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American Express credit cards

Get the prestige associated with the wide range of American Express credit cards.

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Compare AMEX cards
American Express
Are you a frequent card user? Or maybe you want to earn points towards your next hotel stay? American Express has cards on offer to suit all needs, from the benefits of Platinum and rewards cards to a low-interest rate card if you are trying to get a handle on your debt.

Check out our guide for all you need to know about using American Express.

What's in this guide?

  1. Compare American Express credit cards
  2. American Express credit cards in more detail
  3. American Express business credit cards
  4. American Express Membership Rewards programme
  5. Where is American Express accepted?
  6. Frequently asked questions

Compare American Express credit cards

Name Product Purchase Rate Interest Free Period Annual fee
American Express Airpoints Card
American Express Airpoints Card
0% for 6 months (reverts to 19.95% p.a.)
Up to 55 days on purchases
$0
Be rewarded with 50 bonus Airpoints Dollars. Simply apply, be approved, and spend $750 on your new Card in the first 3 months of membership. This offer is available to new Card Members only.
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American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
2.99% for 6 months (reverts to 19.95% p.a.)
Up to 55 days on purchases
$149
Enjoy a low rate on purchases and earn 20,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points if you apply, are approved and spend $750 in the first 3 months of Card membership. This offer is available to new Card Members only.
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American Express Airpoints Platinum Card
American Express Airpoints Platinum Card
19.95% p.a.
Up to 55 days on purchases
$195
Be rewarded with 400 bonus Airpoints Dollars when you apply online by 30 March 2021, are approved, and spend $1,500 on your new Card within the first 3 months. This offer is available to new Card Members only. You will also earn 1 Airpoints Dollar for every $59 you spend on your card.
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American Express Platinum Card
American Express Platinum Card
N/A
Up to 44 days on purchases
$1,250
Get the new metal Platinum Card, 100,000 Membership Rewards bonus points, up to $300 dining credit and $200 to spend on travel each year. Offer available to new customers only who apply by 31 May 2021, are approved, and spend at least $1,500 in the first 3 months. Exclusions, Ts&Cs apply.
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Compare up to 4 providers

Name Product Purchase Rate Interest Free Period Annual fee
Gem Visa Credit Card
Gem Visa Credit Card
25.99% p.a.
Up to 55 days on purchases
$52
6 months interest free on all Visa purchases $250 and over, plus get long-term interest-free deals at retailers nationwide including Apple, Noel Leeming, Mitre 10 and many more.
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American Express Airpoints Card
American Express Airpoints Card
0% for 6 months (reverts to 19.95% p.a.)
Up to 55 days on purchases
$0
Be rewarded with 50 bonus Airpoints Dollars. Simply apply, be approved, and spend $750 on your new Card in the first 3 months of membership. This offer is available to new Card Members only.
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More Info
American Express Airpoints Platinum Card
American Express Airpoints Platinum Card
19.95% p.a.
Up to 55 days on purchases
$195
Be rewarded with 400 bonus Airpoints Dollars when you apply online by 30 March 2021, are approved, and spend $1,500 on your new Card within the first 3 months. This offer is available to new Card Members only. You will also earn 1 Airpoints Dollar for every $59 you spend on your card.
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American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
2.99% for 6 months (reverts to 19.95% p.a.)
Up to 55 days on purchases
$149
Enjoy a low rate on purchases and earn 20,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points if you apply, are approved and spend $750 in the first 3 months of Card membership. This offer is available to new Card Members only.
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American Express credit cards in more detail

The American Express Airpoints Card

The American Express Airpoints Card has no annual account fee and an introductory offer of zero interest for the first six months. Once this period is up, the standard purchase rate of 19.95% p.a. will apply. The cash advance rate is 21.95% p.a. and cash advances are not included in the interest-free offer.

For every $100 you and additional cardholders spend on eligible purchases, you’ll receive 1 Airpoints Dollar. You can earn Airpoints Dollars for shopping online or at retail stores, filling up at the petrol station, grocery shopping, dining out and more.

You’ll also get these benefits:

  • 50 bonus Airpoints Dollars when you sign up and spend at least $750 in the first 3 months.
  • 55 interest-free days on purchases when you pay your balance off in full each month.

To be eligible for The American Express Airpoints Card, you’ll need to be earning at least $35,000 a year and have no history of bad credit or payment defaults.

Learn more about The American Express Airpoints Card

The American Express Airpoints Platinum Card

The American Express Airpoints Platinum Card has an annual fee of $195 and an interest rate of 19.95% p.a. on purchases.

New AMEX customers are rewarded with 1 Airpoints dollar for every $59 spent and welcomes you with a bonus of 400 Airpoints dollars if you spend $1,500 in the first three months.

You’ll also get:

  • 1 Status Point for every $250 you spend on your card
  • Complimentary insurance for international and domestic travel
  • Access to American Express lounges
  • No joining fee for a Koru membership and a discount on the annual fee
  • Smartphone screen insurance

You must have a minimum annual income of $65,000 to be eligible for this card.

Learn more about the American Express Airpoints Platinum Card

The Low Rate Credit Card from American Express

This low-rate card comes with an introductory per annum fee of 2.99% for 6 months and an annual fee of $59. It then reverts to a standard purchase rate of 12.69%. It allows you to add up to 4 cards at no additional costs, which could be handy if your partner would like one.

Other benefits include:

  • Online fraud protection guarantee
  • Up to 55-days interest free on purchases
  • Emergency card within 48 hours anywhere in the world

To apply, you need to be at least 18 years old and have an annual income of at least $30,000. If you are self-employed you need to have been an American Express customer for 12 months or in business for 18 months.

