Costs & Pricing

Metric	Blue Business Cash® Card	American Express® Business Gold Card
Annual fee	$0 (no annual fee, ever)	$375
Employee card fee	$0 (up to 99 Employee Cards)	Employee Business Gold $95 (first 5 then $95 each); Employee Business Expense Cards $0; max 99 additional cards
Purchase APR	16.74%–28.49% variable (Prime + 9.99% to +21.74%; cap 29.99%)	17.74%–28.49% variable on Pay Over Time only (Prime + 10.99% to +21.74%)
Intro APR (purchases)	0% for 12 months from account opening, then variable purchase APR	Not a standard public offer (some targeted pages have shown 0% for 6 months on POT-eligible purchases)
Foreign transaction fee	2.7% of each transaction after conversion to USD	$0
Late payment fee	Up to $39 (cannot exceed Minimum Payment Due)	$39 or 2.99% of any past-due Pay In Full amount, whichever is greater

Rewards & Value

Metric	Blue Business Cash® Card	American Express® Business Gold Card
Base earn rate	2% cash back on first $50,000 eligible purchases per calendar year; 1% thereafter	1X Membership Rewards point per $1 on other eligible purchases
Welcome bonus	$250 statement credit after $3,000 eligible purchases in first 3 months (standard public offer)	Personalized — marketed as high as 200,000 Membership Rewards points after $15,000 eligible purchases in first 3 months (offer varies; you may not be eligible)
Redemption value	Automatic statement credit — 1¢ per 1% of eligible spend (2% = 2¢ per $1 under cap)	Varies by redemption; Amex does not publish a single cpp. Treat Pay With Points / statement credit at ~1¢; transfers can be higher or lower — do not assume 2¢.
Transfer partners	None — cash back only, not a points bank	Membership Rewards partners (most airlines 1:1; hotel ratios vary). U.S. airline transfers: excise tax offset $0.0006/point, max $99. Confirm live at membershiprewards.com/pointsinfo.

Credit & Eligibility

Metric	Blue Business Cash® Card	American Express® Business Gold Card
Personal guarantee	Required — joint and several liability of Basic Card Member and Company (CMA)	Required (standard small-business Amex model; no published no-PG path)
Credit check	No personal-score impact to learn if approved; may impact personal credit if applicant accepts the card	Apply with Confidence — no personal-score impact to learn approval; accepting the card may impact personal credit. Submitting may affect business credit.
Employee cards	Up to 99 Employee Cards, $0 AF; spend limits and merchant-type alerts	Up to 99 total; Gold employee cards $95 structure; Expense Cards $0; spend limits and alerts
Product type	Revolving business credit card with stated credit limit and Expanded Buying Power	Hybrid small-business charge card with revolving Pay Over Time (NPSL on purchases)

Pros & Cons

Blue Business Cash® Card

Pros

• $0 annual fee on primary and up to 99 Employee Cards
• 2% automatic cash back on first $50,000 calendar-year eligible spend
• 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases
• Expanded Buying Power — no overlimit fee; rewards earn above limit if approved
• Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty included

Cons

• 2% earn ends at $50k; incremental spend drops to 1%
• 2.7% foreign transaction fee
• Joint-and-several personal liability of Basic Card Member
• Modest standard welcome bonus ($250 / $3k / 3 months) vs many competitors
• Over-limit balances due in full; missed Closing Date can trigger Penalty APR on entire balance

American Express® Business Gold Card

Pros

• Auto-4X on whichever two of six categories lead each month, up to $150k combined — no annual category lock-in
• Transferable Membership Rewards (same partner list as other MR cards)
• Statement-credit stack can exceed the $375 fee if credits are enrolled and used
• $0 foreign transaction fee; NPSL plus optional Pay Over Time
• Personalized welcome marketed as high as 200k / $15k / 3 months

Cons

• $375 annual fee plus $95 Employee Business Gold cards
• 4X dies after $150k combined and is only two categories per cycle; 1X residual is weak
• Shipping dropped from 4X (2026 refresh); credits need enrollment and specific vendors
• No lounge, Global Entry/TSA, or airline incidental credit
• Hybrid pay-in-full + high POT APR; late fee can be 2.99% of past-due Pay In Full

Verdict

Blue Business Cash® Card

The Blue Business Cash Card is Amex's no-fee workhorse for modest spenders — 2% automatic cash back up to $50k, then 1%, paired with a 12-month 0% intro APR and Expanded Buying Power. It beats uncapped 1.5% cards on the first $50k but loses incremental dollars to Spark Cash Plus or Ink Unlimited above that cap. Best for domestic sole props and small firms who won't chase category bonuses or transfer partners.

American Express® Business Gold Card

Business Gold is a specialist, not a simple daily driver. Auto-4X that follows whichever two categories win each month is powerful for ads, software, restaurants, gas, transit, or wireless — and the credit stack can more than offset $375 if you already buy those products. After the $150k cap, or if you will not enroll in credits, a no-fee 2% card or Ink Preferred is usually cleaner. Poor substitute for 0% capital, no-PG fintech cards, or Business Platinum travel perks.