[rajesh1868]

Originally Posted by tejas08

1000 Bonus points are per Account and not per card. So regardless of the number of Supplementary cards, you will get 1000 Bonus points only once per month. You can do 4 x 1000+ Rs transaction on any card or card combination.

Originally Posted by whitewing

+1 to that.

Thanks Tejas.
Amex has also added Taj vouchers under the 18k and 24k collection. And if I am not mistaken, reduced the statement credit amount

[vvijay]

Does anyone here use Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card and has any reviews about them if it is worth giving it a try?

Cheers,
Vijay

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by rajesh1868

Thanks Tejas.
Amex has also added Taj vouchers under the 18k and 24k collection. And if I am not mistaken, reduced the statement credit amount

Yes. They have. the excellent reward rate on Taj Vouchers is a result of the long relationship between Amex and Taj Hotels. I am looking forward to getting that 14K Taj Voucher soon.

[gupta_chd]

Thanks haridsv, rjainv and tejas08.

Originally Posted by tejas08

I can suggest of two ways on this.

1. Option 1 - Regular Monthly Cashback - Use Payzapp. 5% cashback on Bill Payments through any card.

2. Option 2 - Amex Membership Rewards Card -

I already use Amex Rewards card. But I use it for other shopping and payments. There is not much benefit if I use the card over and above 4 transactions of Rs. 1000 each. Still I use it for 1.5 lakh a year to escape annual charges. I will check Payzapp for sure.

[haridsv]

Originally Posted by gupta_chd

Thanks haridsv, rjainv and tejas08.

I already use Amex Rewards card. But I use it for other shopping and payments. There is not much benefit if I use the card over and above 4 transactions of Rs. 1000 each. Still I use it for 1.5 lakh a year to escape annual charges. I will check Payzapp for sure.

They give 2 points/Rs.100 (on most transactions except fuel, insurance, utilities and cash). 18000 points will get you an Amazon giftcard of Rs.8000 which translates to 0.89% cashback. If you use this balance for purchases on Amazon, you get an additional 2% cashback (which translates to 0.91% cashback).

Comparing this to HDFC Regalia card, the last I checked, the best gift vouchers give you about 0.93% cashback. Though cashback for getting Amazon giftcard using Amex Rewards is slightly lower, it is a lot more usable (you can also use Amazon Pay on many 3rd party sites) and there is no txn fee for requesting the giftcard (don't remember if Regalia charges any fee).

I too got Amex Rewards with lifetime free and I started using it to maximize the cashback by only performing the 4 txns of Rs.1000 each, as that translates to about 10% cashback. However, considering that their regular cashback is also comparable to Regalia (and customer service several times better), I started treating Amex Rewards as my primary card and use it as much as possible. That way, I reach 18000 points sooner to convert them to Amazon giftcard. Just recently I discovered that Standard Chartered platinum debit card gives 5% cashback (I have my home loan with them) so started using it more and more but still use Amex more than any other card.

Originally Posted by whitewing

+1 to that.

I've been availing this offer since the past few years and has been a very remunerative offer, since mine is without annual fees - just this offer alone accrues 12K points in a year! And add 6k points, and we get a amazon shopping voucher worth 7k or 8k (don't exactly remember).

I've always wondered how the economics of this works out?

If you strictly use it for 4 txns of Rs.1000 each, it comes to 11.1% (can be more) cashback so there is no way it can workout for Amex. However, I suspect not many use it strictly only for this benefit, or at least stay forever that way. As I mentioned above, I started this way, but when I discovered that their regular cashback is not bad and their customer service being exceptional, I made this my primary card. I spend about 30k per month and must be getting about 5% cashback (when including the 1000 bonus points). I would use it more if it is accepted at more offline locations. Even a 60k per month spend would get us about 3.5% cashback percentage which would still make it non-economical for them. There is no way this promotion can run forever

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[Oxy]

HDFC is teasing me for quite some time. I have a Diner's Premium credit card. Last year they offered an upgrade to Diner's Club Miles. It looked pretty similar to my existing Premium card and also I don't fly very frequently so I didn't upgrade.

Now they are offering me an upgrade to the Diner's Millennia, which is an entry level card from what I understand. How is this an "upgrade"? What kind of a joke is this?

Is it very unreasonable to expect a proper upgrade, maybe to the Diner's Privilege if not Black? I don't have any relationship with the bank other than the credit card I hold.

[gupta_chd]

Amex has considerably reduced benefits from 18 K and 24K gold collections.

- 24K statement credit has been reduced from Rs. 10000 to Rs. 9000

- 18K statement credit has been reduced from Rs. 7500 to Rs. 6000

Looks like they stumbled upon this thread and realized their business proposition is up for losses only.

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by vvijay

Does anyone here use Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card and has any reviews about them if it is worth giving it a try?

Cheers,
Vijay

It is a decent entry level card. If you buy a lot of stuff from Flipkart (esp electronics) then it is surely a good proposition (unlimited/uncapped 5% CB). Another positive is the statement. Axis bank CC statements are one of the simplest I have ever read. It makes it super easy for you to read and understand them.

[bejoy]

Two of my regular fuel pumps were not able to redeem the Citibank Indianoil card points. They say they don't have the machines. Have anyone in Bangalore faced the same issue? Have something changed?

I tried redeeming for cashback online, but it says I am not eligible. (Have 1500 Turbo points). Anyone aware of any minimum limit?

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by vvijay

Does anyone here use Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card and has any reviews about them if it is worth giving it a try?

