Planning to restructure my credit card portfolio—open to suggestions - 2025

[BK7]

I need some suggestions to restructure my credit card portfolio. I’m not a fan of cashback cards—my main focus is to collect airmiles and use them for travel. I’m new to this miles journey.

Right now, I’m not eligible for Atlas as my salary is ₹70K, but I would like to hold both Atlas and Regalia (for cases where Amex doesn’t work). Most of my cards are LTF, but I’m fine paying annual fees now if the card helps me earn miles faster. I’m planning a trip in 2026, so I want to build points till then.

At this moment, I have about 50K+ Amex MR points, but my other cards don’t give many useful rewards. I’m also open to closing some cards and adding new ones that give travel rewards plus extra benefits like movie (BOGO), dining discounts, and good offers during BBD sales.


Experts - Looking forward to your suggestions.

My Cards & Limits​

• ICICI Coral (7L, LTF) – Oldest card, using RuPay variant for QR payments. Can’t close, maybe upgrade later.
• Amazon Pay ICICI (7L, LTF) – Mostly for Amazon offers.
• HDFC Millennia (75K, LTF) – Used on and off, waiting for a Regalia upgrade.
• AU LIT (1L, LTF) – Just holding, hardly used.
• Scapia (4L, LTF) – Occasional small spends, keeping for zero forex.
• HDFC Swiggy (75K, shared with Millennia) LTF – Rarely used, since I prefer Amex Reward Multiplier for Swiggy.

My Wife’s Cards​

• HSBC Platinum (1.8L, LTF) – Just holding.
• Axis MyZone (2L, LTF) – Horizon upgrade option showing on App.
• AU Vetta (1.8L, LTF) – Keeping for Priority Pass, spend criteria no idea.
• Amex MRCC (2.5L) – Her card, but I also use the supplementary.

 

[superstar@123]

Take HSBC Travel One. I am getting that (I have Atlas, Amex Plat Travel and Infinia) but still Travel one has an advantage.

 

[BK7]

Take HSBC Travel One. I am getting that (I have Atlas, Amex Plat Travel and Infinia) but still Travel one has an advantage.

What benefits, bro? I ran some calculations with ChatGPT, and after seeing the reward rate, I felt it wasn’t worth it. I shared my response in this thread. "AXIS Atlas vs HDFC Regalia Gold vs AXIS Horizon vs HSBC TravelOne"

 

[TripleAce]

@BK7 -What happened to your HSBC Platinum?

 

[BK7]

@BK7 -What happened to your HSBC Platinum?

Reward rate very low bro.

 

[TripleAce]

Reward rate very low bro.

Okay!
With the recent revamp in HSBC, things are looking very attractive/ lucrative so you can upgrade your existing CC to a better one as suggested already by @superstar@123

You can also wait for more suggestions from fellow TF members on the same.

 

[aishwarya]

Hi.
I also need suggestions. can you please suggest me which good cards are easy to apply looking at the cards I have and I can get that for sure? You can suggest card to card also.
My Cards and their limits:
SBI ELITE 2.5 Lakh LTF
AXIS NEO 2.1 Lakh LTF

ICICI (MMT, CORAL RUPAY, SAPPHIRO AMEX & MASTER CARD) All of them share a combined limit of 2 lakh LTF

INDUSIND Rupay platinum 1.1lakh LTF
YES Rupay Virtual 2 lakh LTF

IDFC Millennia 70k LTF
IDFC First warm rupay secured 10K ( will close soon) 500/year

Kotak 811 secured 36k LTF
supermoney Utkarsh SFB secured 5k LTF

I got hdfc pixel play but since it came chargeable I didn't activate it and closed it.

 

[BK7]

Hi.
I also need suggestions. can you please suggest me which good cards are easy to apply looking at the cards I have and I can get that for sure? You can suggest card to card also.
My Cards and their limits:
SBI ELITE 2.5 Lakh LTF
AXIS NEO 2.1 Lakh LTF

ICICI (MMT, CORAL RUPAY, SAPPHIRO AMEX & MASTER CARD) All of them share a combined limit of 2 lakh LTF

INDUSIND Rupay platinum 1.1lakh LTF
YES Rupay Virtual 2 lakh LTF

IDFC Millennia 70k LTF
IDFC First warm rupay secured 10K ( will close soon) 500/year

Kotak 811 secured 36k LTF
supermoney Utkarsh SFB secured 5k LTF

I got hdfc pixel play but since it came chargeable I didn't activate it and closed it.

What is your target ? Miles or Cashback ?
how did you get MMT and Sapphiro LTF? Which of your cards do you consider valuable ?

 

[aishwarya]

What is your target ? Miles or Cashback ?
how did you get MMT and Sapphiro LTF? Which of your cards do you consider valuable ?

