I have been using the American Express Credit Card for over a year now and it is time I posted a review on it. In India, people call the Amex card a credit card but in reality it is just a charge card. Which means that you will not be able to convert your spending into EMIs or move on by just paying the minimum dues.
My American Express Gold Charge Card
You have 20-50 days interest free period just like any other credit card but you have to pay off the dues in full. Else you know what happens, your credit rating will go down and people will knock at your door!
Getting Your Application Approved
American Express Credit Cards are not that easy to get. You will be able to apply for a card only if you live in a major city like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai.
Also your income has to be more than Rs.50,000 a month and you should have a good credit rating. My application got declined once when my salary slips showed Rs.80,000+ a month in salary. I applied again after a year when my salary was more than Rs.1,00,000 a month and then it got approved.
My Amex card is a co-branded card with YesBank but apart from the YesBank logo on the card, there is no other interference from YesBank.
Amex Credit Card Fees and Charges
For the first year the charges / fees for holding this card is just Rs.1000 + Service tax. However from the 2nd year, the yearly charges are Rs.4,500 plus taxes. With taxes, your total cost of holding this card would be around Rs.5,100. But is it worth paying so much for a card?
It depends on how you are using it. The points and benefits that you get from this card will be more than what you pay as fees. Also if you ask the customer support for a waiver of the fees, they are likely to waive it for a year.
Also there is no charge for getting a replacement credit card if you lose your card or if it gets damaged. You can have up to 3 addon credit cards on your family member’s name but all of them will be linked to your card.
Rewards and Benefits
If you use the Amex card for 4 times a month with transaction value of more than Rs.1,000 in each transaction, you will end up getting 1000 reward points in that month. Based on the rewards catalog they have, these 1,000 points translate to around Rs.250 to Rs.300 in value. (keeps changing often)
If you end up getting 1,000 points every month, you will get 12,000 points in a year as a bonus apart from the regular points that you get for spending. Let’s say you earn 15,000 points in a year. This means that you will get at least Rs.3,750 worth of points. This means that around 75% of the fees are covered by your points itself. However you will end up spending more and you will at least make up for the fees that you pay.
Update as on April 2016: (updated by Siddharth)
To make the most of your card, you need to earn 18,000 Reward points (Get Rs.7,500 as statement credit) or 24,000 Reward points (Get Rs.10,000 as statement credit) to avail the milestone rewards.
To get 24,000 Membership Reward points and to avail Rs.10,000 as statement credit, you will need to spend approx 6 Lakhs, provided, you spend 4 times on transactions of Rs. 1,000+ every month. After deducting the annual fees, you will end up receiving ~1.6% reward rate on your spend.
To get 18,000 Membership Reward points and to avail Rs.7,500 as statement credit, you will need to spend approx 3 Lakhs, provided, you spend 4 times on transactions of Rs. 1,000+ every month (which is Rs.50,000 + 2.5 Lakhs Additional spend). After deducting the annual fees, you will end up receiving ~2.2% reward rate on your spend.
That’s too much of monthly discipline to follow to earn bonus rewards.
Downsides of American Express Credit Card
Like every credit card, Amex also has its downsides. In many places Amex is not accepted. If you are a merchant who uses a platform like Instamojo payment gateway, you can’t take payments via Amex cards
Also if there are any payment gateways that does allow Amex card payments, the fees for the merchant are higher than VISA and MasterCard. That’s one of the reasons that it is unattractive for merchants to take Amex payments.
Online Banking Interface
The online banking interface is not that great but it serves the purpose. Here’s a screenshot from my account:
To pay your dues you can make a payment via NEFT or pay online from any bank account. And just like any other credit card, you cannot pay your credit card dues with another credit card!
Features of American Express Gold Charge Card (India):
- CardExpert Rating: 4/5 [yasr_overall_rating]
- Reward rate: ~1.6% normally, upto ~2.2%
- Complementary Airport lounge access: No.
- Foreign Exchange Markup fee: 3.5% + Service Tax
- Special Features: Monthly Rewards.
- Joining Fee: Rs.1000+ Taxes ~ Rs.1,140
- Annual Fees: Rs.4500+ Taxes ~ Rs.5,130
Conclusion
Amex is not just a charge card or a credit card. It is more of a status symbol if you hold it. And if you are an entrepreneur who uses a lot of online services, the card will come in handy when you want to pay online out side India. Just like any other credit card a 3.5% mark up fee is included if you want to pay in USD.
