• Hey there! Welcome to TFC! View fewer ads on the website just by signing up on TF Community.

American Express MRCC Card Benefits and Optimal Usage

coolguy1

TF Ace
Contributor
VIP Lounge
You're wondering if an Amex card is even worth it?

Or thinking of getting a new credit card that offers you free hotel stays?

Amex is often disregarded as the luxury card or one with the expensive yearly fees but your opinions are about to change.

Everyone's dream card is the Black Card, also known as the Centurion card.
It comes with a whooping ₹11,00,000 joining fees(yes, you read that right! 11L is the joining fees and 3L annual fees)

But we're not going to discuss that today, we're normal people so let's discuss a card for normal people.
That's where the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card comes in.

Why should you get MRCC?

1. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS

Want to buy that item in the Black Friday sale? Amex works.
Want to buy something exclusive from Amazon.com? Amex works.
Want to buy that VPN to watch the Korean/French series on Netflix? Amex works.

Where nothing works, Amex has stayed with me and surprisingly worked smoothly.
Read this post, I blindly suggested Amex and it didn't let me down.


2. DISPUTE RESOLUTIONS

Did you buy something and feel the seller scammed you?
You have two options, run to the bank, complain about how UPI is bad and the reversal methods are crap!
Or swipe your Amex and remain stress-free always. Call the support, share your reason and the money is back in your account.

I have tried this on different merchants, swiped at shady places and entered on websites I shouldn't have.
The customer care always had my back and prevented me from embarrassing stories!

3. REWARDS

How can we forget the most important point? If it's not rewarding, it's not worth it.
With MRCC, you just need to spend ₹6000 to get 1000 MR points which offers an insane 16.67% returns*.
Spend more and hit ₹20,000 and get 2000 bonus MR points(10% returns*)

Not to forget these are just bonus points, you get an additional points for 1 MR point for every ₹50 that you spend on the card.
If you spend smartly and get vouchers, you can even get 2 MR points for every ₹50!
(Use the Amex Gyftr multiplier page to buy vouchers with multiplier rewards)

That's 1240 points for every ₹6,000 spent which is 20.66% returns, one of the highest in the credit cards industry.

OR 2800 points for every ₹20,000 spent which is 14% returns, still pretty amazing.

And how much does it cost?

FREE for the first year!
₹1500 for the second year(can be negotiated with CC based on your spends)

Optimal Usage Guide for Amex MRCC:

To get the most points, you need to hit a minimum of ₹6,000 per month.
You can do that by buying 1500 x 4 Amazon vouchers, this balance can be used to pay your bills, recharges and shopping.

There are 30+ brand vouchers that you can buy from! You don't need to buy them in advance.
Let's say if you're shopping at Reliance Trends, instead of paying with your card there, just buy the voucher online instantly and pay with those instead.

This will get you 2x rewards instead of the usual swiping benefits.

Or just swipe them anywhere to hit the 20k milestone, any and all transactions are counted towards this.

These rewards sound great, but where do I redeem them?

I'm glad you asked!

The percentages* that I have mentioned above are considering you love to travel and wander the country in your free time!
You can claim 1 MR point = 1 Marriott Bonvoy point which can be redeemed at ₹1 at several of their properties.
(Even at ₹2 or more if you travel internationally and spot the right deal)

To sweeten it further, Amex runs a yearly offer(valid right now) where you get a 30% bonus on redeeming it for MB points.
If you make a booking in Maldives Marriott right now, the room costs ₹1,81,000 or 100K points to book for a night.

With the current Amex offer, you need 80k MR points to redeem that night!
That's ₹2.26 in value for every point!
But honestly, how many of us will travel to Maldives and stay in that luxury resort?
Let's just say even if you redeem them in India for 10k-15k properties, you should still get ₹1 value per point.

Don't like Marriott? You can redeem them for Taj vouchers at ₹0.5 per point.
Don't like Taj? You can redeem them for slightly lower at Shoppers Stop, Tanishq or even Amazon/Flipkart.

But I see a lot of people complaining - Amex is for the rich, no rewards, why so?
A lot of people say Tesla is bad, they probably haven't even seen one.
A lot of people say SRK is bad, they probably haven't met him.
A lot of people say a lot of things, you decide for yourself.

