Gold Charge Retention - Is it worth it?

[username_x]

Hello all!

My first thread! I know this question has been asked a lot, but stay with me on this one.
I have a Gold Charge Card, and like many people reported, AMEX is not offering me any renewal offers.
So if I renew it, I will spend 5,310/- (Rs. 4,500/- + GST). Here is what I get back, as I spend it only on Gyftr.
Rs. 20k APay Vouchers through Gyftr (10k on main + 10k on add-on) = 2k points per month
6 x 1,000/- Transactions milestone = 1k points (By breaking down purchase of 20k APay into 6 transactions)
Expense: 1.5% of 20k + GST = Rs. 540/-

So Annual Math is this:
Expense = Rs. 2,49,558/- (Including renewal fee & Gyftr Fee)
Points = 36,648 (including points on Gyftr Convenience Fee)

Considering 50p per 1 MB Point, this is a return of 7.34%.

Now my questions on this:

1. Is 7.26% good?
2. Is 50p/ MB Point a fair assessment?
3. I am not really partial towards Marriott only. I like Accor equally, and have Axis Atlas as well (but NOT Infinia or Magnus or Emerald etc.). Can I get better return elsewhere?

Thank you for reading, and looking forward to your replies!

 

[malavkarkar]

Were you buying an iPhone every other month or what?

Yes

Now that Amazon Pay doesn't accept Gift Vouchers for insurance premium payments of more than 25k the use case for bulk APay GV purchase is essentially dead. Before that devaluation I used to purchase 5L worth of APay GVs every year. Now it is hardly 75K.

You can still make your health insurance payment using Amazon Pay if there's an option to pay using Amazon Pay on their website.

 

[rogerthat]

Yes

well, not feasible for most...

You can still make your health insurance payment using Amazon Pay if there's an option to pay using Amazon Pay on their website.

premium is 32k. apparently even external requests above 25k are being rejected.

 

[malavkarkar]

well, not feasible for most...

Not with that attitude mate.

premium is 32k. apparently even external requests above 25k are being rejected.

It works if you use the payment gateway on third party website. I'm with ICICI Lombard and limits don't apply there.

 

[username_x]

Computing Reward Rate

Expense = Rs. 2,49,558/- (Including renewal fee & Gyftr Fee)
Reward Points = 36,648 (including points on Gyftr Convenience Fee) => Rs 18,324 (@ 0.5 Rs/point)
Goods received from the Expense = Rs 2,40,000 (Apay Vouchers)

Net Rewards = Goods + Rewards - Expense = 2,40,000 + 18,324 - 2,49,558 = Rs 8766

Net Reward Rate = Net Rewards / Expense * 100 = (8,766 / 2,49,558)*100 = 3.5%

Is it worth it? No, there are other cards that does better than this.

The only way you can make this better:
1. Buy vouchers that dont have convenience fees - but whether it is useful is upto your use case
2. Get annual fee waiver
3. Hunt for deals in Marriott Bonvoy to improve your reward conversion rate from Rs 0.5/point to Rs 1 or more per point

I thought long and hard on this, did my own research as well. There is no denying that the logic "Net Rewards = Goods + Rewards - Expense" is absolutely correct. And by that logic, Gold Card does not make sense.

So, thank you everyone for your enlightening posts. I have decided that I will close the Gold Card. Maybe I will take out a 14k Taj Voucher before that.

 

[hellowo₹ld]

Hello all!

My first thread! I know this question has been asked a lot, but stay with me on this one.
I have a Gold Charge Card, and like many people reported, AMEX is not offering me any renewal offers.
So if I renew it, I will spend 5,310/- (Rs. 4,500/- + GST). Here is what I get back, as I spend it only on Gyftr.
Rs. 20k APay Vouchers through Gyftr (10k on main + 10k on add-on) = 2k points per month
6 x 1,000/- Transactions milestone = 1k points (By breaking down purchase of 20k APay into 6 transactions)
Expense: 1.5% of 20k + GST = Rs. 540/-

So Annual Math is this:
Expense = Rs. 2,49,558/- (Including renewal fee & Gyftr Fee)
Points = 36,648 (including points on Gyftr Convenience Fee)

Considering 50p per 1 MB Point, this is a return of 7.34%.

Now my questions on this:

1. Is 7.26% good?
2. Is 50p/ MB Point a fair assessment?
3. I am not really partial towards Marriott only. I like Accor equally, and have Axis Atlas as well (but NOT Infinia or Magnus or Emerald etc.). Can I get better return elsewhere?

Thank you for reading, and looking forward to your replies!

Thread 'Breaking Down AMEX Retention Offers: Are They Worth It?'

Jul 3, 2023

Many of us face a tough decision when the annual fee comes around, but understanding the available retention offers can help you make a more informed choice.

Would like to share some insights into American Express Gold Charge Card retention offers and how they affect your net rewards after considering the card’s annual fee.

Normal reward rate:

18k/24k Collection
Welcome Gift (Spend 5k in 90days)	4000 MR	-
Referral Benefit (Spend 5k in 90days)	2000 MR	-

...

• hellowo₹ld
• Replies: 112
• Forum: American Express

• 

: )

 

[hellowo₹ld]

I thought long and hard on this, did my own research as well. There is no denying that the logic "Net Rewards = Goods + Rewards - Expense" is absolutely correct. And by that logic, Gold Card does not make sense.

