All cards / ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank Business Essential Credit Card
The entry point into ICICI's Amex business card range, built for everyday operating spend — online purchases, dining, and small vendor payments — rather than travel. Fee waiver is achievable for a business doing ₹5 lakh a year on the card.
Annual fee
₹1,000
Joining fee
₹1,000
Reward type
points
Base reward rate
0.5%
Card network
Amex
Card tier
Entry
Who this card fits
Best suited to self-employed applicants with a credit score of roughly 700+ whose spend is concentrated in online shopping, dining. Its annual fee waives if you can comfortably clear the spend threshold.
Rewards & benefits
- Movie & dining: Access to American Express business lifestyle offers
- Rewards rate: 0.5% base rate
Benefits by category
- 🍽️ Dining & food delivery
1% reward rate
- 🛍️ Shopping
2% reward rate
- ⛽ Fuel
1% waiver at HPCL fuel pumps
- 🌍 Forex / international spend
3.5% forex markup on international transactions
Eligibility
- Minimum credit score: 700
- Employment: self-employed
- Age: 21–65
Fees & charges
- Spend-based waiver: Waived on annual spend of ₹5,00,000
- Rewards redemption fee: Free for redemption as statement credit or ICICI's own reward catalogue vouchers; ₹99 + GST per redemption request for select third-party gift/merchandise catalogue items
- Foreign currency markup: 3.5%
- Interest rate: 42%–45% p.a.
- Fuel surcharge waiver: 1% waiver at HPCL fuel pumps
- Cash advance charges: 2.5% of the transaction amount or ₹500, whichever is higher, plus applicable GST
Benefits
- 1,500 reward points on first statement, 1,500 more within 30 days of annual fee payment
- 1% waiver at HPCL fuel pumps
- Access to American Express business lifestyle offers
Pros
- + Decent 2% rate on online purchases
- + Low fee with an achievable waiver spend
- + Simple expense-tracking tools for proprietors
Cons
- − No lounge access on this variant
- − Base earn rate outside bonus categories is weak
- − Amex acceptance gaps at smaller merchants