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)

 

[coolguy1]

This is the kind of realistic maths I've been trying to garner from the forum and collect here:

Comparative Maths between cards? Esp between SBI CB 5% Flat, Amex MRCC 4 x 1600? and Magnus?

BROADLY: Compare how these numbers from following charts play. SPECIFICALLY: ONLINE largely, not much offline. I do not yet or will have Huge spends.. until medical issues are fully fixed so... Note: AMEX MRCC acceptance offline not an issue. Magnus fees not an issue (Paid & used 10k...

www.technofino.in

This is an interesting observation and helpful to get an idea of what the normal conversion could look like.

There are several opportunities where you can get better value out of your points like the current 30% Marriott transfer bonus isn't mentioned in that math.
Spend 2L and get 10k Taj voucher spending offer that was launched in September on top of the Plat Travel milestones isn't included.
Marriott Properties worth 40k being offered for 15k points aren't noted either.

If someone was to blindly redeem their points for X, they wouldn't get the best value but if they use them at the right place and the right time, they can get a lot more worth from their points.

 

[chiggybansal1]

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)

Hats off to you man such a great explanation, its like if anyone making excuses to apply amex just show this post..

 

[chiggybansal1]

This is an interesting observation and helpful to get an idea of what the normal conversion could look like.

There are several opportunities where you can get better value out of your points like the current 30% Marriott transfer bonus isn't mentioned in that math.
Spend 2L and get 10k Taj voucher spending offer that was launched in September on top of the Plat Travel milestones isn't included.
Marriott Properties worth 40k being offered for 15k points aren't noted either.

If someone was to blindly redeem their points for X, they wouldn't get the best value but if they use them at the right place and the right time, they can get a lot more worth from their points.

do we have to search it manually and compare it with cash and point pricing?

 

[insight]

This is an interesting observation and helpful to get an idea of what the normal conversion could look like.

There are several opportunities where you can get better value out of your points like the current 30% Marriott transfer bonus isn't mentioned in that math.
Spend 2L and get 10k Taj voucher spending offer that was launched in September on top of the Plat Travel milestones isn't included.
Marriott Properties worth 40k being offered for 15k points aren't noted either.

If someone was to blindly redeem their points for X, they wouldn't get the best value but if they use them at the right place and the right time, they can get a lot more worth from their points.

And which is what I keep asking.. CONTEXT and NUANCE.

For me currently FANCY HOTELS and VACAYS are a NO GO due to medical issues. Pointless imaginary paths that I cant use for High % ROI.

Maybe in the future.

But again. as someone pointed out there's CATEGORY/ PATH of SPEND for % OF EARNING.

In same way there is PATH of REDEMPTION that makes the % ROI very different.

Hence, for all the magic that MRCC promises, it seemingly does not do way above a FASTER SBI CB 5% if one was to exclude the FANCY Pathways.

Do tell me if I am missing a NON FANCY VACAY, High ROI PATHWAY for MRCC.

If I recall correctly, I may have even tagged you before on similar line of inquiry? -

My context & limitations:

Comparative Maths between cards? Esp between SBI CB 5% Flat, Amex MRCC 4 x 1600? and Magnus?

BROADLY: Compare how these numbers from following charts play. SPECIFICALLY: ONLINE largely, not much offline. I do not yet or will have Huge spends.. until medical issues are fully fixed so... Note: AMEX MRCC acceptance offline not an issue. Magnus fees not an issue (Paid & used 10k...

www.technofino.in

 

[coolguy1]

do we have to search it manually and compare it with cash and point pricing?

There's an easy way to look and search for Marriott properties that offer the best points:cash ratio.

Visit https://maxmypoint.com/ and apply the "Marriott" filter, which will show you the most rewarding properties worldwide.

And you can also enter the city you want to visit and then see the places with the best ratio.

 

[TheGuy]

"Marriott" filter, which will show you the most rewarding properties worldwide.

Nice one!

Can we buy points using INR and then use those points? Nice Value at some properties.

 

[shutapdiya]

Nice one!

Can we buy points using INR and then use those points? Nice Value at some properties.

Yes you can buy points but point/INR is very high and not recommended

But you also buy from individuals (ask them to transfer points to your MB at pre decided point/inr rate)

 

[coolguy1]

Nice one!

Can we buy points using INR and then use those points? Nice Value at some properties.

Yes, but don't buy the official website, it's very expensive.

You can always buy officially from Amex, they allow up to 10k points purchase every year.
Combine them with the 30% bonus offers at the right time and the price becomes right.

Or as @shutapdiya suggested, you can get them from someone else at even cheaper prices.
But be careful if you buy from too many different people, your account might get blocked or suspended so prefer bulk points from just one trusted source.

 

[racydex]

Good explanation but I disagree with your conversion ration. Marriot Bonvoy is not giving the value of 1. In most practical cases it gives MAXIMUM 0.5 value. And even that is difficult in most cases.

