All cards / ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank American Express Business Essential Credit Card
ICICI's entry-level Amex business card, built for small proprietors and self-employed professionals who want a dedicated card to separate business spends rather than premium travel perks. Rewards run 4x online on Amex's per-₹200 scale, which is decent for a card with a modest, waivable annual fee.
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 who clear the standard eligibility bar whose spend is concentrated in online shopping, dining. Its annual fee waives if you can comfortably clear the spend threshold.
Rewards & benefits
- Movie & dining: American Express Business-focused lifestyle and dining offers
- Rewards rate: 0.5% base rate
Benefits by category
- 🍽️ Dining & food delivery
1% reward rate · American Express Business-focused lifestyle and dining offers.
- ✈️ Travel
1% reward rate
- 🛍️ Shopping
2% reward rate
- ⛽ Fuel
1% fuel surcharge waiver at HPCL petrol pumps.
- 🌍 Forex / international spend
3.5% forex markup on international transactions
Eligibility
- 0
- 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: 45% p.a.
- Fuel surcharge waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver at HPCL petrol pumps
- Cash advance charges: 2.5% of the transaction amount or ₹500, whichever is higher, plus applicable GST
Benefits
- 1,500 bonus reward points on first month's bill payment and another 1,500 within 30 days of annual fee payment.
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver at HPCL petrol pumps.
- American Express Business-focused lifestyle and dining offers.
Pros
- + Low, easily waivable annual fee at ₹5L spend
- + Reasonable online-spend reward rate
- + Dedicated business expense tracking via selfcare portal
Cons
- − Amex acceptance is thinner than Visa/Mastercard/RuPay in India
- − No lounge access at this tier
- − Requires registered business documentation to apply