• Rates
  84%
• Fees
  92%
• Rewards
  88%
• Customer Service
  90%
• Value
  88%

Roland Bleyer

Credit Card Expert with over 15 years card experience and the founder of Creditcard.com.au.

The American Express Essential Credit Card

Again and again, when we review American Express cards, we see quality. Whether it’s an awesome rewards program, amazing features, or excellent extras, quite simply, American Express do credit cards right.

The American Express Essential Credit Card is no exception. Let’s start by saying this is a no annual fee credit card. Usually, no annual fee credit cards are pretty low on excitement. They tend to have minimal features, few offers and not much in the way of wow.

Not so with this card. American Express Essential Credit Card, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You have a well-rounded rewards program. You have an extremely attractive purchase rate. You have a beautiful introductory offer. You have some very lovely features indeed.

Want to find out more? So do we.

What we love…

Let’s get into the introductory offer first. The intro offer on the American Express Essential Credit Card is a balance transfer. With 12 months on the table, the balance transfer offer provides a good long time to pay off any transferred balances. You will pay no interest on that transferred balance for a year, allowing you to pay it down as much as possible.

Now to the rewards program. When you’re approved for the American Express Essential Credit Card, you’ll receive complimentary enrollment into the Membership Rewards Gateway program. As for points-earning-potential, you can earn up to 1.25 points per $1 spent on the card.

When you’re ready to redeem your points, simply transfer them to your choice of eight airline rewards partner programs. These include Air New Zealand Airpoints, Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Malaysian Airlines Enrich, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, THAI Royal Orchid Plus and Velocity Frequent Flyer. Alternatively, you can redeem your points online for a gift card from selected top retailers.

Alongside a stack of extras, this rewards card features a fantastic low 14.99% p.a. on purchases. But the feature we love most? It’s got to be its no annual fee!

What’s not so great…

We’ve counted the ways in which we love the American Express Essential Credit Card, now it’s time to look at its not-so-great features. To be fair, these really only relate to its balance transfer offer.

First up, there is a one-off credit plan establishment fee of 3% that applies to any balances transferred. Secondly, the card has a maximum balance transfer amount of $10,000 or 70% of your approved credit limit, whichever is less.

Why should you choose this card?

If you want a rewards card but don’t want to pay through the nose for it, this card is definitely worth a closer look. As a no annual fee card it is packed with features. Not only does it have a rewards program and an intro offer, it also has an incredible selection of extras.

If you use the card to cover your phone contract or buy a phone, you can enjoy complimentary Smartphone Screen Insurance for that phone. This provides up to $500 for screen repairs to your smartphone, with a 10% excess per claim.

As an American Express cardholder, you can also enjoy money-saving offers from top brands using the exclusive Amex Offers program. Meanwhile, American Express Invites provides you access to a wide range of sought-after events, including film, music and theatre, often before tickets go on sale to the public.

On top of that, you can benefit from Purchase Protection, Buyer’s Advantage, Refund Protection, Online Fraud Protection, and Emergency Card replacement. You also get one additional card holder free, and up to 55 days interest free on purchases.

Overall Rating

This is a no annual fee rewards card that really delivers. It offers rewards, features and extras, a low purchase rate and a great introductory offer. Wins all round, we say.