HDFC Bank 
SBI Card 
IDFC Bank 
Axis Bank 
RBL 
ICICI Bank 
CITI Bank 
HSBC 
YES Bank 
AMEX 
IndusInd Bank 
Standard Chartered
Federal Bank
Axis Bank has just launched a brand new portal, Travel EDGE for its credit cardholders where they can book air tickets and make hotel room reservations. The portal has been launched with an introductory offer where cardmembers can earn accelerated (up to 20X) EDGE Reward Points on travel spends with their Axis Bank credit cards. The bank has already been offering exciting discounts and cashback deals to its credit card customers on the Grab Deals portal.
The Offer
| The Offer | 10X EDGE Reward Points on flight bookings and 20X EDGE Reward Points on hotel/experience bookings via Axis Bank Travel EDGE |
| Offer Validity | Valid till 10th November 2021 |
Under this travel offer, you will earn accelerated EDGE Reward Points on travel spends on the Axis Bank Travel EDGE Portal. You will earn 10X EDGE Reward Points on flight bookings and 20X EDGE Reward Points on hotel and experience bookings via the Travel EDGE portal. The offer is valid till 10th November 2021. To avail of the benefit, you must visit the travel Edge portal via Grab Deals portal by entering your mobile number and the last 4 digits of your Axis Bank credit card.
With this offer, you can get a net value back of up to 24% on spends on your Axis Bank credit card on the Travel EDGE portal. The value back on some of the popular Axis Bank credit cards can be calculated as under-
| Credit Card | Base Points (per Rs. 200) | Value of travel spends on Travel EDGE | EDGE Reward Points earned (10X or 20X) | Monetary value of the Points earned (1 Point = Rs. 0.20) | Net value back (in %) |
| Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card | 12 | Rs. 1,000 | 600 on flight bookings and 1,200 on hotel/experience bookings | Rs. 120 on flight bookings and Rs. 240 on hotel/experience bookings | 12% on flight bookings and 24% on hotel/experience bookings |
| Axis Bank Select Credit Card | 10 | Rs. 1,000 | 500 on flight bookings and 1,000 on hotel/experience bookings | Rs. 100 on flight bookings and Rs. 200 on hotel/experience bookings | 10% on flight bookings and 20% on hotel/experience bookings |
| Axis Bank Signature Credit Card | 10 | Rs. 1,000 | 500 on flight bookings and 1,000 on hotel/experience bookings | Rs. 100 on flight bookings and Rs. 200 on hotel/experience bookings | 10% on flight bookings and 20% on hotel/experience bookings |
| Axis Bank Privilege Credit Card | 10 | Rs. 1,000 | 500 on flight bookings and 1,000 on hotel/experience bookings | Rs. 100 on flight bookings and Rs. 200 on hotel/experience bookings | 10% on flight bookings and 20% on hotel/experience bookings |
| Axis Bank My Zone Credit Card | 4 | Rs. 1,000 | 200 on flight bookings and 400 on hotel/experience bookings | Rs. 40 on flight bookings and Rs. 80 on hotel/experience bookings | 4% on flight bookings and 8% on hotel/experience bookings |
How to redeem EDGE Reward Points
The EDGE Reward Points earned on Axis Bank credit cards can be redeemed on-
- Axis Bank EDGE Rewards portal for shopping vouchers and exclusive products. 1 EDGE Reward Point is equivalent to Rs. 0.20.
- Axis Bank Travel EDGE portal for flight, hotel and experience bookings. You can complete transactions on the Travel EDGE Portal either with the EDGE Reward Points only or with EDGE Reward Points + Credit Card scheme (part of the amount paid with the EDGE Reward Points and rest with your Axis Bank credit card).
Comparison with HDFC SmartBuy
You earn 10X Reward Points on air ticket bookings and hotel reservations via HDFC SmartBuy on Infinia and Diners Club Black credit cards. That is, you earn 50 Reward Points per Rs. 150 spent on flight and hotel bookings on SmartBuy. With 1 Reward Point being equal to Re. 1, the net value back for the Infinia and Diners Club Black cards becomes 33.33%.
On all other HDFC credit cards, you get a cashback of 5% on flight and hotel bookings via the SmartBuy portal. The following table compares the net value back that you get on travel spends on Axis Bank Credit Cards (on Travel EDGE) and HDFC credit cards (on SmartBuy)-
| Credit Card | Base Points | Value of travel spends on Travel EDGE / SmartBuy | Reward Points earned | Monetary value of the Points earned (or cashback earned) | Net value back (in %) |
| Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card | 12 / Rs. 200 | Rs. 1,000 | 600 on flight bookings and 1,200 on hotel/experience bookings | Rs. 120 on flight bookings and Rs. 240 on hotel/experience bookings | 12% on flight bookings and 24% on hotel/experience bookings |
| Axis Bank Select / Signature / Privilege Credit Cards | 10 / Rs. 200 | Rs. 1,000 | 500 on flight bookings and 1,000 on hotel/experience bookings | Rs. 100 on flight bookings and Rs. 200 on hotel/experience bookings | 10% on flight bookings and 20% on hotel/experience bookings |
| Axis Bank My Zone Credit Card | 4 / Rs. 200 | Rs. 1,000 | 200 on flight bookings and 400 on hotel/experience bookings | Rs. 40 on flight bookings and Rs. 80 on hotel/experience bookings | 4% on flight bookings and 8% on hotel/experience bookings |
| HDFC Infinia / Diners Club Black Credit Cards | 5 / Rs. 150 | Rs. 1,000 | 300 on flight and hotel bookings | Rs. 300 on flight and hotel bookings | 30% on flight and hotel bookings |
| Other HDFC Credit Cards | N/A | Rs. 1,000 | N/A | Rs. 50 on flight and hotel bookings | 5% on flight and hotel bookings |
As is clear from the comparison above, HDFC Infinia and Diners Club Black Credit Cards still offer a better value back on travel spends, however, Axis Bank’s Magnus, Select, Signature and Privilege credit cards do offer a reward rate better than other HDFC credit cards.
Bottom Line
Axis Bank, just a couple of days ago, launched a 10% instant discount and 10% cashback offer on shopping on the Amazon India website via the Grab Deals portal. With this travel offer, Axis Bank Credit Cards have become even more rewarding on travel spends as well. Now that the pandemic is almost over, you might be planning a vacation at the destination of your choice this winter. If so, this is the right time to book air tickets and reserve a hotel room for yourself.