Learn more about The Low Rate Card from American Express

The American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card

You need to earn at least $50,000 a year to apply for this card. This AMEX card comes with an introductory purchase rate of 2.99% for the first 6 months, but reverts to a rate of 19.95% with an annual fee of $149.

When you apply online and spend $750 in the first three months you will be awarded 20,000 Membership Rewards bonus points, available to new Card Members only. This card also comes with the following benefits:

  • Complimentary travel insurance for domestic and international flights when you pay using your Platinum card.
  • Earn up to 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent.

Further benefits when paying for travel using this card include, travel cancellation cover and overseas emergency medical expenses and repatriation. A minimum salary of $50,000 is required to be eligible to apply.

Learn more about The American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card

The American Express Platinum Card

The Platinum card targets those customers with a higher income, as it comes with an annual fee of $1,250 and you need to earn at least $100,000. However, an additional bonus is no annual interest charges apply. The rewards on this card are earned faster as you receive 2 Membership Rewards for every dollar spent.

You are given 100,000 Membership Rewards bonus points if your application is accepted and you spend $1,500 in the first three months (currently, you need to be a new American Express customer). You are also able to transfer points to a variety of airline and hotel rewards programmes. Additional benefits include:

  • $200 Platinum Travel Credit yearly, which you can redeem for car hire, hotel bookings and pre-paid flights.
  • Access for two to over 1,200 Priority Pass lounge locations in more than 130 countries.

An annual income of $100,000 or more is required to be eligible for this card.

Learn more about The American Express Platinum Card

American Express business credit cards

With The American Express Business Card or The American Express Gold Business Card on offer, you should find one to suit your business needs. You can choose from such options as no pre-set limit on spending or Membership Rewards, where you will earn Membership Rewards for every dollar spent.

Both cards have no pre-set limits, which American Express will establish according to the business’ spending habits. One attractive benefit is paying no interest on the account, but it must be paid in full every month.

You can see all business purchases for the month on one statement including the GST, which helps to monitor business expenses, and all additional cardholder’s spending are included. In addition, the American Express Gold card gives you the ability to extend your cash flow by a maximum of 50 days, which may help to alleviate any cashflow issues.

Larger companies that have multi-million dollar revenue may benefit from a Corporate card. For information on how you can apply phone: 0800 722 333 from 9:30am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday.

American Express Membership Rewards programme

If you use your American Express card regularly, the rewards incentive is a great way to receive more for your money.

The more dollars you spend, the more Membership Rewards points you earn and these can be redeemed for rewards towards entertainment or flights, or you can use your points at Harvey Norman online or redeem them for gift cards. There is even an American Express app that allows you to pay using your points.

The Membership Rewards programme caters to all your travelling needs including flights and accommodation, as it partners with HelloWorld, Webjet and American Express Travel online.

You can also put your Membership Rewards towards other loyalty programmes such as Airpoints and hotel accommodation schemes.

Where is American Express accepted?

Visa and Mastercard have dominated the credit card market in New Zealand and in the past, American Express cardholders were unable to use their cards at many places. This is due to the higher fees that the card issuer charges the merchant, so smaller shops and businesses weren’t comfortable paying extra when they could pay less with Visa and Mastercard.

The higher fees compensate for less interest accrued by its customers, since American Express cardholders are more likely to pay their balance off in full each month.

Times are changing though, with American Express now being accepted at more places around New Zealand including retail stores, petrol stations, transport providers, utility providers and supermarkets. Below you’ll find some of the businesses that will happily accept your American Express credit card:

  • Petrol stations. Gull, Mobil, BP, Z Energy
  • Retailers. Farmers, The Warehouse, Harvey Norman, Noel Leeming, Supercheap Auto, Bridgestone, JR Duty Free, Smith & Caughey’s, Rebel Sport, Glassons, Kathmandu, Kmart, Adidas, PB Tech, Godfreys, Dotti, Connor, David Jones, Cue, Country Road, Hallensteins, JayJays, Just Jeans, French Connection, Lacoste, Michael Hill, Max, Meccano, Number One Shoes, Portmans, Ruby, Peter Alexander, Rodd & Gunn, Smiggle, Zara, Witchery, Veronika Maine, Tumi, UGG, The North Face
  • Supermarkets and liquor stores. Four Square, New World, Countdown, PAK’n’SAVE, Liquor King, Glengarry, Bottle’O, Farro Fresh
  • Pharmacies. Unichem, Life Pharmacy
  • Utility providers. Skinny, Slingshot, 2degrees, AA Insurance, AMI, Orcon, Vodafone, State, Vero, Contact Energy, Trustpower, Genesis Energy, Spark, NZI, Meridian Energy, Asteron, Powershop
  • Food outlets and food delivery. St Pierre Sushi, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, KFC, Hello Fresh
  • Transport and travel. Air New Zealand, Flight Centre, House of Travel, Rydges, Expedia, Hertz, Avis, Budget, Uber, AT Hop, Wotif.com, Hotels.com, major airlines, Interislander, AJ Hackett, KiwiRail Scenic Journeys, Shotover Jet, Milford Track, Hilton, Marriott International
  • Entertainment and subscriptions. Event Cinemas, Ticketmaster, Hoyts, Netflix, Prime Video, SKY TV, Spotify, iTunes, NZME, Microsoft

This list is expected to grow and you can stay up to date with where American Express is accepted on its website.

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