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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
This Taj/MB game looks attractive and is of course profitable initially.
But there is a larger picture here, these 5 star hotel chains want you to get used to their high standard hospitality, such that some years later even when they devalue the points or remove the tieups, customer would get addicted by then to be forced to book at the regular prices.
 

the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
This Taj/MB game looks attractive and is of course profitable initially.
But there is a larger picture here, these 5 star hotel chains want you to get used to their high standard hospitality, such that some years later even when they devalue the points or remove the tieups, customer would get addicted by then to be forced to book at the regular prices.
But again this depends on the individual, for HNI s anyways there is nothing to loose as these fit into their lifestyle already
 

the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
You need to dig more
Jump In Death GIF
 

ontherocks

TF Premier
1 MR = 0.375 Amazon/Flipkart
~ 0.75% base return
~ 7% return with 1500x4 milestone
~ 4.4% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone
You need 18K RP for Rs.7K Amazon GV
For non-milestone you get 1240 RP for Rs.6K spent. So you need to spend Rs.87096 to get 18K RP, giving returns @7000/87096=8.03%
For milestone you get 2800 RP for Rs.20K spent. So you need to spend Rs.128571 to get 18K RP, giving returns @7000/128571=5.44%
 

drsel

TF Legend
You need 18K RP for Rs.7K Amazon GV
For non-milestone you get 1240 RP for Rs.6K spent. So you need to spend Rs.87096 to get 18K RP, giving returns @7000/87096=8.03%
For milestone you get 2800 RP for Rs.20K spent. So you need to spend Rs.128571 to get 18K RP, giving returns @7000/128571=5.44%
This analysis shows that it is not worth spending an extra 14000 on MRCC to get just 1000 points more
 

sourpai

TF Ace
VIP Lounge
Can we use both Gold and MRCC to buy Paytm cash vouchers and then use the Paytm cash to make UPI payments by scanning QR code of small shops?

If so, then nobody needs Rupay cards for UPI payments
If you add money in Paytm wallet via Amex cards, then it will work at merchants with Paytm QR code only. Other QR codes (phonepay, bharatpay etc.) won't accept money from Paytm wallet

I am not sure about Paytm cash. Where do you get paytm cash?
 

the_dark_knight

TF Ace
Contributor
If you add money in Paytm wallet via Amex cards, then it will work at merchants with Paytm QR code only. Other QR codes (phonepay, bharatpay etc.) won't accept money from Paytm wallet

I am not sure about Paytm cash. Where do you get paytm cash?
Paytm cash vouchers are very rare to find. @drsel tell us where we can purchase the Paytm cash gv
 
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