)
“SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in India and around the world like to manage their expenses well, and as they set up their business, it is crucial for them to spend both on travel and entertainment. This co-branded card allows SMEs to make the most of every business expense they incur on either travel or hotel or dining with business associates. Expenses incurred in these (travel and entertainment) categories earn rewards in the form of JPMiles — both for the company and the employee — which can be redeemed for air tickets,” Saru Kaushal, country business head (global corporate payments) at American Express Banking Corp in India, told Business Standard.
The new card will allow companies to earn a share of the JPMiles accrued by their employees and incremental JPMiles on reaching various spend thresholds on booking with Jet Airways. Companies will also gain access to expense management solutions from Amex, including: online tools enabling increased visibility and transparency of travel and entertainment expenses, control of expenses by setting spend limits on transactions, flexible billing and options to suit their payment schedules.
Employees will get a welcome bonus of 10,000 JPMiles, three JPMiles for every Rs 100 spent on travel and entertainment, and six JPMiles for every Rs 100 spent on air travel bookings through Jet Airways’ website. They will also earn bonus JPMiles on spends with select partners.
“Given that most SMEs have very few employees, they lose the benefit of bulk discount deals from service providers — air carriers, hotel offers or dining discounts — for corporate business meetings. This corporate card allows small and mid-sized companies to get accelerated rewards and enjoy discounts on purchasing tickets from Jet Airways and Taj Group of hotels,” Kaushal said.
In recent months, Amex has been working to strengthen its credit card portfolio for the mid-income segment in India. Last month, it partnered with online travel portal MakeMyTrip and Payback, the largest coalition loyalty programme in the country, to introduce a co-branded card to capitalise on the growing popularity of online travel booking. It had entered the mid-income segment in India with the launch of a card co-branded with Payback in June 2013.
