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American Express Platinum Travel vs Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate Credit Cards – Fees, Lounge, Forex

Side-by-side comparison of the American Express Platinum Travel and the Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate. Verify fees, lounge access, forex markup, and base rewards before you apply.

Ultimate

The short answer

Verdict

Pick Ultimate for spending abroad and lounge access.

Head-to-head

Three core metrics
  • Annual fee
    Platinum Travel ₹5,000
    Ultimate ₹5,000 Annual-fee waiver not offered
  • Forex markup
    Platinum Travel 3.5%
    Ultimate 2%
    Ultimate saves ~₹1,500 per ₹1L abroad
  • Domestic lounge
    Platinum Travel 8/year (2 per quarter)
    Ultimate 16/year (4 per quarter) Conditional · International: 1/month · requires ₹20,000 spend in the previous month (unlocks the following month)
    Ultimate: +8 lounge visits/yr

Reward earning explained

Per card
Platinum Travel

3 Travel Credits / ₹150

Strong data
Ultimate

5 pts / ₹150

Strong data

Pick based on what matters

4 dimensions

Start with the constraint you care about most: annual fee (American Express Platinum Travel: ₹5,000 vs Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate: ₹5,000), forex markup (3.5% vs 2%), or lounge access (8/year (2 per quarter) vs 16/year (4 per quarter)).

  • Travel Insufficient data

    Insufficient data to compare travel

    Only Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate has comparable evidence here. Forex markup is 2%.

    Platinum Travel: Strong data Ultimate: Strong data
  • Forex markup Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate wins

    Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate is better for forex

    Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate is stronger here. Forex markup is 2%.

  • Lounge access Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate wins

    Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate is better for lounge access

    Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate is stronger here. Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate offers 16 domestic lounge visits per year versus 8.

  • Rewards Insufficient data

    Insufficient data to compare rewards

    Available evidence is incomplete: American Express Platinum Travel is not safely INR-comparable (no usable point value). Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate conservative base value ~3.3333333333333335% per ₹100.

    Platinum Travel: Strong data Ultimate: Strong data

All fields

Example usage at this monthly spend

At ₹50k/month spend:

  • Standard Chartered Ultimate: ~₹1,670/month at base rate
  • American Express Platinum Travel: Base earn not clearly specified

Illustrative only, using current base rates before caps.

Field Platinum Travel American Express Ultimate Standard Chartered Bank India
Lounge Access
Domestic lounge visits
8/year (2 per quarter) vs 16/year (4 per quarter)
8/year (2 per quarter) 16/year (4 per quarter)
International lounge visits
Not included vs 1 per month
No international lounge access 1 per month
Forex / International Use
Forex markup
Source agreement differs — verify both.
3.5% vs 2%
3.5% 2%
Fees
Recurring annual fee ₹5,000 ₹5,000
First-year cost
Only available for American Express Platinum Travel
₹5,000 Not specified
Annual-fee waiver
Only available for Standard Chartered Ultimate
Not specified Not offered
Monthly interest rate
Only available for Standard Chartered Ultimate
Not specified 3.75% / month
Fuel benefit
Only available for American Express Platinum Travel
1% surcharge waiver · ₹5,000+ transactions · Fuel rewards excluded Not specified
Rewards
Points per ₹150
3 Travel Credits / ₹150 vs 5 pts / ₹150
3 Travel Credits / ₹150 5 pts / ₹150
Conservative base value
Not safely INR-comparable vs ~3.3%
Not safely INR-comparable ~3.3%
Earn ceiling Not stated Not stated
Point value (headline channel)
Issuer headline redemption rate — see each card page for the full channel grid.
Only available for Standard Chartered Ultimate
Not specified ₹1

Notes

  • Card benefits change frequently. Always verify current terms on the issuer's official website or app before applying.

American Express Platinum Travel

Verify with issuer , opens external site

Standard Chartered Bank India Ultimate

Verify with issuer , opens external site