Should You Convert the Legacy Business Rewards Gold Amex to the refreshed Business Gold Card?

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Credit card rewards and benefits are increasingly competitive as banks overhaul products and compete for market share. Right on the heels of announcing the Amex Gold Card, American Express announced the American Express® Business Gold Card with an increased earning structure and additional perks over the legacy Business Gold Rewards Card.

I've held the legacy Business Gold Rewards Card for almost four years thanks to its 3x and 2x earning categories, but now find myself faced with the decision of whether to convert to the Business Gold Card or hang on to my legacy version. As a reminder, if you already have the the Business Gold Rewards Card, you won’t automatically be converted to the updated Business Gold Card. You can either request a conversion, or you can choose to keep your Business Gold Rewards card, even though it’s no longer open for applications.

Also, if you decide to convert your card, remember that you're not eligible for the Business Gold welcome bonus. Even if you cancel your legacy Business Gold Rewards Card and later apply for the Business Gold Card, you won't be eligible for the card's welcome offer due to Amex's once-in-a-lifetime bonus restriction.

Let’s take a look at both cards and compare the bonus spend categories, perks and cost of each card. For each category I’ll deliver a verdict to convert to the updated card or keep the legacy card.

Bonus Spend Categories

The Business Gold Card introduces six different potential 4x bonus spend categories. You'll be awarded 4x points automatically on the top two select spending categories each month from the below list. With the legacy card, you select a single category to earn 3x rewards on and earn 2x rewards on the remaining four categories. Note the caps on bonus earnings for each card.

There are a few ways to dissect this chart to see which bonus structure is better, but the underlying factor is how much your business could spend in any of the bonus categories. It's fairly unlikely a lot of small businesses would max out the old $100,000 cap of the old card for each category, so the potential 1,100,000 Amex points shouldn't be an argument to keep the legacy card — at least not across the board.

4x at US restaurants is a solid addition with the Business Gold Card, as well as the ability to earn 4x points in a second category. I see this structure as something the majority of businesses would earn more points with compared to the legacy card. However, only earning 1 point per dollar on the additional categories is underwhelming. You'd need to analyze your typical monthly spend to see which structure would give your business more rewards.

For me personally, 4x on US gas stations and restaurant purchases puts the updated card over the top. I don't have any other card in my wallet that earns 4x transferable points on restaurant spend. I also don't spend in the other categories, and airfare goes on The Platinum Card® from American Express to earn 5x instead of 4x.

Verdict: Convert to the updated Business Gold Card.

Perks

The updated Business Gold Card adds two distinct perks over the legacy card:

• 25% Pay with Points Rebate — You’ll get 25% of your points back when you use points at Amex Travel to pay for first or business-class airfare on any airline, or economy-class tickets with an airline you can select each year. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers the same perk with a 35% rebate. The benefit means you’ll get 1.33 cents per redeemed point and can book any flight that’s available for a regular cash price on American Express Travel.
• Automatic Enrollment in Pay Over Time — This offers an extended payment option for purchases over $100. You’ll be charged high interest rates, but it's something to consider for a business that needs extra cash flow.

Other perks like access to the Hotel Collection, the Travel Collection, Amex Offers and travel and purchase protection coverage will carry over from the old BRG card to the updated Business Gold.

In my opinion, if you're going to regularly use the Pay with Points Rebate, you should get a Business Platinum Card and get the 35% rebate as well as all of the other travel benefits available to both personal and business Platinum card holders. The Pay Over Time option is not something I would consider, as paying credit card balances in full each month is a must for me. I don't see any advantage here with the updated Business Gold Card.

Verdict: Keep the legacy Business Gold Rewards Card.

Annual Fee

As a rule, all credit card benefit additions come with an increased annual fee. The refreshed Business Gold Card is no exception, with the annual fee increasing 64% from $175 per year to $295 per year (See Rates & Fees), and the first year's fee for new card holders is no longer waived. As TPG Credit Card Editor Sarah Silbert notes, the 4x rate means it won’t take much in the way of spend to offset that higher annual fee. Since TPG values Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece, a business would only have to spend $3,688 in the 4x categories to earn $295 in points. Many businesses easily have that kind of spending in a single month.

If your business can make up that spend rather quickly in two of the 4x categories, it makes sense to convert to the updated card. But if your spend is spread out across all five of the legacy card categories, I think it makes sense to hold on to the legacy card and continue to earn 3x and 2x points in five different categories without handing over another $125 a year. In my personal situation, I want to earn 4x points on gas and restaurant spend, so paying the $125 extra to earn that back in points rather quickly (requiring $1,563 in spend) makes sense.

Verdict: Convert to updated Business Gold Card (but this is highly personal)

Bottom Line

In order to make a good decision, you should really look at your larger card portfolio to maximize your rewards and benefits. A business that regularly or semi-regularly travels should probably also consider the Business Platinum Card to earn 5x on airfare booked through Amex Travel, enjoy a 35% Pay With Points rebate and take advantage of all the travel benefits the card offers. This makes the 25% Pay with Points Rebate and potential 4x earnings on airfare with the updated Business Gold Card unnecessary, you could stick to earning 3x and 2x points with the legacy Business Gold Rewards Card.

There's no one-size-fits-all option for converting your legacy card. In my opinion, the updated Business Gold Card is not such a leap forward that it's a no-brainer across the board. I'm sure many businesses could still earn more rewards with a lower annual fee by keeping what they have. But given my own spending habits and my ability to maximize Amex points for huge value, it makes sense to convert to the updated card and earn 4x points on gas and restaurants.

For rates and fees of the American Express Business Gold Card, please click here.