Introduction

The American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular and sought-after Amex credit cards in India. With a focus on premium rewards, this card provides a wide range of benefits and redemption options to users who value earning extraordinary reward points on their everyday spending. In this blog, we will dive into the details of the Amex MRCC, covering everything from eligibility to fees, reward structure, redemption options, and how to optimise your spending to make the most of this card.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the American Express MRCC, you must meet the following criteria: Do note, as of April '2025 Amex is not issuing any cards, but as soon as they start offering, we will update here too.

• Age: The applicant must be over 18 years of age.
• Income: The minimum annual income required is ₹6 lakhs or over per annum.
• Residents: American Express cards are currently available for residents of Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Nashik, Trivandrum, and Mysuru, subject to conditions.

Fees and Charges

Amex MRCC comes with an annual fee for the first year is ₹1,000 plus applicable taxes whereas from second year onwards, ₹4,500 plus taxes will be applied. Here’s the detailed breakdown:

Reward Structure

The Amex MRCC card offers a simple and easy-to-understand reward structure. Earn 1 MR point for every ₹50 spent (2% reward rate) across most categories, except for fuel, insurance, utilities, cash transactions, and EMI conversions at the point of sale.

The rewards become more attractive when you take advantage of the monthly milestone benefits and the Amex Gyftr platform.

• First Milestone: Earn 1,000 bonus MR points by making 4 transactions of ₹1,500 or more in a calendar month.
• Second Milestone: Get an additional 1,000 MR points for spending ₹20,000 or more in a month. Note that this milestone requires one-time enrollment, so make sure to enroll as soon as you receive your card.

When purchasing a voucher via the Amex Gyftr platform, you'll earn 2 MR points for every ₹50 spent, translating to a 4% reward rate.

Note: The above two milestone benefits have to be performed in the calendar month, not as per the billing cycle.

Reward Redemption

You can redeem the points earned on the Amex MRCC in multiple ways. Here are the options:

• Redeem for charges, instant gift vouchers or statement credit (₹0.25 value per point)
• Use on the Amex Travel Online Portal (₹0.33 value per point)
• Redeem for Gold Collection (₹0.33 to ₹0.58 value per point)
• Use for Vouchers (₹0.23 to ₹0.25 value per point)
• Transfer points to partners (₹0.6 to ₹1 value per point)
• Redeem for Experiences (depends upon the chosen experience)

The best redemption option is to use points for the Gold Collection or transfer them to airline or hotel partners.

Other Benefits

With the Amex MRCC credit card, you can also enjoy the following exclusive benefits:

• Zero Convenience Fee on Fueling: Get zero convenience fee on fuel purchases at HPCL for transactions below ₹5,000 and 1% fee applies to transactions of ₹5,000 or more.
• 15% Discount at Select Restaurants: Enjoy a 15% discount at a range of select partner restaurants, making dining out more rewarding.
• Zero Lost Card Liability: No need to worry if your card is lost or stolen. You won’t be held liable for unauthorised transactions, ensuring peace of mind.
• Emergency Card Replacement: If your card is lost or damaged, you can get an emergency replacement anywhere, anytime, keeping your finances secure.

Optimise Amex MRCC Card

To maximize your points, you can easily earn 2,000 MR points monthly (1,000 points for each milestone) by hitting the required spend targets. This boosts your rewards for faster Gold collection redemption.

Additionally, you could consider using the Points transfer partners for even better value. Marriott points transfer is one of the simplest ways to make the most of your points.

By spending ₹20,000 every month, you could rack up 24,000 MR points (only included milestone bonus) from a ₹2.4 lakh annual spend, yielding a solid 6% reward rate. If you're into travel and can find sweet deals with Marriott, the value per MR point could reach as high as ₹1, meaning you could get a return of 10% annually.

In case travel redemptions aren’t your thing, the Gold Collection offers great options like Tanishq or ShopperStop, which are worth exploring as well.

With the right spend, you'll not only enjoy these perks but may also get your renewal fee waived.

Conclusion

If you’re new to American Express, the MRCC is the perfect card to start your journey with Amex. It's ideal for spending around ₹2L, offering great rewards and benefits. Overall, despite its not-so-great design, the Amex MRCC stands out for its rewards, perks, and value, making it a solid choice for most credit card users.

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