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.

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