The Gold Card from American Express OPEN(SM)

Summary - The The Gold Card from American Express OPEN will appeal to the small business owner who pays the bills fully every month and wants to enjoy the reward benefits of Membership Rewards. Those who also have the personal Amex Gold Card should consider getting this card to separate business expense and yet earn Membership Reward points under one account. Let's explore this card in greater detail.

Reward Formula - The Gold Card from American Express OPEN(SM) is pretty similar to the Premier Rewards Gold Card (which is the consumer version). It allows the cardholder to earn unlimited rewards points which never expire. You can earn triple points on airfares, double points on gas, advertising and shipping. Points can be used to redeem a wide range of rewards available from the American Express Membership Rewards. The most important feature of the Membership Rewards program is the ability to transfer points to frequent flier miles on their partner's airline program. (see screen shot below)





Bonus Points - For a limited time only, new cardholders will get 50,000 bonus points when they spend $10,000 in first 5 months. You will also get 25,000 bonus points if you spend $50,000 on the card.

Anniversary Bonus Points - Perhaps the best feature of this card is that you will earn an extra 25,000 bonus points every year as long as you spend $50,000 on the card.

Open Savings - Like every American Express business card, you can save money when you use the card with OPENSavings merchants and get savings. You can see them in the scrolling video below.

 

Access to Special Events - American Express sponsors lots of events every year. And because of that, they are able to give advance booking notices to their cardholders. The card calls this feature Gold Card Events. Aside from this, this card also provides event ticket reimbursement in the event that you cannot attend.

Identity Theft Assistance - Cardholders are also given 24/7 assistance should their "identity get stolen".

Other Standard Amex Features - This card also comes with the standard Amex features like loss luggage insurance, warranty extension, purchase protection, guaranteed room reservations, 27/7 assistance when you travel overseas.

Amex Business Gold Card Versus Its' Peers

How does this card compare against it's peers? Especially when there aren't many peers at all since there are so few business charge cards. The best comparison would be the Business Green Rewards Card and the Platinum Business Card (both from Amex) and perhaps also the Chase Ink Bold (which was introduced to compete with the Amex Green Business Rewards Card.

Business Gold Card versus the Business Green Card - This card has a $175 annual fee versus the Business Green Card of $95. So what extra features does one get for the upgrade over the Green version? The most important upgrade is the ability to earn triple points on travel and double points on advertising, shipping and gasoline. Other important upgrades include the Gold Card Events and the Special Seating you can potential get at events. There is also the ticket reimbursement feature which the Green Card does not have. With the Business Gold Card, you also get confirmed room reservations. Hence, if your business requires entertainment at events and travel, the Business Gold Card is perhaps the better card.

Business Gold Card vs Platinum - The Business Platinum is a huge step up from the Gold version with it's $450 annual fee. In addition to the features offered by this card, the Platinum also has other features like:

• International Companion Business Class Ticket
• Concierge Services
• Airport Lounge Access
• Fine Hotel and Resorts Program - where you get room upgrades and $100 credits
• Starwood Gold Membership
• Hertz, Avis and Naitonal Memberships
The Platinum version will suit folks who really travel a lot. However, the Gold version has features that the platinum version does not have. And that is it can earn triple points for travel and double points for advertising, gasoline and shipping. If these are items that your business will spend on, that it will be superior to the Platinum version.

Against the Chase Ink Bold - The Chase Ink Bold is a charge card that is meant to compete with Amex in the business charge card space. The big difference is the airline partners of their reward program. The four main airline partners of Chase are Continental, SouthWest, United and British Airways, which Amex Membership Rewards does not have. (they will lost Continental by Sept 2011). Therefore, if you wish to transfer points into frequently flyer miles of these airlines, the Chase Ink Bold may be the card to get.

The Gold Card - worth getting?

Recommendation - The The Gold Card from American Express OPEN is best suited to the small business owner who pays the bills fully every month, does not need any credit card lines for capital expenditure and who wishes to earn reward points and enjoy the benefits of the American Express Membership Rewards. Those who are already members of Membership Rewards can link this card to your account so that you can have a separate business credit card and yet earn points for the same reward program under one account. For businesses who spend above $50,000 on their card, this will be a great card since you can get an extra 25,000 Membership Reward points (worth an airline ticket). This is the only business card we know that pays you triple points on travel and allows you to earn double points on advertising and shipping. If your business has a huge ad spend (either online or offline,), then this card really makes sense. Another plus is that you can get approved for this card based just on your TIN.

This card is also better than the regular Gold consumer version because of the merchant partners in OPENSAVINGS.

The one thing to be aware if you are a frequent flyer is the airline partners. Chase has airline partners which Amex does not have. If you want to earn points to transfer into miles of Continental, United, BA or SouthWest, then perhaps, the Ink(SM) Bold from Chase With Ultimate Rewards would be a better alternative.

Application - When you click on the link to apply, you will be taken to the page below with all the features of the card.



Clicking on the apply button brings you here (see below) where you have to fill in your details. One important thing to note is that you can be approved for this card based on your TIN alone.



Apply for the The Gold Card from American Express OPEN