Last Updated on June 27, 2020 by Gopal Gidwani

American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card
In this article, we will review the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card. This is one of the basic cards from American Express but at the same time a decently rewarding credit card for the cardholder, if used in the right way.

Get 6.75% value back on most of your regular expenses
If you are a credit card beginner, then this card is very good for you. Do you wish to use a credit card for basic expenses like:
a) Purchasing groceries, fruits and vegetables and daily use household items at your local grocery store or online,
b) Making utility bill payments
c) Filling petrol, deisel and other fuels
d) Purchasing medicines at local medicine stores or online
f) Paying for various regular services at local stores or online etc.

If your answer is yes, then the Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card (MRCC) is very good for you. The card can get you 6.75% value back on most of the above mentioned goods and services, but with a small twist. Instead of using the card directly, you will have to use the card to load money in a wallet like Paytm and then pay through the wallet. While Amex cards are widely accepted online, the offline acceptance at local stores is very low. On the other had Paytm has wide acceptance online as well as offline at local stores. Hence the twist of loading money from MRCC into a wallet and then paying for goods and services at offline local stores and getting 6.75% value back. More details are given on the 6.75% value back later in the article.

What are the benefits that you will get with this card?

• Reward points: On using this card, you will earn 1 reward point for every Rs. 50 spent except for spend on fuel, insurance, utilities etc. But as I mentioned earlier, you can earn reward points for these spends indirectly, by loading money to Paytm wallet and then paying for fuel, insurance, utilities through Paytm.
• Monthly 1000 bonus reward points: Using this card, when you do 4 transactions, each worth Rs. 1000 or more in a month, you will get 1000 bonus MR points every month.
• Fuel surcharge waiver: You will get fuel surcharge waiver on fuel transaction less than Rs. 25,000.
• Up to 20% discount at select restaurant partners: American Express has tied up with select restaurants. When you use the MRCC card at these restaurants, you can get up to 20% discount on your bill.

Redemption of Membership Reward (MR) points
You can redeem the MR points using one of the below options:
a) Redemption for payment of monthly credit card bill: You can use your accumulated MR points to pay for your monthly credit card bill (partial or full) at anytime. The conversion value is 1 MR point = 25 paise or 0.25 Rs. This is not the best value for your points conversion and hence should not be your first choice for points redemption.

b) Gift vouchers: You can use your accumulated MR points for redeeming them against various gift vouchers of various online and offline companies. The conversion value is 1 MR point = 25 paise or 0.25 Rs. This again, just like point a) above, is not the best value for your points conversion and hence should not be your first choice for points redemption. Once in a while, Amex offers redemption value of more than 25 paise for gift vouchers. If you come across such an offer and a gift voucher of your choice is available under this offer, then you may go for redeeming your points under the offer.

c) 18 carat and 24 carat gold collection: This is a good redemption option for your MR points. Once you accumulate 18,000 or 24,000 MR points, then you can redeem them under this offer. The redemption value per point under this offer goes up to 58 paise per 1 MR point as compared to 25 paise per 1 MR point under the other 2 offers mentioned above.

On accumulating 18,000 membership reward points, you can redeem them under the 18 carat gold collection as follows:
1) Statement Credit worth Rs. 6,000 (1 MR point = 33 paise) or
2) Amazon Gift Card worth Rs. 7,000 (1 MR point = 39 paise) or
3) American Express domestic travel online voucher worth Rs. 7,000 (1 MR point = 39 paise) or
4) Taj Hotels Gift Voucher worth Rs. 9,000 (1 MR point = 50 paise)

On accumulating 24,000 membership reward points, you can redeem them for:
1) Statement Credit worth Rs. 9,000 (1 MR point = 37 paise) or
2) Tanishq Gift Voucher worth Rs. 10,000 (1 MR point = 42 paise) or
3) Taj Hotels Gift Voucher worth Rs. 14,000 (1 MR point = 58 paise)

