American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card: Benefits and Rewards

    American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card

    Intro Offer

    Annual Fees

    4.5K + GST

    Joining Fees

    1K + GST

    Reward Rate

    2% 4%

    Rating

    4.8

    Intro Offers

    Bonus Points

    4K
    Minimum spend of 15K in 90 days

    Fees

    Annual Fee

    4.5K
    GST extra
    Waived off after 1.5L spends
    Starts from second year

    Joining Fee

    1K
    GST extra
    One time payment

    Forex Fee

    3.5%
    GST extra

    Eligibility

    Age

    18+

    Citizenship

    Indian

    Financial Criterias

    A minimum credit score of 750 is required

    Employment

    Salaried
    Self-Employed

    Income

    Salaried ₹6L
    Business ₹6L

    Reward Points

    A list of reward point earning categories.
    CategoryTypeQualifying SpendRateRP CappingSpend CappingConditions
    shoppingbaseRetail Spends
    2.00%
    shoppingacceleratedReward Multiplier Portal Spends
    4.00%
    educationbaseEducation Payments
    2.00%
    diningbaseDining
    2.00%
    wallet transactionsbaseWallet Loading
    2.00%

    Milestones

    Monthly Milestone 1

    1K
    On spending 6K in 1 month

    Monthly Milestone 2

    1K
    On spending 20K in 1 month

    Annual Fee Waiver (Full)

    4.5K
    Annual Fee Waiver
    On spending 1.5L in 1 year

    Annual Fee Waiver (Partial)

    2.25K
    Annual Fee Waiver
    On spending 90K in 1 year

    Redemptions

    AIRLINE PARTNERS

    List of conversion options of airline partners.
    Airline PartnerRedemption RateMultiplier
    Asia Miles800 Membership Rewards Points = 400 Asia Miles pointsx0.50
    British Airways1200 Membership Rewards Points = 600 Avios pointsx0.50
    Emirates Skywards800 Membership Rewards Points = 400 Emirates Skywards Miles pointsx0.50
    Etihad Guest1600 Membership Rewards Points = 800 Etihad Guest Miles pointsx0.50
    Qatar Privilege Club500 Membership Rewards Points = 250 Avios pointsx0.50
    Singapore KrisFlyer800 Membership Rewards Points = 400 KrisFlyer Miles pointsx0.50
    Virgin Atlantic800 Membership Rewards Points = 400 Virgin Points pointsx0.50

    HOTEL PARTNERS

    List of conversion options of airline partners.
    Airline PartnerRedemption RateMultiplier
    Hilton Honors1000 Membership Rewards Points = 900 Hilton Honors Points pointsx0.90
    Marriott Bonvoy100 Membership Rewards Points = 100 Marriott Bonvoy Points pointsx1

    GIFT VOUCHERS

    List of conversion options of gift voucher merchants.
    Partner BrandRedemption RateMultiplier
    Amazon24000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹8000 voucherx0.33
    Flipkart24000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹8000 voucherx0.33
    Myntra18000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹7000 voucherx0.39
    Amazon18000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹6000 voucherx0.33
    Flipkart18000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹6000 voucherx0.33
    Shoppers Stop24000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹10000 voucherx0.42
    Shoppers Stop18000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹7000 voucherx0.39
    Tata CLiQ24000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹9000 voucherx0.38
    Tata CLiQ18000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹7000 voucherx0.39
    Tanishq24000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹9000 voucherx0.38
    Reliance Digital24000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹8000 voucherx0.33
    Reliance Digital18000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹6000 voucherx0.33
    Taj24000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹14000 voucherx0.58
    Taj18000 Membership Rewards Points = ₹9000 voucherx0.50

    Rewards Calculator

    ON MONTHLY SPEND
    Reset
    coin
    10KYour monthly expenditure

    2% rewards

    Amount spent on retail spends, excluding fuel, insurance and other utility services (₹)
    5000

    4% rewards

    Amount spent on Rewards Multiplier portal (₹)
    2000

    2% rewards

    Amount spent on education payments (₹)
    1000

    2% rewards

    Amount spend on dining at select restaurants (₹)
    1000

    2% rewards

    Amount spent on loading Paytm/Mobikwik wallet (₹)
    1000

    16.67% rewards

    Four transactions of at least Rs. 1,500 each in a calendar month. (₹)

    5% rewards

    Total spends of 20000 in a calender month (₹)
    REWARD POINTS EARNED
    coin
    0Points per year
    POINT REDEMPTION
    icon
    0Airline miles

    OR

    icon
    0Hotel points

    OR

    icon
    0Worth of gift vouchers

    Lounge Access

    Domestic

    0
    visits / year

    International

    0
    visits / year

    Discounts

    Dining Discount

    20%
    Max. 20% discount per transaction
    Applicable on select restaurants

    Insurance Coverage

    Fraud Protection Cover

    Other Features

    Renewal Benefit

    5K Membership Rewards Points
    Conditioned to annual fee payment

    Pros & Cons

    PROS

    • Monthly Milestone Rewards

      Earn 1,000 bonus points by making four transactions of ₹1,500 or more each month, and another 1,000 bonus points by spending ₹20,000 in a month.

    • Welcome Bonus

      Cardholders receive 4,000 bonus points upon paying the joining fee and spending ₹15,000 within the first 90 days, effectively offsetting the joining fee.

    • Spend-Based Fee Waiver

      The annual fee can be fully waived by spending ₹1,50,000 or more annually, or 50% waived by spending between ₹90,000 and ₹1,49,999.

    • Flexible Redemption Options

      Points can be redeemed for a variety of options, including the valuable 18K and 24K Gold Collections, offering vouchers for Taj, Amazon, Flipkart, and more.

    • Amex Offers

      Cardholders get access to exclusive Amex network offers, including merchant offers, spend-based offers, and points transfer offers.

    CONS

    • No Reward Points on Key Categories

      Reward points are not earned on fuel, insurance, and utility transactions, limiting the potential for accumulating rewards on these common expenses.

    • High Renewal Fee

      The card charges a high renewal fee of ₹4,500, which might be a deterrent for some users, although it can be waived with significant annual spending.

    • Low Base Reward Rate

      The base reward rate is relatively low, with only 1 Membership Reward Point earned for every ₹50 spent, excluding certain categories.

    • No Airport Lounge Access

      The card does not offer complimentary airport lounge access, which is a common benefit provided by many other credit cards in the same category.

    • Limited Acceptance

      The card has limited acceptance in some non-premium merchant locations, potentially causing inconvenience for users.

    Similar Cards

    icici-amazon-pay

    Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card

    4.7

    RewardMatrix Rating

    0

    Annual Fees

    0

    Joining Fees

    1 - 5 %

    Reward Rate

    cashback-sbi

    Cashback SBI Credit Card

    5

    RewardMatrix Rating

    999 + taxes

    Annual Fees

    999 + taxes

    Joining Fees

    1 - 5 %

    Reward Rate

    amex-platinum-travel

    American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card

    4

    RewardMatrix Rating

    5000 + taxes

    Annual Fees

    3500 + taxes

    Joining Fees

    2 - 6 %

    Reward Rate