- Low annual fee: *$9 per month fee ($108 per year).
- Bonus points offer: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points when you apply on this link by 6 May 2025, are approved, and spend $3000 on eligible purchases on your card in the first 3 months. T&Cs apply. New American Express Card Members only.
- Extra points: per $1, earn 5 points at selected restaurants and fast food outlets, 3 points for eligible streaming services, 2 points at selected major retailers, and 1 point for all other eligible purchases.
- Insurances: Smartphone Screen Cover of up to $500 when you pay for your phone or contract with your Amex Essential Rewards card plus other card insurances.
- Extras: Use American Express' Plan It to split eligible purchases over $100 or part of your balance into equal monthly instalments. Choose from 3, 6, or 12-month plans with no interest and a fixed monthly fee.
- Flexibility: Redeem points at the Membership Rewards online store or transfer your points to over 10 major Airline Reward Partner Programs.
- Compatibility: Syncs with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay.
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American Express Credit Cards
American Express Essential Rewards
Updated 10 March 2025
Want to earn more just by doing what makes you happy every day? The Amex Essential Rewards Card accelerates your points with just a small monthly fee, making it ideal if you’re after fabulous perks and more savings.
Limited time offer: New Card Members can earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points in the first 3 months when you apply using this link by 6 May 2025. You'll also earn up to 5 points across a huge range of retailers, food outlets and services, and earn points faster by adding up to 4 complimentary card members.
Terms and conditions apply. New American Express Card Members only.
Points Earn Rate (per $1 spent)
1 point
Up to 5 pts per $1 for first 10,000 pts per month, then 1 pt per $1
Rewards Program
Amex Membership Rewards
Bonus Points
60,000 pts
Spend $3,000 on eligible purchases for the first 3 months
Pros and cons
- After earning 10,000 points in a month, the earn rate changes to a flat 1 point per $1.
Creditcard.com.au review
Editor Review
American Express Essential Rewards
Pauline Hatch
Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 9 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.
Overall Rating
The new Amex Essential Rewards card has neat new ideas for earning rewards points faster, like the “Eats and Drinks” promotion which earns 5 times the points for eating at popular Aussie restaurants.
The monthly fee is low at *$9 (adding up to $108 per year), and while the card emphasises rewards points, it still includes rare extras like smartphone insurance. This is a great card if your focus is earning points for a small outlay.
Editor’s Review: What I love about the Amex Essential Rewards Card
I like that the Amex Essential Rewards card brings something new to the table with its ‘accelerated earning’ program. It has some fun ways to earn big bonus points that make it easier to justify eating fast food and having a weekend binge-watch.
Let’s first look at how the points system works, and then the rest of the card’s features.
Earn 5 bonus points per $1 for Eats and Drinks. The ‘Eats and Drinks’ category includes restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes, bars and some food delivery services in Australia, such as Uber Eats and Menulog.
⚡ What this category doesn’t include: supermarkets, grocery stores or catering services. Restaurants and bars inside entertainment venues or hotels may not be eligible, or food purchased through third-party apps.
Earn 3 bonus points per $1 for streaming subscriptions. Eligible streaming services include Netflix, Stan, Disney, Prime, Kayo Sports, Binge and Spotify.
⚡ What this category doesn’t include: streaming services bundled with other services like internet or phone plans. You must pay for the service directly to the provider, not through a third party.
Earn 2 points per $1 at selected Australian retailers. The list of partnering stores includes Amazon, Kmart, Bunnings, Myer, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, The Iconic, and Uniqlo. You can earn points online or in-store.
⚡ What this category doesn’t include: purchases made through a third-party app or website rather than directly through the retailer.
Earn 1 point per $1 on all other eligible spending. Eligible spend outside the accelerated earn rate categories will earn 1 Membership Rewards point per $1 spent including government spend.
It has to be mentioned that there is a points threshold. Once you’ve earned 10,000 points in a month, you’ll earn 1 point per $1 on all eligible purchases for the rest of the month.
Other extras and perks
This card is also packed with great discounts on regular spending and unique experiences.
Smartphone Screen Cover. When you purchase your phone outright or pay your monthly phone bill with your eligible American Express card, you can be reimbursed for the cost of the screen repair up to $500 for two events a year. A 10% excess applies to the claimed amount and waiting periods may apply.
