American Express unveils charge card

American Express on Thursday launched its gold charged card -American Express Gold Card where members can earn 12,000 points a year for using their card four times a month or by spending Rs 4, 80,000 annually. There is no charge on the first year while one will have to pay Rs 4,500 from second year onwards.

The charge card is a card which charges no interest but requires the card holder to pay full balance and it cannot be rolled over unlike credit cards. In addition, there is no preset spending limit and it changes according to the customers spending nature. It offers 51 days as interest-free period.

The bank is targeting age group of 25-30 years. In addition to the 12,000 points, members will also earn 2.5 points for every Rs 100 spent on the card and 5,000 bonus points for renewing the card membership. They can convert points to rewards like Tissot Watch, Sony Playstation, Apple I-pod or a selection of other premium brand products and services from its specially created Gold Collection and other 400 reward options.

“In 2010, the spending on credit card had increased 17 per cent while our growth was more than double the industry growth. We are going to sustain this level of growth,” said American Express Banking Corp India country manager and head consumer cards Shailesh Baidwan.