The Best Credit Cards by Axis Bank

The Bottom Line

The ACE Credit Card is the best credit card for most Axis Bank customers. We estimate it offers an average net reward yield of 1.8 – 2.6% on all your spend.

The ACE offers 5% cashback on utility bill payments via Google Pay Android app and 4% on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola. It offers a high 2% cashback on all other spend, with no monthly caps.

If you charge more than ₹50,000 a month to your card and are comfortable redeeming rewards in the form of Vistara flights, consider the Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card.

Including the value of milestone rewards, you can earn an effective net reward yield of 4.0 – 4.2% with this credit card.

If flying Vistara is not an option for you, stick to the ACE at this level as well for a net reward yield of 2.5%.

If you charge more than ₹1 lacs to you card each month (always or quite often), the Magnus Credit Card from Axis Bank absolutely blows the competition away.

Including milestone rewards, we estimate you can earn a net reward yield of 4.0 – 5.9% with this card. If you can redeem rewards via Vistara or Singapore Airlines flights, the effective net reward yield could be as high as 14 – 24%. This is crazy!

Both, the Magnus & the Vistara Infinite deliver bulk of the value as milestone rewards. Therefore it does not make sense to use these cards in combination with other cards and risk missing out on the milestone.

However if you are unable / unwilling to get the Magnus or Vistara Infinite AND are an Airtel customer, you should combine the ACE with the Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card (used for Airtel Services, other utility bills and on Swiggy, Zomato and bigbasket) to boost the net reward yield to 2.6-3.2%.

Table 1: All our recommendations

Table 2: Recommended Reward Redemption Options

Everything we recommend

Who this is for

If you are a Axis Bank customer and you want to get a credit card this guide is for you. We recommend the best credit cards, no matter what your spending level is.

Whether you want to get a single credit card or to split your spends across multiple cards to optimize rewards, we have you covered.

We have friends who have raised maximizing credit card rewards to an art form. However not everyone wants put so much effort tracking deals, discounts, reward caps and spending categories.

Most of us simply want a solution that is easy to manage – good enough, not perfect.

If that’s you, this post recommends a few credit cards that can work well together and will supercharge your rewards without a lot of micromanaging.

How we selected

Axis Bank offers more than 30 credit cards. Each credit card has a different set of rewards and other terms and conditions, which makes it difficult for most of us to figure out which card is best for us.

We cut through this complexity by ranking each card on its Net Reward Yield, which measures the total effective discount you receive in form of rewards, when you charge your expenses to the card.

To calculate the net reward yield of a credit card, we created 5 standardized spending profiles of a typical customer with different income levels. We then simulated the total rewards a customer with each spending profile would get on that card, based on the reward schedule for that card.

Table 3: Standardized Spending Profiles

Our reward calculations attempts to account for different types of rewards (cashback, points, miles etc.), reward caps by spending category, bonuses & milestone rewards, fees and differences in realizable value of the rewards depending on how you redeem them (e.g. on Bank website as statement credit vs. for flight bookings).

We prefer cards with higher rewards yields, lower income thresholds and lower fees.

We applied this standardized methodology to every Axis Bank credit card, allowing you to zoom in to the best credit cards for you.

If you’re willing to manage multiple credit cards strategically, you can supercharge your total rewards compared to using a single card. However, managing multiple credit cards requires some effort.

At a minimum, you need to:

• Sign up for the card
• Set up the monthly credit card bill payments (monthly effort or one-time depending on the banks involved)
• Review your statements periodically
• Remember to claim the reward (in some cases)
• Remember to get the annual fee waived (in many cases)

More work is also required to figure out which card to use where and possibly change the setup on various sites and apps to use a different card.

So while adding more and more cards to the mix can keep increasing the potential benefits (at least for high spenders), we think most people would want to manage another card only if the additional benefit is meaningful and the additional mental load low.

With that in mind we decided to identify sets of 2 credit cards that will work well together for most people i.e. so that you can easily remember which card to use where, meet the minimum spend & other conditions and not lose track of all the admin stuff like paying the bill and getting annual fee waived.

To find the best card combinations, we considered 100’s of card pairs to figure out the combos that work best with each other to maximize rewards.

In testing a pair of cards, we assumed that only one card will be used for each spending category and it would be the one with the higher rewards in that category.

For example, if you get ACE Credit Card and Airtel Axis Credit Card, you only use the Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card for grocery shopping via bigbasket.com, food delivery via Swiggy & Zomato and utilities bills payments using the Google Pay app on Android. Use the ACE Credit Card for everything else.

Table 4: Two Card Strategy for monthly spend of ₹50,000+

We think this is reasonable as you only need to know which card to use in which situation and don’t need to keep track of your spending on each card through the month.

We think most people do not want to obsessively track their spend by card and category on a daily basis. So we have tried to avoid a situation where you need to switch from one card to other based on how much you have spent on it during the month, in total or for a specific category. That’s too much work for most people.

