Link 2 Amex Credit Cards to Accrue Reward Points in Single Account

By | April 12, 2017

I might be applying American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card in coming months and always wondered how to get maximum value back on the joining fee paid. And that’s when i came across this method that allows you to combine the reward points accrued on two Amex cards into one account. For me, it will be: Amex Gold charge card with Platinum reserve card. This means the reward points you earn on both cards will now accrue in single account which is easy to redeem.

It works more or less like a companion card which is MRCC card that is issued LTF these days with the Gold charge card. Note that Platinum Travel card or MMT card cannot be linked with Gold charge card as they belong to different category.

Maximizing Reward Points Value by Linking Gold Charge Card:

By linking Amex Plat Reserve with Gold card, you have the ability to redeem your accumulated reward points for 18k or 24k gold carat collection. That is, 24,000 points redeemed for Rs.10,000 statement credit which increases the point value of plat reserve card from default 25ps to 41ps.

This is one of the best way to make use of points in the plat reserve card as the welcome bonus points is quite less compared to the joining fee charged.

Let’s say you’re redeeming 11k welcome bonus points on Plat reserve + 7k points earned on spending on the card. Here’s how it makes a difference with and without linking Gold card:

  • Without Linking: 18k Points (11k+7k) redeemed @ 25ps for statement credit = Rs.4,500
  • With Linking: 18k Points (11k +7k points accrued on gold card or Plat reserve) redeemed for statement credit = Rs.7,500

That’s the easiest way to save Rs.3,000 ๐Ÿ™‚

Also, with monthly bonus of 1000 points on Gold charge card, it makes even easier to reach the 18k or 24k milestone. While American Express platinum reserve credit card don’t have any wow factor in it, at-least to me, this way of clubbing the points makes some sense to go for one.

Note: If you already have other Amex cards, you may not need one unless you’re looking for travel benefits like MMT offers that are limited to 2 txns per card.

How do you maximize your Amex Plat Reserve Reward points (or) have you ever done such clubbing of reward points earlier? Share your views in comments below.

Author: Siddharth

Helping Indians to choose right credit cards, pick right offers and enjoy luxury vacations for less. Day & night exploring the spiritual reality of our human existence.

37 thoughts on “Link 2 Amex Credit Cards to Accrue Reward Points in Single Account

  1. Captain Bishuddha Bharatiya

    How much is maximum limit of your charge card according to your thinking ?
    I know charge card do not have a disclosed limit but I am so curious to know that how much you have charged maximum in one transaction ?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Well, i would say, its the only card that’s “very very generous” with the limits and you can very easily get a “credit support” like 5L or even a lot more if you’ve spent 5L. So the limit is directly proportional to the spend on the card.

      I’ve written even more in detail here: 5 Things You Must Know about Amex Gold Charge Card

      Reply
  2. Praveen Perumalla

    Two questions:
    1. Gold card is a charge card and reserve is a credit card. Per your post, cards of two different categories cannot be linked but you wanted to link these two. How?
    2. Like I already asked before, I couldn’t find this info on their website nor did I get any emails about it. What is your source?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Praveen,
      1. Internally its same, maybe due to its earn rate.
      2. Ask Amex ๐Ÿ™‚
      I understand that its bit confusing, but that’s how it is.

      Reply
    2. Manuj

      The cards are not linked. Only the rewards program is linked. Like Payback.

      Reply
  3. Manuj

    Siddharth, I believe the 18K/24K milestone rewards can be redeemed as bonus redemption (gold carat collection) only once per year. And you actually need to make the spends in that particular year to be eligible for this redemption. For e.g in Year 1 if I get 50K points and redeem 24K points, in Year 2 I cannot directly redeem 24K points as bonus redemption unless I make the annual spend to earn 24K points that year.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Manuj,
      I re-confirmed this a week back and they did say that i can redeem 24k or 18k multiple times.
      I’ll again try to connect with some trusted source and update the article if there is any such limits.

      P.S. To hit 24k multiple times on this card, spends has to be very high, for which there are much better cards ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  4. ram

    but whats the advatage in picking Platinum reserve card? What is the wow factor with this card for a 5k fee first year and 10k second year?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      As mentioned in the article,
      Multiple cards means you can avail the travel offers multiple times, like the MMT offer that’s limited to 2 per month per card.
      Joining fee is compensated a bit by clubbing the rewards ac as mentioned. Renewal fee can be waived off, if the spends are good.

      Again, its for a very frequent traveler and maynot suit someone who travels rarely.

      Reply
  5. Anshul Tuteja

    What’s the reason for upgrading to Platinum reserve from Platinum travel? Is it worth? What’s the eligibility criteria for the upgrade?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Its not “upgrading”. It will be a separate card ๐Ÿ™‚
      Its as usual, 6L+ income would do.

      Reply
  6. Adi. H

    Hi,

    Which card from Amex can we have easily if we have 800+ Cibil and ITR of 7 Lac +

    Locaiton: Delhi.

