American Express cards (Platinum, Gold, Membership Rewards, MRCC, Platinum Travel) are famous for two things in India: excellent rewards, and the chance that a neighborhood store doesn't accept them. The second part has improved a lot — but it's still a real concern.
The merchant discount rate issue
Amex charges higher merchant discount rates (MDR) than Visa/Mastercard, which means merchants keep less of every rupee you spend. Small merchants and restaurants resist accepting Amex for exactly this reason. This is structural and won't fully change.
Where Amex works
Most online payments in India (Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Swiggy, Zomato, Uber) accept Amex without issue. Large organized retail (malls, electronics chains, premium restaurants, hotels, airlines) accepts Amex. Utility bill payments, insurance, rent payments via CRED all work.
Where it doesn't
Local kirana stores, most auto-rickshaws (though UPI has killed this use case anyway), many restaurants outside malls, small clinics and diagnostic labs, and some petrol pumps. In tier 2 and tier 3 cities, acceptance drops significantly.
The practical workaround
Most Amex cardholders in India carry a backup Visa or Mastercard for the 10–15% of transactions where Amex is declined. With this setup, you can use Amex for 85%+ of spend and earn its richer rewards, while still covering the edge cases.
Is it worth the annual fee
For cards like Amex Platinum Travel (₹5,000 fee, ₹10,000+ in travel vouchers annually) or Membership Rewards Credit Card (₹1,500 fee, roughly break-even on rewards), yes — acceptance is fine enough in metros that you recover the fee easily. For the ₹60,000 Platinum Charge card, you need to be a genuinely high-spender with international travel to break even. For most Indians, Amex Platinum Travel hits the right sweet spot.