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It’s time for Axis Atlas now! Axis Bank has announced a brutal devaluation of its Atlas Credit Card.
Here are the changes:
Revision of spend categories considered for EDGE Miles earn, Milestone spends & Tier Calculation:
Normal Spends: Spends done on gold/jewellery, rent, wallet, government institution, insurance, fuel and utilities will be excluded from EDGE Miles earning.
Milestone & Tier: Spends threshold for Milestone achievement and Tier evaluation will exclude transactions done on Gold/ Jewellery, Rent, Wallet, Government Institution, Insurance, Fuel, and Utilities merchants.
Capping on Accelerated EDGE Miles earned on Travel merchants:
Earn 5 EDGE Miles for every Rs. 100 spent on Travel EDGE, airline and hotel merchants up to cumulative transactions of Rs. 2,00,000 per month.
That means you can earn maximum 10,000 EDGE Miles from accelerated categories.
Then earn 2 EDGE Mile per INR 100 spent on cumulative transactions above Rs. 2,00,000 per month on Travel EDGE, airline and hotel merchants.
Revision of Milestone benefits:
Up to 10,000 EDGE Miles will be credited to cardholders’ EDGE Miles account upon achieving spends milestone. EDGE Miles credit will be as per the following:
Revision of Annual benefit:
Up to 5,000 EDGE Miles will be credited to cardholders’ EDGE Miles account upon payment of Annual fee of Rs 5,000 and basis the current tier the customer is in. EDGE Miles credit will be as per the following:
Revision of EDGE MILES redemption & MILES Transfer Program:
Total EDGE MILES that can be transferred to Partner Points in a calendar year is capped to 1,50,000 EDGE MILES per customer ID. For the year 2024, customer can convert 1,50,000 EDGE Miles from 20th April 2024 – 31st December 2024. From next year onwards, capping will be applicable from 1st Jan’25 to 31st Dec’25
All existing MILES transfer partners are divided in two groups (Group A & Group B). For redemption through Miles Transfer Program, the customer will be able to transfer maximum of 30,000 EDGE Miles per customer id cumulatively to partners in Group A and maximum of 1,20,000 EDGE Miles per customer id cumulatively to partners in Group B in a calendar year.
Following ATLAS Credit Card features will be discontinued:
1. Tier based benefit of Airport Meet & Assist and Airport Transfer Services.
2. 24*7 complimentary concierge services.
No doubt, the Axis Atlas credit card was one of the most rewarding air miles-focused credit cards. However, after this brutal devaluation, I can’t say the same thing about Axis Atlas. Still, it’s a very good card for international spends and travel bookings, as the capping on travel categories is decent enough for a normal person.
I think removing the utility category will hurt customers the most. Almost all customers pay their utility bills every month, and because of this step, customers will not be able to earn EDGE miles on their utility spends. It's strange that Axis excluded utilities, insurance, wallets, government payments, and a few more essential categories but did not exclude education payments. Very strange.
Jokes apart, Axis Atlas is still a very good card for travel bookings and international spends. But again, after all this Axis Bank drama every week, whether it's devaluation or card cancellation, will you be able to trust Axis Bank? I won't. I don’t recommend using an Axis Bank card as your primary card as long as they don’t stop this ongoing weekly circus.
Here are the changes:
Revision of spend categories considered for EDGE Miles earn, Milestone spends & Tier Calculation:
Normal Spends: Spends done on gold/jewellery, rent, wallet, government institution, insurance, fuel and utilities will be excluded from EDGE Miles earning.
Milestone & Tier: Spends threshold for Milestone achievement and Tier evaluation will exclude transactions done on Gold/ Jewellery, Rent, Wallet, Government Institution, Insurance, Fuel, and Utilities merchants.
Capping on Accelerated EDGE Miles earned on Travel merchants:
Earn 5 EDGE Miles for every Rs. 100 spent on Travel EDGE, airline and hotel merchants up to cumulative transactions of Rs. 2,00,000 per month.
That means you can earn maximum 10,000 EDGE Miles from accelerated categories.
Then earn 2 EDGE Mile per INR 100 spent on cumulative transactions above Rs. 2,00,000 per month on Travel EDGE, airline and hotel merchants.
Revision of Milestone benefits:
Up to 10,000 EDGE Miles will be credited to cardholders’ EDGE Miles account upon achieving spends milestone. EDGE Miles credit will be as per the following:
| Spends Milestone (in Rs) | Number of EDGE Miles |
|---|---|
| On Rs. 3,00,000 spends | 2500 |
| On Rs. 7,50,000 spends | Additional 2500 |
| On Rs. 15,00,000 spends | Additional 5000 |
Revision of Annual benefit:
Up to 5,000 EDGE Miles will be credited to cardholders’ EDGE Miles account upon payment of Annual fee of Rs 5,000 and basis the current tier the customer is in. EDGE Miles credit will be as per the following:
| Cardholder tier | Number of EDGE Miles |
|---|---|
| Silver | Not Applicable |
| Gold | 2,500 |
| Platinum | 5,000 |
Revision of EDGE MILES redemption & MILES Transfer Program:
Total EDGE MILES that can be transferred to Partner Points in a calendar year is capped to 1,50,000 EDGE MILES per customer ID. For the year 2024, customer can convert 1,50,000 EDGE Miles from 20th April 2024 – 31st December 2024. From next year onwards, capping will be applicable from 1st Jan’25 to 31st Dec’25
All existing MILES transfer partners are divided in two groups (Group A & Group B). For redemption through Miles Transfer Program, the customer will be able to transfer maximum of 30,000 EDGE Miles per customer id cumulatively to partners in Group A and maximum of 1,20,000 EDGE Miles per customer id cumulatively to partners in Group B in a calendar year.
Following ATLAS Credit Card features will be discontinued:
1. Tier based benefit of Airport Meet & Assist and Airport Transfer Services.
2. 24*7 complimentary concierge services.
No doubt, the Axis Atlas credit card was one of the most rewarding air miles-focused credit cards. However, after this brutal devaluation, I can’t say the same thing about Axis Atlas. Still, it’s a very good card for international spends and travel bookings, as the capping on travel categories is decent enough for a normal person.
I think removing the utility category will hurt customers the most. Almost all customers pay their utility bills every month, and because of this step, customers will not be able to earn EDGE miles on their utility spends. It's strange that Axis excluded utilities, insurance, wallets, government payments, and a few more essential categories but did not exclude education payments. Very strange.
Jokes apart, Axis Atlas is still a very good card for travel bookings and international spends. But again, after all this Axis Bank drama every week, whether it's devaluation or card cancellation, will you be able to trust Axis Bank? I won't. I don’t recommend using an Axis Bank card as your primary card as long as they don’t stop this ongoing weekly circus.