Here is a more practical conversion

1 MR = 0.375 Amazon/Flipkart
~ 0.75% base return
~ 7% return with 1500x4 milestone
~ 4.4% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone

1MR = 0.58 Taj Vouchers
~1.16 base return
~ 6.9% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone

1MR = 0.5 Asia miles/Krisflyer/Etihad/Avios/Emirates
~1% base return
~ 6% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone

1MR = 0.3 Club Vistara
~0.6% base return
~ 3.6% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone

1MR = 1 Mariott Bonvoy = 0.5 INR
~ 1% base
~ 6% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone

Also, I believe that Mariott Pricing is not at all worth it

Could you share the same for Gold Charge and Platinum travel? Or guide me to the post if you've already shared elsewhere?

 

[coolguy1]

And which is what I keep asking.. CONTEXT and NUANCE.

For me currently FANCY HOTELS and VACAYS are a NO GO due to medical issues. Pointless imaginary paths that I cant use for High % ROI.

Maybe in the future.

But again. as someone pointed out there's CATEGORY/ PATH of SPEND for % OF EARNING.

In same way there is PATH of REDEMPTION that makes the % ROI very different.

Hence, for all the magic that MRCC promises, it seemingly does not do way above a FASTER SBI CB 5% if one was to exclude the FANCY Pathways.

Do tell me if I am missing a NON FANCY VACAY, High ROI PATHWAY for MRCC.

If I recall correctly, I may have even tagged you before on similar line of inquiry? -

My context & limitations:

Comparative Maths between cards? Esp between SBI CB 5% Flat, Amex MRCC 4 x 1600? and Magnus?

BROADLY: Compare how these numbers from following charts play. SPECIFICALLY: ONLINE largely, not much offline. I do not yet or will have Huge spends.. until medical issues are fully fixed so... Note: AMEX MRCC acceptance offline not an issue. Magnus fees not an issue (Paid & used 10k...

www.technofino.in

Oops, seems like I missed the other post.

You're right, the best value per reward point would be through redeeming hotel stays and if you don't travel much, the value of reward points could go down. In that case, you can redeem them for Amazon/Flipkart vouchers for which MRCC will offer ~ 7% return with 1500x4 milestone or ~ 4.4% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone as @maynigam mentioned.

 

[insight]

Oops, seems like I missed the other post.

Appreciate the follow up /\

You're right, the best value per reward point would be through redeeming hotel stays and if you don't travel much, the value of reward points could go down.

FANCY HOTELS:
Due to medical issues I don't see any time at the moment on Fancy Hotels.

FLIGHTS:
Travel is minimal, for medical treatments once a month for 8-10 days. BOM HYD BOM.
Does it convert well for Flights? % ROI? vs SkyScanner compared once a month flight?

In that case, you can redeem them for

Amazon/Flipkart vouchers for which MRCC will offer ~ 7% return with 1500x4 milestone or ~

Thanks for acknowledging.
Finer Qs:

1) Does it become 7% or 5.x/6/x?
2) That also a DELAYED 6/ 7 % right? (as compared to SBI CB etc every month as CASH).
3) Whats the minimum number of Milestone MONTHS(1.5k x 4) I'd have to HIT to extract anything approx 6/7% ?

4.4% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone as @maynigam mentioned.

Next tier that is out of bounds for my current medically bound life.

 

[TheGuy]

@insight MRCC gives 2MR per 100 spend. There are some excluded categories (Fuel, Utilities, Insurance, EMI) they don't give base rewards (2MR per 100) but give Milestone 1.5k x 4 and 20k ones.

Since you plan to only spend 1.5K x 4, that would give 1000 Bonus MR and 120 Base MR.

You need 18k or 24k for collections. This will take you ~17 months to achieve.
In 18k Collection, for 18000 MR points you get amazon voucher worth 7k (0.38 per MR).

So, for 6k pm x 16 months (96K worth of spend), you get 7000 INR Amazon Voucher or others provided below.
But you would have paid 1500+ GST (fees) as you are not crossing 90k for 50% fee waiver. Bringing Reward Worth down to 5230 INR (7k minus 1500+GST) . So, still great reward (specially offline, NA in your case) but 16 months later.


Image Credits: CardExpert Website.

P.S. How the hell do you type with such good formatting and structure. Takes some time.

