SmartEarn

Joining ₹495 · Annual ₹495 · Renewal waived on ₹40,000 of eligible spends in the previous year

Fee break-even: ≈₹82,500/yr through this card at its base rate. Below that, the fee eats the rewards.

Earns Membership Rewards points · assumed 0.3 ₹/point. Assumed ₹0.30 per point via the Gold Collection vouchers. Amex publishes the catalogue only after login, so this is our estimate of its middle, not a printed rate

Verified 13 Aug 2026

Forex markup3.5%

EMI₹199 plus taxes per conversion at the point of sale processing fee · A converted purchase stops earning rewards · PAYFLEX instalments cost ₹199 at the point of sale, 2% more converting afterwards. A converted purchase earns no points. · A purchase converted to EMI at the point of sale earns no points

Fuel surchargeNo waiver. HPCL waives its own convenience fee on transactions below ₹5,000

Return by category

Category	Return	Notes
Online spend	0.6%	Base rate
Amazon	3%	5X on Amazon caps at 250 points a month, about ₹2,500 of spend
Flipkart	0.6%	Base rate
Subscriptions & OTT	0.6%	Base rate
Offline spend	0.6%	Base rate
UPI spending	0%	Amex runs its own network with no RuPay variant, so UPI linking is unavailable
Dining	0.6%	Base rate
Swiggy	0.6%	Base rate
Zomato	6%	The 10X pool caps at 500 points a month, about ₹2,500 of partner spend · 10X partners: Zomato, Ajio, Nykaa, BookMyShow and Uber, sharing one cap
Groceries	0.6%	Base rate
Quick commerce	0.6%	Base rate
Swiggy Instamart	0.6%	Base rate
Blinkit	0.6%	Base rate
BigBasket	0.6%	Base rate
Movies & shows	0.6%	Base rate
BookMyShow	6%	Shares the 500 point monthly 10X cap
PVR INOX	0.6%	Base rate
Fuel	0%	Fuel earns no points
Travel (general)	0.6%	Base rate
Flights	0.6%	Base rate
Hotels	0.6%	Base rate
MakeMyTrip	0.6%	Base rate
IRCTC rail	0.6%	Base rate
International	−2.9%	0.6% reward − 3.5% forex markup
Utilities & bills	0%	Utilities earn no points
Rent	0.6%	Base rate
Education fees	0.6%	Base rate
Insurance premiums	0%	Insurance earns no points
Government & tax	0.6%	Base rate
Wallet loads	0.6%	Base rate
Anything else	0.6%	Base rate
Jewellery	0.6%	Base rate

Rates are the card's own published rates, before any spend profile. Add this card inMy cards to rank it against the rest of your wallet.

Also worth knowing

Welcome: ₹500 cashback as statement credit on ₹10,000 of spends in the first 90 days

Other exclusions

A purchase converted to EMI at the point of sale earns no points

American Express SmartEarnBest for An Amex on a small fee3.4 / 5

What we liked

The cheapest way into the Amex ecosystem at ₹495, waived on just ₹40,000
10X on Zomato, Nykaa, BookMyShow, Ajio and Uber inside its cap
₹500 cashback welcome on ₹10,000 of early spends

What to mind

Both accelerated caps are tiny, roughly ₹2,500 of spend each a month
0.6% base once the caps fill
Amex acceptance thins outside the big cities

Sources

Every figure above comes from the issuer's own pages and documents. Last verified 13 Aug 2026.

Spotted an outdated rate?