Earn 6.75% value back through reward points on Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card (MRCC)
By spending Rs. 4,000 (4 transactions of Rs. 1000 each) per month using the MRCC card, you can get the following benefits:
a) 1 MR point for every Rs. 50 spent. This equals to 80 MR points per month (assuming 4 transactions of Rs. 1000 each per month)
+
b) 1000 bonus MR points per month for doing 4 transactions of Rs. 1000 and above

So will earn 1080 MR points every month by spending Rs. 4000 (4 transactions of Rs. 1000 each) per month using the MRCC card.
You can redeem the 1080 points for Rs. 270 (1080 / 4) against the monthly credit card bill or for gift vouchers (1 MR point = 0.25 Rs)
By spending Rs. 4000 per month on the MRCC card, you are getting back value of Rs. 270 per month. So you get a value back of 6.75% which is a good reward rate for redemption of points.

Increase 6.75% value back to 13.23% value back
If you have time and patience, then instead of monthly redemption of points, you can accumulate them and redeem them at once when they reach 18,000 points. If you continue with monthly spending Rs. 4000 (4 transactions of 1000 each) on the MRCC card, then it will take you 17 months to reach 18,360 points as follows:
a) 1360 MR points @ 80 points per month for 17 months for doing 4 transactions of Rs. 1000 and above
+
b) 17,000 bonus MR points @ 1000 bonus points per month for 17 months for doing 4 transactions of Rs. 1000 and above

Out of the accumulated 18,360 points, you can redeem 18,000 MR points for Rs. 6,000 statement credit (payment of monthly credit card bill) or Rs. 7,000 Amazon Gift voucher or Rs. 7,000 American Express Travel Voucher or Rs. 9,000 Taj Hotels Gift Voucher. In this case, the redemption value of each reward point goes up from Rs. 0.25 to Rs. 0.50. In the 17 months, you would have spent Rs. 68,000 (@ Rs. 4000 per month). The benefit that you will get on spending Rs. 68,000 is Rs. 9,000 Taj Hotels Gift Voucher. So the value back goes up from 6.75% to 13.23%. This is an excellent reward rate for conversion of MR points if you have the time and patience to wait for 17 months, else you can go for the monthly redemption with 6.75% value back.

You can increase your monthly spending on the MRCC card beyond Rs. 4,000 per month and accumulate 18,000 MR points faster rather than waiting for 17 months. You can then redeem these 18,000 MR points for an Amazon Gift Card worth Rs. 7000 or Taj Hotels Gift Voucher worth Rs. 9,000. From time to time Amex comes up with:
a) Offers wherein card holders get instant discount (for example 5% to 50% direct discount) for using the card at a specific merchant (online or offline) or
b) Offers with multiple X reward points (for example 5X or 10X reward points) or
c) Spend based offers during festivals like Diwali (for example spend Rs. 50,000 during the 10 day offer period and get benefit of Rs. 1000)

You can use the MRCC card to benefit from these offers as and when they are available. But apart from these offers, for expenses beyond Rs. 4000 a month, the Amex MRCC is not very rewarding in terms of reward points and reward rate conversion. In the absence of any offers, for expenses beyond Rs. 4000 a month, I will suggest that you use another American Express credit card (like Travel Platinum) or any other credit card of some other bank that will give you better value back as compared to MRCC.

This benefit of Taj Hoetls Gift Voucher worth Rs. 9,000 is over and above the direct discounts that you will get from merchants on MRP and discounts / cashbacks offers with various merchants that Amex comes up with for its cardholders from time to time.

Example of benefits from using MRCC at a merchant site
Some time back, American Express came up with an offer of 15% instant discount on Amazon Pantry on spends of Rs. 1,500 or above for all Amex credit card holders. When you place an order of say Rs. 1,500 with Amazon under this offer using your Amex MRCC card, you will get the following benefits:

Up to 40% direct discount from Amazon on product MRP (usually Amazon Pantry average discount on entire order comes to 10% to 20% based on my past experience)
+
15% discount on usage of the MRCC
+
6.75% value back on reward points conversion (30 MR points for spending Rs. 1500 (@ 1 point for spending every Rs. 50) + 1000 bonus MR points for spending Rs. 1500 (4 transactions of Rs. 1,000 and above in a month)). These reward points will count towards milestone based spends which will help you get the statement credit or Amazon voucher
So during such offers, the overall benefits can go up to 30% or even more.