To get more cashback.
Mmt was ltf and sapphiro ltf using IIT students id.
Mmt and sbi Elite are valuable fr me for their reward structure. Idfc first earn for UPI, but I would need to close it nex year because of annual fees

 

[hellowo₹ld]

I need some suggestions to restructure my credit card portfolio. I’m not a fan of cashback cards—my main focus is to collect airmiles and use them for travel. I’m new to this miles journey.

Right now, I’m not eligible for Atlas as my salary is ₹70K, but I would like to hold both Atlas and Regalia (for cases where Amex doesn’t work). Most of my cards are LTF, but I’m fine paying annual fees now if the card helps me earn miles faster. I’m planning a trip in 2026, so I want to build points till then.

At this moment, I have about 50K+ Amex MR points, but my other cards don’t give many useful rewards. I’m also open to closing some cards and adding new ones that give travel rewards plus extra benefits like movie (BOGO), dining discounts, and good offers during BBD sales.


Experts - Looking forward to your suggestions.

My Cards & Limits​

• ICICI Coral (7L, LTF) – Oldest card, using RuPay variant for QR payments. Can’t close, maybe upgrade later.
• Amazon Pay ICICI (7L, LTF) – Mostly for Amazon offers.
• HDFC Millennia (75K, LTF) – Used on and off, waiting for a Regalia upgrade.
• AU LIT (1L, LTF) – Just holding, hardly used.
• Scapia (4L, LTF) – Occasional small spends, keeping for zero forex.
• HDFC Swiggy (75K, shared with Millennia) LTF – Rarely used, since I prefer Amex Reward Multiplier for Swiggy.

My Wife’s Cards​

• HSBC Platinum (1.8L, LTF) – Just holding.
• Axis MyZone (2L, LTF) – Horizon upgrade option showing on App.
• AU Vetta (1.8L, LTF) – Keeping for Priority Pass, spend criteria no idea.
• Amex MRCC (2.5L) – Her card, but I also use the supplementary.

Hi.
I also need suggestions. can you please suggest me which good cards are easy to apply looking at the cards I have and I can get that for sure? You can suggest card to card also.
My Cards and their limits:
SBI ELITE 2.5 Lakh LTF
AXIS NEO 2.1 Lakh LTF

ICICI (MMT, CORAL RUPAY, SAPPHIRO AMEX & MASTER CARD) All of them share a combined limit of 2 lakh LTF

INDUSIND Rupay platinum 1.1lakh LTF
YES Rupay Virtual 2 lakh LTF

IDFC Millennia 70k LTF
IDFC First warm rupay secured 10K ( will close soon) 500/year

Kotak 811 secured 36k LTF
supermoney Utkarsh SFB secured 5k LTF

I got hdfc pixel play but since it came chargeable I didn't activate it and closed it.

Thread 'Guide to Choosing the Right Credit Card - Basic Requirements'

Sep 28, 2024

How to Choose the Right Credit Card for You

Simply looking at your CIBIL score or listing your existing cards won't help determine the most suitable credit card for you. To make an informed choice, you need to consider various factors.

Key Steps to Select a Credit Card:​

1. Identify Your Spending Categories
   Look at your monthly or annual expenses and categorize them. This will help determine which card gives the best rewards for your spending pattern.
   
   Example:
   • Amazon: ₹5,000
   • BigBasket: ₹5,000...

• hellowo₹ld
• Replies: 15
• Forum: Suggest me a Credit Card

• 
• 
• 

: )

@BK7 not sure whether u have any other income or not, but based on given information of 70k and expecting around 40% goes through savings + mandatory expenses like rent etc. for 3-4L annual spends, u only need 1-2 airmiles cards.

Note: the less airmiles cards u have better ur accumulation and faster u get ur points.

Further do check above thread and make as much as information for better suggestions..

 

[BK7]

I’d prefer to keep it limited to 1–2 cards so I can accumulate miles faster, which is why I was looking for suggestions.

 

[BK7]

Decided to close my AU LIT card and a few others to streamline my credit card portfolio.

Today, my wife received her Horizon Credit Card. However, we were a bit disappointed as it came with just a basic information letter and the card itself—no welcome kit or presentation. In comparison, Scapia, which is a Lifetime Free card, provided a much better unboxing experience.

I still believe the Horizon card is a good option—especially for those who are not eligible for the Atlas card and whose annual spending does not exceed ₹5 lakh. That’s why we decided to go ahead with it.

 

[BK7]

Updated on 7th Oct

I’ve decided to activate the Axis Horizon card due to its welcome and renewal miles. I also now have the HSBC TravelOne card, which I’ll use for the first year. After that, I’ll decide whether to keep it based on whether I can reach ₹8 lakh annual spend.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

This is a quick comparison I made using some AI tools and my personal usecases, It doesn't have any numbers but just a comparison based on usecases.
These are all mid tier cards, and not any super premium cards included. Please suggest if I have missed any card or need to add any other card to the list.

