Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card: Best Airline-Agnostic Travel Credit Card

Axis ATLAS offers 2,500 bonus EDGE Miles as card activation benefit on making the first transaction within 37 days of card setup.

At a joining fee of Rs. 5,000, this turns out to be a decent benefit, as the miles can be redeemed in the ratio of 1:1. Unlike many other credit cards, there is no minimum spend based criteria here.

Axis Atlas Credit Card offers EDGE Miles in place of reward points. Cardholders can earn miles in the following ways:

• 2 EDGE Miles per Rs. 100 spent across all categories
• 2 EDGE Miles per Rs. 100 spent across monthly travel spends above Rs. 2 Lakh
• 5 EDGE Miles per Rs. 100 spent on monthly travel spends up to Rs. 2 Lakh

Excluded categories from rewards earning: Fuel surcharge waiver transactions, insurance, wallet recharge, rent, gold/ jewelry, rent, wallet, Government institution, insurance, fuel and utilities.

Previously there was no capping on accelerated reward earning. However, post 20 April 2024, travel spends up to Rs. 2 Lakh can earn higher rewards. Despite the capping, most users would be able to maximize the accelerated rewards feature by keeping their travel spends within the 2 Lakh limit. Moreover, some everyday expenses like fuel and utilities, along with big-ticket purchases like gold/jewellery are excluded from reward earning. This affects the cardholders’ ability to accumulate EDGE Miles and reach the next tiers.

You can redeem your accumulated reward points with Axis ATLAS, in the following ways:

(i) For booking flights, hotels & experiences via Axis Travel EDGE platform in the ratio of 1:1 (1 EDGE mile= Rs. 1).
(ii) You can also convert the EDGE miles into partner miles or hotel loyalty points with the following partners:

For the above partners, 1 EDGE Mile = 2 Partner Points, except for Marriott Bonvoy where 2 EDGE Miles = 1 Marriott Bonvoy Point. You can redeem a total of 1.5 Lakh reward points in a year, maximum 30,000 EDGE Miles for Group A partners and 1,20,000 EDGE Miles for Group B partners in a year.

In addition to a good EDGE Miles earning rate, what makes Axis Atlas one of the best travel cards is its redemption ratio. When making travel booking via Axis Bank’s Travel Edge Platform, cardholders can get a value of Rs. 1 for each EDGE Mile, which is equivalent to premium cards like HDFC Infinia and HDFC Diners Club Black. This feature remains the same post April devaluation.

However, as miles transfer partners are now divided into Group A and Group B, it might be difficult for some users to get the best value out of the card. For example, if you prefer Singapore Airlines, you would be able to transfer only 30,000 EDGE Miles in a year, even if you have accumulated more EDGE Miles. Also, if most of your preferred brands fall in Group A, you would find it difficult to maximize Atlas’ travel benefit.

Besides the above mentioned general benefits that are offered to all Axis ATLAS credit card users, the card extends tier-based benefits to users based on the cumulative spends made in an anniversary year. The users are categorized into 3-Tier Milestone Privilege Programs as follows:

• Silver Tier- New user/ User spending Rs. 3 Lakh
• Gold Tier- User spending Rs. 7.5 Lakh
• Platinum Tier- User spending Rs. 15 Lakh

Based on the tier a user falls into, the milestone, annual and lounge access benefits are extended as follows:

The tier will be valid for one anniversary year. If a user doesn’t achieve the tier threshold in an anniversary year, they are downgraded to the lower tier.

Suppose the card is issued to you on 1st March 2022; you will complete an anniversary year on 28th Feb 2023. So, if you spend Rs. 8 Lakh during this period, you will be upgraded to the Gold Tier and get ‘Gold Tier’ benefits in the next anniversary year. However, if you spend Rs. 6 Lakh, you will continue to avail ‘Silver Tier’ benefits in the next year as well. Similarly, if you spend Rs. 15 Lakh during the period, you will be upgraded to the Platinum Tier for the next anniversary year.

Before devaluation, users could earn up to Rs. 27,500 in a year on spending Rs. 15 Lakh cumulatively via milestone and annual benefit. Now, spending this value earns you only Rs. 15,000. This is still a decent return, over and above the rewards you earn on the card. With Rs. 15,000 (1 edge mile= Rs. 1) or 30,000 partner miles (1 edge mile= 2 partner points), users could get benefits worth at least two economy class tickets, or 1 premium economy ticket* for a domestic trip.

*May vary as per travel destination, dates, airline, ticket-type, etc.

Using Axis Atlas Credit Card, cardholders can earn significant EDGE Miles which are valued at INR 1 for booking tickets via Axis Bank’s Travel EDGE Platform. Let’s understand total EDGE Mile earnings for a cardholders belonging to different tiers.

Silver Tier

Gold Tier

Platinum Tier

Now, since you have reached the Platinum Tier, you would also have availed the benefits of Silver and Gold Tiers, thereby increasing your overall benefits. For example, the total milestone bonus EDGE Miles would be 2,500 for Silver, 5,000 for Gold and 10,000 for Platinum, making your total earnings 17,500 EDGE Miles.

Axis Atlas is designed around travel benefits. Even after devaluation, two factors that make Axis ATLAS a great fit for frequent travellers are-

1. It offers EDGE Miles instead of EDGE Rewards and they are valued at INR 1 each. The reward rate is also higher for travel spends.
2. Higher spends give you tier upgrade and enhanced benefits including bonus EDGE Miles, and lounge access.

The base reward rate on the card is decent but, as travel spends earn 2.5X EDGE Miles, putting travel expenses up to Rs. 2 Lakh on the card would be helpful in optimizing its rewards. Since travel expenses are usually substantial, reaching the spending milestone may not be too difficult, especially for a person who travels within India and abroad multiple times in a year.

When it comes to the redemption of EDGE Miles, Axis ATLAS users can book flights and hotels or even vacation packages via Axis Bank’s Travel EDGE platform. Here, the value of 1 EDGE Mile is equal to INR 1. They can also transfer the EDGE Miles to several airlines and hotel loyalty programs in 1:2 ratio.

Drawbacks

• The milestone feature of this card can be of great value. However, it is quite a complicated feature, especially for someone who is not well-versed with the working of a credit card.
• For a card that is designed for travel, a forex mark-up of 3.5% is too high. Even cards like HDFC Diners Club Privilege and SBI Card ELITE that are largely all-rounder cards offer a low forex mark-up benefit.

You should get this card if:

• You are looking to save on your travel spends
• You are not loyal to any airline or hotel, instead you choose on the basis of price or overall value offered
• You do not seek any other benefits from the card (like lifestyle, shopping, etc.)
• Your annual spends would be sufficient to upgrade to Gold and Platinum Tier and avail higher benefits