Earn rate
| Spending category | Earn rate | Value per $100 spent |
|---|---|---|
| All eligible purchases | 1 pt / $1 | ~$1.00 |
This is a charge card with no preset spending limit; balances are due in full each month, with a Flexible Payment Option on eligible charges. 1 Membership Rewards point ≈ $0.01 CAD as a baseline, and a fixed $0.01 toward car rentals, hotels, and vacation packages booked through American Express Travel; transfers to Aeroplan and other airline partners can return more.
Benefits
| Benefit | Details |
|---|---|
| No preset spending limit | Purchasing power adjusts with your spending pattern, payment history, and credit record rather than a fixed ceiling. |
| Transferable points | Membership Rewards transfer to Aeroplan, Avios, Flying Blue, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hilton Honors, or redeem at a fixed $0.01 toward travel through American Express Travel. |
| The Hotel Collection credit | Book two or more consecutive nights at participating properties through American Express Travel for a $100 credit toward amenities, plus a room upgrade where available. |
| American Express Experiences | Front Of The Line presale and reserved tickets, plus offers curated for Cardmembers. |
| Additional cards | $50 per additional card. |
| Welcome bonus | A Membership Rewards welcome offer applies to new Cardmembers. Verify the current offer with American Express before applying. |
| Foreign transactions | 2.5% currency conversion charge on purchases in a foreign currency. No waiver. |
Travel insurance on the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
The American Express Business Gold Rewards Card scores 11 of 100 on the figures its certificate publishes, joint 45th of the 59 Canadian cards compared. The certificate carries no emergency medical benefit, so a hospital bill abroad is yours. That is the gap to close before you travel, whatever else the card covers. Trip cancellation is excluded, so a trip called off before departure is not covered.
| Emergency medical | Not included |
|---|---|
| Trip cancellation | Not included |
| Trip interruption | Not included |
| Flight or trip delay | $500 per person · after 4 hours · $500 per trip |
| Baggage delay | $500 per person · after 6 hours |
| Rental car collision or damage | Pays first · rentals to 48 days · vehicles to $85,000 |
You must charge 100% of the trip cost to the card for the coverage to apply. A booking made with points still qualifies. You have 90 days from the incident to report a claim. Dependent children are covered to age 21.
Every figure from the certificate, with its own wording
| Emergency medical | Not included |
|---|---|
| Trip cancellation | Not included |
| Trip interruption | Not included |
| Flight or trip delay | per person: $500 (stated as the maximum aggregate limit for Coverages A, B and C combined per occurrence, prorated across insured persons) trigger hours: 4 hours (also applies where no alternative transportation is made available within four hours of the scheduled departure time) per trip cap: $500 (same $500 aggregate applies to Coverages A, B and C combined per occurrence) |
| Baggage delay | per person: $500 (stated as the maximum aggregate limit for Coverages A, B and C combined per occurrence) trigger hours: 6 hours (expenses must be incurred within four days of arrival at the outbound scheduled destination point) |
| Lost, stolen or damaged baggage | per person: $500 (per occurrence for all insured persons combined) per item sublimit: $300 (jewellery; golf clubs including golf bags are capped at $250 per occurrence) |
| Travel accident | limit: $100,000 (maximum indemnity per covered person; $50,000 for loss of one hand, one foot or the sight of one eye) common carrier only: Yes (also covers alternate transportation arranged by a scheduled airline for a delayed or rerouted flight) covers 24h: No (benefits are payable only under the Common Carrier Benefit and the Alternate Transportation Benefit on a Covered Trip) |
| Hotel or motel burglary | $500 (per burglary occurrence; accommodation must be charged to the Card) |
| Emergency travel assistance | offered: Yes (assistance service, not an insurance certificate; the certificate package names Global Excel as the assistance and claims service provider reachable 24 hours a day) |
| Rental car collision or damage | is primary: Yes (except for losses waived or assumed by the rental agency or its insurer, or where local government insurance legislation states otherwise) vehicle value cap: $85,000 (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price in the vehicle model year, excluding all taxes, at the place the rental agreement is signed or the auto is picked up) max rental days: 48 days (consecutive days; exceeding 48 consecutive days removes coverage from the first day of rental onwards) excluded classes: Automobiles or other vehicles which are not rental autos (enumeration truncated at 40 words; the excluded-vehicle list continues with vehicles over $85,000 MSRP, vans and cargo vans, trucks, pick-up trucks, limousines, off-road vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds, trailers, campers, recreational vehicles, mini-buses, buses, handmade or hand-finished vehicles, production runs under 2,000 vehicles per year, antique vehicles and tax-free cars) territory: The rental auto may be driven across provincial and state boundaries in Canada and the U.S. and between Canada and the U.S. (coverage is only available if the Cardmember is a resident of Canada) |
| Purchase protection | days: 90 days (from the date of purchase; covers direct physical damage or theft anywhere in the world) limit per item: $1,000 (stated per Cardmember per occurrence, even where the occurrence involves more than one insured item) |
| Extended warranty | cap: $10,000 (per insured item; $25,000 per Cardmember per policy year for all occurrences and all insured items combined) |
| Mobile device | limit: $1,000 (per occurrence and per insured person; one claim in any 12 consecutive month period and two claims in any 48 consecutive month period) requires full charge: Yes (alternatively the required up-front payment is charged to the Card and the balance financed through a provider payment plan with all bill payments charged to the Card) eligible events: Mobile Device Insurance provides coverage in the event your mobile device is lost, stolen or accidentally damaged, anywhere in the world. (devices must be purchased for business use only) |
Figures above are from the Certificates of Insurance, American Express Business Gold Rewards Card, effective 2025-07-01, underwritten by Belair Insurance Company Inc.; Travel Accident underwritten by Chubb Life Insurance Company of Canada. Checked against the certificate for 13 coverage types. Terms change without notice; verify with the issuer before relying on any figure.
What your monthly spend earns
| Category | Monthly spend | Rate | Monthly pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| All purchases | $2,500 | 1x | 2,500 pts / mo |
30,000 pts / year (~$300 at the $0.01 baseline, ~$101 net of the $199 fee). ~1.00% effective return before any transfer upside. The value of this card is the transferable currency and the no-preset-limit charge structure, not a high headline rate.
Good fit if
- You run a business with uneven or large monthly spend and want purchasing power that flexes rather than a hard credit limit.
- You value transferable points over category multipliers, and will move Membership Rewards to Aeroplan or a hotel program.
- You want a simple charge card that earns the same on every dollar without tracking bonus categories.
If that describes you, apply for the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card. Not sure yet? Book a free conversation and we will walk through it together.
Less useful if
- Your business spend concentrates in restaurants, transit, or gas. A category-bonus business card earns more in those areas than a flat 1x card.
- You want a high flat rate. At 1x, the everyday earn is modest; the appeal is the currency and the structure, not the multiplier.
- You prefer to carry a balance over time. This is a charge card with balances due in full outside the Flexible Payment Option.