American Express MRCC Card Benefits and Optimal Usage

[coolguy1]

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)

 

[drsel]

I think he is from Amex Unserviceable Pincode

I had MRCC for many years and it was quite boring to wait for 16 months to get 7000 Amazon pay for 18000 points

 

[jade]

The best thing about MRCC is its flexibility. you can turn the card into whatever you want: shopping card, utility card, fuel card, travel card, etc.

 

[the_dark_knight]

But isn't MRCC better then ? I can get annual waiver aswell and it has similar 1000 bonus points. Although the reward multiplier is a degrade but I think that will not affect much ?

Amex MRCC and Amex Gold aren't ideal to compare because both are not the same category of cards in amex ecosystem.
Amex gold is a "charge" card, which means there is no credit limit (virtually unlimited credit). Only other charge card in amex is the platinum charge card.

Amex gold is not an entry level card as is the case with amex MRCC. Hence, there is higher annual fee for gold and also not given FYF in referral offer. Also, approval rate obviously is lower than mrcc and even plat travel for that matter.

Now one can argue both mrcc and gold provide same bonus rewards on 6k spends. That is true if one only has to reap benefits of 6k-20k spends per month and nothing else. But one cannot conclude mrcc is better than gold just on the basis of milestone benefits.

Amex gold has a lot more to offer, particularly the promotional offers and campaigns amex runs from time to time on their amex experiences portal, with a lot of brands. You will always find the amex gold and platinum charge cards to be most rewarding cards in such offers and few of those offers from participating brands are specifically designed only for gold and platinum cards. Last but not least, the 5x bonus rewards on the rewards multiplier platform.
For many, amex gold is also the doorway to get the most premium offerings in amex viz platinum charge,etc.

 

[coolguy1]

The best thing about MRCC is its flexibility. you can turn the card into whatever you want: shopping card, utility card, fuel card, travel card, etc.

Absolutely! The milestones are not too far even for those who don't spend a lot, and if you do go the extra mile, there's another monthly milestone waiting for you. 2x multiplier is not too bad if you don't buy a lot of vouchers and just spends normally on online and offline merchants.

 

[kaykayporty]

I want to get into the AMEX ecosystem and I'm thinking of starting off with MRCC.

I want to accumulate points for flights only.

My expenses will not normal hotels like Ibis but not big brand names like Marriot.

Is that possible?

 

[shutapdiya]

I want to get into the AMEX ecosystem and I'm thinking of starting off with MRCC.

I want to accumulate points for flights only.

My expenses will not normal hotels like Ibis but not big brand names like Marriot.

Is that possible?

Hi MRCC is good card to start with
Even I started with it back in 2019

For Flight Transfer Amex is not that rewarding, if Flight is your priority you can consider Vistara co branded cards from SBI / Axis/ IDFC

If you can manage to spend 20k /month (in 4 txn of amount 1500 above) on MRCC you can get Bonus 2k MR points and 400 normal RPs

 

[kaykayporty]

Hi MRCC is good card to start with
Even I started with it back in 2019

For Flight Transfer Amex is not that rewarding, if Flight is your priority you can consider Vistara co branded cards from SBI / Axis/ IDFC

If you can manage to spend 20k /month (in 4 txn of amount 1500 above) on MRCC you can get Bonus 2k MR points and 400 normal RPs

My regular expenses are the following - amount to about 50K CC monthly expenses.

1. Uber
2. Bigbasket
3. Swiggy
4. Amazon (very minimal and have APay CC)
5. Offline dining twice a month.
6. All bill payments - Electricity, Internet.
7. Once/Twice a month - a movie.
8. Yearly subscriptions (Spotify, Google One and 1 international subscription)

I take a trip once or twice a year. Total of that would be 1.5 lakhs.

Total yearly expenses - close to 7 lakhs.

---

I currently have Regalia (don't use it and only kept it for Priority Pass), Tata Neu Infinity, Amazon ICICI and Scapia (for 0 forex charges only).

Most expenses are on Amazon ICICI, Tata Neu Infinity and all international transactions are on Scapia (1K a month)

---

Would AMEX fit into my expense style and if yes - which one should I go for?

 

[shutapdiya]

My regular expenses are the following - amount to about 30K CC expenses.

1. Uber
2. Bigbasket
3. Swiggy
4. Amazon (very minimal and have APay CC)
5. Offline dining twice a month.
6. All bill payments - Electricity, Internet.
7. Once/Twice a month - a movie.
8. Yearly subscriptions (Spotify, Google One and 1 international subscription)

I take a trip once or twice a year. Total of that would be 1.5 lakhs.

---

I currently have Regalia (don't use it and only kept it for Priority Pass), Tata Neu Infinity, Amazon ICICI and Scapia (for 0 forex charges only).

Most expenses are on Amazon ICICI, Tata Neu Infinity and all international transactions are on Scapia (1K a month)

---

Would AMEX fit into my expense style and if yes - which one should I go for?