Apply for Amex MRCC Card for free using the link in my signature!
DM me if you have any questions.

If you can spend 4L a year, you can get the Platinum Travel variant!
(Offers you even higher rewards - 40K points + Taj voucher on 4L annual purchases)
 
Last edited:

drsel

TF Legend
MRCC on gyftr amex gives 2x point only, when I can get apay voucher at much more discount why would i go for 2x points on MRCC

Btw I have different my own way of doing MRCC txns which i won't disclose where i reach both monthly milestones 1.5k *4 & 20k total

Fyi 1.5k*4 txn on amex gyftr through MRCC will fetch only 1240 points not 1600
Yes, very good point. 1600 points instead of 1240.

Getting 1000 more points for 14000 extra spend on MRCC is poor returns, in my opinion.

Thanks for the correction. I had forgotten it was only 2x for MRCC
 

drsel

TF Legend
You are really smart
Why don't you share with us some info and tricks to use infinia optimally
Thanks.
the most obvious one is to buy Amazon pay 5x on Smartbuy, using Infinia or DCB, and get 16.66% return, which is much more than the return using Amex Gold or MRCC.

However Infinia points are worth only 50% for 7 partners--
Accor hotels
Turkish airlines
Avianca airline
British Airways
Etihad Airways
United airlines
Air Canada

So for these 7 (in demand) partners, the return is only 8.33%
That leaves Singapore Airlines for international flights and Vistara for domestic flights as the 2 best partners for point to mile conversion (16.66% return) with Infinia or DCB.

The other 2 Hotel partners (IHG, Wyndham) and 4--5 Airline partners (Air Asia, Air France/KLM, Vietnam, Hainan airlines) which also give 16.66% return are not worth considering in my opinion

On Smartbuy portal, the maximum 4x points that can be earned per day and per month are 15000 for Infinia and 7500 for DCB
 
Last edited:

the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
Thanks.
the most obvious one is to buy Amazon pay 5x on Smartbuy and get 16.66% return, much more than the return using Amex Gold or MRCC.

However Infinia points are worth only 50% for 7 partners--
Accor hotels
Turkish airlines
Avianca airline
British Airways
Etihad Airways
United airlines
Air Canada

So for these 7 (in demand) partners, the return is only 8.33%
That leaves Singapore Airlines as the best choice for point to mile conversion (16.66% return) with Infinia
What is the return rate if you redeem 16% infinia points for statement credit or apay vouchers?
 

drsel

TF Legend
Thanks.
the most obvious one is to buy Amazon pay 5x on Smartbuy, using Infinia or DCB, and get 16.66% return, which is much more than the return using Amex Gold or MRCC.

However Infinia points are worth only 50% for 7 partners--
Accor hotels
Turkish airlines
Avianca airline
British Airways
Etihad Airways
United airlines
Air Canada

So for these 7 (in demand) partners, the return is only 8.33%
That leaves Singapore Airlines for international flights and Vistara for domestic flights as the 2 best partners for point to mile conversion (16.66% return) with Infinia or DCB.

The other 2 Hotel partners (IHG, Wyndham) and 4--5 Airline partners (Air Asia, Air France/KLM, Vietnam, Hainan airlines) which also give 16.66% return are not worth considering in my opinion

On Smartbuy portal, the maximum 4x points that can be earned per day and per month are 15000 for Infinia and 7500 for DCB
But you need to pay convenience fees on Smartbuy and you will not get the benefit of the 10% discount provided by Cleartrip or MakeMyTrip with various credit cards.

Magnus Burgundy gives 24% return on flights on Traveledge without any convenience fees, but the prices are usually inflated.
 

shutapdiya

TF Ace
Contributor
Getting 1000 more points for 14000 extra spend on MRCC is poor returns, in my opinion.
Again depends on individual, most conservatively i would consider 0.4 Rs as value of 1 MR so thats like 2.8% rewards (for 1000 on 14000) if I consider it as 1 Rs then it will become 7.1% reward

I am happy with this calculation
 
Top