Closing AMEX MRCC - thoughts?

[sd.ac]

I currently have a couple of Axis LTF cards (Neo, MyZone), a LTF Amazon ICICI card, an AMEX MRCC and a HDFC Infinia plastic (paid) card. The Infinia is my main card.

I applied for the MRCC in 2023 and was using it exclusively for Amazon vouchers (4 x 1500) each month. With the recent devaluation and the Rs 250 voucher denomination, this no longer seems worth it. My travel is somewhat limited so I'm thinking seriously about closing the MRCC.

Question: any good reasons to keep the MRCC card active? (anything I'm missing...)

I received the card by referral so it was FYF and then Rs. 1500 per year - oddly, they didn't charge me the second year fee (even though my spends are well below any waiver limit)

Thanks in advance for your inputs.

 

[codenerd]

Just got my 750+gst reversed by amex customer care in less than a minute. I had spent around 95-98k whole year so they easily waived off full renewal fee. It's even reflecting on my app.

 

[sd18]

I have Renewal of Amex MRCC next month. I called them yesterday and they said we can reduce the charges to 750+GST which will be completely reveresed along with GST if you can spend 30000 in next 3 months.
Is this generous offer? I was also planning to close Amex MRCC but was dicey as they are not issuing new cards.

 

[malavkarkar]

I have Renewal of Amex MRCC next month. I called them yesterday and they said we can reduce the charges to 750+GST which will be completely reveresed along with GST if you can spend 30000 in next 3 months.
Is this generous offer? I was also planning to close Amex MRCC but was dicey as they are not issuing new cards.

This is a very generous offer. MRCC also has full fee waiver if you're spending ₹1.5L in a year.

 

[sd18]

This is a very generous offer. MRCC also has full fee waiver if you're spending ₹1.5L in a year.

Yes in last year I used Amex Platinum travel more. So I stopped using this card in last year.

 

[akiratoriyama]

I have Renewal of Amex MRCC next month. I called them yesterday and they said we can reduce the charges to 750+GST which will be completely reveresed along with GST if you can spend 30000 in next 3 months.
Is this generous offer? I was also planning to close Amex MRCC but was dicey as they are not issuing new cards.

Worth keeping imo

 

[RAMESH BABU N]

I have Renewal of Amex MRCC next month. I called them yesterday and they said we can reduce the charges to 750+GST which will be completely reveresed along with GST if you can spend 30000 in next 3 months.
Is this generous offer? I was also planning to close Amex MRCC but was dicey as they are not issuing new cards.

Worth keeping MRCC. Spending 30K in 3m is a fair deal.

In my own case, as I spent 6m in USA, my usage this year is less than 25K in 9 months. I am willing to pay full charges (or half, If I get a similar deal) by using reward points. I do not want to close MRCC as I will not be able to get any AmEx card later (I am running 65 now).

 

[sd18]

Worth keeping MRCC. Spending 30K in 3m is a fair deal.

In my own case, as I spent 6m in USA, my usage this year is less than 25K in 9 months. I am willing to pay full charges (or half, If I get a similar deal) by using reward points. I do not want to close MRCC as I will not be able to get any AmEx card later (I am running 65 now).

and started by buying 4*1500 amazon vouchers for Electricity Bill Payment as Airtel Axis has started usage charge

 

[sd.ac]

Thank you everyone for the inputs and suggestions. Just an update to this thread - I've now closed my MRCC account. No more Amex for me, ha ha

[ one factor in the decision: although I was on the 1500 (referral) annual fee plan, I don't want a second paid card - it's another thing to keep track of, even with auto-payments and such ]

 

[maheshspanicker]

There are speculations around a possible devaluation of all Amex cards. If the MRCC takes another serious hit, I feel that may be it for me with the card.

 

[Sobirvs]

Even I am thinking of closing amex gold and mrcc. I have that duo card for 4.5k fee total (not each).

I have been following this cycle of 1k/6trxns and 1.5k/4trxns from idk like 6-7 yrs now.

Enough of this clownfckry.

 

[opbamldg]

The card is free if you spend ₹150k on it in a year. What's stopping you from spending ₹150k in a year? And if you don't have enough expenses, why'd you apply for the card in the first place? MRCC makes no sense with full or even half fee.