Why Amex? Its a global brand, so, if you are thinking to move to USA or different country, its easy to get Amex credit card in new country on basis of your credit card usage history in India. Citibank as well has this advantage.
Its a good choice to hold one, if you can spend ~3Lakhs in a year so as to avail bonus reward points. Anything above or below that spend does no help in good earning rewards compared to HDFC cards. Check out HDFC Regalia which gives 2% rewards across all spends with no monthly spending rules. Its good for high spenders.
Must Read: 5 Things You Must Know about Amex Gold Charge Card
Any questions? Leave a comment below.
if you spend 4000 a month, you can pay 75% of charges? Yikes!! if you do the same thing with a citibank rewards card you get Rs 2000 as cashback. Maybe you can explain why amex has so much value?
Ramakant,
Amex is for super premium users who spend in Lakhs every month, its for those who need excellent customer support, customized and instant solutions, global presence, etc. It also gives you a great status symbol, respect & eligibility, like, when you take premium rented cars, etc.
Ofcourse, our Indian bank credit cards provide better cashback 🙂
by the way citi is not an indian bank 😛
Worst card among the cards I have used
Please don’t take, What ever they tell initially is fake.
which card is giving more benefit than amex gold charge card on this amount of expenditure. also explain the calculation, if you may.
The best thing about Amex cards:
1) Merchant disputes will be least of your problems – if the claim is genuine, Amex will side with customer 100% and there is no red tape unlike other credit cards.
2) Amex is the only card which is transferable if you’re moving to countries like USA and Canada. This is possible because Amex is its own bank. Unlike other bank cards, which depend on Visa or Master.
3) If you lose your card abroad, Amex will send a replacement pronto.
Day to day use Amex has issues with acceptance etc.
True that.
I spoke to Amex customer support but they said Amex India is NOT transferable to other countries (USA). You have to apply as a new customer based on US policy and they cannot consider Indian credit history in USA.
Only charge cards are transferable. In any case – you’ll start with a clean credit slate in the US (or wherever you’re moving to), regardless of where you’re moving from. When they say ‘transfer,’ Amex means that they will approve your first foreign Amex card based on the relationship history in the previous country. It DOES not mean carrying over the exact card or class to the new country.
Once you provide your SSN or other proof which establishes you as a permanent resident, Amex will expedite the process.
Thanks for your insightful comments Pranay!
US credit card sign up bonuses are indeed jaw dropping.
They’re able to give such great offers probably because a lot of ppl in US pay interest on CC bills that helps them keep the game going.
Do you have US credit cards as well? Shed some light on it if someone in India wants to hold one 🙂
I don’t have US credit cards – you need a local credit file for that. No bank will issue a personal credit card to a non-resident.
But if you are a non-US, non-resident, the best way to get a US credit card is to open a Delaware C Corporation, open a business account and get the bank to issue a secure business credit card based on that.
It makes sense only if one is actually transacting in the US. Else opening a Delaware corp just for the sake of the card makes no sense – lots of paperwork filing involved.
Okay! Yes, it make sense. Thanks for the info 🙂
I have been using the Amex Gold Charge Card (issued in India) since Nov 2015 with on-time payment every month, got an annual few waiver in 2016. I will be moving to the USA in August for higher studies . So I have 2 questions: 1) What are the chances of card approval in USA with the Global Transfer Program? 2) Will the Membership Reward points be transferred in case the transfer goes through?
In case the transfer is realised under the Global Transfer Program, are Membership Reward points also transferred?
which card is giving this much of benefit. also explain the calculation, if you may.
Can you tell How do we get 2000 cashback on citibank rewards cards doing same thing?
The card is valuable if you do Airline transfer points. One can transfer airline points to Airlines such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Etihad and others in ratio of 2:1 for a nominal fee of Rs. 250. Monthly bonus points, along with initial membership points plus annual renewal points easily add-up to around 20,000 – 24,000 points that translate into 10,000 – 12,000 airline points. You can earn such points with various airline cards but not without spending 5-6 lakhs annually. Here, with AMEX, you can earn it while spending Rs, 48,000 annually plus annual fee. So, definitely lot valuable to hold the card.
