American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card – Benefits, Fees & Eligibility

American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card

Introduction

The American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card, popularly known as MRCC, is a highly rewarding card designed for cardholders in India, offering exclusive benefits and privileges across various spending categories. It provides a generous welcome gift and significant milestone rewards, making it an attractive option for both new and experienced card users. While it has a joining fee of ₹1,000 + GST and a renewal fee of ₹4,500 + GST, the card's reward structure and spend-based waiver options can often offset these costs.

Welcome Benefits

• Receive 4,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points as a welcome gift.
• This welcome bonus is applicable upon successful payment of the joining fee and spending ₹15,000 within the first 90 days of Cardmembership.
• Information regarding welcome benefits will be communicated via SMS or Email to the cardholder’s registered contact details.

Fees

• Joining Fee: ₹1,000 plus applicable taxes (or + GST).
• Renewal Fee:
  • First Year onwards: ₹4,500 plus applicable taxes (or + GST).
  • Second Year onwards: ₹4,500 plus applicable taxes (or + GST).
• Spend-Based Waiver:
  • 100% Annual Membership Renewal fee waiver if total spends on American Express Credit Card in the immediately preceding membership year are ₹1,50,000 and above.
  • 50% Annual Membership Renewal fee waiver if total spends on American Express Credit Card in the immediately preceding membership year are between ₹90,000 to ₹1,49,999.
• Rewards Redemption Fee: Nil.
• Foreign Currency Markup: 3.5%.
• Interest Rates: 3.5% per month (Annually 42%).
• Fuel Surcharge:
  • 0% convenience fee on fuel purchases at HPCL for transactions less than ₹5,000.
  • 1% convenience fee on fuel purchases per transaction is applicable for all transactions of ₹5,000 and above at HPCL.
• Cash Advance Charges: 3.5% of the amount withdrawn, subject to a minimum of ₹250.

Rewards

• Reward Earn Rate:
  • Earn 1 Membership Rewards Point for every ₹50 spent.
  • Membership Rewards Points are not earned on spending on Fuel, Insurance, Utilities (electricity, water, gas bills), Cash Transactions, and EMI conversion at Point of Sale.
  • Effective March 15, 2020, Membership Rewards Points are not earned on any EMI option selected from a merchant’s website (e.g., Amazon or Flipkart) or at a merchant’s terminal (e.g., Chip and PIN transaction at Croma retail store).
  • Membership Rewards Points are earned on all EMI transactions through American Express SafeKey and on all EMI conversions done post-purchase.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards Points for spending made with the AmEx Rewards Multiplier portal.
• Monthly Spend Milestone Bonuses:
  • Earn 1,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points for simply using your card 4 times on transactions of ₹1,500 or above in a calendar month.
  • Earn an additional 1,000 Membership Rewards points by spending ₹20,000 or more in a calendar month. This is an enrollment-based benefit.
  • The Membership Reward Points accumulated under the spend-based monthly milestone benefit cannot be redeemed against statement cash.
• Additional Rewards on Card Renewal:
  • Earn 5,000 Membership Rewards Points upon First Year Card Renewal, on payment of the annual membership fee. Points will be credited within 90 days of Card renewal.
• Dining Benefits:
  • Enjoy exciting discounts of up to 20% every time you dine at select restaurants.

Rewards Redemption Guide

• Membership Reward Points do not expire.
• Points can be redeemed for various options from the "18 and 24 Karat Gold Collection" or transferred to various partners.
• 18 Karat Gold Collection (18,000 MR points): You can choose any of the following vouchers:
  • Taj voucher worth ₹9,000
  • Shoppers Stop voucher worth ₹7,000
  • Tata Cliq voucher worth ₹7,000
  • Myntra voucher worth ₹7,000
  • Amazon voucher worth ₹6,000
  • Flipkart voucher worth ₹6,000
  • Reliance Digital voucher worth ₹6,000
  • For statement cash redemption under the 18 Karat Gold Collection, 1 Membership Reward point = ₹0.33.
• 24 Karat Gold Collection (24,000 MR points): You can choose any of the following vouchers:
  • Taj voucher worth ₹14,000
  • Shoppers Stop voucher worth ₹10,000
  • Tata Cliq voucher worth ₹9,000
  • Tanishq voucher worth ₹9,000
  • Amazon voucher worth ₹8,000
  • Flipkart voucher worth ₹8,000
  • Reliance Digital voucher worth ₹8,000
  • For statement cash redemption under the 24 Karat Gold Collection, 1 Membership Reward point = ₹0.37.
• Transfer Partners: Cardholders can transfer Membership Rewards Points to various partners such as Marriott, KrisFlyer, and more. The highest value can typically be achieved by transferring points to Marriott Bonvoy and redeeming them for hotel stays.

