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American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card

4.4/5

Entry Level Paid Credit Cards

Card Issuer:

American Express

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Overview

Updated On: August 24, 2026 | AB Published by: Amit B | 3 min read

The American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card, commonly known as the Amex MRCC, is one of the most popular offerings from American Express (Amex). It plays a key role in the "Amex Trifecta," which includes the Platinum Travel, Gold, and Membership Rewards Credit Cards—three of the most rewarding cards in the American Express lineup. The Amex MRCC is designed for those in the lower to mid-spend category, offering optimal rewards when you spend ₹20,000 each calendar month using this credit card. Therefore, if your monthly spending is ₹20,000, this is one of the most rewarding credit cards available in India.

Pros

Very high reward Rate considering it's an entry level card.
6% value back if redeemed points of Mariott Hotels, 4% Valueback if redeemed point on Amazon Pay Giftcard, 3% Valueback if Redeemed points as Real Cash in Statement
Many options to choose to redeem the reward points
Reward Points can be redeemed as real cash in statement although at reduced rate (1 Reward Points = Rs.0.25 if redeemed against statement balance)
Very attractive instant discount offers from Amex, advertised through its mobile app
0% Convenience Fee at HPCL Fuel Stations
Renewal Fee Waiver: This is one of the very few credit card wherein you get option for renewal fee waiver basis spending done in the previous year. You get the renewal fee waived-off by spending Rs.1.5 Lacs in a year. Further, 50% annual membership renewal fee will be waived off if total spends on American Express Rewards Credit Card in the immediately preceding membership year is Rs.90,000 to Rs.1,49,999.

Cons

Acceptability issue, specially for offline usage.
Relatively high renewal fee but you get the renewal fee waived-off by spending Rs.1.5 Lacs in a year. Further, 50% annual membership renewal fee will be waived off if total spends on American Express Rewards Credit Card in the immediately preceding membership year is Rs.90,000 to Rs.1,49,999.

Fees & Charges

Joining / Annual Fee ₹ 1,180

Renewal Fee ₹ 5,310

Annual Spend Target for Fee Waiver ₹ 150,000

Minimum Annual Income Required ₹ 600,000

Rewards and Benefits

Reward Rate

1% Base Reward Rate (Considering Rs.0.5 value of 1 Point), Upto 6% Valueback if Spend Rs,.20k in a month with at least 4 transactions of Rs.1500 or more

Base Reward Rate

Accelerated Reward Rate

Welcome Benefits

4,000 Membership Rewards Points will be applicable on payment of Joining fee and on spending INR 15,000 within first 90 days of Card membership.

Renewal Benefits

5,000 Rewards Points upon First Year Card Renewal, on payment of annual membership fee

Rewards & Cashback Details

Regular Reward Points: 1 Reward Point for every Rs. 50 spent
Milestone Rewards:
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for simply using your card 4 times on transactions of Rs. 1,500 or above in a calendar month
- An additional 1,000 Bonus Rewards points by spending Rs.20,000 or more in a calendar month

Amex Reward Multiplier Portal: Get 2x Reward Points on any spend on Amex Reward Multiplier Portal using Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card
- Base Valueback in the form of Base Reward Points increases to 2%
- and if you spend Rs.20,000 in a month including 4 Transactions of Rs.1,500 each on Amex Reward Multiplier Portal, total valueback becomes 6% on spend of Rs.20,000 Spend. Best way to achieve it, is to buy useful gift cards of from Amex Reward Multiplier portal and use them as and when required.
- Amex Multiplier link: bit.ly/4d1AzI3

Reward Points never expire

Rewards Redemption

Redeem Against following options if you have 24,000 Amex points. Against 24,000 Amex Points, you can get any one of the followings
- Taj voucher worth Rs. 14,000
- Shoppers Stop voucher worth Rs. 10,000
- Tata Cliq voucher worth Rs. 9,000
- Tanishq voucher worth Rs. 9,000
- Amazon voucher worth Rs. 8,000
- Flipkart voucher worth Rs. 8,000
- Reliance Digital voucher worth Rs. 8,000
If you have 18,000 Amex points, you can get any one of the followings
- Taj voucher worth Rs. 9,000
- Shoppers Stop voucher worth Rs. 7,000
- Tata Cliq voucher worth Rs. 7,000
- Myntra voucher worth Rs. 7,000
- Amazon voucher worth Rs. 6,000
- Flipkart voucher worth Rs. 6,000
- Reliance Digital voucher worth Rs. 6,000
Transfer to Hotel Loyalty Programs and Airmiles Program. Best option is Marriott Bonvoy Program which gives 1 Marriott Point against each Amex point. Monetary value of Marriott points can very of Rs.0.4 to Rs.1.2. But its can easily considered as 1 Marriott Point = Rs.0.50 on an average.
Redeem Reward Points on booking flight and hotel bit.ly/3UoSWQ8
Redeem Reward Points in your Amex Credit Card Statement as Real Cash at 1 Points = Rs.0.25

