American Express Explorer® Credit Card

American Express Explorer® Credit Card

No expiry date for Membership Rewards points
HK$300,000
Min. Annual Salary
HK$2 = 1 Mile
Miles Conversion (Eligible Foreign Currency Transaction)*
8 times per Calendar Year
Complimentary Plaza Premium Lounge Access
MoneySmart Exclusive
【Get an extra HK$600 Statement Credit!】+Up to 74,000 Miles Welcome Offer in Town!
From now on until 31 March 2024, customers who successfully apply for the American Express Explorer Credit Card via MoneySmart can earn 18,000 American Express Membership Rewards points and additional reward of 🔥HK$600 statement credit upon the first transaction within the first 3 months, and gain another 108,000 American Express Membership Rewards points and additional reward of 🔥54,000 American Express Membership Rewards points upon the qualified spending of HK$7,000 within the first 3 months.

In total, customers can earn up to HK$600 statement credit and 180,000 American Express Membership Rewards points, equivalent to 10,000 miles - Earn 1.43 miles for every dollar spent! Plus, you can enjoy 8 complimentary access to Plaza Premium Lounges all over the world for a whole year!


Zoom to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan with Lightning Speed! Earn HK$2=1 mile on eligible foreign currency transactions, up to 720,000 Points, enough to redeem for 40,000 miles. Plus, earn HK$4.5=1 mile on eligible local transactions, up to 432,000 Points, enough to redeem for 24,000 miles. That's a potential of up to 64,000 bonus miles!
Valid until 31 Mar 2024 - See more details below

Are you eligible?

    • First Transaction + Welcome Offer: [Limited-time exclusive] additional HK$600 statement credit and 18,000 American Express Membership Rewards points upon the first transaction within the first 3 months; earn [Limited-time exclusive] additional 54,000 American Express Membership Rewards points and 108,000 points upon the qualified spending of HK$7,000 within the first 3 months. Get a total of 180,000 Points - Spend 7,000 and Earn 10,000 Miles!

      Additional HK$600 statement credits: For Basic Cardmembers who submit their Card application online via MoneySmart and all required valid documents within 7 days from the date of application submission, and make at least one successful transaction in the first 3 months from Card approval. The HK$600 statement credits will be credited to the Basic Cardmember’s Membership Rewards® Program Account within 12 weeks upon first transaction made.
    • Foreign Currency Spending Rewards: Earn HK$2=1 mile (based on 9X points) on eligible foreign currency spending within the first 3 months, allowing you to accumulate up to 720,000 American Express Membership Rewards points, equivalent to 40,000 air miles!
    • Local Spending Rewards: Earn HK$4.5=1mile (based on 4X points) on eligible local spending within the first 3 months, allowing you to accumulate up to 432,000 American Express Membership Rewards points, equivalent to 24,000 air miles!

What you need to know

  1. American Express reserves the right to claw back the Welcome Offer or debit the original price of the Welcome Offers from the Eligible Card account without prior notice if the annual fee was waived and the Welcome Offer was awarded
  2. Your credit card application is approved and spending at the first time in the first 3 months

All Details

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AMEX Explorer Credit Card - Annual Income Requirement & Annual Fee

AMEX Explorer CardAnnual Income RequirementAnnual Fee
AMEX Explorer CardHK$300,000HK$1,800

AMEX Explorer Card Review: AMEX Explorer Card Key FeaturesSection Title

AMEX Explorer Card Pros

1. Earn 5 Membership Rewards points for every eligible spent on airlines and designated online travel and merchants (HK$3 = 1 mile) 2. No expiry date for Membership Rewards points 3. Redeem your membership rewards points for a wide range of rewards including miles, cash voucher, pay with points, travel with points, hotel points (Hilton Honors, Marriot Bonvoy), lifestyle gifts, etc. 4. You can transfer your points into 10 air miles partners without administration fees 5. Enjoy a wide range of travel perks, for example complimentary travel insurance and free access to plaza premium lounge 6. 10% off 4DX, 3D, 2D and IMAX regular priced movie tickets at Broadway Circuit Enjoy first year annual fee waiver

AMEX Explorer Card Cons

1. AMEX is less commonly accepted by merchants compared to Visa and Mastercard 2. The mile conversion ratio of non-selected merchants is only HK$5=1 mile 3. Foreign transaction fee is 2% which is higher than the average 1.95% 4. Annual fee can only be waived for the first year 5. Income requirement is higher than other miles credit card

AMEX Explorer Card Welcome Offers

AMEX Explorer Card Welcome Offers Eligibility Are existing customers eligible?
HK$500 city'super cash vouchers Spend HK$5,000 in the first 3 months, including aggregate spending of Basic and Supplementary Card(s)Yes
Local Spending Bonus/ Enjoy HK$1=5 points in the first 3 months (max: 600,000 points) Enjoy HK$1=5 points in the first 3 months with no spending requirements Yes
Foreign Currencies Spending Bonus/ Enjoy HK$1=5 points in the first 3 months (max: 420,000 points) Enjoy HK$1=5 points in the first 3 months with no spending requirements Yes
Online and First Transaction Bonus/ HK$300 city'super cash voucherEnjoy HK$100 city'super cash voucher if you apply online successfully; Receive extra HK$200 city'super cash vouchers for your first transaction in the first 3 months.Yes

AMEX Explorer Card VS Other Miles Card

Credit CardsLocal Currency SpendingForeign Currencies Spending
AMEX Explorer CardHK$5=1 MileHK$4=1 Mile
Standard Chartered Cathay MastercardHK$6=1 MileHK$4=1 Mile
Citi Rewards CardHK$3=1 Mile/

AMEX Explorer Card VS Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard

AMEX Explorer Card offers a higher mile conversion rate than Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard (HK$5= 1 Mile VS HK$6= 1 Mile), but Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard offers an even higher conversion rate for eligible spending on Cathay and Hong Kong Express. (HK$3 = 1).
With AMEX Explorer Card, you can convert it into 10 air miles partners without administration fees. But with Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard, you can only convert it to Asia Miles.
Also, it is important to note that AMEX Explorer Card has a much higher annual income requirement than Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard (HK$300,000 VS HK$96,000).

AMEX Explorer Card VS Citi Rewards Card

Citi Rewards Card and AMEX Explorer Card offer HK$1= 0.333 mile. What’s more, Citi Rewards even offers HK$=1= 0.536 miles in your birthday month.There is no expiry date for points. Cardholders can redeem points for miles, cash vouchers, etc. However, Citi Rewards Card only offers a high conversion rate to selected spending categories such as supermarkets, department stores, telecommunications.
AMEX Explorer Card has a much higher annual income requirement than Citi Rewards Card (HK$300,000 VS HK$150,000).

FAQ

Can I get the annual fee of AMEX Explorer Card waived?

Yes, you can enjoy a first-year annual fee waiver. Then, you have to pay HK$1,800 each year.

Can I apply for supplementary cards for my AMEX Explorer Card?

Yes, you can apply up to 2 AMEX supplementary cards for your AMEX Explorer Card with no annual fees.

Does AMEX Explorer have a foregin transaction fee? How much does that cost?

Yes, AMEX Explorer has a foregin transaction fee of 2%.