American Express SmartEarn Credit Card
American Express · Amex · Entry card
The most accessible gateway into the prestigious American Express ecosystem. Very easy fee waiver threshold with fast reward accumulation on daily apps.
Entry-level professionals wanting Amex customer service with accessible fee waivers.
Terms checked 13 Sept 2026
- Annual fee
- ₹495 + GST
- Joining fee
- ₹495 + GST
- Base reward rate
- 1%
- Forex markup
- 3.5%
Reward rates by spending category
Named merchant rates apply only to eligible purchases with that merchant. The category table uses conservative rates for other spending.
Named merchant rates
- Blinkit
- 10%
- Flipkart
- 10%
- Myntra
- 10%
- Zomato
- 10%
- Amazon
- 5%
| Category | Recorded rate |
|---|---|
| Dining & delivery | 1% |
| Groceries & essentials | 1% |
| Online shopping | 1% |
| Travel & hotels | 1% |
| Subscriptions & streaming | 1% |
| Beauty & wellness | 1% |
| Entertainment & movies | 1% |
| Offline store shopping | 1% |
| International spending | 1% |
| Education & family | 1% |
| Healthcare & pharmacy | 1% |
| Other miscellaneous | 1% |
| Gold & jewellery | 1% |
| Fuel & commute | 0% |
| Bills & utilities | 0% |
| House rent | 0% |
| Insurance premiums | 0% |
Caps and fee waiver
- Reward caps
- Lifestyle 10X pool: ₹250/month · Zomato and EaseMyTrip 10X pool: ₹250/month · Amazon 5X pool: ₹125/month
- Annual fee waiver
- At ₹40,000 annual spending
- Monthly income requirement
- Approx. ₹37,500/month salaried · ₹50,000/month self-employed
Airport lounge access
No complimentary airport lounge access recorded
Benefits & conditions
Expand a category to see recorded benefits, fees and eligibility, with conditions and links to the sources. Categories without recorded details are grouped below; missing information does not mean a benefit is unavailable.
Rewards and cashback · 4 items
Lifestyle-partner 10X points
Usage-based value10X applies only to the listed participating merchants; the 500-point monthly pool is shared by this merchant group.
Conditions: 10X applies only to the listed participating merchants; the 500-point monthly pool is shared by this merchant group.
Zomato and EaseMyTrip 10X points
Usage-based value10X applies only to eligible Zomato and EaseMyTrip transactions; they share a separate 500-point monthly pool.
Conditions: 10X applies only to eligible Zomato and EaseMyTrip transactions; they share a separate 500-point monthly pool.
Amazon 5X points
Usage-based value5X applies only to eligible Amazon purchases and has its own 250-point monthly pool.
Conditions: 5X applies only to eligible Amazon purchases and has its own 250-point monthly pool.
Other eligible Membership Rewards
Usage-based value1 Membership Rewards point per ₹50 applies to other eligible transactions; fuel, insurance, utilities and merchant-selected EMI are excluded.
Fees · 2 items
Annual card fee
Cost ₹495₹495 annual fee before applicable tax.
Joining fee
Cost ₹495₹495 one-time joining fee before applicable tax.
Fee waiver · 2 items
Annual fee waiver
Usage-based · up to ₹495Annual fee may be waived after ₹40,000 of eligible annual spending.
Conditions: Reach ₹40,000 eligible annual spending
Low annual fee waiver of just ₹40,000 annual spend
Shown without a cash value
Welcome benefits · 1 item
₹500 welcome cashback
Recorded value ₹500Cashback after meeting the introductory eligible-spend requirement.
Conditions: Pay the applicable first-year fee · Spend ₹10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 90 days
Spend milestones · 3 items
₹500 voucher at ₹1.2 lakh
Recorded value ₹500Unlocked after ₹1,20,000 of eligible spending.
Conditions: Reach ₹1,20,000 per card anniversary year
Additional ₹500 voucher at ₹1.8 lakh
Recorded value ₹500Unlocked after ₹1,80,000 of eligible spending.
Conditions: Reach ₹1,80,000 per card anniversary year
Additional ₹500 voucher at ₹2.4 lakh
Recorded value ₹500Unlocked after ₹2,40,000 of eligible spending.
Conditions: Reach ₹2,40,000 per card anniversary year
Insurance and protection · 1 item
Legendary American Express 24/7 customer service and fraud protection
Shown without a cash value
Memberships · 2 items
10X Membership Rewards on the two separately capped issuer partner groups
Shown without a cash value5X Membership Rewards on Amazon under its own monthly point cap
Shown without a cash value
Foreign-currency charges · 1 item
Foreign-currency markup
Usage-based value3.5% foreign-currency markup before applicable tax.
Conditions: Applies to eligible foreign-currency transactions
Eligibility and availability · 1 item
Restricted application availability
Shown without a cash valueApplication availability: temporarily unavailable. Thresholds derive from published annual income requirements of ₹4.5 lakh and ₹6 lakh.
Other benefits · 1 item
American Express customer service, account security and supplementary-card access under current terms
Shown without a cash value
Other categories (8)
These categories have no detailed entries. We distinguish confirmed absences from information that still needs review.
Card tiers
Not offeredThe reviewed issuer sources do not publish this benefit for the card.
Official source 1 ↗Official source 2 ↗Airport lounge access
Not offeredThe reviewed issuer sources do not publish this benefit for the card.
Official source 1 ↗Official source 2 ↗Movies and entertainment
Not offeredThe reviewed issuer sources do not publish this benefit for the card.
Official source 1 ↗Official source 2 ↗Travel privileges
Not offeredThe reviewed issuer sources do not publish this benefit for the card.
Official source 1 ↗Official source 2 ↗Dining
Not offeredThe reviewed issuer sources do not publish this benefit for the card.
Official source 1 ↗Official source 2 ↗Golf
Not offeredThe reviewed issuer sources do not publish this benefit for the card.
Official source 1 ↗Official source 2 ↗Fuel benefits
Not offeredThe reviewed issuer sources do not publish this benefit for the card.
Official source 1 ↗Official source 2 ↗Concierge
Not offeredThe reviewed issuer sources do not publish this benefit for the card.
Official source 1 ↗Official source 2 ↗
What stands out
- ✓ Low annual fee waiver of just ₹40,000 annual spend
- ✓ 10X Membership Rewards on the two separately capped issuer partner groups
- ✓ 5X Membership Rewards on Amazon under its own monthly point cap
- ✓ Legendary American Express 24/7 customer service and fraud protection
What to watch
New applications are temporarily paused. Amex offline merchant acceptance is lower than Visa or Mastercard, and monthly accelerator points are capped.
Recorded exclusions
Fuel · Bills Utilities · Insurance · Wallet load · Rent · Cash withdrawal · Pos emi
How GainFair evaluates this card
The personal card advisor applies your monthly spending to category rates, limits rewards at the applicable caps, adds eligible movie, milestone and lounge value, and subtracts annual fees plus foreign-currency markup and GST. It can recommend keeping your current cards when a new card does not create enough incremental value.
Compare against
These cards have the closest mix of purpose, reward style, fee model and tier. They are suggestions for comparison, not rankings.
Issuer sources
Open the sources used for this card's product details, rewards, fees and eligibility.
Sources checked 13 Sept 2026 · Latest recorded change effective 28 Aug 2024