American Express
American Express Gold Card
4.0 / 5amex
- Joining fee
- ₹1,000
- Annual fee
- ₹4,500
- Base reward
- 0.5%
- Min income
- ₹6,00,000/mo
- Forex markup
- 3.5%
- Interest p.a.
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Benefits
- ▸1 Membership Rewards point per Rs 50 spent (approx 0.5% value-back at Rs 0.25/point; excludes insurance and cash transactions)
- ▸Up to 5X bonus points via Reward Multiplier on select brands (e.g. Flipkart, Apple)
- ▸Membership Rewards points never expire
- ▸Dining offers and select hotel stay discounts
- ▸Air accident insurance cover up to Rs 30 lakh
- ▸24x7 card assistance and emergency support
The good
- + Monthly milestone of 1,000 bonus points is easy to hit and boosts effective returns
- + Membership Rewards points never expire and transfer to airline/hotel partners
- + No pre-set spending limit (charge card)
The catch
- − Low base earn of only ~0.5% value-back outside milestones
- − Fuel rewards discontinued effective 12 June 2025
- − Limited merchant acceptance in India versus Visa/Mastercard
- − 3.5% forex markup on international spends