Manish,
Agreed, Amex gold charge card is a good choice if used for reward points to airline transfers as the point value is pretty good in this case while usual redemption for gift-cards is not that worth.
Actually converting Amex points to airline miles is NOT value for money.
The best value for money is converting 24,000 Amex points into a statement credit of Rs.10,000/- This gives you a points to INR ratio of 2.4:1.
Now let’s take an airline. For example, Emirates Skywards
1) Convert 24,000 Amex points into 12,000 airmiles of Emirates.
2) Bangalore-Dubai Emirates redemption is 37,000 miles for round trip. The ticket cost is around INR 30,000 if bought.
3) For 37,000 miles you need 72,000+ Amex points.
4) Till this point, the airmiles and statement credit redemption offer equal INR value of 30,000
But once you ask Emirates to redeem, then you realize that you have to pay INR 15,000 approx just for converting your 37,000 miles into tickets.
So basically your 72,000 Amex points offers only Rs. 15,000 cash value, compared to statement credit of Rs.10,000.
Of course, you can find loopholes like covert your Amex points into Emirates miles and then further convert that into Jet Privilege (physical presence at Jet ticket office required) which will give you close to INR 30,000 value, but as you can see it is complicated.
Statement credit is the best way to redeem Amex Gold points.
(Source: Have the Amex Gold Charge for 5+ years, also member of Jetprivilege Plat, Staralliance (United gold), Emirates Skywards Gold. )
What do u mean by “Statement of credit”??
Means Rs.10000 will reduced from your outstanding.
Hi Pranay,
Since you have been holding the gold card for 5+ years, can you tell me how much does one need to spend on the card to get the fee waived off or even reduced? 4500 + taxes is a lot. The 4×1000 every month is something you have to constantly remind yourself about.
My average monthy spend is 1lakh+. But spending consistently above Rs.50,000 gives one a good chance at fee waiver.
Hello Pranay, I think the true value of redemption depends upon situation. For example, I had flown only once with Emirates on a company paid trip & earned few skymiles. I was short of 1200 miles from an Easyjet redemption ticket worth $65 from Amsterdam to Zurich. So for me, I see now a value of 4000/- for those 2400 MR points that I’ve transferred from Amex to Emirates… 🙂
Deepak, today sales guy was explaining me this card. If we spend 4000 rs transaction(each transaction minimum 1000 rs) every month, at the end of the year we will get gift card worth of 7500 rs. Is its so?please advise.
Vijay,
Confirm it with Amex Customer care. Their reward point value keeps changing from time to time.
True, I am using it for past 3 weeks now. you get a welcome bonus of 4000 points. And I got 1000 points for 4 transactions above 1000 rs. It also gives you a gift voucher of 1000rs from bookmyshow(need to call and register for service, i have registered but yet to spend :P).
Apart from this, if you register for standing instructions(auto payment of your bills), you will get a 1000 rewards.
And if you review your card for next year, you will get 5000 rewards.
So on a total :
1000 x 12 = 12000
4000 x 1 = 4000
5000 x 1 = 5000
1000 x 1 = 1000
——————————
22000, then get an extra 2000 with your spends, you will get 10000 rs cash card.
else for 18000 points, you get 7500 rs cash card.
Can u tell me USP of gold charge card?
Its the only “Charge” card that you can get at low joining fee in India.
Thinking of getting a Jet Airways Amex Platinum card. Has a host of features and I fit the eligibility criteria too but just don’t know if spending 10k per year from the second year as renewal fees is worth it. I have the Jet Airways ICICI rubyx card which offers almost similar JPmiles, also Citi Premiermiles card offers similar JPmiles conversion ratio. Both charge relatively low renewal fees.
A little confused. Would appreciate if you could advise.
Its worth it if you travel very often on Jet Airways. Another card with high JP miles earn rate is JetPrivilege HDFC Diners Club card. If you travel locally, Amex plat travel card is best as you get close to 20,000 INR worth of Indigo vouchers on spending 4L a year.
