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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)
 
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But each point is worth only 39 paisa.
18000 Amex points for 7000 Amazon pay voucher is the best redemption option, because Marriott rooms are ridiculously over priced.
Hence Marriott points are worth only 30-- 40 Paisa on conversion, not Rs.1
I can understand, the best reward rates comes when redeeming for four and five star properties with Marriott and if you don't travel or want to redeem them for luxury properties, the value of the MR points could go down.

But you earned 18000 points in 16 months so I guess your expenses are ~6k every month so you spent ₹96,000 in 1 and a half year.
And still got a ₹7000 Amazon voucher.

That's still a 7.29% reward rate on expenses in absolute worst case scenario(including insurance, utilities and bills).
What other card offers that?

Credit card companies are not here to distribute money for free but to award your expenses.
If someone pays all of this with UPI, they get ₹0 back. People are free to use that if they don't like the card or the extra rewards!
 
I can understand, the best reward rates comes when redeeming for four and five star properties with Marriott and if you don't travel or want to redeem them for luxury properties, the value of the MR points could go down.

But you earned 18000 points in 16 months so I guess your expenses are ~6k every month so you spent ₹96,000 in 1 and a half year.
And still got a ₹7000 Amazon voucher.

That's still a 7.29% reward rate on expenses in absolute worst case scenario(including insurance, utilities and bills).
What other card offers that?

Credit card companies are not here to distribute money for free but to award your expenses.
If someone pays all of this with UPI, they get ₹0 back. People are free to use that if they don't like the card or the extra rewards!
On a lighter note, how many referrals you attracted after posting this thread?
 
I can understand, the best reward rates comes when redeeming for four and five star properties with Marriott and if you don't travel or want to redeem them for luxury properties, the value of the MR points could go down.

But you earned 18000 points in 16 months so I guess your expenses are ~6k every month so you spent ₹96,000 in 1 and a half year.
And still got a ₹7000 Amazon voucher.

That's still a 7.29% reward rate on expenses in absolute worst case scenario(including insurance, utilities and bills).
What other card offers that?

Credit card companies are not here to distribute money for free but to award your expenses.
If someone pays all of this with UPI, they get ₹0 back. People are free to use that if they don't like the card or the extra rewards!
You also need to pay the second year fees at at 50% or 885.
I get Amazon pay at over 10% discount, don't ask me how.
so 7000 is worth actually 6300
6300--885=5415 on 96000 spends is 5.64% and also waiting for 16 months.
Don't forget to consider the interest loss in 16 months
 
You also need to pay the second year fees at at 50% or 885.
I get Amazon pay at over 10% discount, don't ask me how.
so 7000 is worth actually 6300
6300--885=5415 on 96000 spends is 5.64% and also waiting for 16 months.
Don't forget to consider the interest loss in 16 months

I agree, if the spends per month are low, the rewards might not look as attractive.
Amex tends to offer better rewards for their variants, the higher up we go on the spends, the better they get.

A little confused about the interest loss as you're getting 45 45-day interest-free period on your credit card.

Regarding the amazon voucher, that's an opportunity cost since you'll have to get another card for that and spend money on that where the reward rate of 10% would further need to be justified in terms of points and to use those points, you might need another purchase.

But that's right, not every card will be perfect for everyone, depending on your spending and redemption preferences, I'm glad you found the one that suits you the best. :)
 
Which card to use and where?
This analysis is after deducting annual fees and also considering the welcome benefits--

1. Axis Magnus Burgundy (LTF) for offline & rent upto 50k 4.80% upto 1.5 lacs/month, 14.00% above 1.5 lacs/month.

2. Axis Magnus Burgundy (LTF) for Traveledge 24%, less 10% markup usually.

3. HDFC Infinia (2250) for SmartBuy airtickets 13.50% (since points can be used for only 70% of airfare).

4. Axis Atlas (better than free) for offline & online (except fuel, rent, insurance, wallet) 4.00/5.33/6.00/6.33% based on target spends <3lacs/3 lacs/7.5 lacs/15 lacs per card anniversary year.

5. Axis Atlas for direct hotel and direct flights 10.00/11.33/12.00/12.33% based on target spends <3lacs/3 lacs/7.5 lacs/15 lacs per card anniversary year.

6. HDFC Tata infinity (LTF) for UPI 1.50% (1 on 34)

7. Amex MRCC (FY free, then 885) 1500 X 4 for Amazon GV 1st yr. 7.29%, 2nd yr onwards 5.70%

8. Amex Plat Travel (FY free, then 5900) for insurance, govt, Amazon GV 1st yr 6.3%, 2nd yr onwards 4.82% on 4 lacs, offline difficult.

