Help in deciding Infinia vs Ultimate vs Magnus

[bulldozer]

Hi friends,

My first post here.

I need to upgrade to a new card, one from Infinia, Magnus, or Ultimate (anything else?).
I have the Infinia pre-approved. So getting others may be easy as well.
My current annual spending is around 9 lakhs. Can increase if I start using cards for my grocery purchases which are now mostly UPI.

I am not a biz class traveler, nor too fond of lounge access. Doesn't play or intend to play golf 🙂

I do an annual vacation with my family(5 members) mostly within India but might travel outside in a couple of years. Noting this because I am not sure if acquired miles can be used for the whole traveling group or just for me. Can someone throw light?

Now onto the shortlist:
Magnus - From what I understand, this makes sense only if I have 1 Lakh spent monthly. Not sure if I can make this more than 5-6 months a year. Can the points be redeemed only for miles?
Ultimate - No cap on the expenditure type for getting points. But what can I redeem for? Is the rewards catalog the same as that for Manhattan?
Infinia - Has accelerated rewards. But again, What can I redeem this for? Is it miles or using points to book tickets? Is there a reward catalog? Also a good chance of hitting the target for the annual fee waiver.
Any other cards to consider?

Current cards -
SBI Cashback - Will be kept after the upgrade. Might lessen the use once I hit 2 lakhs spend a year
Amex MRCC - Will be kept after the upgrade. Though I have not used this for the last 6 months or so, I have accumulated about 75k points till now. Taj vouchers are an attraction.
ICICI Amazon - Will keep. Though use will be very less
SC Manhattan - Will discontinue
SC Super Value Titanium - Will discontinue

So basically I am looking for a card that rewards my family's travel. Can you help me decide which one?

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

If you are not much into lounge access or golf access , then paying for infinia annual charges doesn't make sense , if you are into airmiles , then hands down magnus is best fit , and if you want something 'no nonsense' then ultimate is better , its annual charges is also half of the rest 2.

 

[manzb]

Magnus any day for you.

With 6 times 100K plus spend, you will get more than 150K bonus points. In all probability you can easily touch 250K ER points in an year with 9-10 lacs spend. 250K ER means 200K of various loyalty points. A family of four can have 8 return tickets for 80-100K CV points in Vistara. Another 100K points easily give you 4-5 nights in one of the Marriot or IHG hotels.

Infinia - if you can use for travel tickets etc it is a good option but HDFC is devaluing the premium cards very fast.

Ultimate - there are many vouchers available. Big Basket, Croma, MMT, Yatra, Luxe, Shoppers Stop etc.

 

[satyamkaushik]

Get both Magnus and Ultimate.
-Magnus for the months that you expect to spend 100K and above.
-Ultimate for fuel expenses and the months with less than 100k spending.

 

[thedator]

This is a good strategy to follow

Get both Magnus and Ultimate.
-Magnus for the months that you expect to spend 100K and above.
-Ultimate for fuel expenses and the months with less than 100k spending.

 

[bulldozer]

Thanks for the suggestions. Though I see the point, Magnus + Ultimate may be a bit of a stretch for me with the annual fees.

Can you please confirm this:
Is there a scenario where Infinia appears better than Magnus other than the < 1 lakh spends?
Which all airlines can I use to convert the rewards(Infinia/Magnus) to miles mainly in the Domestic sector? Is it only Vistara? Is Indigo included?
With the reward points/miles that I have, can I book for the entire family or just for me?

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

Thanks for the suggestions. Though I see the point, Magnus + Ultimate may be a bit of a stretch for me with the annual fees.

Can you please confirm this:
Is there a scenario where Infinia appears better than Magnus other than the < 1 lakh spends?
Which all airlines can I use to convert the rewards(Infinia/Magnus) to miles mainly in the Domestic sector? Is it only Vistara? Is Indigo included?
With the reward points/miles that I have, can I book for the entire family or just for me?

For domestic I guess Vistara and SpiceJet are the only option and , you can redeem it for other family members if you get those many award seats

 

[manzb]

For domestic I guess Vistara and SpiceJet are the only option and , you can redeem it for other family members if you get those many award seats

I think if the award seats are not available, then you can book general tickets using CASH+points method, where the points are valued at @50ps.

 

[satyamkaushik]

Thanks for the suggestions. Though I see the point, Magnus + Ultimate may be a bit of a stretch for me with the annual fees.

