Deciding between HDFC and Axis

[Riya Sharma]

I am currently in a dilemma. I am tired of having to think of which bank to keep my money in or to park my excess funds in.

The two choices that I have in mind are Axis and HDFC

I used to be all in on Axis before the last few months and had been maintaining Burgundy status, still do but have been removing funds slowly. But after the rapid devaluations and scummy tactics they were involved in I have lost a lot of faith in the bank. As on the other hand HDFC seem to be the only bank that hasn’t been rapidly devaluating their products. As Axis has also devalued their Debit Cards and Account benefits. While HDFC has stayed almost the same over the years.

But on the other hand HDFC does not really have a Super-Premium card out right now, and what Axis is bringing with Olympus and Primus is very enticing but it feels hard to trust them with my funds and loyalty when they have proven not to be loyal to me and have broken my trust multiple times.

I would like to make a choice and not think about this for a couple of years as life is already stressful and I don’t need a bank that makes it more stressful.

I am also welcome to other suggestions by you guys. Thanks for taking the time to read. Btw I already have a Premier account with HSBC.

 

[percolate]

Is your goal to get a Super Premium credit card by keeping those funds in the savings account?

Have you looked into HSBC Premier credit card?

I think you can just keep the funds in hsbc account, stay peacefully and wait for an opportunity from HDFC or Axis.

 

[Wealth is my birth right!]

I am currently in a dilemma. I am tired of having to think of which bank to keep my money in or to park my excess funds in.

The two choices that I have in mind are Axis and HDFC

I used to be all in on Axis before the last few months and had been maintaining Burgundy status, still do but have been removing funds slowly. But after the rapid devaluations and scummy tactics they were involved in I have lost a lot of faith in the bank. As on the other hand HDFC seem to be the only bank that hasn’t been rapidly devaluating their products. As Axis has also devalued their Debit Cards and Account benefits. While HDFC has stayed almost the same over the years.

But on the other hand HDFC does not really have a Super-Premium card out right now, and what Axis is bringing with Olympus and Primus is very enticing but it feels hard to trust them with my funds and loyalty when they have proven not to be loyal to me and have broken my trust multiple times.

I would like to make a choice and not think about this for a couple of years as life is already stressful and I don’t need a bank that makes it more stressful.

I am also welcome to other suggestions by you guys. Thanks for taking the time to read. Btw I already have a Premier account with HSBC.

We all get cc for credit revolving generally and after some point we focus on either cb or miles game
So hdfc for cb and Axis Bank for Edge Rewards
I have Burgundy account for magnus card and Standard Chartered premium banking.
ICICI privilege account i hold but no good reward card with them.
This year planning to target grande from IndusInd to get metal dc and indulge cc at discount prices bargaining goes on
Why my story is that scatter portfolio to minimum 4 players so that we can stay safe

 

[Riya Sharma]

We all get cc for credit revolving generally and after some point we focus on either cb or miles game
So hdfc for cb and Axis Bank for Edge Rewards
I have Burgundy account for magnus card and Standard Chartered premium banking.
ICICI privilege account i hold but no good reward card with them.
This year planning to target grande from IndusInd to get metal dc and indulge cc at discount prices bargaining goes on
Why my story is that scatter portfolio to minimum 4 players so that we can stay safe

I agree but it seems that every other day Axis cancels or blocks customer’s rewards for no apparent reason.

 

[rogerthat]

after the rapid devaluations and scummy tactics they were involved in I have lost a lot of faith in the bank.

it feels hard to trust them with my funds and loyalty when they have proven not to be loyal to me and have broken my trust multiple times.

life is already stressful and I don’t need a bank that makes it more stressful.

I think you have already answered your question yourself 🙂. Especially point 3.

In my opinion losing your peace of mind over a premium card that might or might not materialise in the future is simply not worth it... Axis is only making life difficult for even their most premier customers with unrealistic monetary (M4B) and compliance (Atlas) demands and with the sword of devaluation handing over our heads, making any long-term relationship plans with them is risky. This entire forum has learned that lesson many times over... I would rather have a stable product with a bit less rewards rather than a high rewarding product that destroys my peace of mind every day.