9. SBI cashback (1179) for online 5% (upto 5000/month).

10. Any Kotak/PNB/Federal/Canbank card (----) for 25--35% discount (upto 5000/7500/10000 per booking, per card) on hotels on Cleartrip.

11. Axis Airtel (590) for 25% on Airtel, 10% on utility bills 10% on Swiggy Zomato.

12. HDFC Diners club black (only if free) for rent 2.87%

13. HDFC Diners club black Metal (if 1st yr free) for rent 5.37% (assuming 4L spends per quarter).

14. HDFC Diners club black Metal (11800) for rent 2.42% (assuming 4L spends per quarter)

Please like if you appreciate my advice, thank you 🙏
MRCC renewal fee gets waived off if one can do 20k for 6 months. It will give additional 6*(1000+4*140)=9360 points with reward multiplier.
 
Amex Platinum travel card looks like 8% return but the same points are being sold by American Express themselves for 40 paisa and the 10000 hotel voucher is worth 6000.
48000 x 0.4 =19200
19200 + 6000 = 25200

then you deduct 2950 renewal fee (at 50% discount if you ask), you will get 5.56% return on 4 lacs.

Investment bankers who designed the reward structure, are the highest paid professionals in the whole world and American Express will hire the best.

The Amex Plat travel reward structure is designed so that very few people can reach the 4 lakh target, considering the very low acceptance of Amex cards all over India.
And for the few who do, the loss to Amex is only 5.56--3.00 MDR commission = 2.56%, which is peanuts
 
Amex Platinum travel card looks like 8% return but the same points are being sold by American Express themselves for 40 paisa and the 10000 hotel voucher is worth 6000.
48000 x 0.4 =19200
19200 + 6000 = 25200

then you deduct 2950 renewal fee (at 50% discount if you ask), you will get 5.56% return on 4 lacs.

Investment bankers who designed the reward structure, are the highest paid professionals in the whole world and American Express will hire the best.

The Amex Plat travel reward structure is designed so that very few people can reach the 4 lakh target, considering the very low acceptance of Amex cards all over India.
And for the few who do, the loss to Amex is only 5.56--3.00 MDR commission = 2.56%, which is peanuts
Good one of course amex hire the best only then they can make good profits.
 
Yes I closed my MRCC long ago.
It's a nuisance to wait 16 months to accumulate 18000 points to get 7000 Amazon pay voucher
You should get Plat travel + MRCC.

Scenario 1:
Spend 4lac on Plat Travel and get 15000+25000=40k RP + 10k Taj Voucher and then spend 1.5 lac on MRCC to get renewal free.
Redeem 24k RP for 9k Amazon and 18k RP for 7k Amazon. So overall you can get 16k (Amzn) less 5.9k Plat Travel Renewal Fee= 10k₹ (+10k₹ Taj Voucher) benefit on a total spend of 5.5lac.
It comes to net ~2% (~3.6% with 10k Taj).

Scenario 2:
Spend 4lac on Plat Travel and get 15000+25000=40k RP + 10k Taj Voucher and then spend 1.5 lac on MRCC to get renewal free.
Redeem 24k RP for 14k Taj and 18k RP for 9k Taj. So overall you can get 33k Taj less 5.9k Plat Travel Renewal Fee= 27k₹ benefit on a total spend of 5.5Lac.
It comes to net ~5%.

Scenario 3:
Get MRCC so your renewal fee becomes 1500+tax=1770₹
Spend 4lac on Plat Travel and get 15000+25000=40k RP + 10k Taj Voucher
Redeem 24k RP for 9k Amazon and 18k RP for 7k Amazon. So overall you can get 16k (Amzn) less 5.9k Plat Travel Renewal Fee less 1.7k MRCC Renewal fee= 8.3k₹ (+10k₹ Taj Voucher) benefit on a total spend of 4lac.
It comes to net ~2% (~4.6% with 10k Taj)

Scenario 4:
Get MRCC so your renewal fee becomes 1500+tax=1770₹
Spend 4lac on Plat Travel and get 15000+25000=40k RP + 10k Taj Voucher
Redeem 24k RP for 14k Taj and 18k RP for 9k Taj. So overall you can get 33k Taj less 5.9k Plat Travel Renewal Fee less 1.7k MRCC Renewal fee= 25.3₹ benefit on a total spend of 4lac.
It comes to net ~6.3%

Note: Reason to get both is that only Plat Travel does not have option to redeem from the Gold Collection. You need either Gold Charge or MRCC to redeem from Gold Collection and Gold Charge has no way to reduce renewal fee of 4500+tax=5310₹.

Also I haven't taken the normal 1 RP per 50₹ spend into the calculation so the net rewards would be even more if you can optimise your spends on better earning categories.

