Costs & Pricing

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	Ramp Corporate Card
Annual fee	$375	$0 on the card. Platform software is separate: Free $0/user/mo; Plus $15/user/mo + unpublished platform fee by team size (20% off annual); Enterprise custom.
Employee card fee	Employee Business Gold $95 (first 5 then $95 each); Employee Business Expense Cards $0; max 99 additional cards	$0; unlimited physical and virtual cards
Purchase APR	17.74%–28.49% variable on Pay Over Time only (Prime + 10.99% to +21.74%)	N/A — charge card; no revolving APR published. Marketing “0%” is 30-day statement float, not an intro APR.
Intro APR (purchases)	Not a standard public offer (some targeted pages have shown 0% for 6 months on POT-eligible purchases)	Not offered (no APR product)
Foreign transaction fee	$0	No separate FTF line. International charges that clear in a non-settlement currency: Visa conversion + markup not exceeding 3%. Local-currency cards on Enterprise / Canada can avoid conversion if spend matches card currency.
Late payment fee	$39 or 2.99% of any past-due Pay In Full amount, whichever is greater	Official: none on the card product. Auto-pay of the full statement is required; failed debit is the operational penalty (possible lock, limit cut, account action).

Rewards & Value

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	Ramp Corporate Card
Base earn rate	1X Membership Rewards point per $1 on other eligible purchases	Rate determined by Ramp on Qualified Purchases (Rewards Terms, 15 Jul 2026). Public/spokesperson range 0%–1.5% assigned per customer. Do not treat 1.5% as guaranteed. Canada cards are a separate fixed 1% (out of scope).
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)	Not disclosed on official corporate-card or pricing pages (3 Sep 2026). Third-party listings conflict: NerdWallet 15 Jun 2026 — $1,000 Ramp card on approval, no min spend, one per new customer; older reviews $500. Treat live offer as Unclear — confirm on application.
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¢.	Cash/statement path is 1¢ per 1% only to the extent Ramp assigned that earn rate. Transfers are not 1:1. Cashback is not automatic unless auto-applied to Plus/Bill Pay fees.
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.	Not listed in current Rewards Terms. Historical 2024 in-product list (verify in-dashboard): Aeromexico, Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Etihad Guest, Marriott Bonvoy, Qantas, Qatar Privilege Club, TAP Miles&Go, Wyndham — commonly 1.5 Ramp points : 1 partner unit. Min historically 100 partner points (150 Ramp). Irreversible; name must match an authorized admin.

Credit & Eligibility

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	Ramp Corporate Card
Personal guarantee	Required (standard small-business Amex model; no published no-PG path)	Not required. Official: “Ramp does not require founders to personally guarantee your expenses.” Corporate liability.
Credit check	Apply with Confidence — no personal-score impact to learn approval; accepting the card may impact personal credit. Submitting may affect business credit.	Official: no personal credit check; no impact to personal credit score. Last 4 of SSN (or foreign passport) of one officer is KYC, plus selfie/ID if stepped up — not a published hard pull.
Employee cards	Up to 99 total; Gold employee cards $95 structure; Expense Cards $0; spend limits and alerts	Unlimited physical and virtual; company liable. Spend controls: amount, frequency, category block/allow, merchant lock. Apple Pay / Google Pay; 3DS. USD physical cards: no PIN.
Product type	Hybrid small-business charge card with revolving Pay Over Time (NPSL on purchases)	Corporate / commercial charge card plus spend-management platform (pay-in-full; not revolving; no published APR)

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

Ramp Corporate Card

Pros

• $0 card AF and $0 extra-card fees with unlimited virtual/physical cards
• No personal guarantee and no personal credit check (official); corporate liability
• Native controls, receipt capture, and accounting sync — the software is the product
• 30-day interest-free float if auto-pay succeeds
• Visa Signature purchase security, extended warranty, and rental CDW on USD cards

Cons

• Cashback rate is not a published guarantee (0–1.5%, Ramp-determined); foreign/non-USD spend excluded from Qualified Purchases
• Must pay in full; cannot revolve or balance-transfer
• Sole props ineligible; $25k cash + real U.S. address bar
• FX markup up to 3% despite “no FTF” marketing; Plus platform fee and 2026 Bill Pay per-item fees can erase “free”
• Limit can move with linked cash; missed debit is operationally harsh

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.

Ramp Corporate Card

Ramp is a charge-card ops platform, not a 1.5% bank card and not Brex’s sibling SKU. Official no-PG / no personal pull plus unlimited virtual cards is the reason to pick it. Do not assume 1.5% cashback, a public welcome bonus, or true $0 FX. Sole props, revolvers, and rate-guarantee shoppers should use a traditional PG cash card instead. Plus seats and Bill Pay rails are software costs, not a card annual fee.