There are many credit cards out there, but in India, the key strategy to maximise reward points ends up circling around three card issuers, namely, HDFC Bank, Citibank and American Express. These are the three which have a significant base of transfer partners between them. The rest don’t have any, or end up with the usual suspect in JetPrivilege or Air India.

Coming to American Express, the reason I love my Amex cards has been the fact that they are the only transfer partners in India to various loyalty partners, such as Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and Emirates Skywards. Not just that, by virtue of being the only transfer partner to Marriott Bonvoy in India, Amex hence is able to provide reward points in currencies such as Delta Skymiles, Air Canada Aeroplan, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, American Airlines AAdvantage and United Mileage Plus. This is true for all of the American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

American Express has been running some generous promotions this year, for instance, bonuses on fuel, education and insurance categories this year. Right now is perhaps the perfect time to get set for more generous promotions from their side. For the past few years, American Express has been doing some very nice promotions during the festive season which allow for bonus points or Jewellery vouchers.

To start, American Express is offering some bonuses on credit cards that are being offered free by them in the first place.

• American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card: The American Express Platinum Travel Card is a one of a kind product for those who like to spend on travel. A mid-tier card, you earn Membership Rewards points for all your spends at the rate of 1 Membership Rewards Point for every INR 50 spent with a few exceptions. On top of that, you get travel vouchers worth INR 29,500 during the year:
  • INR 7,700 voucher on spending INR 1,90,000
  • INR 11,800 on spending INR 4,00,000
  • Taj Vouchers worth INR 10,000 on spending INR 4,00,000

  The vouchers can be SpiceJet vouchers or Amex Travel vouchers and can be used for domestic travel and hotel bookings. So, on INR 4 Lakh spends, you get INR 29,500 worth of vouchers, which makes it a 7% return. You also get four complimentary visits per year to 11 lounges across India per annum. As a limited time offer, American Express is offering the card for free for those who apply through this link. The best part is, you also get 2,000 bonus Membership Rewards points on spending INR 5,000 within the first 90 days of getting the card accepted.

• American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card:  This card is one of Amex’s entry-level cards with a minimum income requirement of INR 4,50,000 a year. On a typical day, on an average spend, you would get 1 Membership Rewards point for every INR 50 spent coming into your account. What makes this card worth considering is that you get 1000 bonus Membership Rewards points when you use your card for at least four swipes of a minimum of INR 1,000  in a month. That means you can earn up to 12,000 bonus Membership Rewards points in a year, just for spending 48,000 rupees. American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card usually costs INR 1,000 + taxes for the first year, but American Express is currently waiving off this fee when you apply here. Not just that, you get 2,000 bonus Membership Rewards points when you spend INR 5,000 within the first 90 days of card membership. And another 2,000 bonus Membership Rewards points for spending a total of INR 25,000 within 90 days on the card as well.

Additionally, here are some other  bonus offer from our side:

• American Express Platinum Charge Card: 110,000 MR points on signup and spending INR 25,000 in the first 60 days.
• American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card: 11,000 MR points + 4,000 bonus MR Points, only for INR 5,000 for the first year. It also gets you access to the fabulous Amex Lounge in Mumbai & Delhi.
• American Express Gold Charge Card: 4,000 MR points + 2,000 bonus MR points, only for INR 1,000 for the first year. It also gets you 12,000 bonus MR through the year.

Not just that, there is another ongoing promotion, which you can couple with your sign up of a new card, to get some more Membership Rewards points. Like I wrote before, American Express is offering bonus MR points for adding supplementary cardmembers in the next month or so. So, if you apply for the card now, you’d be ready in time for the next bout of Amex offers we should expect to see soon.

• American Express Platinum Charge Card: 5000 bonus Membership Rewards points per supplementary cardmember. You can add up to 4 additional cards for free.
• American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card: 3000 bonus Membership Rewards points per cardmember added. You can add up to 4 additional cards for free.
• American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card: 2000 bonus Membership Rewards points per cardmember added. You can add up to 2 additional cards for free.
• American Express Gold Charge Card: 1000 bonus Membership Rewards points per cardmember added. You can add up to 2 additional cards for free.
• American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card: 1000 bonus Membership Rewards Points per cardmember added. You can add up to 2 additional cards for free.
• American Express Gold Credit Card: 1000 bonus Membership Rewards Points for every new cardmember added. You can add one additional card for free.
• Everyday Spend American Express Gold Credit Card: 1000 bonus Membership Rewards Points for every new cardmember added. You can add up to 2 additional cards for free.

Between applying for a new Amex and getting Supplementary users added, you would already have a small stash of Membership Rewards points to start and be ready for all the discounts and offers that American Express should hopefully have in readiness for us this festive season.