American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card vs Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card

American Express has a decent range of credit cards and is one of the most popular card issuers across the world. In the travel category, you can get the premium American Express Platinum Travel credit card that is perfect for frequent travellers. The card has great welcome and milestone benefits in the form of Membership Reward points that are redeemable for air ticket booking, hotels, rental cars, shopping vouchers, and more. You have to pay a joining fee of Rs. 3500 for the card and can get 2 Membership Reward points per Rs. 100 spent with the credit card.

On the other hand, the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank credit card is the first hotel co-branded card in India and it comes at a joining and renewal fee of Rs. 3000 plus taxes. If you are a regular Marriott customer, then the card is the perfect option for you as you get a bonus Free Night Awards, complimentary Silver Elite status, and Marriott Bonvoy points as reward points for your spends. Other benefits of the card include complimentary domestic and international lounge access, golf rounds, insurance benefits, and more.

In the following article, we will compare both these cards based on the features and benefits they offer, fees and charges, and other things related to them. Let’s check out which is the better option out of the two credit cards.

American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card

This is one of the most premium cards offered by American Express and there are many benefits and privileges across travel as well as other major categories.

Features and Benefits

The following are the top features and benefits offered by the credit card –

Welcome Benefits

As a welcome benefit, you can get 10,000 Membership Reward points that can be redeemed against a host of different options. The welcome benefit is offered when you spend a minimum of Rs. 15000 within 3 months of getting the card

Milestone Benefits

You get 15000 MR points on spending Rs. 1.9 Lakhs in the card anniversary year and 25000 MR points along with an additional Taj stay voucher upon spending Rs. 4 Lakhs in the year. You can even transfer your Membership Reward points to Marriott Bonvoy points at a 1:1 transfer ratio. Thus, on spending Rs. 4 Lakhs, you get 25000 MR points that can be further transferred to Marriott points.

Travel Benefits

• You get 8 complimentary domestic lounge access, max twice per quarter, with the card and a complimentary Priority Pass membership. The $99 fee is waived off but you will have to pay $32 usage fee whenever you access an international lounge with your credit card.
• You can redeem the MR points earned for car/hotel/flight bookings on Amex Travel Online portal.
• Spending Rs. 4 Lakhs offers you Rs. 10,000 worth gift vouchers from Taj, SeleQtions, and Vivanta hotels.

Movie & Dining Benefits

Get 20% discount on dining bills at partner restaurants on paying with the American Express Platinum Travel credit card. The card also offers exclusive offers on Qmin and Swiggy.

Reward Rate

You can earn 2 MR points per Rs. 100 spent with the credit card. The MR points earned by you can be redeemed against E-Commerce portals, on the Amex online shopping portal, INSTA spends at offline stores, and to pay the card bill through the Cash + Points scheme.

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the American Express Platinum Travel card –

• The joining fee of the card is Rs. 3500 plus taxes and the renewal fee of the card is Rs. 5000 plus taxes.
• The card charges an interest rate of 3.5% per month
• The cash advance fee on the card is 3.5% of the withdrawn amount or a minimum of Rs. 250
• The forex markup fee on the card is 3.5% of the transaction amount

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Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card

The Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank credit card is India’s first hotel co-branded credit card and it comes at a joining and renewal fee of Rs. 3000 plus taxes. You get exclusive benefits for more than 30 hotel brands under the Marriott umbrella along with many other benefits.

Features and Benefits

The following are the features and benefits offered by the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank credit card –

Welcome Benefits

The card offers a 1 Free Night Award valid for 1 year at participating Marriott hotels across the world, worth 15000 points. You get this benefit when you get the card and upon card renewal. Also, the card offers complimentary Marriott Bonvoy elite status and 10 Elite Night credits every year.

Milestone Benefits

You can get up to bonus 3 free night award upon reaching the target spend threshold. You will receive the free night award on spending Rs. 6 Lakhs, Rs. 9 Lakhs, and Rs. 15 Lakhs in the year.

Travel Benefits

The card offers 12 complimentary domestic as well as international lounge access to the cardholder.

