Costs & Pricing

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card
Annual fee	$375	$0 (CMA: Annual Fee None)
Employee card fee	Employee Business Gold $95 (first 5 then $95 each); Employee Business Expense Cards $0; max 99 additional cards	$0 (CMA: Annual Fee for Additional Cards: None)
Purchase APR	17.74%–28.49% variable on Pay Over Time only (Prime + 10.99% to +21.74%)	Variable Prime + 9.99% to Prime + 21.74% (marketing 16.74%–28.49% as of late Aug 2026 at Prime 6.75%). Placement by creditworthiness and other factors at opening. Cap 29.99%. CMA formula wins over landing-page vintage ranges.
Intro APR (purchases)	Not a standard public offer (some targeted pages have shown 0% for 6 months on POT-eligible purchases)	0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from account opening, then the variable purchase APR
Foreign transaction fee	$0	2.7% of each transaction after conversion to U.S. dollars (via AE Exposure Management Ltd.)
Late payment fee	$39 or 2.99% of any past-due Pay In Full amount, whichever is greater	Up to $39; $39 if Minimum Payment Due is not received by due date, not to exceed the Minimum Payment Due

Rewards & Value

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card
Base earn rate	1X Membership Rewards point per $1 on other eligible purchases	2 Membership Rewards points per $1 on the first $50,000 eligible purchases per calendar year, then 1X. Official copy: no category restrictions. Cap resets each calendar year, not cardmember anniversary.
Welcome bonus	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)	Standard public offer (Amex compare and partner pages, late Aug–early Sep 2026): 15,000 Membership Rewards points after $3,000 eligible purchases in the first 3 months. Historical typical public offer has sat at 15k/$3k/3 mo for years.
Redemption value	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¢.	Issuer examples for 10,000 points: $60 toward eligible Card Charges (~0.6¢); $100 on AmexTravel.com flights (~1.0¢); $70 at Amazon.com (~0.7¢); up to $100 toward select gift cards. Transfer value is partner- and award-dependent. Disclose cash/statement at 0.6¢ and AmexTravel flights at 1.0¢; do not assume transfer uplift unless the user picks a partner.
Transfer partners	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.	Membership Rewards program (not card-unique; lists move). Commonly 16 airline + 3–4 hotel partners as of mid/late 2026. Secondary catalog compilations: most airlines 1:1; Aeromexico 1:1.6; Cathay 5:4; Emirates 5:4; JetBlue 250:200 or 1:0.8; Hilton 1:2; Marriott 1:1; Choice 1:1; Leading Hotels of the World reported 4:1 after July 2026. Etihad Guest transfers ended 30 June 2026. Re-check the logged-in MR transfer page. Typical minimum 1,000 points (JetBlue lower). Transfers generally no fee. Points do not expire while the Rewards Account remains open and in good standing.

Credit & Eligibility

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card
Personal guarantee	Required (standard small-business Amex model; no published no-PG path)	Yes. CMA: Joint and Several Liability — both the Basic Card Member and the Company are each individually responsible for the Account. We may seek payment from either or both.
Credit check	Apply with Confidence — no personal-score impact to learn approval; accepting the card may impact personal credit. Submitting may affect business credit.	Business credit may be impacted on submit; personal credit not impacted to receive a decision; personal credit may be impacted if the applicant accepts the card. Soft-then-hard pattern. Whose file: the applying Basic Card Member.
Employee cards	Up to 99 total; Gold employee cards $95 structure; Expense Cards $0; spend limits and alerts	$0. Benefits dashboard copy: add up to 99 Employee Blue Business Plus Cards. Owner earns MR on employee eligible spend; alerts and summary reports. Owner/Company remain liable. Spend controls via alerts/Account Manager — not a Ramp-style native policy engine.
Product type	Hybrid small-business charge card with revolving Pay Over Time (NPSL on purchases)	Revolving business credit card with a stated Credit Limit plus Expanded Buying Power (excess due in full with the minimum payment). Not a charge card and not a fintech spend-management card.

Pros & Cons

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

Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card

Pros

• $0 annual fee and $0 employee-card fees
• 2X Membership Rewards on the first $50,000 eligible purchases each calendar year with no category tracking
• AmexTravel.com 2X that does not consume the $50k cap
• 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months
• Points sit in Membership Rewards and can transfer to airline/hotel partners; purchase protection and extended warranty listed on the official benefits block

Cons

• 2X layer caps at $50,000 per calendar year, then 1X
• 2.7% foreign transaction fee
• Public welcome bonus is modest versus premium Amex business cards (15k / $3k / 3 mo on compare pages)
• Joint-and-several personal liability
• No lounge, GE/TSA, trip-cancellation, or cell-phone benefits on the official list; post-intro APR band is high (16.74%–28.49% variable)

Verdict

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.

Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card

This is the Membership Rewards twin of Blue Business Cash — same chassis, same $50k cap, same 0% intro, not cash back and not Business Gold. Confirm the live apply-flow welcome (15k standard vs targeted 25k–75k). Poor daily driver for uncapped high spend, foreign spend, or anyone who will revolve after the intro period.