Axis Magnus Credit Card Review

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Last Updated 9th April 2023.

Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card was launched in 2019 but it failed to create a buzz as the segment it was targeting was already captured by HDFC Bank and AMEX. The reason behind this was that there was no competition to HDFC SmartBuy and the AMEX reward multiplier program. Recently HDFC devalued their SmartBuy program heavily for Diners Club Black and even Infinia users.

Now with its VISA Infinite 2.0 metal avatar, Axis Grab Deals, Axis Travel Edge and monthly milestone benefits, it packs quite a lot of punch. After Axis Ace and Vistara lineup, this card is becoming another hot favourite among credit card users and I would call it the best card in the world currently. Let’s check out whether the buzz is worth the hype!

Charges and Welcome Benefits

• *Rental and Wallet transactions are not valid for the annual spending threshold.

The Tata Cliq voucher is the ideal choice here and even if you factor in the discount that you would have got while using 10% instant discount offers on the website I would say that you get to lose only ₹2800 which is really good considering the value that it delivers back.

Reward Points Accrual

• *Except for Fuel, Wallet Loads, and EMI.
• ^Rewards on Insurance and rental spends are capped at 1,00,000 and 50,000 per transaction.
• Edge Rewards carry an expiry of 3 years from the date of accrual.

Reward Points Redemption

So as you can see first three redemptions won’t fetch you much value. Hence this card is basically a travel-oriented card in which the value can only be extracted if you consider transferring your points to the partner hotel and airlines. Even going by the conservative value of ₹0.80 per point (ITC Transfers) the reward rate comes out to around 4.8% flat and if you are into the miles game then you can take this value anywhere depending on your expertise. And with the milestone benefits the value becomes insanely hard to even believe!

If you wish to explore transfer partners of this card then we have compiled master lists for both Airlines and Hotels transfer partners on TF Community.

Milestone Benefits

• 25,000 additional Edge Rewards on spending ₹1,00,000 in a calendar month.
• Points will be credited within 90 days from the month end in which the qualifying spends were made.
• This offer is applicable from the joining month itself.
• Rent and Wallet spending are excluded from the monthly spending threshold.

So if you spend 1L in a month even on 1X categories you are set to earn 6,000(1X) + 25,000(Milestone) which is a total of 31,000 ER points which can easily give you a two-night stay in a Marriot hotel. And if you can do this for at least 3 calendar months in a year then you are set to earn a return business class ticket via Singapore Airlines!! Even if you transfer them straight to ITC Green Points then you can extract a value of a Rupee per point which means it’s a 24.8% reward rate.

Now, this value is valid only if you are spending on 1X categories. Imagine what you can do with it if you start buying gift vouchers from the Gift Edge portal at 5X and 10X multipliers extensively for all your uses!! There is no other card which can match this reward-earning rate anywhere in the world.

Even if you are not able to hit the 1L monthly milestone and want to do a value analysis of the card and your spending. We have created an Optimal Usage Guide for the same.

Technofino Tip: Align your billing cycle with the calendar month so that tracking monthly spending becomes easier by just checking the unbilled section before the month is ending.

TechnoFino Maximum

If you have a Magnus in your wallet then this card should be your go-to card for all the spending so that you aim to hit the 1L milestone every month if possible. Maximize the 10,000 Edge points using Axis Grab Deals first using any of the 30X-40X partners.

Another thing to do is buy 10K Amazon Pay Vouchers, 20K Amazon Shopping vouchers and 10K Flipkart vouchers if required from the Axis Gift Edge portal and route the maximum of your online spending to your Amazon wallet if possible. There are 100s of other options available there like Uber, Domino’s Pizza, Apollo Pharmacy, Swiggy, Zomato and Croma for your everyday spending.

For travel, you can simply buy the Yatra vouchers or use travel edge to get the best reward rates out there from any bank currently. So make the hay while the sun shines!

Other Benefits

Lounge Access

• Domestic Airport Lounge Access: Unlimited for Primary and Add-on Cardholders.
• International Lounge Access: Unlimited Lounge Access using Priority Pass for Primary Card Holder only and 8 Complimentary visits per card anniversary year for accompanying guests.

I would call this a one-stop credit card for you and your entire family for airport lounge access that too anywhere in the world. Also even if you access the domestic lounges using Priority Pass offered by Magnus then the charges are reversed later on.

Airport Meet and Greet

• 8 Complimentary Meet and Greet Access per Calendar Year.

Airport Meet and Greet also known as an airport concierge service is the USP of this product since only a very limited set of cards in India are providing this service. In this service, you get a dedicated person right at the gate to take care of all your luggage by providing a dedicated buggy and a porter service. With this, they also provide check-in via express counters, security checks via Business class sections and also immigration assistance even if you are travelling economy.

Golf Benefits

Axis Magnus sadly looks like the only premium credit card that doesn’t provide Golf benefits.

Movies & Entertainment

BookMyShow Offer

This card provides Buy 1 Get 1 on Movies and Events for a maximum of up to ₹500 on bookings made on BookMyShow that too 5 times a month. Other than this you can also use the Visa Infinite benefits on this card. The availability for the Magnus offer is better than the Visa Infinite offer since the quota looks huge.

EazyDiner Prime

Complimentary membership of the Eazydiner Prime dining program under which you up to 25% off plus a 40% card discount up to ₹1,000 at premium restaurants across the country. I mostly max this out every month!

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

1% fuel surcharge waiver at all the fuel stations for transactions ₹400 to ₹4000 with a maximum surcharge waiver of ₹400 per month.

Forex Markup

This card provides a very competitive forex markup charge of only 2% + GST and with a base reward rate of 4.8% on travel redemptions you ultimately end up with net gains.

Insurance Benefits

You are provided with an Air Accidental Insurance of ₹4.5Cr and complete lost card liability lies with the bank in case you misplace the card.

Eligibility

• Indian Resident, aged 21 to 65 years of age.
• Minimum 18LPA ITR or 4L credit limit on other bank’s credit card for C2C basis application.

TechnoFino Recommends

Axis Magnus is one of the best credit cards currently available among all the options in India and a must-have if you can spend ~1L a month especially if you indulge in luxury travel internationally or even economy air travel regularly. Cashback or GV redemption lovers should stay clear of this. There is no other bank which can provide such transfer options in India. With recently added 6 new partners, Axis Bank currently has the highest number of transfer partners in India.

Do you hold this magnificent card? How are planning to redeem the truckloads of your ER points? Share your plans in the comments below.

Bhavye Goel

Chief Editor, TechnoFino.
Personal finance nerd! Physics enthusiast and trainer. When not into Physics, he is minting points and hunting for the next best credit card for himself.