Recall that with your American Express Business Gold Card you can choose one of six categories to earn 4x Membership Rewards points per $1. These categories are:
1) Airfare purchased directly from airlines, 2) Advertising, 3)Restaurants, 4) Gas Stations, 5) Shipping, and 6) Computer hardware, software and cloud computing purchases.
You earn 1x Membership Rewards points in the remaining four categories.
BUT-4X points applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year then earn 1 point per dollar.
If you have another card that you would rather use for spending in an above given category if you hit this $150,000 threshold, then you need to keep track of those categories’ purchases. Unfortunately, nowhere on your statement nor on your account online, does it give you a running tab of your category spend. So how can you keep track?
1. Actually keep track. That is figure out from your statements how much you are spending on the category/s and keep a running tab. If you are only using your card for 1 category, it will be simple. But if you are using your card for other purchases, it could be tedious and annoying.
2. Periodically call Amex and ask them how much you have spent in that category/s year to date. This is what I do. Personally, I need to keep track of Rob’s advertising spend (one of the categories we get 4x points in). If I think he is getting close, I will start watching more closely.
If he does hit the $150,000, I will likely have him retire his American Express Business Gold Card for advertising purchases in lieu of another card.