    Reply
  7. Sahil

    Is it worth getting two cards from Amex i.e. Plat reserve and Gold charge card?? I am already having Platinum reserve card. getting confused whether to opt for Gold card and cancel the plat card or keep both. Since earning rate is very low on both cards. Should i look for some other card??

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      If your spends are high, yes, why not have both.

      Reply
  8. ND

    Plat reserve is a lifestyle card… it gives you gold membership tiers for many hotel chains… another key benefit is you get access to Amex Proprietary Lounges.

    Reply
  9. ram

    can i accumulate points on American Expressยฎ Platinum Travel Credit after making 4 lakhs of purchase which gives bonus and then link with gold charge card to avail this benefit of 24 karat redemption?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Sadly not. They’re both different types of cards and so can’t be clubbed. AFAIK, only Plat reserve can be clubbed with Gold card.

      Reply
  10. Sahil

    Now we have to to 6 transactions to earn 1000 monthly points??? any idea how to counter it?

    Reply
      1. Sahil

        I dont use wallets much. I was thinking of getting the MRCC card instead and cancel the gold charge card and may be cancel the platinum reserve card as well. My regular spends are on HDFC Diners and Yes First preferred. is it preferable to have MRCC than Gold charge now that we have to make transactions on Gold however only 4 on MRCC?

        Reply
        1. Siddharth Post author

          It highly depends on your usage. If you’re not getting value from amex, you may consider moving out or just hold Amex MMT card to avail travel offers.

          Reply
  11. Manikanta Kamisetty

    Sid, is it possible to club MRCC and Gold card so that the bonus 1000 points on both the cards will help in acheiving the 18l or 24k points much earlier?
    If one having MRCC already, can he get a Gold charge card?

    Reply
  12. ka

    1. Is it possible to link my MembershipRewardsCreditCard (IN FTO) to my PlatinumTravelCreditCard (GFTO)!?
    2. Generally, in a typical linking, does one lose points from one account to the other?

    Reply
    1. ka

      1. Is it possible to link my MembershipRewardsCreditCard (IN FTO) to my PlatinumTravelCreditCard (GFTO)!?
      2. Generally, in a typical linking, does one lose points from one account to the other?

      Reply
      1. Siddharth Post author

        1. No
        2. No, it gets merged to one a/c (higher variant).

        Reply
        1. IP

          Hi Sid

          Regarding 1 above, what if I link my Plat Charge, Plat Travel and MRCC? Wouldn’t all the points earned on all these cards be in FTO category, as in no expiry? And show in the my Plat Charge account?

          Some info : I already have Plat Charge. Companion Plat Travel has been approved and dispatched by Amex. Already planning on getting MRCC. Greed, I tell you.

          Thanks
          IP

          Reply
  13. Ameya

    I would like to add one more thing to this article.
    Once you combine the merge the reward point accounts, the higher category card will be the one showing the points in their account.
    So, in my case, I have a MRCC & Plat Reserve. So merging the Reward Points account saw a movement of my MRCC points into the Plat Reserve points.
    Not sure what will happen once I decide to close Platinum Reserve

    Reply
    1. ka

      quote
      So, in my case, I have a MRCC & Plat Reserve. So merging the Reward Points account saw a movement of my MRCC points into the Plat Reserve points.
      unquote

      Does that mean you lost access to Gold Collection under MRCC!?

      Reply
  14. VIJAY

    @ Mr. Siddarth or whomsoever aware,
    I would be immensely glad if you you could revert with Mr. Manikanda Kamisetty query made on Spetember,2019 as mine is the same too.!!
    “is it possible to club MRCC and Gold card so that the bonus 1000 points on both the cards will help in achieving the 18k or 24k points much earlier?
    If one having MRCC already, can he get a Gold charge card?”

    I’m holding an MRCC for the past two months. If wanted to apply to for Gold charge, when would it be the right time to apply?
    If I continue to use MRCC reaching target fee waiver spends, can I expect an offer to apply for gold charge post 6 months?…as I see a lot of comments experiencing it the other way around, especially for gold charge users.

    Also, is it possible to ask amex to make my current MRCC LTF…while applying for Gold charge?? Thanks in advance!!

    Reply
    1. SH

      Yes. It is possible. Infact it gets clubbed by default. In my case my wife procured the Gold Charge two years after he got the MRCC. As soon as she got the Gold Charge the reward accounts were clubbed without any of our doing. So go ahead and apply.

      Reply
  15. Kiran

    Hi Vijay,

    Yes, you can hold both Gold charge as well MRCC card.

    You can apply for new card only after 6 months of issuance of your earlier card.

    Hope this helps.

    Cheers,
    Kiran

    Reply
  16. Jagadeesh

    Can I apply to smart earn card to earn Rewards faster to my MRCC card. Is possible to link both accounts for rewards points.

    Reply
  17. K Jijo

    Hello All

    It good to have two separate account for my MRCC and Smart Earn? or should i link both card together right now they are link together, Will Adding both card in one account can get less Amex offer or does not matter? because recently i got both same offer in both card. just wondering should i keep both together or different?

    Reply

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