2024 Reward Points Earnings
Cards used:
Amex Platinum Travel x2[A]
Amex MRCC x2
Amex Gold x2
HDFC Marriott x2
Axis Atlas[B]
Other cards - SBI Miles, ICICI Sapphiro, Kotak White, IDFC Select
[A] x2 means my wife and I both are primary cardholders
[B] Axis Atlas was deactivated in March 2024
Total spends for the year - ₹4,380,301
Total Marriott Bonvoy points earned - 792,499
Effective reward rate - 18.1%
Total Marriott Bonvoy points redeemed - 479,000 at value of ₹2.1 per point[C]
[C] More info here
Earnings:
| Channel | Spends | Points | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amex Platinum Travel 1 | ₹840,325 | 80,589 | 9.6% |
| Amex MRCC 1 | ₹384,523 | 40,958 | 10.7% |
| Amex Gold 1 | ₹521,271 | 65,953 | 12.7% |
| Amex Platinum Travel 2 | ₹592,940 | 84,564 | 14.3% |
| Amex MRCC 2 | ₹302,497 | 33,054 | 10.9% |
| Amex Gold 2 | ₹362,250 | 51,107 | 14.1% |
| HDFC Marriott 1 | ₹534,935 | 57,166 | 10.7% |
| HDFC Marriott 2 | ₹3,540 | 15,000 | 423.7% |
| Axis Atlas[D] | ₹773,382 | 129,453 | 16.7% |
| Marriott Stays | - | 198,215 | - |
| Amex Referrals | - | 32,000 | - |
| Other Cards | ₹64,638 | - | - |
| Miscellaneous[E] | - | 4,440 | - |
| Total | ₹4,380,301 | 792,499 | 18.1% |
[D] These points are still being routed from ITC to Marriott
[E] Includes points earned from Singapore Airlines and dinners at ITC hotels, that were further routed to Marriott Bonvoy
40,000 milestone bonus and 10,000 renewal bonus is included in each Amex Platinum Travel card.
24,000 milestone bonus is included in each Amex MRCC card.
8,000 welcome bonus and 9,000 milestone bonus is included in each Amex Gold card. My wife and I used each other's referral link to apply for this card in March 2024. The same is reflected in Amex Referrals.
15,000 FNA is included in each HDFC Marriott card. No milestone FNA earned yet.
15,000 milestone bonus (5,000 miles) is included in Axis Atlas.
35,924 reward points are pending in Amex Gold, included in calculations as these will be posted in 2025 for transactions made in 2024.
Taj rewards are not included in the calculations.
Card fees of ₹24,779 are included in expense, and not deducted from the rewards. This is because average value of a reward point is not fixed.
Top spend categories:
| Category | Spends |
|---|---|
| Hotels | ₹803,452 |
| Gadgets | ₹597,589 |
| Flights | ₹515,136 |
| Vouchers | ₹509,815 |
| Shopping | ₹476,181 |
Strategy for 2025:
Including reward points from hotel stays, I'm expecting to earn close to 600,000 Marriott Bonvoy points on total spends of ₹4,200,000 at effective reward rate of approximately 14%.
Amex Platinum Travel Card x2
Expense - ₹1,000,000
Rewards - 100,000
Amex MRCC x2
Expense - ₹600,000
Rewards - 60,000
Amex Gold x2
Expense - ₹800,000
Rewards - 104,000
HDFC Marriott x2
Expense - ₹1,800,000
Rewards - 140,000
Edit: Forgot to add points earned in December in HDFC Marriott card. Same has been rectified.