 wireless credit a year.
• Priority airport screening — Receive up-to-$100 fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every 4 to 4 1/2 years and up to $189 in statement credits for an annual Clear membership.
• Cellphone protection** — When you pay your wireless phone bill with your Business Platinum card each month, you can be reimbursed for repair or replacement costs following damage or theft. This covers up to a maximum of $800 per claim with a limit of two approved claims per 12-month period, though each one is subject to a $50 deductible.
• Hotel elite status — Enjoy Gold status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy.
• Car rental elite status — Enroll to enjoy upgraded status from Avis, National and Hertz.
• Secondary car rental loss and damage insurance*** — Cardmembers are covered for damage to or theft of a rental car when using their card to reserve and pay for the rental (you must decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver). This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage, and not all vehicle types or rentals are covered.
• Dining perks — Business Platinum cardholders enjoy Global Dining Access by Resy, a program that unlocks exclusive reservations and special dining experiences when you add your card to your Resy account.
• Private jet perks — Get access to the Premium Private Jet Program, which comes with discounts on Wheels Up Connect and Core memberships. Plus, get a credit added to your account to use toward your initial flight within your first year.
• Luxury hotel perks — Enjoy complimentary benefits at luxurious properties around the world when you book your stay through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts.

Enrollment is required for select benefits.

**Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

***Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered, and geographic restrictions apply. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

See our full card review for more details.

Annual fee: $695 (see rates and fees).

Official application link: Amex Business Platinum Card

The Amex Business Platinum is great for frequent travelers and those looking for a card to give them perks and benefits that enhance their experience when on the road. On the other hand, the Amex Business Gold is better for small-business owners who want to earn maximum points on everyday business spending across a wide variety of categories.

The case for the Business Platinum Card

The Amex Business Platinum is certainly the more luxurious of the two cards, offering a more extensive list of benefits and credits to offset the annual fee.

The Business Platinum’s 120,000-point welcome offer dwarfs the 70,000 points being offered by the Amex Business Gold for new cardholders. Based on TPG’s valuation of Membership Rewards points at 2 cents each, that 120,000-point welcome offer is worth a whopping $2,400. Plus, you’ll likely get value from the other benefits exclusive to the Business Platinum card.

These benefits include Marriott and Hilton elite status, an array of airport lounge access and more. These perks usually deliver more than enough value for most business travelers to justify the Business Platinum card’s $695 annual fee (see rates and fees).

The case for the Business Gold Card

Would we always recommend the Business Platinum card over the Business Gold Card? Of course not.

The Business Platinum card offers excellent perks, but if you’re likely not to use all those included benefits, then the Business Gold Card is worth a closer look — and it can offer notable earning potential.

While the Amex Business Platinum is superior when it comes to perks and benefits, the Amex Business Gold outshines the Platinum when earning bonus points on spending categories.

If you get anywhere close to maximizing those bonuses, the value of the points you earn will dwarf the Business Gold card’s $295 annual fee (see rates and fees). Indeed, if you spend $150,000 in those categories, you’ll earn 600,000 Membership Rewards points, which TPG values at $12,000.

Application link: The Business Platinum Card from American Express
Application link: American Express Business Gold Card

For rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, please click here.

Additional reporting by Emily Thompson, Benét J. Wilson and Christina Ly.