Costs & Pricing

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	U.S. Bank Business Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card
Annual fee	$375	$0 intro first year, then $95/year
Employee card fee	Employee Business Gold $95 (first 5 then $95 each); Employee Business Expense Cards $0; max 99 additional cards	$0
Purchase APR	17.74%–28.49% variable on Pay Over Time only (Prime + 10.99% to +21.74%)	18.24%–25.24% variable (creditworthiness + Prime). Consistent 2026 aggregator tables — official Schumer box is application-gated, not a scanned PDF.
Intro APR (purchases)	Not a standard public offer (some targeted pages have shown 0% for 6 months on POT-eligible purchases)	Not offered
Foreign transaction fee	$0	$0
Late payment fee	$39 or 2.99% of any past-due Pay In Full amount, whichever is greater	Up to $41 reported (WalletHub 28 Aug 2026)

Rewards & Value

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	U.S. Bank Business Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card
Base earn rate	1X Membership Rewards point per $1 on other eligible purchases	1 point per $1 eligible net purchase (1X)
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)	75,000 bonus points after $6,000 eligible net purchases on the Account Owner’s Card within 180 days (live official offer, 3 Sep 2026). About $750 only if redeemed at the official maximum 1¢ travel / USB-deposit path. Posts 1–2 billing cycles after qualifying.
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¢.	Official maximum applies to travel, Real-Time Rewards for travel purchases, and deposit into an eligible U.S. Bank account (treat as 1.0¢). Merchandise, gift cards, and statement credit may be worth less. Secondary: 0.8¢ cash if not depositing to a USB account (Doctor of Credit). Do not assume 1.0¢ on every path.
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.	No airline/hotel partners. Intra-USB only: to/from Business Altitude Power, personal Altitude Connect, personal Altitude Go — not Altitude Reserve. 20,000 points out and 20,000 in per calendar year. Both accounts in good standing. Transfers final.

Credit & Eligibility

Metric	American Express® Business Gold Card	U.S. Bank Business Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card
Personal guarantee	Required (standard small-business Amex model; no published no-PG path)	Required in practice for U.S. Bank small-business cards. Official product page does not print the clause — confirm in Cardmember Agreement.
Credit check	Apply with Confidence — no personal-score impact to learn approval; accepting the card may impact personal credit. Submitting may affect business credit.	Hard inquiry on the personal credit report (official benefits-center FAQ). SSN/ITIN collected. Beneficial owners ≥25% identity-verified; USB says that will not affect their credit.
Employee cards	Up to 99 total; Gold employee cards $95 structure; Expense Cards $0; spend limits and alerts	$0 additional AF. Identity check only (issuer says no credit impact). Spend controls via Spend Management. Liability remains on the business account / guarantor.
Product type	Hybrid small-business charge card with revolving Pay Over Time (NPSL on purchases)	Revolving business credit card (preset limit; ExtendPay installment option on eligible purchases)

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

U.S. Bank Business Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card

Pros

• Live welcome bonus 75,000 points / $6,000 / 180 days on the owner card (official, Sep 2026)
• 4X on a wide travel definition plus gas/EV through $150,000 combined — broad for a sub-$100-AF business card
• $0 FTF and 4 Priority Pass visits after enrollment
• $0 employee-card AF and Spend Management controls
• Points can be pooled and moved (capped) to personal Altitude Go / Connect or Business Power

Cons

• $95 AF after year 1 with thin automatic credits
• No airline/hotel transfer partners; max value is issuer travel / USB deposit
• No 0% intro APR; employee spend excluded from the bonus hurdle
• Gas 4X excludes wholesale clubs and supercenters including Walmart/Target
• Public Schumer box is application-gated; insurance dollar caps are not in marketing copy

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.

U.S. Bank Business Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card

Business Altitude Connect is the $95 (year-1 $0) travel sleeve — not consumer Altitude Connect (TSA credit, 0% intro, quarterly gas cap) and not Ink Preferred (transferable UR). 4X travel+gas to $150k plus 4 Priority Pass visits is the reason to pick it. Ads, shipping, Costco gas, and transferable-points collectors should skip it. Year 2 needs real 4X volume or the $95 fee loses to a $0 1.5–2% flat.