American Express
Gold Charge Card
Review
American Express Gold Charge Card is an entry level card from American Express having benefits and rewards almost similar to the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card, with a difference that it is a charge card and not a credit card. A charge card is different from credit card in the way that it comes with no pre-set spending limit. The amount which you would be allowed to use in a bill cycle will be determined on a monthly basis. Also, you would need to pay the amount in full every month. This card gives pretty good rewards when used properly. Let us see the details of the Amex Gold Charge Card.
Fees
Joining Fee
Rs 1,000 + GST (get bonus 2000 points on paying the joining fee when you apply using the referral link)
Annual Fee
2nd year onward Rs 4,500 + GST
Fee waiver: None. However, Amex might give some waiver on contacting them, depending on the card usage in the previous year.
You also get 5000 reward points on paying the first year renewal fee.
Eligibility for Amex Gold Charge Card
- Age: 18 years and above
- Annual Income: Greater than Rs 6 Lakhs per year (both salaried and self employed)
- Good Credit Score (CIBIL score above 750 should be good to qualify for this card)
- Should be a resident of Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Surat & Vadodra. However, once the card is issued, you can change the address to different cities too.
American Express is generally very strict about its eligibility criteria. If you don’t have a credit history, your application would be rejected straightaway.
Benefits of Amex Gold Charge Card
Welcome Bonus
4000 reward points if you spend at least Rs 10K in the first 90 days from the card issue date. Get additional 2000 reward points (total 6000 points) if you apply using referral link.
Reward points
1 reward point (equivalent to Rs 0.25) for every Rs 50 spent.
Monthly rewards
You get 1000 bonus membership reward points when you use your credit card for a minimum of 6 transactions of at least Rs 1000 in a month. This bonus is applicable even on loading money to e-wallets.
No pre-set spending limit
The charge card does not have a pre set limit, which means theoretically you can spend any amount on the card. However, the amount which you can spend in a bill cycle is determined by Amex on a monthly basis depending on your past card usage pattern.
Amex Gold Collections
Once you have accrued a total of 18,000 or 24,000 membership reward points on your American Express Gold charge card (or combined with other Amex Cards), you can redeem it for one of the rewards in AMEX 18 carat or 24 carat Gold collection given below.
Amex 18 Carat Gold Collection
- Statement Credit worth Rs 6,000
- Amazon Voucher worth Rs 7,000
- American Express Travel Voucher worth Rs 7,000
- Taj e-Gift Voucher worth Rs 9,000
Amex 24 Carat Gold Collection
- Statement Credit worth Rs 9,000
- Tanishq INSTA Gift Voucher worth Rs 10,000
- Taj e-Gift Voucher worth Rs 14,000
Zero Lost Card Liability
If your Amex Credit card is stolen and misused, and you report it within 3 days of the misuse, then your liability will be NIL. Even if the fraud transaction is reported after 3 days of the transaction, your maximum liability will be Rs 1,000.
Emergency Card Replacement
Doesn’t matter where you are in the world, if you lose your Amex Card, you will get a replacement usually within 2 working days, that too free of cost.
Restaurant Offers
You get up to 20% every time you dine at select restaurants.
Spend Based Offers and user specific offers
American Express comes up with user specific spend based offers regularly. In last 3 years, I’ve earned American Express Travel Vouchers worth Rs 20K (2*Rs 10K) with their spend based offers. Also, I’ve got many other user specific offers such as Bonus points/cashback on Amazon transactions, Marriott stays etc.
Drawbacks
- No Airport Lounge access despite the higher annual fees.
- No fee waiver.
- No EMI: With charge cards, you need to pay the total outstanding every month in full. So, you cannot do any EMI transactions using charge cards.
- American Express is still not accepted at all the merchants in India. So, you might have to carry one extra backup card in your wallet. However, they are increasing their acceptance rapidly.
Should you get it?
If you do just 6 transactions of Rs 1000 per month with this card, you’ll get 13440 reward points in an year (12000 bonus reward points + 1440 normal reward points), which is equivalent to Rs 7840 if redeemed for Taj vouchers using the AMEX 24 carat gold collection which translates to 10.88% returns. Even if redeemed for statement credit, it is equal to Rs 5040 which translates to a return of 7% which is great for an entry level card. This almost balances the annual fees if you don’t get a waiver. Given the joining fees and the first year renewal benefit, this card is worth taking at least for the first 2 years.
Amex Gold charge card is my fourth card on the American express network along with Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card, Amex SmartEarn Credit Card and a co-branded IndusInd Iconia credit card.
Let me know your thoughts or queries on the American Express Gold Charge Card in the comments below. Want me to review any other cards? Let me know in the comments below or using the Contact Me section of this website.
Hi! I’m Gaurav, a Software Engineer by profession and a credit card enthusiast by heart. I love earning reward points and cashbacks from credit cards and giving ‘gyaan’ on credit cards and personal finance.