Cheers,
Vijay

Apart from its redeeming feature of 5% unlimited cashback on Flipkart and 4% on partners like Uber, which is good enough in itself.

It has a decent reward rate of 1.5% on non Flipkart / non preferred partner spends which is better than the other cards I have.

The issue and the biggest limiting factor is that they have an insanely low credit limit on the card. They gave me a credit limit of 1/5 of the highest, 1/2 of the lowest limit I have on my other cards. I have now had this card for 5 months and I will end up crossing the credit limit easily with just my usual monthly spending so I cannot use it as a primary card even though it has the best rewards.

This single limitation will have the highest limitation on how much rewards you can get out of this card.

I have another colleague who has faced the same limit issue with this card.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by haridsv

If you strictly use it for 4 txns of Rs.1000 each, it comes to 11.1% (can be more) cashback so there is no way it can workout for Amex. However, I suspect not many use it strictly only for this benefit, or at least stay forever that way. As I mentioned above, I started this way, but when I discovered that their regular cashback is not bad and their customer service being exceptional, I made this my primary card. I spend about 30k per month and must be getting about 5% cashback (when including the 1000 bonus points). I would use it more if it is accepted at more offline locations. Even a 60k per month spend would get us about 3.5% cashback percentage which would still make it non-economical for them. There is no way this promotion can run forever

Can you please elaborate what cashback are you talking about on the Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card? As far as I know, there is no regular cashback on this card. Maybe an offer here or there but no regular cashback offer. It only has those 1000 Bonus points on 4 x 1000+ Rs. transactions.

I have been using this card for over 30 months now. I have always ensured to have the 4 x 1000+ transactions criteria met for the 1000 bonus points.

Originally Posted by Oxy

Is it very unreasonable to expect a proper upgrade, maybe to the Diner's Privilege if not Black? I don't have any relationship with the bank other than the credit card I hold.

Yes & No. It is not unreasonable of you, but it is unreasonable to expect it from HDFC.

HDFC is one crazy bank when it comes to issuing credit cards. For a Diner's Black or Infinia Card, you definitely need some sort of banking relationship. For rest, not an important criteria.

Originally Posted by gupta_chd

Amex has considerably reduced benefits from 18 K and 24K gold collections.

- 24K statement credit has been reduced from Rs. 10000 to Rs. 9000

- 18K statement credit has been reduced from Rs. 7500 to Rs. 6000

Looks like they stumbled upon this thread and realized their business proposition is up for losses only.

You missed the point wherein the added the Rs. 14,000 & Rs. 9,000 worth Taj Vouchers under 24K & 18K Gold Collection. It gives a great reward rate of 15+%.

[gupta_chd]

Originally Posted by tejas08

You missed the point wherein the added the Rs. 14,000 & Rs. 9,000 worth Taj Vouchers under 24K & 18K Gold Collection. It gives a great reward rate of 15+%.

How many percent would be using Taj vouchers who are holding rewards card, may be 2-3%. I know 6-7 people in office who hold rewards card, none of them is interested in Taj vouchers.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by gupta_chd

How many percent would be using Taj vouchers who are holding rewards card, may be 2-3%. I know 6-7 people in office who hold rewards card, none of them is interested in Taj vouchers.

Amex is giving a good value proposition. But if people don't want to take it, it is not their fault. This is the chance for people to experience Taj hospitality. Almost every traveler dreams of staying in a Taj Property at some point of time but very few people will book Taj stays with their own money. This is the opportunity.

As far as numbers go, I know at least 20-25 people holding the Amex MRCC and at least 8-10 would be willing to take the Taj Vouchers when they reach the milestone.

Trust me, you could easily get a 3 Days / 2 Nights stay in few of the Taj properties by paying just 4-6K Rs. combined with this voucher. I see that as a very good proposition as the max cash benefit you get is 9000 Rs. Essentially, you are getting a 2 Nights stay in Taj at Rs. 15,000 which isn't bad at all.

All this is to do with Mindset shift. I have been discussing with a lot of my friends and trying to change the way we look at vacations using such tips & tricks. All these tips & tricks come as part of years of credit card usage and permutations & combinations. I decided to start a blog on those same lines & the calculations of the Taj Vouchers through Amex MRCC was one of the first two blogs I published.

http://luxurylifeonbudget.com/blog/r...s-of-rs-84000/

Note to Mods - Please feel free to delete the link if it is in any way violating the forum rules.

I actually intend to start a thread on some of the luxury hacks that can be achieved using Credit Cards, Loyalty Programs etc.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by bejoy

Two of my regular fuel pumps were not able to redeem the Citibank Indianoil card points. They say they don't have the machines. Have anyone in Bangalore faced the same issue? Have something changed?

I tried redeeming for cashback online, but it says I am not eligible. (Have 1500 Turbo points). Anyone aware of any minimum limit?

My regular petrol pump stopped keeping Citibank machines. So, even I am facing the same situation as you are facing now. Even I don't know the solution for this issue.

[haridsv]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Can you please elaborate what cashback are you talking about on the Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card? As far as I know, there is no regular cashback on this card. Maybe an offer here or there but no regular cashback offer. It only has those 1000 Bonus points on 4 x 1000+ Rs. transactions.

When I say cashback, I refer to the value of the giftcards. The leagal lingo says that they have no cash value, but look at the cash equivalent. E.g., to get a Rs.8000 Amazon giftcard, you would be spending Rs.8000 cash. I hope what I am saying makes sense to you.