Can you please confirm this:
Is there a scenario where Infinia appears better than Magnus other than the < 1 lakh spends?
Which all airlines can I use to convert the rewards(Infinia/Magnus) to miles mainly in the Domestic sector? Is it only Vistara? Is Indigo included?
With the reward points/miles that I have, can I book for the entire family or just for me?

Technically you gain back the fee paid (excluding the tax portion) by way of a Tata Cliq voucher in case on Magnus and equivalent reward points in case of Ultimate.

Apart from that, Infinia is suited better if you intend to book revenue tickets/make hotel bookings. It may also suit you if you wish to redeem the points for Apple products/Tanishq vouchers.

 

[bulldozer]

Thanks to all. Got my Magnus yesterday

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

I think if the award seats are not available, then you can book general tickets using CASH+points method, where the points are valued at @50ps.

Yeah but that is just waste , you can get way cheaper deals on skyscanner or MMT directly , your effective rate will come down to almost 0.25 to 0.30 as per my experience

 

[manzb]

Yeah but that is just waste , you can get way cheaper deals on skyscanner or MMT directly , your effective rate will come down to almost 0.25 to 0.30 as per my experience

Really? Are u sure?

Typically Del- Mum sector tkts 7 days advance is around 6K. The best price you get using OTA or others like Skyscanner etc is around 5500. So effectively a loss of 500 or 8-10%. At max it can go to 750 or so which is 12-13%. So effectively the value goes down to 43-44 Paise, even with the once a blue moon offer it will be around 40Ps for which the 6k ticket should be available for 4800 which in most cases are unlikely. To reduce the value of CV to 25 paise the tickets should be available at 50% discount in OTA/Skyscanner etc. I have never seen such a discount anywhere.

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

Really? Are u sure?

Typically Del- Mum sector tkts 7 days advance is around 6K. The best price you get using OTA or others like Skyscanner etc is around 5500. So effectively a loss of 500 or 8-10%. At max it can go to 750 or so which is 12-13%. So effectively the value goes down to 43-44 Paise, even with the once a blue moon offer it will be around 40Ps for which the 6k ticket should be available for 4800 which in most cases are unlikely. To reduce the value of CV to 25 paise the tickets should be available at 50% discount in OTA/Skyscanner etc. I have never seen such a discount anywhere.

Yeah , but whenever I try to book using miles , my effective value comes below 50 paise , almost every time I find a better deal on low cost airline like indigo or go air on MMT or Yatra for domestic travel , plus I get to use Indus ind/Kotak CC/icici discounts on them for about 700 to 1000 Rs which brings down the price much . My most travelled sector is Kolkata - Delhi

 

[pate]

I got LTF infinia and paid Magnus both. Magnus i got 2 weeks back.. i am finding no reason to use magnus except rent... Infinia seems much better unless you're touching 1L monthly.

 

[skywatcher404]

I got LTF infinia and paid Magnus both. Magnus i got 2 weeks back.. i am finding no reason to use magnus except rent... Infinia seems much better unless you're touching 1L monthly.

How and when did you get LTF Infinia?

 

[neogen]

How and when did you get LTF Infinia?

Usually Bank offers.. I have LTF Infinia and recently got Magnus FYF.

 

[ADITYA1904]

Usually Bank offers.. I have LTF Infinia and recently got Magnus FYF.

You have LTF METAL edition?

 

[SoN!c]

Thanks for the suggestions. Though I see the point, Magnus + Ultimate may be a bit of a stretch for me with the annual fees.

Can you please confirm this:
Is there a scenario where Infinia appears better than Magnus other than the < 1 lakh spends?
Which all airlines can I use to convert the rewards(Infinia/Magnus) to miles mainly in the Domestic sector? Is it only Vistara? Is Indigo included?
With the reward points/miles that I have, can I book for the entire family or just for me?

If you can use the joining/renewal bonuses in each case, you will only be out of pocket for the GST component of fees which for all 3 cards put together will be about 5K. 5K for all 3 cards (assuming that you have utility for the bonuses) according to me is a great deal. Why choose between them when you can consider getting them all.

 

[pate]

How and when did you get LTF Infinia?

Got an upgrade from Regalia when bank was barred from issuing new cards.

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

Usually Bank offers.. I have LTF Infinia and recently got Magnus FYF.

Infinia is pvc or metal ?
PVC infinia was given LTF , but metal one they are not issuing LTF