Golf Benefits

Get 2 complimentary golf rounds and 2 golf lessons per quarter at the best golf courses across the world

Reward Rate

• Earn 8 Marriott Bonvoy points per Rs. 150 spent at participating Marriott hotels
• Earn 4 points per Rs. 150 spent on dining, travel, and entertainment
• Earn 2 points per Rs. 150 spent on other eligible categories

Insurance Benefits

• You get the following insurance benefits with the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank credit card –
• Air accident cover – Rs. 10 Lakhs
• Emergency medical expenses – Rs. 15 Lakhs
• Loss or delay of check-in baggage – $250
• Loss of travel documents and passport – $250
• Delay in flight – $250
• Loss liability cover and credit shield – Rs. 1 Lakhs

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank credit card –

• The card comes at a joining and renewal fee of Rs. 3000 plus taxes
• The card charges an interest rate of 3.6% per month
• The card charges a cash advance fee of 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or Rs. 500, whichever is higher
• The forex markup fee on the credit card is 3.5% of the transaction amount

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Card Comparison

The following table features a side-by-side comparison of both the credit cards –

Category	Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card	Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card
Joining/Annual Fee	Joining Fee: Rs. 3500 plus taxes Annual Fee: Rs. 5000 plus taxes	Joining Fee: Rs 3000 plus taxes
Welcome Benefit	10,000 MR points as welcome benefit	1 Free night award at participating Marriott hotels, with 1-year validity
Reward Rate	2 Membership Reward points per Rs. 100 spent with the card	8 Marriott Bonvoy points on eligible purchases at participating Marriott hotels, 4 reward points on travel, dining, and entertainment spends, 2 reward points on other spends
Reward Redemption	MR points can be redeemed against online shopping vouchers, INSTA offline purchases, transfer to hotel/airline partners, pay card bills with Cash + Points scheme	Marriott Bonvoy points are credited to your membership account and you can redeem them for dining offers, discounted hotel stays, etc. at Marriott hotels
Dining/Movie Benefits	Up to 20% off at participating restaurants	NA
Travel Benefits	8 complimentary domestic lounge access per year, max 2 per quarter Priority Pass membership with $99 waived off and offering international lounge access at $32 per visit	Up to 4 Free Night Awards at Marriott Bonvoy hotels 12 complimentary domestic as well as international lounge access
Forex Markup Fee	3.5% of the transaction amount	3.5% of the transaction amount

Rewards Comparison

The following table compares the reward points you will earn on making spends with both the credit cards. For the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank card, 50% of the spends earn 8 Marriott Bonvoy points while rest 25% and 25% spends earn 4 and 2 reward points.

The American Express Platinum Travel card earns 2 RPs per Rs. 100 spent. You can convert the RPs earned with the card to Marriott Bonvoy points at a 1:1 ratio.

The American Express Platinum Travel card offers you 15,000 and 25,000 RPs on reaching the target spend thresholds of Rs. 1.9 Lakhs and Rs. 4 Lakhs in the card anniversary year. With the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank card, you get 1 Free Night Award worth 15000 points as a welcome benefit, and you can get an additional free night award on spending Rs. 6 Lakhs in the anniversary year.

Also Read: HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card vs American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card

Conclusion

For those who frequently go out for domestic or international trips, a travel credit card is a must. The Amex Platinum Travel credit card is a premium offering by American Express and is a great option. Else, if you are a loyal Marriott customer, then the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank card is a decent choice also.

The Amex Platinum Travel card comes at a joining fee of Rs. 3500 plus taxes and a renewal fee of Rs. 5000 plus taxes. The card is packed with amazing travel perks and you get 2 Membership Reward points for spends made with the card. You also get domestic lounge access and Priority Pass membership with the card.

The Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank credit card is available at a joining fee of Rs. 3000 plus taxes and is the first hotel co-branded offering in the country. You earn Marriott Bonvoy points with the card and other exclusive privileges for Marriott hotels. You even get lounge access, golf rounds, insurance benefits, and other exciting benefits.

One nice feature of the Amex Platinum Travel card is that you can transfer the MR points earned for your spends to Marriott Bonvoy points at a 1:1 ratio. Both these cards are great and you can choose either one of them. Let us know in the comments section regarding which of these cards is the better choice.