Card Eligibility Criteria

• Age: Applicant must be over 18 years of age.
• Residential Status: Must be a Resident Indian as defined under the Income Tax Act of India.
• Income: Personal Annual Income of ₹6 Lakhs and above (for both Self Employed and Salaried individuals).
• Employment Status (Self-Employed): If self-employed, the company must have been trading for more than 12 months.
• Bank Account: Must have an Indian or multinational bank’s savings or current account in India.
• Credit History: Must have a good credit history and no payment defaults.
• Address: Must have a current/permanent residential address in India.
• Location: American Express Cards are currently issued to residents of Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodra, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Nasik, Trivandrum, and Mysuru, subject to conditions.

Card Review

The American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card is an excellent option for individuals looking to maximize their reward point earnings. It is well-suited for both beginners and veterans in the credit card journey, with the potential to earn more than 24,000 MR Points each year.

Pros

• Membership Reward Points do not expire, allowing for flexible redemption.
• The reward rate can be attractive, with the highest value often achieved by transferring points to partners like Marriott Bonvoy for hotel stays.
• Offers unique monthly milestone benefits for consistent spending.
• Provides a substantial welcome bonus and renewal bonus.
• Spend-based waiver on the annual renewal fee is available.

Cons

• No Membership Rewards Points are earned on transactions made for fuel, utilities, insurance, cash transactions, and EMI conversions at the point of sale.
• Card is exclusively available to residents of specific cities in India.
• The renewal fee from the second year onwards is relatively high, though waivers are available.

Who Should Apply

This card is ideal for individuals who want to maximize their Membership Rewards Points and are able to meet the monthly and annual spending milestones to benefit from bonus points and fee waivers. Those who can utilize the Gold Collection vouchers or transfer points to travel partners will find significant value. It can be a good friendly card for middle-class individuals if spending requirements are met smartly.

Important Product Details

• Card Type: Credit Card.
• Welcome Benefit: 4,000 Bonus Membership Reward Points on spending ₹15,000 within the first 90 days.
• Regular Reward Rate: 1 Membership Rewards Point per ₹50 spent.
• Excluded Spend Categories for Rewards: Fuel, Insurance, Utility payments, Cash Transactions, EMI conversions at Point of Sale.
• Bonus Monthly Rewards:
  • 1,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points for 4 transactions of ₹1,500 or more in a calendar month.
  • Additional 1,000 Membership Rewards Points for spending ₹20,000 or more in a calendar month (enrollment required).
• Renewal Bonus: 5,000 Membership Reward Points on paying the first-year renewal fee of ₹4,500.
• Annual Fee Waiver: Full waiver on ₹1,50,000 annual spend; 50% waiver on ₹90,000 - ₹1,49,999 annual spend.
• Fuel Benefit: 0% convenience fee on fuel purchases at HPCL for transactions below ₹5,000.
• Dining Discounts: Up to 20% off at select restaurants.
• Reward Redemption: Points redeemable via 18 and 24 Karat Gold Collection vouchers or transfer to airline/hotel partners (e.g., Marriott, KrisFlyer).
• No Expiry: Membership Rewards Points do not expire.
• EMI Option: Flexibility to convert spends into easy monthly installments (American Express EMI).
• Contactless Payment: Card may be enabled for contactless payments (look for the contactless symbol).

Other Details

• Services on your Card:
  • 24x7 Card Related Assistance.
  • Dispute Resolution.
  • Zero Lost Card Liability.
  • Emergency Card Replacement.
• Application Pause: American Express is temporarily pausing the acceptance of new proprietary Card applications in India due to new platform integration for domestic Card issuing operations.