I just got the Jet Airways ICICI Sapphiro card. They have a promotion going on with joining benefits of 12500 bonus miles and one base fare waiver ticket with 2500 joining fees (instead of the usual 10000 miles and 5000 joining fees)
First impressions – Online payments are just like VISA. Pretty straight forward. But my credit limit is pretty low (as compared to my visa card). Don’t know how they decided that. I have good amount of spends every month on my VISA card and have never been a defaulter in the past 2 years.
Also, I found out that the PIN cannot be changed. You have to use the PIN provided by amex as its programmed inside the chip.
Umang,
True that, “Jet Airways Amex ICICI Sapphiro card” is one of the best cards ICICI has. I’ve reviewed about this card separately as well 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Nice article Deepak. One thing I would like to point out that Amex is not very good with acceptance globally. It is only accepted widely in USA and not in any other country. If you need a card that is accepted everywhere, stick to Visa or MasterCard. I live in USA and I have seen many small merchants here that don’t accept Amex.
Hi Siddharth,
Could you write on the benefits of Amex Platinum Charge Card issued in India, it’s fees and benefits, something that’s not usually available on their webpage, also whether the benefits offered by Amex worldwide applies to Indian issued Amex cards.
Thanks.
The Indian Platinum charge card is rubbish, not worth it. Not comparable to the benefits you receive for the US Plat charge. Indian benefits are watered down from what Amex gives globally – only thing which is shared is the full-tier Priority Pass for airport lounges.
@ Anil supraj
Can you explain this.. I don’t understand that a review can earn u points
“And if you review your card for next year, you will get 5000 rewards”
Are they giving 4000 as welcome bonus?
I believe he meant renewal, not review. On joining you get 4000 pts as welcome bonus. On renewal it gives 4k/5k renewal bonus.
Do we have to do any number of transactions to get the welcome rewards points?
Also This card in not good for utility, mobile payment as they charge Rs 50 per transaction:(
Hi, is there a way to get the annual fee for second year waived? 4999 in annual fee is outrageous. Someone told me after a particular level of spending they might waive off the fee, any idea what this level is?
Spend as much as possible. Around 3-5 Lakhs would help for sure.
If you spend more than Rs.50,000 a month and account is in good standing (zero default), then there is a good chance your charges will be waived off on request.
(I have had the Amex gold charge for 5 years now)
Thanks for the valuable tip.
Hi. Every Rs.50 earns 1 point. So, to earn 18000 points one needs to spend 36000. Once you earn 18000 points you would get Rs. 7500 which can be redeemed to cash. This is how I understood from the sales guy. Not sure how does this spending of 3 lakh come from which you have put out in your blog? Can you please explain?
By spending 36,000 you get only 720 points Yogi.
How did u calculate that Siddhartha that u get only 720 points???
36000/50 = 720 Points.
I have been holding both AmEx credit and charge card from past 4 year’s.
It’s worth paying their annual fee because of the superb customer service. Yes, there are few acceptance issue’s with Amex.
can swap my amex jet credit card with amex platinum travel card in just fourth month after getting it…secondly can i apply for a gold charge as well now
You cant swap the card as far as i know with Amex. You can take a new card after 6 months of usage of 1st card.
Which Bank POS uses AMEX Gold Card (Offline Shopping)?
State Bank of India. Announced recently, so acceptance will increase.
So, from what ur saying –
– hdfc religa is over all better (2-4%returns)
– amex is better ( 2.2 returns) if we follow all the rules it lays and u don’t spend in hdfc religa specific places (in which case, returns would be 2%)?
Amex had this bookmyshow show coupons, worth 1000/- every month ( with some rules), it’s not active now (will b active again Is what I’ve heard). If that is active, it’ll bring amex back on top (Regardless of the rules – i.e, 2.2% with 12000 bookmyshow vouchers)?
I have citi rewards – which is shit, had processed hdfc religa – it stopped coz they wanted some more of my docs which I was too lazy to go n mail them. Now, amex ppl came n offered me a card. I took gold, but yes they do have a lot of shitty rules – but the whole experience is great – literally no wait time on customer service calls and they are awesome in helping the customer. I don’t think I’ll get this with hdfc, then again the air insurance and religa specific returns do seem very tempting. Just wanted to know would the bookmyshow offer change anything when comparing the two.