Twitter influencers need referral bonuses. They hype American Express so much, people think it’s a good card and apply for it. American Express has built it’s image as credit card of rich people, so everyone wants feel rich with FYF card.

 

[Indrajeet100]

Even I am wondering closing both MRCc and Travel. When started 1.5 year back had some real spend. Now I have got better cards there is literally no spend left to use here though I do wasteful spend by loading wallet etc to just maintain milestones. Secondly, biggest attraction was reward rate calculations which now I realise are more on paper. Haven't found Marriott to my liking at places I travelled. Maybe international travellers find it more useful. And don't want to get tied to particular chain. Would rather book most suitable to my need using best card. So now just wondering what to do with accumulated 1.4lac points and even have 10k Taj voucher unused and soon getting another 10k voucher. Caught between two thoughts whether to just close after redeeming it for Amazon vouchers or just keep adding points in hope some day will have better use of these points.

 

[AlgoTrader]

same here, will close amex soon

 

[s73uresh]

I used MRCC card for making 3 payments of 1500rs each towards income tax and remaining 16k for paying jewellary chit(no card gives any benefit for this purchase). For IT, they charge less than 1% as convenience so in net I get 2320 RPs which is worth more than 750rs per month, which is close to 3.8% return for 20k. By this way i meet the spend criteria and last year took MRCC for my wife and keep rotating my spends in both cards and get 1500rs together and redeem in Amazon and use it for upload to Fasttag using HP pay app and gain rewards there as well by paying for fuel using fast tag in HP pay app, so it sounds a good deal. In few months I use MRCC card and load HP wallet(convenience fees is there but still worth it as I get back as return rewards for loading the wallet and use it again for fuel, which again pays me with rewards. In net I could recover 80% of convenience fees. Hence If you plan to use the above ways, it is worth to keep this card. Ofcourse I agree AMEX should come up reducing the merchant fees and probably float Rupay variant. Also Amex cc bill I pay through their credit payment option using Fi upi which again fetches 2% every month. So in all I am satisfied with returns. My collegues use to encash for gold or Taj bookings which gives more than 1100rs for 2000 RPs which is still better deal

 

[DarthBrooks]

Even I am wondering closing both MRCc and Travel. When started 1.5 year back had some real spend. Now I have got better cards there is literally no spend left to use here though I do wasteful spend by loading wallet etc to just maintain milestones. Secondly, biggest attraction was reward rate calculations which now I realise are more on paper. Haven't found Marriott to my liking at places I travelled. Maybe international travellers find it more useful. And don't want to get tied to particular chain. Would rather book most suitable to my need using best card. So now just wondering what to do with accumulated 1.4lac points and even have 10k Taj voucher unused and soon getting another 10k voucher. Caught between two thoughts whether to just close after redeeming it for Amazon vouchers or just keep adding points in hope some day will have better use of these points.

I am in a similar situation, also now I got limit increase on my HDFC card and will get a DCB soon enough, my MRCC was waived off for 2nd year and I won't be renewing plat travel too ig.

 

[malavkarkar]

Twitter influencers need referral bonuses. They hype American Express so much, people think it’s a good card and apply for it. American Express has built it’s image as credit card of rich people, so everyone wants feel rich with FYF card.

If you're saying Amex cards are useless and make you feel rich, I'm a middle class person who has been an Amex cardholder for 7 years and I can prove you wrong in 4 different languages. I don't think for one second that these cards are hyped or anything. When you apply for a card without reading about its fees and benefits, it's on you and not on influencers.

 

[akiratoriyama]

I've read their dispute process is the best in the industry. As long as you're able to get fee waiver by spends or asking them, for that fact alone the card is worth considering imo.

 

[Sobirvs]

I've read their dispute process is the best in the industry. As long as you're able to get fee waiver by spends or asking them, for that fact alone the card is worth considering imo.

What u mean best in the industry? They literally own the network so it has to be the best. Talk about asking for bare minimum. I have mentioned before that I have worked as chargeback analyst from many years and amex ofc is the best, they can literally do anything as the card is on a network THEY OWN.

It's basically like VISA selling their own card rather than we taking visa card from hdfc/icici etc

Now get a icici or some other bank card on amex network and try to dispute a trxn and see the dispute process going down.

Anyways, I know dispute is good with amex but tbh I have kept amex for 7-8 yrs and never did dispute anyways, so this reason is far from enough to retain amex as a card to keep in the wallet.