American Express Essential® Rewards Credit Card

Why we like the American Express Essential Rewards Credit Card

The Amex Essential Rewards Credit Card is a great entry-level Card with a generous points-earning rate on certain categories. Card Members have access to American Express benefits like Amex Experiences, plus an array of included insurances. And the low monthly Card fee of $9 makes this a lucrative offering for those looking for a no-frills Credit Card with the ability to earn uncapped points.

Sign-up bonus

Apply for an American Express Essential Rewards Credit Card by 28 January 2025 and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of approval to earn 40,000 Amex Membership Rewards bonus points! Min. spend $3k in first 3 months. Offer ends 28 January 2025. T&Cs apply. New Amex Card Members Only.

You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to 11 different frequent flyer programs at varying transfer rates. Partners include Velocity Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Etihad Guest, Emirates Skywards and Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

Or, you could transfer Membership Rewards points to the Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy hotel programs.

To find out more about which loyalty programs you can convert Membership Rewards points into, see our Credit Card Points Transfer Assistant.

This sign-up bonus is not available to existing American Express Card Members, or if you have been the primary Card Member of an Australian-issued Amex Card in the last 18 months. T&Cs apply. New Amex Card Members only.

Earning points

Similar to the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card, the American Express Essential Rewards Credit Card offers Bonus Points on popular spending categories.

You’ll earn up to 5 Membership Rewards points on your first 10,000 points per month. After this, you’ll continue to earn 1 point per $1 spent.

Bonus Points are earned on eligible spend within the following categories:

• 5 points per $1 spent on eligible eats & drinks purchases in Australia
• 3 points per $1 spent on selected streaming subscriptions in Australia
• 2 points per $1 spent at selected major retailers in Australia
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases

There is no monthly or annual points-earning cap.

Up to 4 Additional Cards can be added to your account at no extra charge. Any points earned from Additional Cards will be credited to the primary Card Members.

As long as your account remains active, your Amex Membership Rewards points will not expire. So there’s no rush to transfer them to an airline or hotel partner (as many programs do impose a hard expiry on points.) You can keep your points in your Amex Membership Rewards account and transfer them when you’re ready to use them or wait for a bonus offer on transfers.

Earning points for ATO & government payments

With the Amex Essential Rewards Credit Card, you can earn Membership Rewards points on payments made directly to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) or other government bodies in Australia at a rate of 1 Membership Rewards point per $1.

Using Amex Membership Rewards points

Membership Rewards points earned from the American Express Essential Rewards Credit Card are transferable to 11 airlines and two hotel loyalty programs. Generally, the conversion rate is 2:1, but can vary across programs. Here’s the full list of transfer rates:

Transfer partners	1 Amex Point equals…
Air New Zealand Airpoints	0.005 Airpoints Dollars
Cathay (Asia Miles)	0.5 miles
Emirates Skywards	0.33 miles
Etihad Guest	0.5 miles
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles	0.5 miles
Hilton Honors	0.5 miles
Malaysia Airlines Enrich	0.5 points
Marriott Bonvoy	0.67 points
Qatar Airways Privilege Club	0.5 Avios
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	0.33 miles
THAI Royal Orchid Plus	0.5 miles
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	0.5 points
Velocity Frequent Flyer	0.5 points

See our Overview of Amex Membership Rewards Transfer Partners for more information.

As an example, you could transfer 80,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to 40,000 Velocity Points. You could fly one-way from Perth to Singapore in Singapore Airlines Business Class for 55,000 Velocity Points. Or, fly one-way from Sydney to Tokyo with ANA in Economy for 42,000 Velocity Points. Prefer to use your points closer to home? You can also take three return trips between Melbourne-Sydney in Economy at Velocity’s Tier 1 pricing.

Note that only the American Express Platinum and Centurion Cards allow the transfer of Membership Rewards Points to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. This benefit is not available with most other American Express Credit Cards, or from any other Australia bank-operated rewards program.

Alternatively, you could redeem Amex Membership Rewards Points for other rewards including:

• Gift Cards
• David Jones Shop with Points
• Amex Travel Online
• Helloworld travel Gift Cards
• Credit on your Account

Included insurances

The Amex Essential Rewards Credit Card includes various insurance coverage, such as:

• Card Purchase Cover – eligible purchases made on your Card may be reimbursed if the item is accidentally damaged or stolen up to 90 days from the date of purchase.
• Card Refund Cover – eligible purchases made on your Card made be covered by Card Refund Cover, in the instance that you’re having trouble obtaining a refund for purchases within 90 days.
• Buyer’s Advantage Cover – eligible purchases made on your Card may be covered by an extended manufacturer’s warranty of up to 12 months.

Note that the American Express Essential Rewards Credit Card does not include travel insurance. For insurance cover eligibility, terms and conditions, read the insurance T&Cs.

Summary

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)