So, thank you everyone for your enlightening posts. I have decided that I will close the Gold Card. Maybe I will take out a 14k Taj Voucher before that.

Thread 'Is Your Credit Card Worth the Fee? A Guide to Evaluating Net Rewards'

Apr 23, 2024

Evaluating the Value of Your Credit Card Fee​

When considering whether a credit card is worth its annual fee, it's essential to calculate the net reward rate effectively. Here's a scenario to illustrate this:

Scenario​

• Spent: ₹1,000
• Cashback Earned: ₹10
• Discount Received: ₹10
• Annual Fee Paid: ₹30

Methods of Calculation​

You can evaluate the net reward rate using two different approaches:

A. Return Percentage Calculation (Including Fee)​

This method considers the fee as part of the overall...

• hellowo₹ld
• Replies: 19
• Forum: Credit Card - General

• 
• 

: )

 

[username_x]

Since I just completed my first year of Gold Charge, I think I'll get the 5k renewal bonus as well. Also, I'll ask for a renewal deal once the fee is charged. Let me get back to all you guys.

 

[rogerthat]

It is not really worth it even you were to use it only for meeting the monthly milestone rewards of 1000*6 spends

You get monthly 1600 MR points (including milestone bonus) and hence 19200 MR points a year valued at 9600.

Net Rewards = Goods + Rewards - Expense = 72,000 + 9,600 - 78,584 = 3016 (if all purchases are Amazon Pay vouchers)

Net reward rate is nearly 4%. Or about the same as Axis Atlas.

So renewing AMEX Gold card is like adding a 10k transfer bonus to Atlas.

(Edit: Forgot to factor in the GST portion in the APay GV surcharge. But the calculation remains more or less the same)

An addendum to this:

For those who have a LTF MRCC as companion card to the Gold charge card it makes more sense to retain the card provided they spend 6k on Gift Vouchers every month. or even better if they spend 20k to meet the 1k milestone.

Spending 1500X4 every month on MRCC and 1000X6 on the Gold Charge (all on Amazon Pay vouchers )gives you

Net Rewards = Goods + Rewards - Expense = 144,000 (12000X12) + 17040 ((1600X12+1240X12)/2) - 151899 ((144000+1.77%)+5310) = 9141.

This gives a net reward rate of 6.2% which is actually excellent given the state of credit card reward rates are these days.

(Please don't come saying comparing Infinia with this. We are only considering cards for common mortals here).

BTW even my request for fee waiver got declined, first time since 2019.

 

[hellowo₹ld]

An addendum to this:

For those who have a LTF MRCC as companion card to the Gold charge card it makes more sense to retain the card provided they spend 6k on Gift Vouchers every month. or even better if they spend 20k to meet the 1k milestone.

Spending 1500X4 every month on MRCC and 1000X6 on the Gold Charge (all on Amazon Pay vouchers )gives you

Net Rewards = Goods + Rewards - Expense = 144,000 (12000X12) + 17040 ((1600X12+1240X12)/2) - 151899 ((144000+1.77%)+5310) = 9141.

This gives a net reward rate of 6.2% which is actually excellent given the state of credit card reward rates are these days.

(Please don't come saying comparing Infinia with this. We are only considering cards for common mortals here).

BTW even my request for fee waiver got declined, first time since

provided by the time we accumulate either 18k or 24k, they shouldnt devalue amzn voucher redemption (as example) further like earlier 0.42p to current 0.33p.

and doesnt increase price to purchase amzn vouchers (as example) further like earlier 0% charges to current 3%.

and have required denomination vouchers when we purchase instead out of stock.

6.2% by purchasing 10 times specifically with exact denomination to avoid further reduction, I think better to use 5% cards directly without any hassle, IMO.

 

[rogerthat]

provided by the time we accumulate either 18k or 24k, they shouldnt devalue amzn voucher redemption (as example) further like earlier 0.42p to current 0.33p.

and doesnt increase price to purchase amzn vouchers (as example) further like earlier 0% charges to current 3%.

and have required denomination vouchers when we purchase instead out of stock.

6.2% by purchasing 10 times specifically with exact denomination to avoid further reduction, I think better to use 5% cards directly without any hassle, IMO.

Yes of course all these are subject to the status quo. Any more devaluations I am going to outright cancel the card... 12 years of membership notwithstanding.

And I was considering miles transfer and not 18k/24k voucher redemption... For someone looking at voucher redemption, of course SBI Cashback or even Amazon Pay card are better options.

AMEX Gold for a card of Rs.5310 annual fees offers nearly nothing in terms of benefits with just 1% returns on regular spends.

 

[opbamldg]

Yes.

Buying an iPhone every month is probably a part of manufactured spending. Not your real one.

 

[malavkarkar]

Buying an iPhone every month is probably a part of manufactured spending. Not your real one.

That was sarcasm, or more like a stupid answer to a stupid question.

 

[nikhilv0303]

Yes of course all these are subject to the status quo. Any more devaluations I am going to outright cancel the card... 12 years of membership notwithstanding.

And I was considering miles transfer and not 18k/24k voucher redemption... For someone looking at voucher redemption, of course SBI Cashback or even Amazon Pay card are better options.

AMEX Gold for a card of Rs.5310 annual fees offers nearly nothing in terms of benefits with just 1% returns on regular spends.

What is the best option for miles transfer considering no international travel