Small Business Gold from American Express

Card Details
Overall Rating:
Issued By:	American Express
Card:	Small Business Gold
Network:	Amex
Category:	Charge Card
Acceptance:
Insurance:	Travel inconvenience insurance, Card protection.
Service:	Excellent. 24-hour Customer Service, 24-hour Business Assistant, 24-hour Global Assistance, online account management, extensive account reporting and financial management services.
Comments:	Exceptional benefits package with this card.
Pitch:	"Leave the essentials to the American Express Business Gold Charge Card and regain the pleasures of owning your business."
APR & Rates
Typical APR:	-
Interest Free Days:	70
Minimum Repayment:	-
Annual Fee:	First year free £95.00 a year
Balance Transfers
APR:	None
Period:	None
Charges:	2% of the Balance Transferred or £40, whichever is the lesser.
Purchases
APR:	-
Period:	-
Rewards
Type:	Cashback
Description:	Use your points for flights, hotels, dining and other exciting rewards.
Reward Rate:	-
Period:	On most Purchases
Comments and Reviews
Aimed At:	Small businesses that are looking for an expense management system. However, the card also provides access to a comprehensive array of additional benefits and services for small businesses looking for help across their organisation (see review).
Review:	This business charge card is good for companies that plan on running some form of expense account. You get monthly and annual breakdowns of spending and American Express will provide, free-of-charge, additional supplementary cards for all employees that wish to be issued with this card. Amex state that this card will provide “easier financial management” and they certainly have a case. The aforementioned monthly/annual bills are broken down into descriptive spending categories such as: travel, insurance, restaurant, hotel, stationery etc. The bills are also broken down further to show categorised billing for each cardholder within your company. The great benefit to this reporting is that the business can set limits on each cardholder, not just on overall spend for each card, but limits on each individual category on each card. These limits can be amended or cancelled at any time, and as with all Amex charge cards, there is no pre-set monthly spending limit. Many individuals looking for business credit cards will stumble across this card and assume it fits the bill. However, the Amex Small Business Gold is not a business credit card, but a charge card. The basic difference with a charge card compared to a credit card is that the balance must be cleared in full each month. The benefit to a lack of month-on-month credit, however, is that the Amex Small Business Gold card provides up to 70 days interest free to clear this balance. It is a little disingenuous to directly compare this card against the other credit cards on this site, as this is more of a comprehensive financial service for small businesses than a basic card. However, as it is aimed at businesses, it means there is an extensive rewards package that offers a host of benefits not available with the reward schemes and cashback deals on everyday credit cards. Firstly, you get enrolment onto the legendary Membership Rewards (Classic) programme, which American Express has built its reputation upon and provides a plethora of savings when accumulated rewards points are claimed. On top of this, you can receive trade discounts on business purchases with big name companies, those standing out being FedEx deliveries, Hertz car rental and Dell computers. However, there are always some negatives, the most notable being the size of the smaller Amex network. As this card is touted as providing a complete expenses system for a small business, there will be problems when the card is not accepted by a retailer for an expense purchase. This obviously throws a small spanner in the works, as for instance, London Underground tickets will have to be bought with an alternative payment option and then billed outside of the Amex expense system your company puts in place. This network issue (as with the American Express Blue card) stops the card from getting a maximum rating. Also, after the initial one year fee-free period, these cards obviously charge an annual fee. This isn’t a negative as such, as companies would be expecting this, but we thought we’d mention it, as the standard annual fee is £95. Overall, if you’re a small business looking for a charge card, this is a quality product. Highly recommended.
Verdict:	Overall, if you’re a small business looking for a charge card, this is a quality product. Highly recommended.
Overall Rating:

 
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