Vivek,
BMS offers are only temporary. When you happen to have such confusion, always get both cards 😉
Amex is offering me Gold Rewards Charge Card (Latest One) , which is same as Gold card but they also have Pay-in-Parts Privilege (EMI).
I know its Charge Card so no Set Limit but having said that, there must be some extend that i can swipe that card.
After all it’s not Amex centurion card (Black Card).
Rewards card (latest) is a credit card and not charge card.
In Official site it is mentioned as “Earn 1 Membership Rewards Point for every1 Rs.50 spent except for spends at Fuel, Insurance, Utilities and Cash Transactions”
Which means we will not get Reward Points if we use the Amex Card for Fuel, Insurance, Utilities and Cash Transactions? Please confirm as I need to Apply.
Yes Iyyappan, You wont get points on that!
Utilities only applies to government agencies. Paying for Airtel, Vodafone bills get you MR points.
Thanks Siddharth for clarifying. Then it is very clear that it is not good to use Amex. Most people will use Credit Cards for these only:Fuel, Insurance, Utilities and Cash Transactions.
Not actually. They’ve temporary promotion of 3% cashback on Fuel which is high.
Also you get some bonus points regardless of txn type.
All together, its a good one. Though not a great card with its basic features (Gold variant).
Their Diwali Offers were awesome. Such thing are great here 🙂
Nowadays no bank is giving points on fuels and utilities transaction atleast HDFC and Amex that i know.
One of the worst card I have ever seen and used. I want to cancel but they r not cancelling and adding 12% fine every month. Please don’t use this card
Yes, it has fine if not paid fully the same month.
Can u explain in detail, why they are not cancelling your card?
Amex is One of the worst card I have ever seen and used.sales guy tells there be no limit .once you take card customet service guys tells there wil be pre-set limit which wil vary ever.y month .Then on fine day these guys call before even statement generation date and tells to pay the 30 % whatever been used since you used over limit .I dont undersatnd when these amex gusy tel there is no limit how can the there over limit .Then they block the card til Ipay the amount .Biggest bullshit card .
I have been using american express card for over a year now. The services I expected were not given. I tries to use the concierge services twice and both time some lame excuse was given. I dont think using american express credit card in india is worthed. In fact the people in the helpline just waste your time.
Sid,
So what if one wants to redeem points before reaching 18000? Will it be cash credit? If so what’s the conversion rate? How about validity of the points?
I got a call from agent offering his card, he says u’ll get 4000 reward points which is 1000Rs and if u think annual fee is too much, request customer care to waive it off, if they don’t then cancel it. Any how, u are getting the amount 1000 u invested….any trick in this logic?
Should I go for it to experience Amex for an year? Your suggestion pls?
No idea about validity. I’ve mentioned value of points.
Yes, you can have it to experience Amex and also to avail some great offers run by Amex from time to time.
Gold charge card points never expire.
You can redeem points before 18000 or 24000 points but the conversion is going to be 40% less.
Example: 18,000 points = Rs.7500 statement credit
Regular points redemption 17,999 points = Rs.4499 credit only
Huge difference – better to wait for 18k or 24k milestones – both have the same conversion rate.
Hi, I am thinking to take an AMEX but confused between Platinum travel card & gold card. I understand gold card is a charge card & Platinum TC is a credit card. How will Amex decide on the allowed limit to spend per month in both the cases.
Helpful and informative article. Just wanted to find out what is the maximum number of charge and credit cards that AMEX issues to an individual in India? Heard that besides a charge card, an individual can hold 2 credit cards.
Yes, you’re right. Some also say that you can hold one more card: MMT card
AMEX Gold is not a bad card to have in wallet, I had a wonderful experience in last 5 year.
Their return rate is approx 2% , if you spend 6 Lac annually you will get 11,000 K Amazon Voucher in 24K Gold category which comes
Yes their bonus reward points offers have drastically came down, now you can get 10X only when you spend in 5* hotel.
I remember days from 2011 when even if you spend on weekend (anywhere you will get 5X).
Any 1000 bonus for 4 swipe of Rs 1000 was earlier Rs 250 (in 2011-2012), may be they wanted to capture market.
Another best feature of AMEX is instant discount instead of Cashback(they have few cashback offers as well).
Like go and swipe on Cafe Coffee Day , while swiping (350 above), machine itself deduct 15% and swipe for less.
