Axis Magnus Credit Card: Is it still worth it?

Axis Magnus Credit Card charges a joining fee of Rs. 12,500 + GST and reverses the same in the form of Luxe gift card/ The Postcard Hotels/ Yatra voucher worth Rs. 12,500 on making the first transaction within 30 days from card issuance.

Premium cards like HDFC Infinia and HDFC Diners Club Black offer welcome benefits via bonus rewards and complimentary memberships to different programs. In case of HDFC Diners Club Black, memberships are given to 6 different programs, which can make it complicated for many. Plus, these programs may not be useful for all consumers. On the other hand, Axis Magnus has kept it simple with a gift voucher of a value equivalent to the joining fee paid. Out of the three options, two cater to the travel category which could be useful for frequent travellers.

Reward Earning

On Axis Magnus Credit Card, users can earn reward points in the following manner:

• 12 EDGE reward points on every Rs. 200 spent on cumulative monthly spends of up to Rs. 1.5 Lakh
• 35 EDGE reward points per Rs. 200 spent above cumulative monthly spends of Rs. 1.5 Lakh
• 60 EDGE reward points per Rs. 200 spent on Travel EDGE portal up to cumulative monthly spends of Rs. 2 Lakh
• 35 EDGE reward points per Rs. 200 spent on Travel EDGE portal above monthly spends of Rs. 2 Lakh

Exempted categories for EDGE rewards: Wallet, Rent, Priority Pass Fee, EMI, Utilities & Government Institution transactions. Insurance, Fuel, Gold & Jewellery spends will also be exempted effective April 20, 2024.

At 6%, the base reward rate of Axis Magnus is one of the highest among premium credit cards. However, due to spend based capping on the reward earning, you can maximize the earning potential of the card if you are able to spend Rs. 1.5 Lakh or more in a month. On the contrary, accelerated earning on the TRAVEL EDGE reduces when you reach the spend limit of Rs. 2 Lakh. Hence, if you choose to make travel bookings via the TRAVEL EDGE platform, keeping the monthly value below Rs. 2 Lakh, you can save more in the end.

The milestone benefit of 25,000 bonus rewards on earning 1 Lakh per month was a major advantage of Axis Magnus, which has now been discontinued (from Sep’23). Though higher reward rates can be availed, the spend cap has been increased to Rs. 1.5 Lakh which may be a bit too high for regular spenders.

The card has now excluded fuel, insurance and gold/jewellery spends from the eligible rewards earning. This could be a big drawback for those putting related spends on this card. For instance, someone spending largely on fuel will require another credit card to maximize savings on day-to-day fuel spends.

You can redeem your accumulated reward points at the EDGE Rewards catalog and choose between a variety of vouchers across multiple categories. You can also opt for ‘pay with Points’ at the partner stores. The redemption value against product catalog is 1 Axis EDGE reward point = Rs. 0.20, but may vary across brands and vouchers.

Additionally, Axis Magnus Reward Points can be transferred to select airline/hotel loyalty program in 5:2 ratio. This means for 50,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points, you will be able to get 20,000 partner miles. Currently you can redeem a total of 5,00,000 reward points in a year against partnered airlines and hotel loyalty programs.

However, w.e.f April 20, 2024, the partners will be distinguished as Group A and Group B. While the total capping on the rewards redemption as air mile or hotel points remain the same at 5,00,000, users will be able to transfer maximum of 1,00,000 reward points cumulatively to Group A partners and maximum of 4,00,000 reward points cumulatively to Group B partners in a calendar year.

In Sep 2023, Axis Bank reduced the conversion rate of the reward points earned on Axis Magnus card from 5:4 to 5:2. However, users can earn the same conversion ratio of 5:4 on opening a Burgundy account with the bank.

While the latest update of grouping travel partners for redemption has increased the overall count of partners available, it comes as a major demerit for those having travel brand preferences. Besides, instead of equivalent distribution of the total reward capping limit of 5,00,000 points, it is differentiated as 1 Lakh points for Group A and 4 Lakh points for Group B. Thus, a major drawback for Group A brand loyalists, such as Accor Hotels, Marriott International, Qatar Airways, etc.  Additionally, the brands are scattered around hotel and airlines in each group, but there could be varying preferences that might fall in different groups. For instance, one might prefer staying at Wyndham Hotels, but may prefer Vistara for airline travel. In such cases, users will have to compromise on brand preferences to maximize benefits.

Thus, even with sufficient number of rewards at hand you will be able to maximize redemption only when you redeem them within the selected group or change your preferred travel destination.

Note: For Burgundy customers, the limit is set as maximum of 2 Lakh EDGE REWARD points for redemption across Group A partners and maximum of 8 Lakh EDGE REWARD points for redemption across Group B partners.

With Axis Magnus Credit Card, users can make substantial savings on their travel spends:

• Unlimited complimentary international lounge visits with Priority Pass with 4 additional guest visits per year
• Unlimited visits to select domestic airport lounges for both primary and add-on cardholders. W.e.f. from May 1, 2024, this is subject to spending Rs. 50,000 in the previous three months.
• 8 complimentary end-to-end airport concierge services – This benefit will be discontinued w.e.f. April 20, 2024. However, request raised till April 19, 2024 for future travel bookings will be fulfilled.

Similar to many leading cards in the market, Magnus has also made the domestic lounge access benefit spend-based. However, since the card is targeted towards high-spenders and HNIs (High Income Group), the spend threshold  is achievable, as spending Rs. 50,000 in three months is not that big a value.

Most super-premium credit cards offer unlimited complimentary lounge visits but only a few offer additional free visits for guests. Up till the effective devaluation from April 2024, the card offered 8 free guest visits in a year, now the card offers 4 such visits, which still is decent option.

However, having discontinued a major noteworthy addition in the travel segment – 8 complimentary end-to-end airport concierge, the card marginally lacks in offering overall travel benefits. Now the users will have to compromise on the airport concierge even when they get a high reward rate on travel spends, unlimited lounge access and a low forex markup fee.

Read in Detail- Axis Magnus Devaluation: Is the card losing its ‘Premium’ Status?

While Axis Magnus still offers a generous reward rate, unlimited lounge access, dining benefit and other premium privileges, it has lost its sheen as an ‘excellent’ premium card majorly due to two major devaluations in a year.

Currently, notable features that make this card worth applying are:

• A generous reward rate of 12 EDGE Rewards per Rs. 200 spent for monthly spends of Rs. 1.5 Lakh and 35 EDGE Rewards for monthly spends above Rs. 1.5 Lakh
• 4 additional guest visits free along with unlimited international lounge access for primary cardholder
• Ability to transfer EDGE Reward Points to multiple airlines and hotel loyalty programs
• Medical Concierge service & Wellness benefits

You should consider getting this card if:

• You are a high spender and would be able to earn substantial reward points per month
• You would be able to reach the annual spending threshold of Rs. 25 Lakh to get the annual fee waiver
• You are a frequent traveller looking for free lounge visits and other travel benefits
• You dont’ mind majorly sticking to Group B travel partners for rewards redemption