Whatever spends you have mentioned above from them offline dining may or may not be accepting amex

And for travel if you do booking online then you should be able to use Amex

So for most of your spends you are covered with Amex acceptance

IMO MRCC would be good card for you
If you meet 1.5 Lac yearly spend you got your renewal fee waived off and if you dont reach 1.5 Lac but reach 90k: half of renewal fee is waived off ( you will be only paying 750 +GST)

Also if you are not luxury properties like Taj/ Marriott then you can redeem you rewards (MR points) for gold collection which gives 7k Amazon/ Flipkart voucher against 18k points and 9k Amazon/ Flipkart voucher against 24k points

 

[kaykayporty]

Whatever spends you have mentioned above from them offline dining may or may not be accepting amex

And for travel if you do booking online then you should be able to use Amex

So for most of your spends you are covered with Amex acceptance

IMO MRCC would be good card for you
If you meet 1.5 Lac yearly spend you got your renewal fee waived off and if you dont reach 1.5 Lac but reach 90k: half of renewal fee is waived off ( you will be only paying 750 +GST)

Also if you are not luxury properties like Taj/ Marriott then you can redeem you rewards (MR points) for gold collection which gives 7k Amazon/ Flipkart voucher against 18k points and 9k Amazon/ Flipkart voucher against 24k points

What if I just want flights?

Can you help me do the math on the following?

How many points should I be hypothetically able to accumulate over 6 months?

Let's say that I'm able to use 0.5 for each point - would that be redeemable over flights like Indigo or Vistara or perhaps transferring then to an European or Asian flight program?

 

[kaykayporty]

Whatever spends you have mentioned above from them offline dining may or may not be accepting amex

And for travel if you do booking online then you should be able to use Amex

So for most of your spends you are covered with Amex acceptance

IMO MRCC would be good card for you
If you meet 1.5 Lac yearly spend you got your renewal fee waived off and if you dont reach 1.5 Lac but reach 90k: half of renewal fee is waived off ( you will be only paying 750 +GST)

Also if you are not luxury properties like Taj/ Marriott then you can redeem you rewards (MR points) for gold collection which gives 7k Amazon/ Flipkart voucher against 18k points and 9k Amazon/ Flipkart voucher against 24k points

For context, I'm trying to move to a 1 card for everything policy to simplify my life.

Exceptions are there, of course. But ideally, one card for most things and 1-2 backup for others which would be conditionally used.

 

[shutapdiya]

How many points should I be hypothetically able to accumulate over 6 months?

This depends on your spends

MRCC is rewarding for spends upto 20k in month
Assuming you do 20k spend per month for 6 months reaching both monthly milestones, you will have 12k Bonus points+ 4.8k Regular points

When transferred to Vistara you will get around 5.5k CV points (3:1 ratio) (sufficient enough to take 1-2 domestic flights may be depending upon route)

Let's say that I'm able to use 0.5 for each point - would that be redeemable over flights like Indigo or Vistara or perhaps transferring then to an European or Asian flight program?

For Indigo you can not redeem Amex rewards, indigo dont have any FFP

You can transfer to other international FFPs but again the ratio is not lucrative

 

[sousnake]

Amex MRCC and Amex Gold aren't ideal to compare because both are not the same category of cards in amex ecosystem.
Amex gold is a "charge" card, which means there is no credit limit (virtually unlimited credit). Only other charge card in amex is the platinum charge card.

Amex gold is not an entry level card as is the case with amex MRCC. Hence, there is higher annual fee for gold and also not given FYF in referral offer. Also, approval rate obviously is lower than mrcc and even plat travel for that matter.

Now one can argue both mrcc and gold provide same bonus rewards on 6k spends. That is true if one only has to reap benefits of 6k-20k spends per month and nothing else. But one cannot conclude mrcc is better than gold just on the basis of milestone benefits.

Amex gold has a lot more to offer, particularly the promotional offers and campaigns amex runs from time to time on their amex experiences portal, with a lot of brands. You will always find the amex gold and platinum charge cards to be most rewarding cards in such offers and few of those offers from participating brands are specifically designed only for gold and platinum cards. Last but not least, the 5x bonus rewards on the rewards multiplier platform.
For many, amex gold is also the doorway to get the most premium offerings in amex viz platinum charge, platinum reserve etc.

Agree with some points. But most important is till like 20-25k per month, gold charge is not enough compared to MRCC (since 1k MR points + less fees is better than 3X more points on gold).
Definitely if your spends are more than spay 30k per month it is good but then at 4L spends platinum travel becomes better than gold, right?
I don't see what should be ideal case for taking gold charge card give it's high fees.