In addition this their branch staff are nowhere near as informed or professional as HDFC or ICICI staff.

I think what we all are forgetting is that under all the fancy Burgundy cladding and wrapping, Axis Bank is basically still the old UTI bank.

 

[Wealth is my birth right!]

I agree but it seems that every other day Axis cancels or blocks customer’s rewards for no apparent reason.

Yes Axis Bank strict on money rotation as well as manufactured spending
For all spends on Axis Bank cards i save invoices then and there

 

[Riya Sharma]

Yes Axis Bank strict on money rotation as well as manufactured spending
For all spends on Axis Bank cards i save invoices then and there

Yeah that’s cool but they seem to also block people who do real spends of high value. My dad got his edge miles blocked after booking 3lakh flight which was a completely valid transaction on the official Singapore airlines website for recreational purposes yet it was flagged as business spend. Saving invoices is a little bit too much for me. I guess I am a little lazy in that aspect.

And now many people were reporting their edge miles locked for no reason.

 

[xlr8]

These are just my thoughts:

1. All Axis Bank CCs had too-good-to-be-true reward structures to begin with, likely to attract more customers. And then they enrolled an excessive number of customers, leading to a significant decline in the reward-to-profit ratio. Devaluating the cards might have been the only way for them to restore balance. I mean, with such unrealistic rewards, devaluation seemed obvious and inevitable.
   
   
2. Devaluations often signal the introduction of a new line of CCs, which has already begun. The Axis Olympus CC will be available from July 1, 2024. Hopefully, this time they will offer realistic benefits. Let's wait and see.
   
   
3. I'm an HDFC Bank customer in the Imperia tier with a respectable TRV. Personally, I've noticed no significant benefits or even felt like an Imperia customer.
   • My RM sucks big time. The only thing he ever did was to try and fail to upsell pointless products. But the one or two times when I reached out to him for something urgent and important, he went radio-silent, and then would have the audacity to come back again in a few months with more “investment opportunities”. (But I guess the same could be said about Axis RMs.)
   • HDFC’s apps (web and mobile) are stable, but seem too archaic. They’ve only been revamped once at least in the last 7 years since I’ve been a customer. Even the newcomer bank Fi’s mobile app is 10x better than HDFC (and Axis). Axis apps are better than HDFC though. I haven’t used them personally myself but it’s a common feedback that I’ve heard from my friends who have Axis or both.
   • I had a Diners Club Miles CC that had some really slick privileges. It got discontinued and I was downgraded to Diners Club Millenia which is their entry level CC. They called it an upgrade, which really irked me. I’ve requested for Infinia and Diners Club Black card (paid) many times, but have always been denied. Whereas my juniors to whom I’ve recommended HDFC Bank have either Infinia or DCB Metal as LTF just lying there in their wallets. Axis Bank CCs are relatively easier to obtain (which in hindsight could also become problematic).
   • Locker is free, but good luck finding one when you need one.

 

[Wealth is my birth right!]

Yeah that’s cool but they seem to also block people who do real spends of high value. My dad got his edge miles blocked after booking 3lakh flight which was a completely valid transaction on the official Singapore airlines website for recreational purposes yet it was flagged as business spend. Saving invoices is a little bit too much for me. I guess I am a little lazy in that aspect.

And now many people were reporting their edge miles locked for no reason.

Apart from infinia only magnus card is giving worthy rewards thats why i stick to Axis Bank with 10l block for Burgundy account
Fact as u said the genuine spending also gets flag by Axis Bank i too a victim of it not now last year but managed to produce all invoices and to/fro 5 or 6 lengthy emails
But if Axis Bank treats citi bank customers like this then they all will move relationships sure

 

[varun__goel_]

I would like to make a choice and not think about this for a couple of years as life is already stressful and I don’t need a bank that makes it more stressful.

For this, IG you already know the answer🙂

And if you have burgundy, then you must be maintaining good amount

Shift that to HDFC and negotiate with BM to arrange infinia. HDFC considers NRV more than any other bank in my experience.

 

[xlr8]

OP, curious to know what you’ve decided.