Axis Bank Ace Credit Card vs Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card: Which one to pick?

If you are looking for a credit card for your everyday spends and bill payments and are not very much interested in other value-added benefits, an entry-level shopping credit card might be the ideal choice for you. Both Axis Bank Ace Credit Card vs Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card are two such cards. Both these credit cards are cashback-based cards, i.e. you are rewarded with cashback for spending on these credit cards.

In this article, we will first describe the key features for the two cards one by one, then give a pointwise comparison between Axis Bank Ace Credit Card and Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card.

Axis Bank Ace Credit Card

It is a co-branded credit card launched by Axis Bank in October 2019 in collaboration with the UPI payment app Google Pay. As mentioned earlier, it is an entry-level shopping credit card with a cashback reward structure. The card comes with a membership fee of Rs. 499 per annum (plus applicable taxes). Some of the key features of the Axis Bank Ace Credit Card are as under-

• The card earns you a cashback of 5% on bill payments (including gas/electricity/internet bill payments) and mobile/DTH recharges made via Google Pay.
• You earn a cashback of 4% on Zomato, Swiggy, and Ola.
• Both of the above categories have a combined capping of Rs. 500 cashback per statement cycle.
• A cashback of 2% is earned on all other expenditures made with the card.
• No cashback is earned on spends on fuel, purchases converted into EMIs, wallet reloads, cash advances, payment of the card’s outstanding balance, and payment of card fees.
• Axis Bank Ace Credit Card entitles you to 4 complimentary lounge access at domestic airports across India.
• The card also entitles you to a discount of 20% on dining bills at over 4,000 partner restaurants under the bank’s Dining Delights program.
• The joining fee (first year’s membership fee) of the card is waived off on an expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 10,000 within the first 45 days of card issuance, while the annual renewal fee (second year onwards) is waived off on an expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 2 lacs in the preceding year.
• To learn more about Axis Bank Ace Credit Card, you may go through this post on our website.

Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card

Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card, as is obvious from the name, is a co-branded credit card launched by the bank in collaboration with the mobile payment app Freecharge. It is an entry-level shopping credit card, and just like the Ace Credit Card, Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card also has a cashback reward structure and comes with a membership fee of just Rs. 250 per annum (plus applicable taxes). Some of the salient features of Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card are as follows-

• Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card can be used as just a virtual credit card. You can get the virtual card on the Freecharge app and a physical card is issued only on request.
• You get gift vouchers worth Rs. 700 from BookMyShow and Uber (Rs. 350 vouchers from each) with the card as a welcome gift.
• The card earns you a cashback of 5% on spends on the Freeharge app.
• You earn 1% cashback on all other spends made with the card.
• Although it is primarily a cashback based card, you do earn Axis Bank EDGE Reward Points on achieving the stipulated spend milestones (as per the table below)-

• The EDGE Reward Points earned are redeemable for instant vouchers and product purchases on Axis Bank EDGE Rewards Portal (1 EDGE Reward Point = Rs. 0.20).
• The card also entitles you to many additional benefits like a discount of up to 10% on Myntra, up to Rs. 100 credit every month on the Shuttl mobile app, up to Rs. 120 off on Freshmenu every month and a discount of 50% on Eros Now annual subscription.
• The annual membership fee of the card is waived off on an expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 50,000 in the previous anniversary year.
• To learn more about Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card, you may read this post on your website.

Quick Comparision

The following table gives a quick comparison between Axis Bank Ace Credit Card and Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card-

	Axis Bank Ace Credit Card	Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card
Reward Rate	5% cashback on bill payments and mobile/DTH recharges via Google Pay. 4% cashback on Ola, Zomato and Swiggy. 2% cashback on all other spends with the card (with a few exceptions- details above). The 5% and 4% cashback categories have a combined maximum capping of Rs. 500 per statement cycle. There is no capping on the 2% cashback category and you can earn unlimited cashback.	5% cashback on spends on the Freecharge app. 1% cashback on all other spends on the card.
Reward Redemption	The cashback earned is automatically adjusted against the card’s statement balance at the end of the statement cycle.	The cashback earned is credited to the Freecharge wallet associated with the card. The EDGE Reward Points earned as Milestone benefits are redeemable against shopping vouchers/products from the EDGE Rewards portal. 1 EDGE Reward Point = Rs. 0.20.
Welcome/Renewal Benefits	N/A	Gift vouchers worth Rs. 350 from each of Uber and BookMyShow.
Milestone Benefits	N/A	100 EDGE Reward Points on spending between Rs. 1,999 and Rs. 4,999 in a given statement cycle. 350 EDGE Reward Points on the expenditure of Rs. 5,000 or above in a statement cycle.
Additional Benefits	4 complimentary domestic airport lounge access every year. Up to 20% off on dining bills at partner restaurants under the bank’s Dining Delights program.	Up to 10% discount on Myntra. Up to Rs. 100 credit every month on the Shuttl app. Discount of Rs. 120 every month on Freshmen. 50% discount on the annual subscription of Eros Now.
Membership Fee	Rs. 499 per annum (plus applicable taxes). Joining fee waived off on an expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 10,000 within 45 days of card issuance. Renewal fee waived off on an annual expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 2 lacs in the preceding year.	Rs. 250 per annum (plus applicable taxes). Annual membership fee is waived off on an expenditure of Rs. 50,000 in the preceding year.
Eligibility	No minimum income-based eligibility criteria stipulated by the bank. The cardholder must be between 18 and 70 years of age.	It is an invite-only offering. Eligible Freecharge customers will see a banner on their Freecharge app.

Conclusion

Both Axis Bank Ace Credit Card and Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card are two great options in the entry-level shopping credit cards category. While the Ace Credit Card comes with a higher membership fee of Rs. 499 per annum, you also get additional benefits like 4% cashback on Zomato and Swiggy but both of these categories have a combined capping of Rs. 500 cashback per statement cycle, and a higher cashback rate of 2% on normal spends with the card. On the other hand, the Freecharge Credit Card is offered at an annual fee of Rs. 250 and earns you a cashback of 5% on Freecharge spends while you get just get 1% cashback on all other spends with the card.

Another difference between the two cards is Axis Bank Ace Credit Card entitles you to 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge access every year, while you do not get any such benefit with the Axis Bank Frecharge Credit Card, although you do get other benefits like discounts on Myntra, Freshmen and ErosNow with the Freecharge Credit Card.

Considering all the similarities and the aforementioned differences between Axis Bank Ace Credit Card and Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card, what we can conclude is both the cards offer a decent reward rate, however, if you are someone who loves to travel and you think airport lounges are worth it, then you should definitely go with Axis Bank Ace Credit Card, that although comes with a higher membership fee, but you do get complimentary airport lounge access at domestic airport across the country.

Also Check: Axis Bank Ace Credit Card vs HDFC Millennia Credit Card