American Express
American Express SmartEarn Credit Card
3.9 / 5amex
- Joining fee
- ₹495
- Annual fee
- ₹495
- Base reward
- 0.5%
- Min income
- ₹37,500/mo
- Forex markup
- 3.5%
- Interest p.a.
- 42%
Where it earns
| Category | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|
| Online shopping | 5% | ₹12,500 |
| Everything else | 2.5% | ₹5,000 |
Benefits
- ▸10X Membership Rewards points at partner merchants (Zomato, Flipkart, Uber, Myntra, Nykaa, Ajio, BookMyShow, PVR, EaseMyTrip, BlinkIt), capped 500 pts/month
- ▸5X Membership Rewards points on Amazon, capped 250 pts/month
- ▸1 Membership Rewards point per Rs.50 on other eligible spends (excludes fuel, utilities, insurance, cash, POS-EMI)
- ▸Milestone gift vouchers at Rs.1.2L / 1.8L / 2.4L annual spend
- ▸Zero lost-card liability and contactless payments
- ▸EMI conversion available from ~14% p.a.
The good
- + Low Rs.495 annual fee, waivable on Rs.40,000 annual spend
- + Strong ~5% effective value-back at popular online partner merchants (within caps)
- + Membership Rewards points do not expire while account is active
The catch
- − Monthly caps limit accelerated earning (500 pts/month on 10X, 250 pts/month on Amazon 5X)
- − Low 0.5% base earn outside accelerated merchants; no points on fuel/utilities/insurance
- − Narrow Amex acceptance vs Visa/Mastercard; 3.5% forex markup
- − No lounge access