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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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the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
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.
Ideal case for taking gold card is when one has already ther mrcc or plat travel card , which was the case with OP here, hence I drawed a comparison between the two.
For new comers, they see that the monthly spends milestone is same both in the cards, then why gold has high fees and lower approval? Hence this comparison between the two

Distinguishing factors of gold: Makes it easier to upgrade to the platinum charge card, excellent promotional offers on brands etc.(I personally used salon and healthcare offers) ,and 5x reward multiplier.
 

the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
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.
It's simple you just have to check how much total spends you can do in a year with your amex card.

If total spends crosses 2lac easily, take plat travel
If total spends is between 90k-2lac, take mrcc
If total spends is below 90k take gold

Regarding redemption of points, it doesn't matter which card you have, the story is same for all three cards. Other fellow members already explained you the different redemption options and how to redeem it for flights etc.

You just have to decide based on your amount of spends
 

the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
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?
For uber, big basket, swiggy spends, any amex card you can use from the trifecta to purchase amazon vouchers to pay at those sites.especially uber since uber additionally provides 5% cashback on apay.
 

scorpio

TF Buzz
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
Thanks a lot, I have better clarity now. I agree I don't need a limit raise as of now.
 

scorpio

TF Buzz
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

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
Thank you for your response, I am tilting towards the Gold as I don't think getting 20k on the MRCC is going to be feasible/worth it while I hold Plat Travel as well. Gold's 6k a month is much more beneficial with the 5X multiplier plus it also gives points for fuel and utilities, downside being the renewal fees. I could possible try for a year and see how the expenses pan out across the cards.
 

the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
Thank you for your response, I am tilting towards the Gold as I don't think getting 20k on the MRCC is going to be feasible/worth it while I hold Plat Travel as well. Gold's 6k a month is much more beneficial with the 5X multiplier plus it also gives points for fuel and utilities, downside being the renewal fees. I could possible try for a year and see how the expenses pan out across the cards.
Yes if u think you cannot spend 20k per month on mrcc (definitely after considering u utilise 4lac plat travel first) , then it is wiser to go for gold card first.

About how to generate >10% returns on gold card spends, I have DMed you already.

In case gold gets rejected, then you may go for mrcc.

Regarding renewal, it depends on negotiation with amex either they can waive off the fees fully/partially by crediting equivalent points. Some close the card after one year if no renewal offer and others upgrade it to platinum charge card under some good upgrade bonus offer. I also have gold card and would be following same
 

drsel

TF Legend
Yes if u think you cannot spend 20k per month on mrcc (definitely after considering u utilise 4lac plat travel first) , then it is wiser to go for gold card first.

About how to generate >10% returns on gold card spends, I have DMed you already.

In case gold gets rejected, then you may go for mrcc.

Regarding renewal, it depends on negotiation with amex either they can waive off the fees fully/partially by crediting equivalent points. Some close the card after one year if no renewal offer and others upgrade it to platinum charge card under some good upgrade bonus offer. I also have gold card and would be following same
Kindly help me to get Gold first year free with 2000 points
 

drsel

TF Legend
Buying 6 x 1000 Amazon pay on Amex reward multiplier website using Amex Gold will give you 1000+600 points every month, because of 5x.
In 12 months you will accumulate 19200 points.
you can get 7000 Amazon pay for 18000 points
 

the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Marriot Bonvoy points conversion is the best value out of these points right? 1:1 ratio
No you aint wrong, this 10% (infact slighltly more) cashback i quoted was only when you redeem it for brand vouchers in gold collection.
But the game is totally different in case of MB points redeemption where 1 mr point was even equal to 1.3 MB points untill recently.
But MB,taj etc is not a cup of tea for all, so if one doesn't have any plan to redeem on hotels, they always have a sweet voucher catalog to fall back to
 

vine

TF Premier
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?
3.1L limit is monthly. 4L milestone is yearly.
 

drsel

TF Legend
you're right. I realized I can't pay advance tax with Amex so no point in increasing the limit.
Buying 6 x 1000 Amazon pay on Amex reward multiplier website using Amex Gold will give you 1000+600 points every month, because of 5x.
In 12 months you will accumulate 19200 points.
you can get 7000 Amazon pay for 18000 points

Buying 4 x 1500 Amazon pay on Amex reward multiplier website using Amex MRCC will give you 1000+240 points every month, because of 2x.
In 15 months you will accumulate 18600 points.
you can get 7000 Amazon pay for 18000 points.

So you can clearly see that Gold is better than MRCC, with a higher return on monthly spend of 6000, and a shorter wait time to get 7000 Amazon pay voucher.

Also Gold gets some Amex offers which MRCC doesn't get, but Gold is more difficult to get.
So try to get Gold and if you can't get it, then go for MRCC
 
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drsel

TF Legend
I think Amazon pay is the best redemption option, because Marriott hotels are over priced.

So don't be fooled by the conversion point value appearing to be Rs 1 or more
 

scorpio

TF Buzz
I think Amazon pay is the best redemption option, because Marriott hotels are over priced.

So don't be fooled by the conversion point value appearing to be Rs 1 or more
My plan is to check the prices for the Marriot property I am looking at and the points it accepts against the room and then decide to convert the MR points. Amazon pay's value isn't that much if you consider nil-some waiver in the annual fees from what I've been reading. 7000 Apay vs 5310/reduced annual fees, if one gets it.
 

drsel

TF Legend
My plan is to check the prices for the Marriot property I am looking at and the points it accepts against the room and then decide to convert the MR points. Amazon pay's value isn't that much if you consider nil-some waiver in the annual fees from what I've been reading. 7000 Apay vs 5310/reduced annual fees, if one gets it.
You will have to pay the joining fees of 1180, collect the 2000 referral + 4000 joining points and then close the card before the renewal.

It's obviously not worth paying 5310 renewal fees.
 
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