 

[kaykayporty]

This depends on your spends

MRCC is rewarding for spends upto 20k in month
Assuming you do 20k spend per month for 6 months rea

This depends on your spends

MRCC is rewarding for spends upto 20k in month
Assuming you do 20k spend per month for 6 months reaching both monthly milestones, you will have 12k Bonus points+ 4.8k Regular points

When transferred to Vistara you will get around 5.5k CV points (3:1 ratio) (sufficient enough to take 1-2 domestic flights may be depending upon route)

For Indigo you can not redeem Amex rewards, indigo dont have any FFP

You can transfer to other international FFPs but again the ratio is not lucrative

What else can I use the points for?

What does their internal portal or multiplier thing sell?

I'm assuming Amazon vouchers?

 

[sousnake]

What else can I use the points for?

What does their internal portal or multiplier thing sell?

I'm assuming Amazon vouchers?

rewards portal - Lot of brand vouchers via gyftr + affiliate shopping for many platforms.
You can look here - https://www.americanexpress.com/in/benefits/rewards-program.html

Points can be redeemed for 18k/24k collections to purchase vouchers like Amazon/ flipkart.
I personally redeem for Myntra since value is higher.

 

[shutapdiya]

What else can I use the points for?

What does their internal portal or multiplier thing sell?

I'm assuming Amazon vouchers?

Best use of points would be Taj/ Marriott, if not next will be below vouchers if you are not into Airmiles game


dont go into Reward Multiplier Affiliate Shopping at this stage, those are not worth for MRCC

Only thing thats worth from there for MRCC is the Gyftr portal (which sells different brand vouchers including Amazon)

 

[scorpio]

New here. Off topic question for the experienced folks. I received my Plat Travel card around a week ago with a limit of 3.1L. I plan to utilize this card upto 4L for the milestone benefit so I spoke to the customer care and they asked me to send income documents.

I also plan to apply for either Gold/MRCC (still confused which one to go for - will be majorly using it for the monthly milestone) for utilities, swiggy, fuel etc.

Should I wait until the second card gets approved and delivered to ask for the credit limit increase or send the docs now and then apply for the new card?

 

[shutapdiya]

New here. Off topic question for the experienced folks. I received my Plat Travel card around a week ago with a limit of 3.1L. I plan to utilize this card upto 4L for the milestone benefit so I spoke to the customer care and they asked me to send income documents.

I also plan to apply for either Gold/MRCC (still confused which one to go for - will be majorly using it for the monthly milestone) for utilities, swiggy, fuel etc.

Should I wait until the second card gets approved and delivered to ask for the credit limit increase or send the docs now and then apply for the new card?

3.1 L is decent limit unless you have any txn above that amount itself, you can always pay outstanding dues and attemp high value txn

Imo dont raise request for limit increase, it may be possible after increasing limit on this card, they give you very less limit on next card

I had 3 Lac + on MRCC when I applied for Plat. Travel and they gave only 1.5 Lac pn Plat. Travel

 

[sousnake]

New here. Off topic question for the experienced folks. I received my Plat Travel card around a week ago with a limit of 3.1L. I plan to utilize this card upto 4L for the milestone benefit so I spoke to the customer care and they asked me to send income documents.

I also plan to apply for either Gold/MRCC (still confused which one to go for - will be majorly using it for the monthly milestone) for utilities, swiggy, fuel etc.

Should I wait until the second card gets approved and delivered to ask for the credit limit increase or send the docs now and then apply for the new card?

You have 3.1L limit, right so you can easily spend 4L in an year. I don't see point in increasing limit until you want to spend entire 4L in 1 month.

 

[shutapdiya]

You have 3.1L limit, right so you can easily spend 4L in an year. I don't see point in increasing limit until you want to spend entire 4L in 1 month.

Even 4 Lac in a month can be done by repaying 1 Lac outstanding

Higher limit will only be required if at all whole amount is to be spent in 1 txn

 

[the_dark_knight]

New here. Off topic question for the experienced folks. I received my Plat Travel card around a week ago with a limit of 3.1L. I plan to utilize this card upto 4L for the milestone benefit so I spoke to the customer care and they asked me to send income documents.

I also plan to apply for either Gold/MRCC (still confused which one to go for - will be majorly using it for the monthly milestone) for utilities, swiggy, fuel etc.

Should I wait until the second card gets approved and delivered to ask for the credit limit increase or send the docs now and then apply for the new card?

Yes as they said limit enhancement is not really required here. I also don't think amex will increase the limit anyway,since you just got the card recently and amex already offered you limit based on their parameters. May be try after 6 months or so.

Regarding b/w gold and mrcc, it's your call.

Mrcc - you can have extra 20k milestone as well every month, in case your spends crosses 6k per month. But consider this only in case your 4L yearly spends aren't enough for you for plat travel.

Gold- gold is better than mrcc for the 6k milestone spend, since it has 5x multiplier for vouchers. Plus amex provides promotional offers on gold card like on various salons,healthcare packages etc. you can check more details on the amex benefits portal. However gold has lower approval rate than mrcc.

Both the cards would be "effectively" free for you in the first year