American Express have cards for everyone. You will most likely find one Amex Credit Card in your wallet, depending on your spending or lifestyle. One of which can be an American Express Membership rewards credit card or Amex MRCC. All Amex credit cards are simple regarding rewards, and there is not a lot of complexity around them. Even if there is any issue, customer care is among the best and most knowledgeable. However, you won’t have to go through the complexities of using an Amex MRCC card.
Overview: Amex MRCC
Here is a complete overview of Amex MRCC :
| Type | Rewards |
| Joining Fees/Annual Fees | Rs. 1000 Plus Taxes |
| Welcome Benefits | 4000 Rewards Points |
| Renewal Fees | Rs. 4500 Plus Taxes |
| Reversal of Annual Fees | 50% Waiver on INR 90K-INR 1.49 Lacs or 100% Waiver on INR 1.5 Lacs |
| Renewal Benefits | 5K Reward Points [For 2nd Year] |
| Forex Markup Charges | 3.5% Plus Taxes |
| Lounge Access | Nil |
| Default Reward Rate | 0.50% |
| Maximize Reward Earn By | Achieving Milestones |
| Redemption Maximization | Transfer Points to Partners & Gold Collection |
| Stand Out Feature | Gold Collection |
Amex MRCC Eligibility
To be eligible for an Amex MRCC, you need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Age Above 18 Years
- Annual Income of more than INR 6 Lacs
- Good credit history and no payment defaults
- Live in one of the Amex serviceable cities in India.
Annual Fees
If you apply for an Amex MRCC card, you must pay a first-year fee of INR 1000 plus taxes. From the second year onwards, fees increase to INR 4500 plus taxes.
Welcome Benefits
Upon paying first-year fees and spending INR 15K within 90 days from card activation, you will receive 4000 Bonus Points. This benefit is not available from the second year onwards.
Renewal Benefits
5000 Bonus Points are given to pay annual fees for the second year. From the third year onwards, there are no renewal benefits.
Fee Wavier on MRCC
It is rare to see Amex offer credit cards with fee waivers, but the fee waiver is the best thing about Amex MRCC.
On spending INR 1.5 Lacs in your card anniversary year, your 100% fee is waived. And, if you can spend between INR 90K and INR 1.49 Lac, 50% is waived. With the reward structure, I find the spending requirement for fee waiver quite generous.
Annual Fees on Add-on Cards
You can get up to two complimentary Amex Add-on cards. From the third supplementary card, charges of INR 1500 per card are applicable.
Amex MRCC Reward Earning
Like most Amex credit cards, you will earn 1 Amex reward point for every INR 50 spent.
Exclusions
You don’t earn any points with Amex MRCC spending on:
- Fuel
- Insurance
- Utilities
- Cash Transactions and
- EMI conversion at Point of Sale
There is still a way to earn fuel points via FASTag and Insurance & Utilities via Amazon Pay vouchers.
Milestone Earnings
Amex MRCC shines with milestones earnings. These milestones are reachable for most credit card holders.
| Milestone | Earnings |
| INR1500*4 Transactions Per Month | 1000 Bonus Points |
| INR 20K Spending Per Month | 1000 Bonus Points [Enrollment Needed] |
So, with just four transactions, you can earn 2400 Amex points in a month with MRCC. However, you need to enroll for 1000 bonus points on INR 20K spending, and spending after enrollment is considered for milestones.
Annual Earning Potential
Earning Potential of Amex MRCC is impressive. To maximize reward points with this card, you must use Amex Reward Multiplier, which gives 2x points on every INR 50 spent.
| Criteria | Monthly | Annual |
| Spending | INR 20K | INR 2.4 Lacs |
| Base Earning | 400 Points | 4800 Points |
| Milestone Earning | 2000 Points | 24000 Points |
| Reward Multiplier Bonus | 400 Points | 4800 Points |
| Total Reward Points | 2800 Points | 33600 Points |
| Minimum Reward Rate | 3.5% | 3.5% |
With an Amex MRCC card, you can earn a maximum of 33.6K points annually by spending INR 2.4 Lacs. This spending will also waive your Annual Fees, effectively making it free. This card is great for beginners and advanced travel enthusiasts.
