Deepak_9155
TF Ace
Hey guys,
Just got my Airtel Axis Mastercard swapped for the Rupay variant, and thought I'd share the process and a little trick I figured out.
So, I called up Axis Bank today and asked them to switch my card from Mastercard to Rupay. The rep on the line said it was possible, but a joining fee would be charged.
I told her I had already paid the joining fee when I first got the card in September 2023, so they should waive it. She put me on hold for a couple of minutes but came back and said the fee is compulsory for a new card issuance, and a waiver is not possible.
This is where I had a thought. My annual fee for the old Mastercard was due next month (September 2025) anyway. I would have had to shell out ₹500 + GST for it regardless.
So I thought, what the heck. I might as well pay this "joining fee" now. The bright side is that my annual fee cycle for this new card will start from today, meaning the next renewal fee will only be in August 2026.
I agreed and told her to proceed. The rep then explained the card's benefits and sent me an SMS where I had to provide my consent by verifying it with an OTP. This was successfully done.
Basically, I paid the fee I was going to pay next month anyway, got the Rupay card I wanted, and pushed my next payment out by an extra year. It seemed like a fair deal to me.
The process was very fast! The new Airtel Axis RuPay card is already showing up in my Axis mobile app. The strange part, however, is that my old Airtel Mastercard has already disappeared from the app and the net banking website.
Now, it only shows my other cards (like my Privilege card) and the new Airtel RuPay card.
The rep confirmed that the physical card will arrive within 10-14 working days. She also clarified their official policy on the old card: my existing Airtel Axis Mastercard will be deactivated precisely on the 45th day from the new card's setup date.
Just a heads-up for anyone else in the same boat whose renewal is coming up. This might be a decent trade-off.
EDIT - customer care representative told me that no welcome benefits will be provided(as it was already provided during 1st time ). In the CIBIL report, a new account will be created and the previous account will be closed.
So, basically, they are issuing a new credit card instead of just changing the network.
UPDATE: August 4, 2025 - I Received the Welcome Voucher After All!
Hey everyone, a quick and very surprising update.
You might remember that customer care explicitly told me I would NOT get any welcome benefits for this upgrade. Well, I'm happy to report they were wrong! I received the ₹500 Amazon voucher this morning.
Here's the sequence of events:
This just adds more evidence that the system is treating this as a completely new card issuance. So for anyone else upgrading, there's a good chance you'll get the voucher too!
Just got my Airtel Axis Mastercard swapped for the Rupay variant, and thought I'd share the process and a little trick I figured out.
So, I called up Axis Bank today and asked them to switch my card from Mastercard to Rupay. The rep on the line said it was possible, but a joining fee would be charged.
I told her I had already paid the joining fee when I first got the card in September 2023, so they should waive it. She put me on hold for a couple of minutes but came back and said the fee is compulsory for a new card issuance, and a waiver is not possible.
This is where I had a thought. My annual fee for the old Mastercard was due next month (September 2025) anyway. I would have had to shell out ₹500 + GST for it regardless.
So I thought, what the heck. I might as well pay this "joining fee" now. The bright side is that my annual fee cycle for this new card will start from today, meaning the next renewal fee will only be in August 2026.
I agreed and told her to proceed. The rep then explained the card's benefits and sent me an SMS where I had to provide my consent by verifying it with an OTP. This was successfully done.
Basically, I paid the fee I was going to pay next month anyway, got the Rupay card I wanted, and pushed my next payment out by an extra year. It seemed like a fair deal to me.
The process was very fast! The new Airtel Axis RuPay card is already showing up in my Axis mobile app. The strange part, however, is that my old Airtel Mastercard has already disappeared from the app and the net banking website.
Now, it only shows my other cards (like my Privilege card) and the new Airtel RuPay card.
The rep confirmed that the physical card will arrive within 10-14 working days. She also clarified their official policy on the old card: my existing Airtel Axis Mastercard will be deactivated precisely on the 45th day from the new card's setup date.
Just a heads-up for anyone else in the same boat whose renewal is coming up. This might be a decent trade-off.
EDIT - customer care representative told me that no welcome benefits will be provided(as it was already provided during 1st time ). In the CIBIL report, a new account will be created and the previous account will be closed.
So, basically, they are issuing a new credit card instead of just changing the network.
UPDATE: August 4, 2025 - I Received the Welcome Voucher After All!
Hey everyone, a quick and very surprising update.
You might remember that customer care explicitly told me I would NOT get any welcome benefits for this upgrade. Well, I'm happy to report they were wrong! I received the ₹500 Amazon voucher this morning.
Here's the sequence of events:
- My ₹590 joining fee was charged on August 1st.
- Yesterday, I made my very first transaction with the new RuPay card – just a small UPI payment of ₹215 at a local shop.
- This morning, the voucher was in my email inbox.
This just adds more evidence that the system is treating this as a completely new card issuance. So for anyone else upgrading, there's a good chance you'll get the voucher too!
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