More card members for free. It won’t cost anything to add up to 4 additional card members (but it does help boost your points faster). Extra card members must be over 16.
Plan It Instalments. Plan It Instalments lets you pay off eligible purchases or part of your balance over $100 in equal monthly instalments, with no interest and a fixed monthly fee. You can choose from 3, 6, or 12-month plans.
Card insurance. You’ll get Card Purchase Cover, which covers stolen or damaged eligible items within the first 3 months of purchase, and Card Refund Cover if you’re having trouble getting a refund on an item. Buyer’s Advantage Cover gives you an extended manufacturer’s warranty of up to 12 months on eligible purchases.
Redeeming rewards points
The Amex Membership Rewards program gives you plenty of flexibility in spending your points. For example, you can redeem points for:
- Gift cards: choose from a range of retailers such as Uber, Hoyts, Westfield, Rebel Sport, Amazon, Event Cinema, Sephora, SuperCheap, Harvey Norman, Xbox and more.
- Shop with Points: redeem points at Myer online if you’re the primary Card Member.
- Points + Pay: if you’re short on points you can pay the difference with cash.
- Cover Charges with Points: nominate a purchase on your credit card to be paid with points and the transaction amount is credited back to your account.
You can also convert your Membership Rewards into frequent flyer points with one of Amex’s partner airlines. You’ll need to join the program before you can transfer points.
Partner airline programs include Air New Zealand, Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Hawaiian Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Singapore KrisFlyer, Thai Royal Orchid Plus, Velocity and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
What’s not so great
The main drawback is the points threshold, where your earning is dropped to 1 point per $1 after you’ve earned 10,000 points in a month. However, 10,000 points is still a lot and the accelerated points potential means you can earn big even if you’re not a high-volume spender.
It comes with 55 days interest-free, but that period is waived if you don’t pay off your card in full each month or you have a balance transfer. Both of these terms are standard for credit cards, so nothing new there.
It doesn’t come with travel insurance or lounge passes, but that’s to be expected for a card with a small annual fee. My tip (as someone who broke a phone screen twice in 3 months) would be to read the smartphone screen insurance terms and conditions. You’ll still pay a 10% excess on the claimed amount.
Who suits the Amex Essential Rewards Card?
The American Express Essential Rewards card is a good fit if you’re looking for a low-cost way to earn big rewards points. You won’t be tied to a frequent flyer program, making it a good all-rounder for redeeming points, with the option to transfer to partner airlines.
User reviews
Rates and fees
Interest rates
Purchase rate 23.99% p.a.
Cash advance rate N/A
Interest free period on purchases up to 55 days
Credit limits
Minimum credit limit $2000
Maximum credit limit N/A
Fees & repayments
Annual fee $108* p.a.
Additional cardholder fee Up to 4 at no extra cost
Foreign transaction fee 3%
Minimum repayment $30 or 2.5%, whichever is greater (personal & business); N/A (charge cards)
Cash advance fee N/A
Late payment fee $30
Rewards and points
Rewards program
Rewards Program 
Amex Membership Rewards
Bonus points 60,000 points
Annual points cap 120000
Bonus points spend criteria Spend $3,000 on eligible purchases for the first 3 months
Earning points with this card
Amex Rewards points 1 point per $1 spent
Points cap per month Up to 5 pts per $1 for first 10,000 pts per month, then 1 pt per $1
Overseas earn rate same as standard earn rate
Additional features
Complimentary insurance
International Travel Insurance No
Flight Inconvenience Insurance No
Transit Accident Insurance No
Smartphone Screen Insurance Yes
Purchase Protection Insurance Yes
Extended Warranty Insurance Yes
Rental Vehicle Excess In Australia Insurance No
Overview
American Express Essential Rewards
Key features
Minimum criteria to apply for this card
-
Be over 18 years old
-
Good Credit and have not applied for multiple credit cards recently
-
Australian citizen or permanent resident or hold a long term vis (at least 12 months; does not include student visas).
You have your personal details ready to complete the online application
Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 9 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Pauline is passionate about seeing Aussies win by making their money – and their credit cards – work smarter, harder and bigger
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