Which card has a lower forex fee: American Express SmartEarn Credit Card or ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver Credit Card?

Both cards have the same forex markup (3.5%).

Which card has a lower annual fee: American Express SmartEarn Credit Card or ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver Credit Card?

American Express SmartEarn Credit Card has a lower annual fee (₹495 annual fee vs ₹500 annual fee).

Which card offers better lounge access?

American Express SmartEarn Credit Card: No complimentary lounge access. ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver Credit Card: 1 per quarter domestic lounge.

Which card has a higher base reward rate?

Base reward rates are not fully available for both cards in the current snapshot.

Pairwise comparison Compare 3+ cards →

American Express SmartEarn vs ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver Credit Cards – Fees, Lounge, Forex

Side-by-side comparison of the American Express SmartEarn and the ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver. Verify fees, lounge access, forex markup, and base rewards before you apply.

SmartEarn

HPCL Super Saver

The short answer

Verdict

Pick HPCL Super Saver for lounge access.

Head-to-head

Three core metrics

Annual fee

SmartEarn ₹495 Waivable at ₹40,000 spend

HPCL Super Saver ₹500 Waivable at ₹1,50,000 or more spend

SmartEarn saves ₹5/yr
Forex markup

SmartEarn 3.5%

HPCL Super Saver 3.5%
Domestic lounge

SmartEarn No complimentary lounge access

HPCL Super Saver 4/year (1 per quarter) Conditional · Domestic: 1/quarter · requires ₹75,000 spend in the previous calendar quarter (unlocks the following quarter)

HPCL Super Saver: +4 lounge visits/yr

Reward earning explained

Per card

SmartEarn

2 pts / ₹100 · 20 points/₹100 on eligible blinkit, bookMyShow, easeMyTrip, flipkart, myntra, nykaa, select 10X partners, uber, and zomato

Strong data

HPCL Super Saver

10 pts / ₹150

Strong data

Pick based on what matters

3 dimensions

Start with the constraint you care about most: annual fee (American Express SmartEarn: ₹495 vs ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver: ₹500), forex markup (3.5% vs 3.5%), or lounge access (No complimentary lounge access vs 4/year (1 per quarter)).

Forex markup Tie

Both cards are similar for forex

Forex markup is 3.5%.
Lounge access ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver wins

ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver is better for lounge access

ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver is stronger here. Domestic lounge access is 1 per quarter.
Rewards Insufficient data

Insufficient data to compare rewards

Available evidence is incomplete: American Express SmartEarn conservative base value ~0.5% per ₹100. ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver is not safely INR-comparable (no usable point value).

SmartEarn: Strong data HPCL Super Saver: Strong data

All fields

Standard view

Example usage at this monthly spend

At ₹50k/month spend:

American Express SmartEarn: ~₹250/month at base rate
HPCL Super Saver: Base earn not clearly specified

Illustrative only, using current base rates before caps.

Field	SmartEarn American Express	HPCL Super Saver ICICI Bank
Lounge Access
Domestic lounge visits spend-gated on some cards — see caveats No complimentary lounge access vs 4/year (1 per quarter)	No complimentary lounge access	4/year (1 per quarter)
International lounge visits Only available for HPCL Super Saver	Not specified	No international lounge access
Forex / International Use
Forex markup	3.5%	3.5%
Fees
Recurring annual fee ₹495 vs ₹500	₹495	₹500
First-year cost Only available for HPCL Super Saver	Not specified	₹500
Annual-fee waiver ₹40,000 vs ₹1,50,000 or more	₹40,000	₹1,50,000 or more
Interest-free period Only available for HPCL Super Saver	Not specified	Up to 48 days
Monthly interest rate 3.5% / month vs 3.75% / month	3.5% / month	3.75% / month
Late-payment charge Only available for HPCL Super Saver	Not specified	₹100–₹1,300 depending on outstanding balance
Fuel benefit 1% surcharge waiver · ₹5,000+ transactions · Fuel rewards excluded vs 1% surcharge waiver · ₹400–₹4,000 transactions	1% surcharge waiver · ₹5,000+ transactions · Fuel rewards excluded	1% surcharge waiver · ₹400–₹4,000 transactions
Rewards
Base earn 2 pts / ₹100 vs 10 pts / ₹150	2 pts / ₹100	10 pts / ₹150
Conservative base value ~0.5% vs Not safely INR-comparable	~0.5%	Not safely INR-comparable
Earn ceiling 500 points per month; at 20 pts / ₹100, this lane reaches the cap at ₹2,500 of eligible spend vs ₹200 per month	500 points per month; at 20 pts / ₹100, this lane reaches the cap at ₹2,500 of eligible spend	₹200 per month
Point value (headline channel) Issuer headline redemption rate — see each card page for the full channel grid. Only available for American Express SmartEarn	₹0.25	Not specified

Notes

ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver Credit Card: Condition: ₹75,000 spend in the previous calendar quarter (unlocks the following quarter)
Card benefits change frequently. Always verify current terms on the issuer's official website or app before applying.

American Express SmartEarn

Verify with issuer

ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver

Verify with issuer