 

[racydex]

Here is a more practical conversion

1 MR = 0.375 Amazon/Flipkart
~ 0.75% base return
~ 7% return with 1500x4 milestone
~ 4.4% return with 1500x4 and 20k milestone

Can you tell me how to get 0.375 value for Amazon? I can only see 0.22/0.25

 

[shutapdiya]

Can you tell me how to get 0.375 value for Amazon? I can only see 0.22/0.25

this for gold collection which I told you yesterday here

Optimal usage guide for Amex

For me Amex loads on Paytm are showing 2.65% charges and there is an offer for 1.5% cashback via scratch cards into fuel wallet. You still loose 1.15% 1.5%? I got 2.35% upto 300 into fuel wallet (3 times in a month). Offer ending on Oct 31.

www.technofino.in

for 18k points, you get 7k Apay GV which is 0.388
and for 24k points, you get 9k Apay GV which is 0.375

 

[coolguy1]

Can you tell me how to get 0.375 value for Amazon? I can only see 0.22/0.25

You get an exclusive redemption section with MRCC and Gold Charge card where the value is much higher.
These are the redemption rates,

 

[insight]

@insight MRCC gives 2MR per 100 spend. There are some excluded categories (Fuel, Utilities, Insurance, EMI) they don't give base rewards (2MR per 100) but give Milestone 1.5k x 4 and 20k ones.

Since you plan to only spend 1.5K x 4, that would give 1000 Bonus MR and 120 Base MR.

You need 18k or 24k for collections. This will take you ~17 months to achieve.
In 18k Collection, for 18000 MR points you get amazon voucher worth 7k (0.38 per MR).

So, for 6k pm x 16 months (96K worth of spend), you get 7000 INR Amazon Voucher or others provided below.
But you would have paid 1500+ GST (fees) as you are not crossing 90k for 50% fee waiver. Bringing Reward Worth down to 5230 INR (7k minus 1500+GST) .

In the forums, I read of MRCC offline high% ROI when people don't have a high OFFLINE % card like MB or similar. ?? Is it?

So, still great reward (specially offline, NA in your case) but 16 months later.

So, it MAY BE usable in future, but with your help I'd like to figure out how & when.

Hence, this thread..
Comparative Maths between cards? Esp between SBI CB 5% Flat, Amex MRCC 4 x 1600? and Magnus?

So assuming my spends focus in this order or predence:
1. SBI CB 5% (Online)
2. Magnus Burg (Some Online + Some offline).

What would the Online / Offline categories BE, that somehow are EXEMPTED by 1 & 2, and that MRCC can cover as a category of spend.

Image Credits: CardExpert Website.

LOL! Cause Im using a PC with a Monitor (Big Screen) - I cant operate much on Mobile & it seems thats what you might be using?
Atleast from the UI tools that are visible.

But articulating (inspired & groomed by some elders/ mentors), organizing, formatting content for EXEC Summarys to Fortune Execs was a large part of my US work before medical dramas.
So it became habitual, and hence it irks me the way many people write here

P.S. How the hell do you type with such good formatting and structure. Takes some time.

@TheGuy - Thanks for articulating along with me and for me . Lots of love & thanks.

Back to subject:
I had to re-read a few times as my brains are bit foggy from medicals. Might read again.

So, to even approach the ROI % above 5/6 is far off in time in this Non Hotel direction.

What do you estimate it to be as I've seen some variants of 5.5 - 7% numbers as computed by various members.

@coolguy1 - Do you confer on TG's outline?

 

[vine]

Am may take the MRCC in future, hence following this thread.
I already hold SBI Cashback and Amazon ICICI credit cards.
From what I understood so far, are AMEX MR points of no use to book domestic flights?

 

[maheshspanicker]

Am may take the MRCC in future, hence following this thread.
I already hold SBI Cashback and Amazon ICICI credit cards.
From what I understood so far, are AMEX MR points of no use to book domestic flights?

Amex Travel Booking has domestic flight booking option and you can of course pay with points. Won't give you best rewards though. Better option is to redeem Amazon vouchers from the gold collection, and use that to book flight from Amazon or any other portal that lets you pay with AmazonPay. Last week, I redeemed 3 Rs 7000 vouchers from gold collection and booked tickets and even a hotel stay for that matter from Amazon and Easemytrip.

 

[coolguy1]

Am may take the MRCC in future, hence following this thread.
I already hold SBI Cashback and Amazon ICICI credit cards.
From what I understood so far, are AMEX MR points of no use to book domestic flights?

Absolutely, DM me if you have any other questions!
Depending on your spends, MRCC can offer you way better rewards than both of those cards.

Amex MR points can be used to book flights directly using the Amex Travel portal where some flight rates can be cheaper than all other portals.
Some others could be more expensive as well so you can compare before utilizing your points.

Another way is as Mahesh mentioned above to convert and redeem them for Amazon Pay vouchers. The value will be somewhat lesser but opens the door to use them for tons of different things - from paying bills to shopping, everything gets covered.

 

[insight]

Amex MR points can be used to book flights directly using the Amex Travel portal where some flight rates can be cheaper than all other portals.
Some others could be more expensive as well so you can compare before utilizing your points.

Even when compared via Sky Scanner? Has someone consistently checked/ compared?