Then if you referral offers, I remember they made an linkedin plugin , if some of your linked contacts join you will get 10000 points !!!Even now their is offer going on (check your mail box for AMEX referral link) you will get 8000 points for successful referral.
So I had an excellent time with AMEX in last 6 years, on top of it , I got this card for free and then next year after spending 3 Lacs they charged me 6k fee and after a 5 minute call , I got it reversed and this is been continued till now.
If your spends are decent, there are high chances that your fee can be reversed, all depends on negotiation skill.
I haven’t paid any single rupee of fee to AMEX till now and got 50K of cash in return and I am using since 2011.
Now my preference is
Diners Black
AMEX Gold
VISA
Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience with Amex.
Hi Lalitha,
I hold an Amex Gold since 3 months and have just received a referral link for which if it converts to a client, the reward is 8000 points for referrer and 2000 points to the new member if he spends Rs 5000 within 90 days. So win-win for both referrer and the new member.
Now looking for a relative/friend for this offer. 🙂
regards,
Shasidhar
Hi,
In case one is moving to the US. Does anyone have personal experience with getting an Amex card in the U.S.A based on your Amex card in India? What are the steps?
Regards,
Jon.G
Finally mixed opinions some are saying good and some are saying its expensive, what we are paying the money as a Annual fee from 2nd year on wards and we are getting the reward points i.e. if we converted in to the money less than the Annual fee.
If I have 48000 points, can I get statement credit of 10000 twice?
Can your share how you to reach 18k milestone? each step by step. ? i saw about 1000 points *12 =12000 points.
remaining 6k points how much we need to spend to reach 6k?
2.5 Lakhs Additional spend needed, i’ve actually explained it in the article.
Thanks…what is your strategy of spends to earn more points..i mean u use paytm to earn get 12k points a year apart from that what else merchants you use to earn points?
Spending 1000*4 =4000 per month =1040 points per month
Annual charges = 5175 = 431.25 per month
If we Consider a 12 and half month period then
Points accrued = 1040×12.5= 13000 points
Money to be spent ₹4000*12.5=₹50000
Annual charges for 12.5 months =431.25×12.5=5390.625
Extra Points on renewal = 5000
Total points accrued in 12.5 months = 18000(13000+5000)
Converting it to credit=₹7500
Total benefit=₹7500-₹5390.625=₹2109.375
Spending ₹50000 over 12.5 months earns ₹2109.375
Return rate =(2109.375/50000)*(12/12.5)=4.05%
Even with no additional spending and no waiver return is 4.05%. so it’s worth going even without waiver
Got a mail from amex that from July 1 , 6 transactions are needed above 1000 for getting 1000 mr bonus points . Did any one else get it
I also got the mail. But 5175Rs for 12k points is a good deal
From 1st July 2017, we need to do 6 transactions of minimum 1000/- in a month to get 1000 MR points.
Additionally, from then onward, one can redeem 12000 MR points for a statement credit of 5175/-
No i have not received any communication. Rs.5175 translates into 2nd year renewAl fees of 4500+taxes
Can I redeem points for any other benefits before reaching the 18000 or 24000 milestone?
Say I manage to accumulate 16000 points in a year and redeem all those points and close the card without giving the renewal fee of 5000?
Their eligibility criteria is very funny. I already hold an Amex Platinum Reserve CC (have this for more than a year now) and when I tried to apply for an Amex Gold Charge Card it keeps telling me that I’m currently not eligible. When I inquired they asked me to wait till I receive a physical letter stating the reason in order for me to get a clear picture.
Hope you applied after 6 months of getting reserve card?
If so, maybe due to CIBIL score or other reasons on CIBIL report.
I have a Gold charge card with fees, and have been offered a free gold credit card. Now there is an offer for a MRCC card which is LTF. I called the customer service to inquire about shifting/converting my card to MRCC Life time free..but it is not possible. Amex is now punishing you for being a loyal customer and not offering you the same value as they are offering a new customer. It does not make sense that they offer additional benefit to new customer and not to the existing.
To attract new customers it is Life time free… whilst for existing customers it is pay for same card….UNFAIR
Totally agreed. I have spent 4.5L this yr on Amex Gold Charge card and the best offer for waiver they provide is my 2ns yr annual fee would be 2250 + 5000 Bonus pts. I am thinking about cancelling the card as I feel cheated.
