Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card Benefits Changed – Cashback Cap Linked to Spend, Lounge Access Removed

It’s honestly getting hard to keep track of all the credit card devaluations in 2026. From everyone’s favourite SBI Cashback Credit Card, to the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card for milestone benefits, to the discontinuation and structural changes of the Swiggy HDFC Credit Card. Now, it seems that everyone’s favourite card for utility bill payments, the Airtel Axis Credit Card, has also been devalued. And this is quite a brutal devaluation that might make you feel it would have been better if the cashback was simply capped at ₹100.

The following changes shall be applicable from 12th April 2026 onwards. Okay, so first things first, let’s start with the cashback.

25% Cashback Now Dependent on 1% Spends

The Airtel Axis Credit Card is not removing the 25% cashback on Airtel payments or the 10% cashback on utility payments. Instead, these benefits will now depend on the total cashback earned from 1% spends on the card. This change significantly reduces the practical value of the card and makes it almost defunct for many users.

Earlier, the Airtel Axis Credit Card had a fixed cashback cap of ₹250 per month on both:

• 25% cashback on Airtel payments
• 10% cashback on utility payments

Now, the cashback cap will no longer be fixed. Instead, it will depend on how much 1% base cashback you earn from regular spending on the card in that statement month.

• 25% Airtel cashback → Capped at 2× the base cashback earned (1% category)
• 10% Utility cashback → Capped at equal to the base cashback earned

Let’s understand this with a simple example to see why this may not be very beneficial for many users.

1. Spend ₹12,500 on normal purchases → earn ₹125 base cashback
2. Airtel cashback cap becomes ₹250 (2×125)
3. Meaning you can get ₹250 cashback on Airtel payments (25%).

So, to unlock the same ₹250 Airtel cashback that was earlier available directly, a user now needs to spend ₹12,500 on other categories first.

10% Cashback on Swiggy & BigBasket Replaced with 10% Value Back on Zomato, Blinkit & District Movies

The 10% cashback benefit on Swiggy, Zomato, and BigBasket has now been removed. Instead, the card will offer 10% value back on Zomato, Blinkit, and District Movies when the payment is made through the e-commerce mode using the Airtel Axis Credit Card.

However, this benefit will not be given as cashback in your credit card statement. The value back will be credited directly to the respective partner wallet (Zomato, Blinkit, or District). Each partner has a maximum value back of ₹200 per month, and for Zomato and Blinkit, a minimum order value of ₹499 is required.

No More Airport Lounge Access

As always, airport lounge access is one of the first benefits to be cut when credit card devaluations happen. We recently saw IndusInd Bank introduce high spending requirements for lounge access, and now the Airtel Axis Credit Card has completely removed the 4 complimentary domestic lounge visits it used to offer.

Bottom Line

After the devaluation of the Airtel Axis Credit Card, one has to wonder, are credit cards losing their value and relevance in our country? Left, right, and centre, cards are being discontinued or devalued. Sure, we still have cards focused on hotel stays, flights, and business-class ticket points, but the core categories that once offered real savings to the masses are slowly losing their value.

The common man, who earlier could opt for co-branded cards and save significantly on everyday spends, now seems to be back to square one. Many cards have started losing value, and in several categories, transactions no longer earn meaningful rewards.

On a basic note, it can be said that the Airtel Axis Credit Card will lose much of its value from 12 April 2026. Cardholders will now need to spend on 1% categories to unlock higher cashback on the 25% Airtel category, making it more of an exercise than a straightforward benefit.

Many users, including me, who used to simply pull out this card once a month for electricity bill payments or Airtel recharges, will now have to look for other options that still offer rewards on utility payments, such as the SBI PhonePe BLACK Credit Card.