3 Membership Rewards Points / ₹150
Strong data Pairwise comparison
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AMEX Platinum Travel vs STANDARD CHARTERED Ultimate
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.
The short answer
Pick Ultimate for lounge access and spending abroad.
Head-to-head
- Annual fee Annual fee outcome: tie. Platinum Travel ₹5,000Ultimate ₹5,000 Annual-fee waiver not offered
- Forex markup Forex markup outcome: Ultimate wins. Ultimate saves ~₹1,500 per ₹1L abroadPlatinum Travel 3.5%Ultimate 2%
- Domestic lounge Domestic lounge outcome: Ultimate wins. 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)
- Rewards Rewards outcome: insufficient data to compare. conservative base valuePlatinum Travel Not safely INR-comparableUltimate ~3.3%
Reward earning explained
5 pts / ₹150
Strong dataExample 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.
All fields
| 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 Membership Rewards Points / ₹150 vs 5 pts / ₹150 | 3 Membership Rewards Points / ₹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 siteStandard Chartered Bank India Ultimate
Verify with issuer , opens external site