Akshay – Amex did not waive annual fees after spend of 4.5 lakhs in a year? That’s strange. That’s the usual spend for me and I have had the fees waived for the last 3 years, and planning to do so again in December this year. I also read in many comments that even 3 lakh spend is enough for annual fee waiver.
Have the fee waiver slabs changed?
I’ve got the 100% waiver this year. They’re looking for minimum ~6L annual spend range on Gold card lately.
Is there any way I can get the gold charge card if I don’t live in a metro anymore
I can still spend a decent amount online once I have a card
I prefer using debit cards and even when I do use credit card I pay my bill on time in full every month
so the concept of a charge card with no preset limit feels like the best of both worlds
is there any way for me to contact Amex directly for this
I do make and spend 6 lpa + in a year
After reading the above posts I can safely say that Diners club black credit card is way better in all respects than any Amex card. Correct me if I am wrong.
How long does it mostly take to process the Gold Card application.
Further I would like to add a few points here:
1. The card is provided Free to Central Govt employees currently.
2. I got the income waiver, so did my batchmates
3 Membership rewards card is being given Free as add on.
This seems to be interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Usually you get the card in hand within 7 working days.
Did they carry out a physical verification, coz I got a call for that and then the person said I can’t come.
Yes they do. Infact their TAT seems to be longer now, maybe for some regions. Earlier they used to dispatch card within 7 working days, but now they’re taking bit longer.
In Mumbai they can’t behave like they are in Greater Noida.
My wife got card exactly on 5th day after sending documents through email. All documents through email, no visit no telephonic verification.. I was shocked when she received SMS with courier details.
Oddly though, got verification for mine after a week this time and the whole process taking more than 2 weeks despite holding 2 Amex cards already. It all depends on the location & other factors i guess.
Hey Manu, can you please share the source of the offer(The card is provided Free to Central Govt employees currently.)?
The person who collected my docs, said that..
Thanks.
I called the Amex helpline today. They told me that there is no such offer. I will ask the agent about it once he comes to take the docs.
Amex Customer Care usually doesn’t know any special offers run by sales team.
Manu to which City u Belong and Where this offer mention that it is free for central Govt Employees?
I am in Mumbai, the exact wordings of the Executive was.. Sir aap logon ke profile wale… I am in central govt and I felt he meant this..
I asked the agent who came to collect the documents about this offer. He told me that there is no such offer as of now and rather, he told me about an offer on Gold Card along with I will get MRCC lifetime free as companion card. It seems like they have this offer in selected cities.
I got my card, just one tweet was enough to sort things out,
Hi,
I’m from Hyderabad. I too received a mail from Amex stating that it’s life time free and the eligible income criteria is 4 lakhs only. Apart from that Rs. 1000/- book my show voucher and 10* reward points on selected partners. Is it true. Did anyone get the similar mail?
yes, received the same info on call from amex.
Amex has launched new everyday spend gold credit card. It seems to be amix of sbi simply click and hdfc 10x offers but with low thresholds. Fees and criteria is also low.
Amex Complimentary hotel stay voucher worth up to Rs.6,000
No spend category restrictions | No minimum spend limit per transaction
Spend a total of Rs. 40,000 or more during the offer period on your American Express® Gold Card American Express Domestic Travel hotel stay voucher worth Rs. 3,000
OR
Spend a total of Rs. 75,000 or more during the offer period on your American Express® Gold Card American Express Domestic Travel hotel stay voucher worth Rs. 6,000
Targeted, for select gold card members.
If you use the Amex card for 4 times a month with transaction value of more than Rs.1,000 in each transaction, you will end up getting 1000 reward points in that month. Based on the rewards catalog they have, these 1,000 points translate to around Rs.250 to Rs.300 in value. (keeps changing often)
Now it is 6 times a month. Can you please change it above as well?
What is your opinion on owning a HDFC Regalia Card as a Lifetime card with Lounge access and Amex Gold Charged as a Daily Online Driver.
Annual Expense: ~ 2-3L
I have taken the Gold card from Dec 18.