Our recommended pairs maximize the rewards while increasing your probability of meeting the annual fee waiver spending limits and any other requirements for each card.

You can read more about our credit card recommendation methodology here.

The Best Credit Card for Monthly Spend upto ₹50,000

The ACE Credit Card is the best credit card from Axis Bank for nearly everyone. We estimate most people will get effective net reward yield of 1.8 – 2.6% using this card for all their spend.

The ACE offers 5% cashback on utilities bill payments made via the Google Pay Android app, with no cap on monthly cashback.

It also offers 4% cashback for spends on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola. All other spends earn 2% cashback with no cap at all.

The ACE is a cashback credit card, which means you don’t need to worry about redeeming gifts vouchers, converting points or having the rewards expire. The rewards are automatically credited into your account and offset against bills due.

It carries a joining fee of ₹499, which is waived if you spend more than ₹10,000 in the first 45 days. There is also an annual fee from the 2nd year onwards, which can be waived if you spend more than ₹2 lacs in a year on the card.

Table 5: Feature Summary  – ACE Credit Card by Axis Bank

Other Options There are some customers who may do better with other credit cards from Axis Bank.

For example, if you are an Airtel customer and you spend <₹50,000 a month on you credit card, you should get the Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card.

This card offers 25% cashback on bill payments for Airtel mobile, broadband, Wi-fi and DTH, with a monthly cap of ₹300. It offers 10% cashback on utility bill payments (electricity, gas etc.) via the Airtel Thanks app, also capped at ₹300 a month.

Orders on Swiggy, Zomato and bigbasket also earn a 10% cashback with a monthly cap of ₹500. All other spending earns 1% cashback with no monthly cap.

We estimate you could earn cashback of 2.4-3.0% with this card. However, we only used a 10% cashback rate on all utilities and not the 25% available to Airtel customers for Airtel services. Airtel customers could easily earn more than a 3% net yield with this card.

Table 6: Feature Summary – Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card

Vistara Customers charging ₹20,000 – 50,000 a month should also consider the Axis Bank Vistara Signature Credit Card. This card offers 4 Club Vistara (CV) points for every ₹200 spent on the card.

Since we valued each CV point at ₹0.90, that translates in a an effective reward of 1.8% on all spend. Add in the up to 4 Vistara economy class tickets you can receive on crossing annual spending milestones and you could earn an effective net reward yield as high as 3.0%.

That estimate only values a single ticket at ₹2,500, to account for some unused tickets and only a 6 month validity of the ticket vouchers. If you can use all 4 tickets, your realized reward yield could be a lot higher than 3%.

Table 7: Feature Summary – Axis Bank Vistara Signature Credit Card

There are two reasons we did not choose the Vistara Signature as the best card in this category.

First, this card has a high and non-waiveable annual fee of ₹3,000. This can be a big barrier for some people.

Now, as long at you spend at least ₹75,000 on the card in a year, you receive a milestone reward of 3,000 CV points, worth about ₹2,700. So the effective annual fee is only ₹300 but you still need to pay ₹3,000 in cash and then recoup the balance at some other time.

Second, the rewards can only be claimed in form of redemption flight bookings on Vistara. Remember, you earn the 1.8% rewards on all spend including those on other airlines. However you can use the rewards to book flights only on Vistara.

We think this could be a problem for many people. Because of the relatively fewer destinations covered by Vistara, there is a risk that many people may not be able to claim the rewards or fully utilize their miles.

Axis bank customers who are comfortable with the high fee and redemptions on Vistara network should realize a net reward yield of 2.7-3.0% on this card. For most people though, the comfort of cashback and low fee with the ACE may be worth the lower rewards yield.

The Best Credit Card for Monthly Spend between ₹50,000 – 1 lacs

If you charge more than ₹50,000 a month to your card and are comfortable redeeming rewards in the form of Vistara flights, consider the Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card.

Including the value of milestone rewards, you can earn an effective net reward yield of 4.0 – 4.2% with this credit card.

The Vistara Infinite offers 6 Club Vistara (CV) points for every ₹200 spent on the card.

Since we valued each CV point at ₹0.90, that translates in a an effective discount of 2.7% on all spend. Add in the up to 4 Vistara business class tickets you can receive on crossing annual spending milestones and you could earn an effective net reward yield as high as 4.2%.

That estimate only values a single business class ticket at ₹5,000, to account for some unused tickets, a short 6 month validity of the ticket vouchers and the fact that most people do not fly business class for personal trips.

If you can use all 4 tickets and you are willing to value them at business class prices, your realized reward yield could be a lot higher than 4%.

Table 8: Feature Summary – Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card

As with the Vistara Signature above, there are two concerns people may have with the Vistara Infinite.

First, this card has a high and non-waiveable annual fee of ₹10,000. This can be a big barrier for some people.

