I would like to find a card to maximise returns where I have around 5-6 lakhs of spends annually in the following categories:
I am looking for a card where I can get the most out of spends here. I understand not any one card can have it all and am open to getting multiple cards or giving up a couple of categories. I am okay with a high joining fee/annual fee card if the rewards are good. I am not very interested in hotel loyalty programs. Okay with having to optimise spends as well as redemption options. Good to have would be a metal form factor (not a priority.)
I have access to the following cards of note currently:
Axis Olympus
Pros
7+% reward rate for domestic use if transferred to Accor (taking Accor point value as Rs 1.8 each)
12+% reward rate for foreign use if transferred to Accor
A lot of cool lifestyle benefits like meet and greet, airport transfers, etc.
Good joining/annual benefits
Cons
It's from AXIS bank.
Very long exclusion list. A lot of categories like tax, jewellery are outright excluded. I expect this list to keep growing rather than being reduced.
They have also added categories like Transportation and Property. I am not sure but is this to prevent people from swiping for down payments on cars and houses? If anyone can confirm, that would be appreciated! Because, I doubt they would have added it for Uber/Ola.
Axis Magnus
Pros
Accelerated rewards in Gyftr
4+% reward rate for domestic use if transferred to Accor
12+% reward rate for spends beyond 1.5L per month
Cons
It's from AXIS bank 🙂
No renewal benefits and not great joining benefits
Offers little benefit over Infinia. For such little benefit, is it really worth getting?
I cannot hit/maintain the Burgundy Private relationship. This means my transfer rate will always be 5:2. It simply does not add enough value in terms of reward rate over the Infinia to justify the exorbitant joining fees.
Amex Platinum Charge
Amex has just terrible acceptance. Even in jewellery shops, as soon as I draw out an Amex, it is an immediate no-no. Most of this card's benefits stem from hotel loyalty programs which are not very interesting to me. As the base reward rate and offers are not great, I am not very inclined towards it.
Axis Magnus Burgundy
I am just putting this here but I never considered getting this card. I had a Magnus and a Burgundy account before introduction of this card. I had tried getting the Magnus Burgundy when it came out and was being offered LTF. They had the audacity to tell me that since I was maintaining Burgundy status due to the AMB of 10L, I was not eligible for Magnus Burgundy upgrade. I had to either maintain TRV of 30L or salary credit of 3L to get it. Due to this previous experience and the constant rejigging of T&C, I am not inclined.
Open to suggestions on what to add to portfolio or how to rejig if possible.
- advanced tax
- jewellery
- retail spends
- online spends
- forex spends
I am looking for a card where I can get the most out of spends here. I understand not any one card can have it all and am open to getting multiple cards or giving up a couple of categories. I am okay with a high joining fee/annual fee card if the rewards are good. I am not very interested in hotel loyalty programs. Okay with having to optimise spends as well as redemption options. Good to have would be a metal form factor (not a priority.)
I have access to the following cards of note currently:
- HDFC Infinia
- YES Marquee (will close this before renewal)
- SBI Cashback
- IDFC Wealth
- IDFC Mayura
- AMEX Platinum Travel (can meet 4L milestone annually)
- ICICI Amazon Pay
Cards Shortlisted
These are the couple of cards I was considering but am not completely sold on:Axis Olympus
Pros
7+% reward rate for domestic use if transferred to Accor (taking Accor point value as Rs 1.8 each)
12+% reward rate for foreign use if transferred to Accor
A lot of cool lifestyle benefits like meet and greet, airport transfers, etc.
Good joining/annual benefits
Cons
It's from AXIS bank.
Very long exclusion list. A lot of categories like tax, jewellery are outright excluded. I expect this list to keep growing rather than being reduced.
They have also added categories like Transportation and Property. I am not sure but is this to prevent people from swiping for down payments on cars and houses? If anyone can confirm, that would be appreciated! Because, I doubt they would have added it for Uber/Ola.
Axis Magnus
Pros
Accelerated rewards in Gyftr
4+% reward rate for domestic use if transferred to Accor
12+% reward rate for spends beyond 1.5L per month
Cons
It's from AXIS bank 🙂
No renewal benefits and not great joining benefits
Offers little benefit over Infinia. For such little benefit, is it really worth getting?
Other cards considered
Axis ReserveI cannot hit/maintain the Burgundy Private relationship. This means my transfer rate will always be 5:2. It simply does not add enough value in terms of reward rate over the Infinia to justify the exorbitant joining fees.
Amex Platinum Charge
Amex has just terrible acceptance. Even in jewellery shops, as soon as I draw out an Amex, it is an immediate no-no. Most of this card's benefits stem from hotel loyalty programs which are not very interesting to me. As the base reward rate and offers are not great, I am not very inclined towards it.
Axis Magnus Burgundy
I am just putting this here but I never considered getting this card. I had a Magnus and a Burgundy account before introduction of this card. I had tried getting the Magnus Burgundy when it came out and was being offered LTF. They had the audacity to tell me that since I was maintaining Burgundy status due to the AMB of 10L, I was not eligible for Magnus Burgundy upgrade. I had to either maintain TRV of 30L or salary credit of 3L to get it. Due to this previous experience and the constant rejigging of T&C, I am not inclined.
Conclusion
At the moment, Olympus seems like the best bet. However, since I will not be getting anything in several big ticket categories like jewellery, taxes, or purchases like car/house down payments, it also seems very niche.Open to suggestions on what to add to portfolio or how to rejig if possible.