My Strategy is to utilize the travel benefits: I’ve a frequent flyer membership with Jet and Jet currently gives 50% more points if you transfer more than 5000 JPMiles (10k Amex MR). This is valid for Gold Card not MRCC.
Minimum spend of 72k (6k x12) I get positive value of 16%.
My Request to you is:
1) Can you please update your review based on the latest year as a lot has changed.
2) Please explore/comment on the point that AmeX can only give you maximum value if you are using its partners facilities rather than convert points to cashback.
Anyone with a recent annual fee waiver case?
I currently hold 3 Amex card accounts (Gold charge, Plat Travel and Plat Reserve). Spends are split as 72k (6k x 12) on Gold Charge, around 4L on Plat Travel and negligible on Plat Reserve and use only if there is a spend based offer going on any of the cards.
Through the last year I used the gold charge only for the minimum spend for max points in the year i.e. 72k (6k x 12) and completed my 5th year with Amex. Asked for a fee waiver and they only provided for a 50% waiver but along with a bonus of 5000 MR points. Effectively paid 2250 + 18% tax i.e. Rs 2655 and got points worth around Rs 2100-2200.
Mathematically I am paying a very small amount to retain my Gold charge after converting the bonus points but anyone with a complete annual fee reversal with the minimum spends on Gold charge? Would love to know.
If you want a full waiver on the Gold charge card you’ll need to spend at least 1.5 lakhs. I got a full waiver AND 5000 points. So it’s worth spending that additional 70-80k for 5k points, specially if you can redeem them at over 2k. That’s around 2.5% return.
AMEX now has a offline offer where they are offering the GOLD Card as LTF. I applied yesterday. Shall update here when I receive it.
This year has been good for me for fee reversals. First got full fee reversal in MRCC and now on Gold card got 50%waiver along with 5K points. Virtually only paying around Rs650 as fees.
What is the procedure to close the card
Any idea if Amex issues card on Card to Card basis? Or is income proof a mandate when applying?
I recently got this card. The CC representative told me that I can have my existing MRCC card as a companion card and it will LTF till the time I hold this charge card. Is is beneficial to do so? On converting it to LTF, I guess I would lose the 5k bonus points offered on renewal irrespective of getting a few waiver which is 2250 for me.
First of all people think as if AMEX is a great card but not at all so in India. I have seen people keeping AMEX card in the wallet just for the sake of showing off. Keeping an eye on the spends and keeping a track record constantly of where to spend, how to spend on a card so I will be getting more points and my charges will be waived off is a stupidity. In my opinion credit card is for me, I am not for credit card. The companies give credit cards because they do business out of it and earn out of it.
I have been using this platinum travel credit card about an year now, but eventually have cancelled it, just because it is not accepted everywhere in India. Apart from that if you use it for fuel other than HP you are charged for convenience fee @1% which has never been charged to me by VISA or MASTER cards. I have other cards too and they are widely accepted in USA and Europe too.
I give more weightage to practicality than showing off. AMEX can think of themselves as a great card but in my opinion they are tricky. They expect their customers to play by their rules. Sorry not my cup of tea.
This seems more like a rant. Based on what you have written above, I would simply say that you are on the wrong website. You belong more to the category of people who should have a single credit card and not bother anything about credit card privileges or offers.
Also, it is better you do not generalize the crowd using Amex. Most of the people who use Amex here, know the best way to use the Amex Cards. If you think it is a pain monitoring the spends and stuff to achieve the fee waiver or milestone bonus, go get some Life-time Free credit card. I still dont understand the reason why you are here.
You are absolutely right, Amex is not accepted everywhere in India for sure. Also it will be difficult to get your anual fee waived off unless otherwise you spent according to their promotions, not on your needs. Secondly the sales executives are lying according to the situation which has no relevance to the actual policies of Amex. In short, you have a plenty of better options to choose in India, far far better options.
I got my Amex gold charge card from the referral link here and got 2000 additional points. Gold charge was a compromise as I wanted to have a premium looking card that would give heft whenever I use it at high end places. Platinum is too expensive and getting so much value from it would have been impossible for me. Gold card is affordable and at the same time looks beautiful and premium. I know this is purely psychological but still !
Hey, well explained about American express credit card in India and there review this is to be important and useful for us. Thank you for provides best information’s.