$240 Flexible Business Credit:

You can earn up to $20 in statement credits each month after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. Enrollment required.

Walmart+ Membership Credit:

If you use the Business Gold Card to pay for a monthly Walmart + membership (subject to auto-renewal), you’ll receive a statement credit that covers the full cost each month, valued at $155 annually.

Hotel and Airline Transfer Partners

The best use of American Express Membership Rewards points is to transfer them into an airline partner. The option to transfer into hotel points exist, but they’re typically at a disadvantageous rate.

Note: If you are transferring Membership Rewards points into a US airline, Amex will charge you $.0006 per point, up to a maximum of $99. American Express explains that this charge is to offset excise taxes that the airlines charge.

Here’s a chart of all of the Amex airline and hotel transfer partners:

Best Uses for American Express Membership Rewards Points

The best use for your Membership Rewards points will almost certainly be to transfer them to an airline partner. But which partner to choose? The answer, of course, depends on where you are flying, but to get the best value, you’ll need to expand your search to non-US airlines.

Go Around the World with ANA Miles and the Star Alliance

The most interesting use of Membership Rewards points is an around the world flight on ANA and the Star Alliance. You’ll have up to 8 stopovers to maximize the use of your points and the cost in miles is based on the total distance that you fly. But your 80,000 American Express Membership Rewards points (70,000 from the welcome bonus, at least 10,000 from your spending) will let you fly up to 20,000 total miles in Economy Class. Business isn’t that much more, starting at 115,000 points. It’s hard to find any single international trip at these rates with other mileage programs, never mind one that will take you around the world.

Best bet for booking an ANA Round the World award: Determine whether there is “Saver” / partner availability for the segments that you want to fly (Use the award search at United Airlines) and book over the phone with ANA.

There are a few rules and things to know when booking an around the world flight with ANA miles:

Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to ANA.

The required mileage is calculated according to the total basic sector mileage for the entire itinerary (Calculations exclude ground transportation sectors.). If you have mixed classes, the higher rate will apply for the entire trip.

Get used to seeing water: You must cross both the Atlantic and the Pacific once each.

You must move in one direction, either east –> west or west –> east. There’s no backtracking allowed.

You may have up to 8 stopovers between the departure and the final return destination. You’re allowed up to 3 stopovers within Europe and up to 4 stopovers within Japan.

Your departure of your last international flight to your final destination must be at least 10 days after the first international flight.

You can have up to 12 flight segments in total, as well as up to 4 ground transportation segments (trips between airports that don’t involve an airplane).

Have fun with this one!

Use Avianca to Go to Europe in Business Class

Avianca LifeMiles are great when you want Star Alliance flights that will not only save you miles but also reduce the amount of fees that you will owe, since they don’t pass through carrier fuel surcharges.

LifeMiles trips to Europe, particularly in premium classes of service, are cheap. US to Europe flights in business class are only 63,000 miles and, if you are flying one of the few remaining first class products, such as Lufthansa’s First Class, you’ll only need 87,000 miles with no surcharges other than a $30 partner booking fee.

But the real steal with Avianca is when you need to round up your balances. If you don’t have enough miles to book the flight that you want, you can buy them directly from Avianca. While I don’t normally recommend buying miles from an airline, Avianca runs frequent promotions, meaning that you may be able to get a great deal to finalize your flight.

Take a Short Flight with Avios

British Airways Avios redemptions are distance-based, rather than zone-based, so they are excellent for short-haul flights. There’s a bit of a “penalty” for North America, where the minimum for a one-way flight is 7,500 Avios (up to 650 miles). Of course, that still means that your welcome bonus and minimum spend would get you 10 one-way flights between, say, Boston and New York – assuming that American Airlines releases Saver award space. You can also redeem on Alaska Airlines.

It’s even better abroad. BA short-haul flights start at 4,750 miles (after a recent 750 mile increase) and partner flights in the lowest bucket are 6,000 miles.

Avios can be a great alternative for short flights that are expensive if paid for directly in cash. Of course, if you do pay for the flight, be sure to use the American Express Business Gold Card, since you’ll receive 4X points if airfare is in one of your top two qualifying spending categories.

American Express Membership Rewards Points — Other Redemptions

There are several other ways to redeem points, but they generally tend to be lower value. Even transferring to hotel programs won’t get you much, given that Hilton points are only worth about 0.5 cents each and Marriott about 0.6 cents.

