Amex Business Gold

The American Express Business Gold Card is the most accessible high-value business card in the UK. Free for the first year, with a 60,000-point promotional bonus running to 5 May 2026, it delivers a substantial points haul with no eligibility restrictions. If you are accepted and hit the £6,000 spend target in three months, you receive the bonus — regardless of what other Amex cards you hold or have recently held. No small print, no gotchas. For directors of Limited Companies and LLP members who want flexible MR points without the £650 commitment of Business Platinum, this is the natural starting point.

Why the Free First Year Matters

Business Gold is free in Year 1. Combined with the 60,000 MR promotional bonus, this means you collect 60,000 flexible points (worth 60,000 Avios or Virgin Points) plus whatever you earn from spending — all for zero fee. On £6,000 of spend to hit the bonus target, you earn an additional 6,000 MR from the card’s base rate. Total Year 1 haul: 66,000 MR for free.

At the end of Year 1, the £195 fee applies. At that point, assess whether the card justifies keeping: do you use the Dell credit (£100)? Do you value the payment terms? Does the ongoing earning from business spend exceed what you would earn on an alternative card? If not, cancel — the fee is refundable pro-rata, so there is no penalty for trying the card and walking away.

For most directors, the Year 1 play alone is worth the application. 60,000 MR converts to 60,000 Avios — enough for an off-peak return to New York in Economy, or a meaningful chunk of a Business Class redemption when pooled with other earning.

Versus Business Platinum

The choice between Business Gold and Business Platinum is straightforward: Gold is a pure earning card, Platinum is an earning card wrapped in a travel benefits package.

Business Gold has no lounge access, no hotel status, no FHR, no travel insurance, no Amex Travel credit. It earns 1 MR per £1, has a smaller Dell credit (£100 vs £150), and fewer supplementary card options (20 free Gold supplementary cards vs 98 on Platinum, but no Platinum supplementary cards at all).

Business Platinum costs £650 (vs £0/£195), earns at the same 1 MR per £1 rate, but adds unlimited lounges, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, FHR, insurance, £200 Amex Travel credit, and a Platinum supplementary card with its own Priority Pass. The promotional bonus is also double: 120,000 MR vs 60,000 MR.

The practical test: If you would use the lounge access, hotel status, and travel insurance — and your business spend justifies the higher bonus target (£12,000 in 3 months) — Business Platinum delivers more total value. If you want the simplest possible entry, lowest commitment, and a large bonus with zero first-year cost, Business Gold is the answer.

You can hold both cards, but there is a 12-month eligibility gap between business card applications. Most directors apply for the highest-value card first (currently Business Platinum at 120,000 MR) and add Business Gold 12 months later (60,000 MR), collecting both bonuses over two years.

Supplementary Cards and Employee Earning

Up to 20 free employee supplementary cards. All spending on supplementary cards earns MR points flowing to the primary cardholder’s account. One consolidated statement covers all cards, making reconciliation straightforward for accounting purposes.

This is a significant earning accelerator. If your business has employees who make purchases — supplies, travel, subscriptions, client entertainment — every pound they spend on a supplementary card earns a transferable MR point for you. A business with five employees each spending £500/month on supplementary cards generates an additional 30,000 MR per year on top of the primary cardholder’s own earning.

Amex business statements provide more transaction detail than Visa or Mastercard (including underlying flight information on airline purchases), which simplifies expense management. Depending on your billing cycle, you receive up to 54 days of free credit on purchases.

April 2026 Changes

The quarterly 10,000 MR spend bonus (awarded when you exceed £20,000 in a calendar quarter) is ending on 31 March 2026. New replacement incentives will launch from April 2026 — details have not been fully confirmed, but are expected to mirror the Business Platinum changes (additional Amex Travel credit at high spend thresholds, Enterprise car hire credit, Superscript insurance credit). For most Business Gold holders, the quarterly bonus was already hard to trigger at £20,000 per quarter, so the practical impact is smaller than on Business Platinum.

Who Should Get This Card

Yes, get this card if: You are a director or LLP member. You want a large flexible MR bonus for zero first-year cost. You can spend £6,000 in 3 months. You do not need the travel benefits of Business Platinum. You want employee supplementary cards to capture business-wide spending.

Get Business Platinum instead if: You will use lounge access, hotel status, FHR, and insurance. Your business can hit the £12,000 spend target for the 120,000 MR bonus. You value those benefits enough to justify the £650 fee (tax-deductible).

Get both (12 months apart) if: You want to collect both bonuses — 120,000 MR from Platinum in Year 1, then 60,000 MR from Gold in Year 2. This is the maximum business-track earning strategy: 180,000 MR from bonuses alone over two years, plus all ongoing spending earnings.