Card Name	Main Use Area	Strengths	Weak Points
Axis Atlas	Offline spends, direct flights and hotels	Very high earning rate, great for Accor	Blocking risk, invoice checks, possible future devaluation
Axis Horizon	Flights and hotels via traveledge portal	Good for booking travel, simple to use	Not as strong as Atlas, fewer premium perks
Amex Platinum Travel	Online spends, vouchers (3x)	Safe issuer, good for Marriott & KrisFlyer	Low offline acceptance
HDFC Marriott Bonvoy	Excluded categories, business spends etc	Good for Marriott points, strong HDFC-Mariott milestone offers.	Points locked to one hotel program
HDFC Tata Neu Infinity	UPI and Tata Spends	Fewer exclusions, NeuCoins usable for AI Express flights and Taj hotels	No milestones, lower reward rate
HDFC Regalia Gold	Core daily card (future plan)	Easy to use, steady offers, good for vouchers	Lower travel value
HSBC TravelOne	Airline transfers (future plan)	Many flight partners, stable issuer	Lower earning rate, HSBC is slow in process.

 

[hellowo₹ld]

This is a quick comparison I made using some AI tools and my personal usecases, It doesn't have any numbers but just a comparison based on usecases.
These are all mid tier cards, and not any super premium cards included. Please suggest if I have missed any card or need to add any other card to the list.

Card Name	Main Use Area	Strengths	Weak Points
Axis Atlas	Offline spends, direct flights and hotels	Very high earning rate, great for Accor	Blocking risk, invoice checks, possible future devaluation
Axis Horizon	Flights and hotels via traveledge portal	Good for booking travel, simple to use	Not as strong as Atlas, fewer premium perks
Amex Platinum Travel	Online spends, vouchers (3x)	Safe issuer, good for Marriott & KrisFlyer	Low offline acceptance
HDFC Marriott Bonvoy	Excluded categories, business spends etc	Good for Marriott points, strong HDFC-Mariott milestone offers.	Points locked to one hotel program
HDFC Tata Neu Infinity	UPI and Tata Spends	Fewer exclusions, NeuCoins usable for AI Express flights and Taj hotels	No milestones, lower reward rate
HDFC Regalia Gold	Core daily card (future plan)	Easy to use, steady offers, good for vouchers	Lower travel value
HSBC TravelOne	Airline transfers (future plan)	Many flight partners, stable issuer	Lower earning rate, HSBC is slow in process.

T1, Atlas, Horizon, Regalia Gold are overlapping each other.

......

misc info.

both T1, RG has high reward rate equal to Atlas and RG has wide redemption options too.

also,

travelOne and atlas are not mid tiered cards imo. though if u compare with fee that maybe valid statement but atlas and T1 need atleast 5L spends.

IMO:

low tier: upto 2L spends
mid tier: upto 5L spends
high tier: upto 10L spends
premium or hni tier: 25L+ spends

it should be based on spends, though atlas fee 2500 it needs 5 or at best 7L to fully enjoy the benefits, similarly other cards like T1, Regalia Gold, even Platinum Travel need 4L.

 

[✪ D&C Cards Connoisseur 💳]

Decided to close my AU LIT card and a few others to streamline my credit card portfolio.

Do not close AU Lit, request for upgrade to AU Ixigo through customer care. Charges will be around 200-300 only once. If you close AU once, it will be too difficult or nearly impossible to get in future. I'm facing this pain now.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

T1, Atlas, Horizon, Regalia Gold are overlapping each other.
...

Thanks for the insights, agree with most of these.

I considered them as mid tier because of eligibility - while the super premium cards (EPM, Infinita, M4B, Premier etc) need 3L+ salary to get,
these are easy to get as mid-segment cards. Anyone with 1-1.5L+ should be able to get this.

Reward wise, Atlas and T1 can be considered similar, while RG & PT could fall in the same bucket.

For example, if we take a specific usecase - flight booking - and see how to earn points in the best way,
I see that the best return mode of booking flights differ for each card.
For Atlas, best reward comes when we book directly.
For T1, best reward comes when we book through their hopper portal
For RG, best reward comes through smartbuy.

Why I am considering T1 is because Atlas party can stop any time and T1 offers are too good now. Such joining benefit may not come after this.
RG is bound to come sometime early next year, I am not trying for that now. But if not Atlas, I don't have a card to get Accor points.

 

[BK7]

Do not close AU Lit, request for upgrade to AU Ixigo through customer care. Charges will be around 200-300 only once. If you close AU once, it will be too difficult or nearly impossible to get in future. I'm facing this pain now.

Closed AU LIT long back.