American Express Low Rate Credit Card

The basics

• Additional cardholders. Share your account with up to 4 additional cardholders for free. The primary cardholder will be responsible for managing the account and repayments.
• Digital wallets. American Express New Zealand does not support Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.
• Gambling transactions. Gambling transactions are prohibited on this card and all other Amex cards.

Rewards and benefits

• Complimentary travel insurance. The American Express Low Rate Credit Card does not include complimentary international travel insurance, which is to be expected of a value card offering such as this.
• Concierge services. Cardholders cannot access the Amex concierge service.
• Insurances. This card comes with fraud protection but lacks any insurance coverage.
• Rewards points. This credit card does not have a rewards program, which is somewhat offset by its low ongoing rates.
• Sign-up bonus. American Express does not offer a sign-up bonus for new customers.

Rates and fees

• Annual fee. This card has an annual fee of $59 p.a.
• Balance transfers. There is no balance transfer offer, which is typical of American Express.
• Cash advances. Withdrawing cash — or transactions classified as a cash advance — will incur interest at 21.95% p.a. Besides interest, there is also a one-off cash advance fee.
• Foreign exchange fee. All purchases made online with a foreign currency or overseas will incur a 2.50% fee.
• Interest-free period. With this card, you can enjoy up to 55 days interest-free on purchases (excluding cash advances) when you pay your balance in full or make minimum required payments by the due date.
• Purchases. Get a very low 2.99% p.a. rate on purchases for 6 months, reverting to a relatively low ongoing 12.69% p.a. purchase rate thereafter.