Hack: MobiKwik Wallet load from AMEX costs 2.95% but you can use MobiKwik coupon code Century to get 1% instant cash back unlimited number of times upto 100₹ per load. So just keep loading 10000₹ at a time (You'll also earn 200 RP on this on your Plat Travel Card) using the Coupon code (max 6 loads allowed per card per day) and your net cost would be 1.95% (1.76% with the 200RPs per 10k txn). This way you can have the cards for free as per the lowest earning Scenario 1 above.

@drsel You can use Scenario 1 + Mobikwik to get the desired rewards in just 7-10 days. Wna get back to AMEX Cards now? What say?

Don't forget to Get MRCC and Platinum Travel
(Or get 1 card and use it's referral link to get a MRCC FYF card for your family member and use his/her referral to get your 2nd card. You cannot refer yourself for the 2nd card).
 
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You should get Plat travel + MRCC.

Scenario 1:
Spend 4lac on Plat Travel and get 15000+25000=40k RP + 10k Taj Voucher and then spend 1.5 lac on MRCC to get renewal free.
Redeem 24k RP for 9k Amazon and 18k RP for 7k Amazon. So overall you can get 16k (Amzn) less 5.9k Plat Travel Renewal Fee= 10k₹ (+10k₹ Taj Voucher) benefit on a total spend of 5.5lac.
It comes to net ~2% (~3.6% with 10k Taj).

Scenario 2:
Spend 4lac on Plat Travel and get 15000+25000=40k RP + 10k Taj Voucher and then spend 1.5 lac on MRCC to get renewal free.
Redeem 24k RP for 14k Taj and 18k RP for 9k Taj. So overall you can get 33k Taj less 5.9k Plat Travel Renewal Fee= 27k₹ benefit on a total spend of 5.5Lac.
It comes to net ~5%.

Scenario 3:
Get MRCC so your renewal fee becomes 1500+tax=1770₹
Spend 4lac on Plat Travel and get 15000+25000=40k RP + 10k Taj Voucher
Redeem 24k RP for 9k Amazon and 18k RP for 7k Amazon. So overall you can get 16k (Amzn) less 5.9k Plat Travel Renewal Fee less 1.7k MRCC Renewal fee= 8.3k₹ (+10k₹ Taj Voucher) benefit on a total spend of 4lac.
It comes to net ~2% (~4.6% with 10k Taj)

Scenario 4:
Get MRCC so your renewal fee becomes 1500+tax=1770₹
Spend 4lac on Plat Travel and get 15000+25000=40k RP + 10k Taj Voucher
Redeem 24k RP for 14k Taj and 18k RP for 9k Taj. So overall you can get 33k Taj less 5.9k Plat Travel Renewal Fee less 1.7k MRCC Renewal fee= 25.3₹ benefit on a total spend of 4lac.
It comes to net ~6.3%

Note: Reason to get both is that only Plat Travel does not have option to redeem from the Gold Collection. You need either Gold Charge or MRCC to redeem from Gold Collection and Gold Charge has no way to reduce renewal fee of 4500+tax=5310₹.

Also I haven't taken the normal 1 RP per 50₹ spend into the calculation so the net rewards would be even more if you can optimise your spends on better earning categories.

Hack: MobiKwik Wallet load from AMEX costs 2.95% but you can use MobiKwik coupon code Century to get 1% instant cash back unlimited number of times upto 100₹ per load. So just keep loading 10000₹ at a time (You'll also earn 200 RP on this on your Plat Travel Card) using the Coupon code (max 6 loads allowed per card per day) and your net cost would be 1.95% (1.76% with the 200RPs per 10k txn). This way you can have the cards for free as per the lowest earning Scenario 1 above.

@drsel You can use Scenario 1 + Mobikwik to get the desired rewards in just 7-10 days. Wna get back to AMEX Cards now? What say?

Don't forget to Get MRCC and Platinum Travel
(Or get 1 card and use it's referral link to get a MRCC FYF card for your family member and use his/her referral to get your 2nd card. You cannot refer yourself for the 2nd card).
don't add referral link. i have edited now. only in signature it allowed. would give a warning if done repeatedly.
 
I think we should come back to this in Dec 2024 and see where Axis/AMEX stand then.
Let's see.
till then at least you can enjoy the ride!!

Mind you I really like Amex, and I was even using MRCC for many years, getting 7000 Amazon pay vouchers.
Amex has the best customer care executives, the most classy and polished I have experienced.

Getting over 5% return on credit card spends was very good at that time, even if you had to wait for 16 months (MRCC).
But when better opportunities came, I had to switch.

Do you remember how Jio put 7 other telecom operators out of business, by giving unlimited free phone calls and unlimited free mobile data for 9 months???
 
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