You also receive a Sign-up Bonus of 4K or 6K Bonus Points (Via Referral).
Check out this Ultimate Guide on ways to Earn lots of Amex Points in India.
Redemption of Rewards Points
You can use the points earned on the Amex MRCC in four ways. Here are the five options:
- Use them to pay for charges or spending (INR 0.25 value per point)
- Use them on the Amex Travel Online Portal (INR 0.25 value per point)
- Use them for Gold Collection (INR 0.58 value per point)
- Use them for Vouchers (INR 0.23-INR 0.25 value per point)
- Use them by transferring Points
- Use them for Experiences [More on this later]
The best way to redeem Amex MRCC points is to use them for the Gold Collection or transfer them to partners.
Amex MRCC 18 & 24 Karat Gold Collection
Only two Amex cards are eligible for the 18K & 24K Gold collections. One is Amex MRCC, and the other is Gold Charge.
18/24 Karat Gold collection means you need to use a fixed 18K or 24K for a voucher of a single brand.
| Vouchers | 18 Karat | 24 Karat |
| Taj voucher | INR 9K | INR 14K |
| Shoppers Stop | INR 8K | INR 11K |
| Tanishq | NA | INR 10K |
| Myntra | INR 8K | NA |
| Amazon | INR 7K | INR 9K |
| Flipkart | INR 7K | INR 9K |
| Minimum Value Per Point | INR 0.39 | INR 0.38 |
| Maximum Value Per Point | INR 0.50 | INR 0.58 |
| Reward Rate | 5.5%-7% | 5.5%-8.1% |
With the Amex Gold Collection, you can increase your reward rate from 3.5% to 8.1%. This reward rate is good for spending INR 2.4 Lacs in a year.
Transfer Partners
You can also use it to transfer your points to several airline partners and hotel partners. If used at hotels and airlines, you can get a value of one point from INR 0.5 to INR 1.25.
| Partner | Type | Transfer Ratio | Minimum Transfer |
| Asia Miles | Airlines | 2:1 | 800 Points |
| British Airways Executive Club | Airlines | 2:1 | 1200 Points |
| Club Vistara | Airlines | 2:1 | 900 Points |
| Emirates Skywards | Airlines | 2:1 | 800 Points |
| Etihad Guest | Airlines | 2:1 | 1600 Points |
| Hilton Honors | Hotels | 10:9 | 1000 Points |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Hotels | 1:1 | 100 Points |
| PAYBACK | Others | 1:1 | 1 Point |
| Qatar Privilege Club | Airlines | 2:1 | 500 Points |
| Singapore KrisFlyer | Airlines | 2:1 | 800 Points |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Airlines | 2:1 | 800 Points |
Luxury Experiences
Now, you can also buy Luxury Experiences vouchers from American Express. These vouchers are valued at one INR per point. However, these luxury experiences may not be for everyone and prices may be higher than what you may get from your points.
Currently, you can use points on Adventures, Dining & Stays. It includes brands like The Postcard Hotel, DreamSetGO, Aqua Club, Brij, etc.
Amex MRCC Other Benefits
You also enjoy these benefits with Amex MRCC credit card:
- 0% Convenience fee on fueling up at HPCL for transactions less than INR 5K
- 15% Discount at Select restaurants.
- Zero lost Card liability.
- Emergency Card Replacement
- 24X7 Card Related Assistance
Apply
If you are interested in applying for this card, applying via my link will earn you 2K bonus points. Otherwise, the application process remains the same.
| Particulars | Regular | Referral |
| Annual Fees [1st Year] | INR 1000 | INR 1000 |
| Second Year Fees | INR 4500 | INR 4500 |
| Joining Benefits | 4000 Bonus Points | 4000+2000 Bonus Points |
| Apply | Normal Apply | Via Referral |
Bottomline
Amex MRCC is a great entry-level credit card from American Express. It is one of the best Amex Credit Cards to hold, the other being the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card. However, offline acceptability may still be an issue outside metro cities.
