AmEx Gold vs. Platinum: Which Is Better for Your Business?

The American Express® Business Gold Card and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express are built with two different types of businesses in mind. The best one for your business comes down to your priorities.

The American Express® Business Gold Card is the clear winner if you want elevated rewards on regular business expenses. You can earn up to 4X points in popular spending categories like advertising, software, gas and shipping. Terms apply.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is the better option for travel perks — lots of them. This card conveys elite status, airport lounge access and an annual credit for airline incidental fees, among other benefits. But luxury comes at a cost: The annual fee for the AmEx Business Platinum is nearly double that of the AmEx Business Gold (which isn’t exactly cheap itself).

Here’s how to choose between two of the best business cards from American Express.

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Differences between the AmEx Business Gold and Business Platinum

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Business Gold Card both feature generous welcome offers, which one would expect given the high cost to carry these cards. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

American Express® Business Gold Card: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

While the Business Platinum Card promises more points, it also has a higher spend requirement and a much higher annual fee.

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The American Express® Business Gold Card's annual fee is nothing to sneeze at. Still, it's considerably lower than the fee for the AmEx Business Platinum Card, which is higher than other top business travel cards.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: $695.

American Express® Business Gold Card: $375.

If you spend $9,375 per year in the AmEx Business Gold's 4X categories, you'll break even on the card's annual fee. The math is more complicated for the Business Platinum card, as it can be hard to quantify comfort (see: lounge access and hotel elite status).

The American Express® Business Gold Card is one of the best business rewards cards, hands down. You'll earn 4 points per $1 in your top two spending categories each month. Yes, there's an annual cap ($150,000). But if you max that out, you'll earn $6,000 worth of Membership Rewards points each year.

American Express® Business Gold Card: 1x-4x.

• 4X points on your top two spending categories each month, up to $150,000 in combined spending each year. Eligible categories include: advertising, gas, restaurants, software, transit or wireless service (U.S. purchases only).

• 3X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com.

• 1X points for all other spending. Terms apply.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: 1x-5x.

• 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com.

• 1.5X points on select business categories and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, up to $2 million spent per calendar year. Eligible categories include: shipping, construction materials, hardware suppliers, software and electronics (U.S. purchases only).

• 1X points for all other spending. Terms apply.

The American Express® Business Gold Card also offers a monthly statement credit for Walmart+ memberships, when paid for with your card. You can get up to $20 per month in statement credits for eligible purchases at FedEx, Grubhub and Office Supply stores (U.S. only) as well. Terms apply.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express includes statement credits for Dell, Indeed and Adobe, among others.

» MORE: Best business credit cards for Google, Facebook and other ad spend

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is stacked with travel perks, including statement credits, lounge access and elite status with certain hotel brands. The American Express® Business Gold Card? Not so much.

Here's a rundown of the major travel perks you'll get with the American Express Business Platinum (terms apply).

• Airline fee credit: Up to $200 a year in statement credits for incidental fees, such as checked bag fees or in-flight refreshments. You must select one airline each year to use this credit with.

• CLEAR Plus credit: Receive a statement credit of up to $199 annually toward the cost of a CLEAR Plus membership when you pay for it with your Business Platinum Card.

• Global Entry or TSA Precheck fee credit: Get a $120 statement credit every 4 years for the application fee for Global Entry, or an $85 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck, when you pay for the application fee using your card.

• Airport lounge access. Get access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta) and Priority Pass lounges, among others.

• Elite status (hotels and rental cars). Automatically qualify for premium status with multiple rental card providers, and elite status (Gold) with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors programs. Plus, get perks and credits when booking through Fine Hotels & Resorts.

» COMPARE MORE: NerdWallet’s best business cards for hotels | lounge access

The American Express® Business Gold Card has a few benefits of its own, including a $100 experience credit when you stay at certain hotels. But the majority of its travel features — such as no foreign transaction fees, baggage insurance and trip delay insurance — are available with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express as well.

The AmEx Business Gold and Platinum both offer spending flexibility thanks to a combination of Pay Over Time and Pay in Full billing options (more on that below).

But the American Express® Business Gold Card takes it a step further, offering a short intro APR period on Pay Over Time purchases: 0% intro APR on Purchases for 6 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.49%-27.49% Variable APR.

The Business Platinum Card has no such offer.

Similarities between the American Express Business Platinum and American Express® Business Gold Card

Both cards earn Membership Rewards points, rather than cash back. Points offer the most value when redeemed via AmEx Travel. Each point is worth 1 cent, but could be worth even more if you leverage transfer partners.

Your points can also be cashed in for merchandise, charitable donations, gift cards and Amazon.com purchases, often at a lower redemtion rate. If you want an AmEx business card for cash back, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is your best bet.

» MORE: What are AmEx points worth?

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Business Gold Card are both pay-in-full cards by default, with no preset spending limits.

But businesses have the option to finance certain purchases, up to a set limit, with AmEx's "Pay Over Time" option. Pay Over Time is automatically enabled on both the Business Platinum and Business Gold card. When enabled, any purchases over $100 are automatically classified as Pay Over Time.

The interest rates for Pay Over Time purchases vary by card:

• American Express® Business Gold Card: 0% intro APR on Purchases for 6 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.49%-27.49% Variable APR.

• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express:The ongoing APR is 18.49%-27.49% Variable APR.

You must pay any charges over your Pay Over Time limit in full. If Pay Over Time is switched off, all purchases are pay-in-full.

If you want greater financing flexibility from an AmEx card, consider The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. While it lacks the premium rewards of the Business Platinum and Business Gold cards, it’s not a pay-in-full card and still earns Membership Rewards points.

Which card should you get?

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Business Gold Card are built for two different types of business owners.

If you travel often enough to use all the upgrades and perks of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, it could be worth the hefty annual fee. Otherwise, the American Express® Business Gold Card might be a better fit for business owners who want a mix of perks and rewards on their day-to-day spending.

To view rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, see this page.

To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.