Additional Benefits

Dining Benefits

Domestic Airport Lounge

International Airport Lounge

Railway Lounge Access

Movie Benefits

Golf Benefits

Lifestyle Benefits Details

Get instant discounts on Restaurent payments, travel and other things: bit.ly/3UmIN5h

Features & Benefits

Cashback

Reward Points

Airmiles

NPS

Education

Government Payment

Rent

Gift Cards

Jewellery

Wallet Load

Rewards on EMI

Airport Lounge

Utility Bills

Insurance

Fuel

No Cashback / Rewards Categories

No base reward points on following. But you get milestone reward points on everything, no exclusion for milestone rewards.

Fuel (includes petrol, diesel, CNG)
Insurance
Utility (Utility services includes providers of household/domestic electricity, gas and water. These providers can be government departments and agencies including local, state, municipal organizations, public housing societies and apartment associations.)
No reward points on any EMI option selected from a merchant’s website e.g. online shopping with Amazon or Flipkart etc. and on any EMI option selected at Merchant’s terminal e.g. a Chip and PIN transaction at Croma retail store etc.
However, you will continue to earn Membership Rewards Points on all EMI transactions through American Express SafeKey and on all EMI conversions done post purchase.

Since this credit card considers all kind of spend for its monthly milestone benefits, this card can be used for spend like fuel, government payments, insurance etc on which most other credit cards do not provide any benefits.

Ratings & Reviews

4.4

Overall Rating

Reward Rate

5/5

Lifestyle Benefits

3/5

Ease of Reward Redemption

3/5

Value For Money

5/5

Customer Service

5/5

Detailed Review

The American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card is an excellent entry-level option, offering attractive reward rates, especially when you factor in the monthly milestone bonuses. This card provides multiple rewarding redemption options, including real cash as a statement credit. The card's ideal sweet spot is a monthly expenditure of ₹20,000.If you consistently spend ₹20,000 per month, you can earn an effective value back as follows:

6% value back (2,400 points/₹20,000 spent) if you redeem points at Marriott Hotels (assuming 1 point = ₹0.5).
4% value back if you redeem points for Amazon Pay Gift Cards.
3% value back if you redeem points as a statement credit for real cash.

A value back of 3% to 6% on an entry-level credit card is quite impressive, making this card a strong choice for anyone looking to maximize rewards on everyday spending.

Eligibility & Important Info

Eligibility Criteria

Age: 18 years or more
Income (For Salaried): Rs.6 lacs per annum
Income (For Self-Employed): Rs.6 lacs per annum
Resident Indian as defined under the Income Tax Act of India
residents of Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodra, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Nasik, Trivandrum and Mysuru
Applicant must have an Indian or multinational bank’s savings or current account in India

Important Links

Save following links to maximise your rewards with American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card.

A onetime enrolment is mandatory for Monthly Milestone Bonus Reward Points. Here is the link to enrol: bit.ly/3Q5twV2
Amex Reward Multiplier Portal: Get 2x Reward Points on any spend on Amex Reward Multiplier Portal using Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card. Here is the link: bit.ly/4d1AzI3
Amex 24k Gold Collection and 18k Gold Collection Options to Redeem Points: bit.ly/4aE0T9J
Amex Travel Portal to Redeem Points on Flights and Hotels: bit.ly/3UoSWQ8
Amex Discount Offers on Dining, Travel and other things: bit.ly/3UmIN5h
Amex Points Transfer to Airmiles and Hotel Loyalty Programs: bit.ly/3TYGXqZ

Upcoming Changes

American Express has temporarily paused the acceptance of new Card applications in India as they are integrating their new platforms for their domestic Card issuing operations.

Add-on Cards

Upto 3 Add-on cards available for free

Media

American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card Benefits | Amex MRCC Benefits | Renewal Fee Offers

Best Credit Card for Fuel | Best Credit Card for Insurance | Credit Card for NPS | American Express

American Express Credit Cards Rewards Maximisation | Amex Credit Cards| Amex MRCC | Amex Platinum

Classification

Card Issuer

American Express

Card Network

American Express

Card Purpose

EMI Fuel Giftcards Government Spend Insurance Online Shopping Sale Discount Offers Wallet Load

Reward Type

Airmiles Cashback Reward Points

Card Category

Entry Level Paid Credit Cards

American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card

Overview

Pros

Cons

Fees & Charges