If you have to use points for something other than airline miles, consider using them to pay for travel through amextravel.com. Normally, those points would be worth a penny each but, when you include the 25% Membership Rewards bonus points rebate from the Amex Business Gold Card, it boosts the value of a point to just over 1.3 cents. Remember: Your rebate caps out at 250,000 bonus points per year.

There are other ways to redeem Membership Rewards points, but they should not be in your consideration set. They include:

• Gift cards, which offer 0.7-1.0 cents per point
• Shopping, which is worth about 0.7 cents per point
• Statement credits, worth about 0.6 cents per point

While the American Express Business® Gold Card used to be referred to as a charge card, it is no longer actively referred to in that way.

Unlike a typical credit card that has a Credit Limit, this Amex card has No Preset Spending Limit. This means that your spending limit is flexible and the amount you can spend changes based on things like your purchase, payment, and credit history.

It’s also important to note that as a card product that American Express used to classify as “charge” – meaning that it has No Preset Spending Limit – so it is not counted against your 5 Amex credit card limit.

The Amex Business Gold Card will still be in the category of cards (former charge products) in which you can have up to 10. Those include the American Express Green, Gold, Platinum, and Centurion cards as well as their Small Business versions of the same.

The reason it is no longer referred to as a Charge card is because the card now offers you the option to “Pay Over Time” if you opt into that card feature.

As a business credit card, the Amex Business Gold Card will not appear on your personal profile (although Amex may pull your personal credit to make a decision on your application). Almost all business credit cards are the same. This means it won’t show as an open card, nor will the balance be reported, unless you are delinquent. And it won’t count against your 5/24 total.

Receive up to 1 additional year of coverage on original manufacturers’ warranties of 5 years or less. You’ll receive up to $10,000 per covered purchase and up to $50,000 per year in benefits.

Terms

When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase to an Eligible Card, Extended Warranty§ can provide up to one extra year added to the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) 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.

• Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.

• Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

• Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

Covers theft or accidental damage for up to 90 days after the purchase of the covered item. You’re covered for up to $1,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per year.

Terms

When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase with their Eligible Card, Purchase Protection can help protect their Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year.

• Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.

• Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

• Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

With Cell Phone Protection, you can be reimbursed the lesser of your repair or replacement costs following damage, such as a cracked screen, or theft for a maximum of $800 per claim when your cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month’s wireless bill was paid by an Eligible Card Account.

A $50 deductible will apply to each approved claim with a limit of 2 approved claims per 12-month period. Additional terms and conditions apply.

The American Express Business Gold Card’s CDW (collision damage waiver) is secondary to your personal car insurance and covers Damage to or Theft of a Rental Vehicle in a Covered Territory when you use your Eligible Card to reserve and pay for the Entire Rental and decline the collision damage waiver (CDW) at the Rental Company counter. Not all cars are covered so call in advance of your rental if you are unsure. Does not cover vehicles in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand. This benefit does not include liability coverage.

Terms

Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible Card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the Commercial Car Rental Company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply.

• Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.

• Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

• Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

Trip Delay Insurance

With the Amex Business Gold, Trip Delay insurance is limited to $300 per covered trip, with a maximum of 2 claims per eligible card per 12 consecutive months.

Terms:

Up to $300 per Covered Trip that is delayed for more than 12 hours; and 2 claims per Eligible Card per 12 consecutive month period.

• Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.

• Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

• Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Baggage Insurance Plan

When you pay for your entire fare for a Common Carrier ticket (e.g., plane, trip, ship or bus), you’ll receive baggage insurance for up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for baggage that you check.

Terms

Baggage Insurance Plan coverage can be in effect for Eligible Persons for eligible lost, damaged, or stolen Baggage during their travel on a Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus) when the entire fare for a Common Carrier Vehicle ticket for the trip (one-way or round-trip) is charged to an eligible Account. Coverage can be provided for up to $1,250 for carry-on Baggage and up to $500 for checked Baggage, in excess of coverage provided by the Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus). For New York State residents, there is a $10,000 aggregate maximum limit for all Covered Persons per Covered Trip.

• Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.

• Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

• Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

The American Express Business Gold Card is made of metal and weighs 15 grams.

The Amex Business Gold Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Card membership comes with access to Amex Offers, a free offering of discounts on assorted eligible purchases. They often offer things like up to 20% off an airline purchase or cash back for dining at a specific restaurant. They also often offer bonus points per dollar at select stores.