Where can you make the best use of this card?
1) Utility bill payments: You can use the MRCC card for making your utility bill payments. From the MRCC card, load the amount in a wallet (like Amazon Pay, Freecharge, Paytm etc.). Every month, you can do multiple transactions (up to 4 transactions) of Rs. 1,000 each to load wallet balance and qualify for the 1000 bonus MR points. The wallet balance can then be used to make the utility bill payments. If you get any cashbacks for using wallet balance for making utility bill payments, then that cashback will be over and above your reward points conversion rate of 6.75% on the MRCC card. Hence, just for utility bill payments, your total value back from the MRCC card will be 6.75% + any cashback on using wallet balance. This a good value back for utility bill payments.

I pay my utility bill payments through Amazon Pay and get regular cashbacks on these transactions. Amazon gives cashbacks from time to time for using Amazon Pay to make utility payments like pre-paid mobile and DTH recharge, bill payments like postpaid mobile, electricity, broadband and landline, piped gas, water bill etc. Please note the cashback offer amount changes every month. So this cashback for using Amazon Pay is over and above the MR points reward conversion rate of 6.75%.

2) Filling fuel at gas stations: You can use this card for making payments for filling fuel (petrol, diesel, CNG etc.). But please note that swiping the card directly will not earn you any reward points as American Express does not give any reward points for fuel expenses. But you can load the balance in a Paytm wallet or any other wallet and earn reward points. Then use the wallet balance for making payments for your fuel. This way you will get 6.75% reward rate on your fuel expenses. Any cashback that you get on using wallet balance will further increase your reward rate above 6.75%.

3) Paying cooking gas bill: You can use this card to load money in a wallet. Then you can use the wallet balance for paying for your cooking gas cyclinder at the time of making the online booking and get 6.75% value back.

4) Paying for grocery bills at supermarkets and departmental stores: You can use the MRCC card to make payments at supermarkets or departmental stores like Reliance Retail, Big Bazaar, Dmart etc. You can pay using the MRCC card directly or through a wallet like Paytm indirectly. You can plan your grocery shopping in a way where you can split the bill in amounts of Rs. 1,000 so that you can use the MRCC card and earn maximum reward points. The other option is to load money in the wallet through multiple transactions of Rs. 1,000 and then use the consolidated wallet balance to pay at the departmental store and maximise your reward points. Any cashback on wallet will further increase your reward rate.

5) Paying for grocery bills at local kirana stores: Please note that apart from departmental stores, the acceptance of AMEX cards is low at other stores like the local kirana stores. In these cases, you can load the money using the MRCC card in a wallet like Paytm and pay. This way you will still benefit from the 6.75% reward rate even at local kirana stores. These days due to digitisation, acceptance of Paytm has gone up a lot at local kirana stores and other local stores.

6) Paying for grocery bills at online marketplaces: You can use this card to make payments at online marketplaces like Amazon, BigBasket, Flipkart, Grofers etc. You can plan your grocery shopping in a way where you can split the bill in amounts of Rs. 1,000 so that you can use the MRCC card and earn maximum reward points. The other option is to load money in the wallet and use wallet balance to pay at the online marketplace.
Rather than using the MRCC card directly for payment on an online marketplace, it is better to use the card to load money in the wallet and then use the wallet balance for paying for online grocery purchases. Amazon offers cashback for payment through Amazon Pay from time to time through regular cashback offers. Similarly BigBasket and Grofers offer cashback for payment through Freecharge, Paytm wallets etc. Hence by paying through wallet, you benefit from wallet cashback along with 6.75% value back.

Eligibility for Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card
Annual income of Rs. 4.5 lakhs and above for salaried employees. Annual income of Rs. 6 lakhs and above for self-employed people.

