Now redeem American Express MR Points for Luxury Experiences

Starting this week, American Express India has more options for us to redeem Amex membership reward points that could get us higher point value than we used to enjoy before, better than Gold collection or Marriott Bonvoy redemptions for that matter. 

We can now redeem MR points for curated luxury experiences under various categories like stay(package)/dining/sports. These special redemption options are made in partnership with the luxury tour agency Dreamsetgo. 

Redemptions are already live on Amex membership rewards portal. Here’s everything you need to know along with sample options to choose from,

Stay experiences

Dining experiences

Adventure experiences

While above gives a rough idea of what to expect, here’s the detailed info of all options along with t&c. It looks like the redemptions are simple, voucher based.

I did a quick look at the t&c, most are fine and we can certainly expect Amex grade of service and support as well. Note that some redemptions are seasonal.

I wish Amex makes it simpler to have a quick glance by mentioning # of people it’s meant for, location, etc upfront as quick info instead of making us dig the t&c pdf written in small letters to find the smae. 

Which is best?

I feel postcard redemptions are good without a doubt and I’m sure that is what most would go for, esp the Goa one among others. 

But remember that these postcard hotels are far away (~2hrs) from airport and also they’re not all-inclusive (only breakfast is complimentary), except the one in Sri Lanka. So be ready to shell out 20K INR or more during the stay to cover these expenses.

And the Abu Dhabi sports experience is a wonderful one too. Infact I wanted to do that for sometime and was searching for that on Accor Activities but glad to see here. 

Perhaps they could consider adding the Dubai sky-dive experience to the list sometime in future. 

What’s the value?

If we go with the listed revenue rates, for example with postcard hotel stays, then we would get a value of 1 INR per 1 MR point or even higher. 

But given that postcard hotels are usually overpriced, I wouldn’t suggest you to do the regular math and start assuming that we’re getting much higher point value, because that’s the perceived value and not the real market value. 

Anyway, it still makes a lot of difference with current Amex standards where the point value is only 50ps (or) so. 

Bottomline

Looks like American Express started off 2024 with a determination to bring back its name and fame in the industry after being silent for sometime.

I see this as a major event for Amex cardholders as we can now get 2X value from Amex points (1 INR, up from 0.50 INR per point). Moreover, as these are curated experiences over typical stays, this might not only give better value but also make cardmembers happy of holding Amex. Great work!

Also, this has come at the right time as anyway Marriott Bonvoy point value is getting worser every passing month, now even in India.

So if you were resisting to go for the lucrative upgrade offer of 135K AmEx MR points on Amex Platinum Charge Card, now is the perfect time to grab one because you not only get all the shiny metal card benefits but also have an option to redeem the points for a thrilling drive in an Italian sports car (or) enjoy the 2 night stay at postcard hotels not once but twice with the welcome benefit.

Not only Amex Plat Charge, even Amex Platinum Travel Card can help with these redemptions, thanks to the milestone benefits on the card.

Which among the above new redemption options sounds better to you? Feel free to share in the comments below.