As long at you spend at least ₹1 lacs on the card in a year, you receive a milestone reward of 10,000 CV points, worth about ₹9,000. So the effective annual fee is only ₹1,000 but you still need to pay ₹10,000 in cash and then recoup the balance at some other time.

Second, the rewards can only be claimed in form of redemption flight bookings on Vistara. Remember, you earn the 2.7% rewards on all spend including those on other airlines. However you can use the rewards to book flights only on Vistara.

We think this could be a problem for many people. Because of the relatively fewer destinations covered by Vistara, there is a risk that many people may not be able to claim the rewards or fully utilize their miles.

Axis bank customers who are comfortable with the high fee and redemptions on Vistara network should prefer the Vistara Infinite over the ACE at this level of spending. For the rest, the ACE would still be the best choice.

The Best Credit Card for Monthly Spend of 1 lacs+

The Magnus Credit Card from offers a net reward yield of 4.0-6.7% on all your spending, making it far and away the best credit card for high spenders (> ₹1 lacs per month).

You earn EDGE REWARDS points worth 6% for bookings done via the Axis TRAVEL EDGE platform and 1.2% for all other spends. The card also offers points worth ₹5,000 in each month that your card spend crosses ₹1 lacs.

Table 9: Feature Summary – Magnus Credit Card

The basic rewards available on the Magnus are not exciting. 6% for travel bookings and 1.2% for all other spend wouldn’t make this card competitive with the likes of the ACE or the Vistara Infinite, which offer 2.5% and 4.0% net rewards respectively.

However, the milestone reward of 25,000 EDGE REWARDS points every time you charge more than ₹1 lacs to the card in a month, is a game changer.

Those points are worth ₹5,000, meaning you earn a reward yield of up to 5% just from the milestone reward. Add in the rewards earned on regular spend and you could end up with a net reward yield north of 6.5%.

But that is not all. Our net rewards calculation values each EDGE REWARDS point at ₹0.20.

However, if you transfer the EDGE Rewards earned on Magnus into Club Vistara Points or KrisFlyer miles with Singapore Airlines at an exchange rate of 5 EDGE Rewards for 4 miles, your net reward yield could be as high as 14-24%.

This is because we estimate each CV Point is worth ₹0.90 and each KrisFlyer mile is worth ₹0.85. So if you transfer the REWARDS points into miles, suddenly they could be worth as much at ₹0.60-70 – a 3-3.5x multiplier.

It is this conversion that can take your effective net rewards yield up to 14 – 24% instead of an already best-in-the-market 4.0 – 6.5%.

We think this yield is too good to be true and could be reduced sooner or later. If you are a Magnus Card holder and can use miles on those airline programs you should convert your EDGE rewards while this option lasts.

There are a few other points to note with the Magnus. While you do achieve a net reward yield of up to 6.7%, that is only true if you spend exactly ₹1 lacs a month. There are no more milestone rewards once you cross that threshold, so your yield starts falling as you spend more.

Since you only earn about 1.2% on most spending with the Magnus, any additional spend over ₹1 lacs in a month will only earn 1.2%, bringing down the overall yield. We estimate the yield comes down to about 4% if you spend ₹2 lacs a month on the card.

The Magnus offers a number of other benefits, such as unlimited domestic & international lounge access, and a 24/7 dedicated concierge program. We have not valued these benefits but they are among the best of any card we have seen and could be worth a lot to some people.

Since there are no milestone rewards if you fall short of the ₹1 lacs spend in a month, so this card suddenly becomes a lot less attractive below that level.

If you spending fluctuates around the ₹1 lacs a month mark, higher in some months and lower in others, this card can still make sense for you as long as you can cross the ₹1 lacs mark at least 4-5 times in a year. You could still earn a net reward yield of 3%+ in that case, better than most other cards from Axis Bank.

The Best Credit Card Combos from Axis Bank

If you spend more than ₹50,000 a month on your credit cards, it can make sense to use a 2-card combination to boost your rewards.

However the best credit cards from Axis Bank at that level of spending are both milestone driven cards i.e. you earn large reward on crossing certain monthly or annual spending thresholds.

Because of this it may not make sense to combine these cards with other cards since that may reduce the spend on your main card and therefore cause you to miss collecting the, often large, milestone reward.

However, if you are unable / unwilling to get the Vistara Infinite or the Magnus, then combining the ACE with Airtel Axis Bank card can earn you between 2.6-3.2% net reward yield. This only works if you are an Airtel customer to start with.

Use the Airtel Axis Bank card for groceries via bigbasket, online food delivery via Swiggy or Zomato and for all utilities payments on the Airtel Thanks App. Use the ACE for everything else.

Table 10: Combo – Airtel Axis Bank + ACE Credit Card

Table 11: All Axis Bank Credit Cards Ranked by Rewards Yield

Table 12: Key Terms for Axis Bank Credit Cards