Fees
Joining fee: The joining fee for this card is Rs. 1,000 + applicable taxes. You can get the joining fee waived off and get the card for free for the 1^st year, if you apply through my referral link given below. This is a limited time offer, so make the most of it.

Annual fees: From the second year onwards, the annual fee for this card is Rs. 4,500 + applicable taxes. 100% annual fee is waived off on annual spend of Rs. 1.5 lakhs. 50% annual fee is waived off on annual spend of Rs. 90,000 to Rs. 1,49,999.

Applying for American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card
Click my following referral link to apply for the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card for free. When you click on the referral link, you will be redirected to a page wherein you will see a message, “You have been referred for American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card”. Click on “Continue” button. Then, click on “Apply now” button and complete the online registration process. If you wish to apply for any other card other than MRCC card like Platinum Travel Credit Card or any other American Express credit card, then click on “View our other cards” button. At the bottom of the page, select the card that you wish to apply for and then continue with the application process.

Before you start applying keep the following documents ready:
1) Digital copy of your passport size photograph
2) Self attested digital copy of your PAN card
3) Self attested digital copy of your address proof (Adhaar card or Passport or Driving Licence or Voter ID card
4) Self attested digital copy of your latest salary slip (if you are salaried) or Income Tax Return (ITR) form (if you are self-employed)

The annual income should be Rs. 4,50,000 and above for salaried employees. The annual income should be Rs. 6,00,000 and above for self-employed people. In case of any queries related to card application, please reach out to me at [email protected].

Benefits of applying through my referral link

• If you apply through my referral link, you will save the first year joining fee of Rs. 1,000. So the card will be free for the first year. This is a limited time offer, so make the most of it.
• If you apply through my referral link, you will also get 2000 referral bonus membership reward points (on spending Rs. 5000 in the first 90 days of card membership).
• You will also get an additional 2000 bonus membership reward points (on cumulative spend of Rs. 25,000 within first 90 days of card membership).

Consultancy on saving 10% to 80% on some of your regular monthly expenses
If you apply through my referral link, I will also provide you one time consultancy and guidance on how you can save 10% to 80% on some of your regular monthly expenses like groceries, daily use household items, recharges and other utility bill payments, medicines, dining, movies, travel and others. This will help you save a couple of thousand Rupees every month, depending on your monthly expenditure. Before applying for the credit card, you can write to me at [email protected] and I will guide you on the credit card application process.

Which credit card should you select?

If you are not sure on which credit card to choose from all the American Express credit cards and all the credit cards from other banks, don’t worry. You can email me at [email protected] with your details like name, mobile number, salaried / self-employed, annual income, city of residence etc. I will call you and do analysis of your regular monthly expenses and suggest the most appropriate credit card/s for you. This may help you save Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 50,000 in a year, depending on your regular spending pattern as discussed. Based on our discussion, I will give you an assurance of minimum savings of Rs. 5000 or more in a year.

Click to apply for the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card for free using my referral link. When you click on the referral link, you will be redirected to a page wherein you will see a message, “You have been referred for American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card”. Click on “Continue” button. Then, click on “Apply now” button and complete the online registration process. If you wish to apply for any other card other than MRCC card like Platinum Travel Credit Card or any other American Express credit card, then click on “View our other cards” button. At the bottom of the page, select the card that you wish to apply for and then continue with the application process. Use my referral link and:
1) Save the first year joining fee of Rs. 1,500. So the card will be free for the first year. This is a limited time offer, so make the most of it.
2) Get 2000 referral bonus membership reward points (on spending Rs. 5000 in the first 90 days of card membership).
3) Get an additional 2000 bonus membership reward points (on cumulative spend of Rs. 25,000 within first 90 days of card membership).

To read about review of American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card click here.
To read about comparison of 15+ credit cards from 12 banks click here. Learn how to save Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 50,000 per year through a combination of discount / cashback on credit card usage, direct discount on MRP by merchant, reward points benefit from credit card, spend based milestone benefit from credit card, additional coupon based discount / cashback from merchant, additional cashback from wallet companies, cashback from third party cashback companies etc.