Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card vs AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card- Which One to Pick?

Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card and American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card are generic (not co-branded) travel credit cards in the sub-premium segment. While Axis Bank has launched the Atlas Credit Card only recently, American Express Platinum Credit Card has been in the market for a long time now. The membership fee of both the cards is also the same- Rs. 5,000 per annum (the first year membership fee of AmEx Platinum Travel Card is Rs. 3,500).

As Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card and AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card offer similar benefits and features and also come with the same annual membership fees, it makes sense to compare the reward rate, features and benefits of the two cards. In this article, we shall give a detailed pointwise comparison between Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card and American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card.

Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card

Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card, as mentioned above, is a generic travel credit card recently launched by the bank. The card is best suited for frequent travelers- both domestic as well as international frequent flyers. Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card earns Reward Points as Edge Miles which are redeemable for travel spends (flight/hotel bookings) on the Axis Bank Travel Edge portal and can also be transferred to partner airlines’ frequent flyer programs. Atlas Credit Card comes with an annual fee of Rs. 5,000 per annum and apart from earning Edge Miles, also offers a number of other travel benefits such as complimentary domestic/international airport lounge access, airport pickup and drop-off service, additional Miles on achieving stipulated spend milestones, etc. Some of the key features of Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card are as under-

• The card is offered in three tiers- Silver, Gold and Platinum. By default, a cardmember is in the Silver Tier and is upgraded to Gold Tier on spending Rs. 7.5 lacs and Platinum Tier on the expenditure of 15 lacs in a year.
• You get 5,000 Miles worth Rs. 5,000 as a welcome gift on making three successful transactions with the card within 60 days of card issuance.
• The card earns you 5 Miles per Rs. 100 on travel spends, 2 Miles per Rs. 100 on transactions made in foreign currencies and 1 Mile per Rs. 100 on all other categories spends with the card.
• The three membership Tiers of the card differ in terms of the annual benefits, milestone benefits and add-on benefits like airport lounge access, concierge service, pickup/drop off services, etc.
• Axis Bank Atlas cardholders get annual renewal benefit as bonus Miles credited to the cardholder’s account as per the following table-

• Cardholders are entitles to bonus Miles on achieving the stipulated spend milestones as per the table below-

• The Edge Miles earned on your Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card can be redeemed for booking flights/hotels on the bank’s Travel Edge portal or can be transferred as AirMiles to partner airlines’ frequent flyer programs. Partner airlines for the transfer of Edge Miles include Air Vistara, Air Asia, Ethiopian Airlines, and Turkish Airlines. The transfer ratio of Edge Miles to partner airlines’ frequent flyer program is as under-

• Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card also entitles you to complimentary domestic and international airport lounge access as per the table below. The number of lounge access allowed in a given year is different for different tiers of membership-

Membership Tier	No. of Domestic Airport Lounge Visits	No.of International Airport Lounge Visits
Silver	8	4
Gold	12	6
Platinum	18	12

• You also get a discount of up to 20% at over 4,000 partner restaurants with Axis Bank’s Dining Delights program.

American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card

AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card, as the name suggests, is a travel-centric credit card by American Express. It is a mid-range travel credit card by American Express and comes with a membership fee of Rs. 5,000 per annum (first year’s membership fee or joining fee is Rs. 3,500). The card offers a decent reward rate and a plethora of add-on travel benefits like Taj Gift vouchers on achieving the stipulated spend milestones, complimentary domestic airport lounge access, complimentary Priority Pass membership and many more. Following are some of the salient features of the Platinum Travel Credit Card by American Express-

• 10,000 Membership Rewards Points as a welcome benefit, on spending a minimum of Rs. 5,000 within 60 days of card issuance.
• 15,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points worth up to Rs. 7,500 (redemption value against Taj Stay Vouchers) on spending Rs. 1.9 lakh in a year.
• Taj Stay Voucher worth Rs, 10,000 and additional 25,000 Membership Rewards Points worth up to Rs. 12,500 (against Taj Stay Vouchers) on the expenditure of Rs. 4 lakhs in a membership year.
• 8 complimentary domestic airport lounge access every year (max 2 per quarter) and complimentary membership of the Priority Pass lounge access program (no complimentary international airport lounge access).
• Up to 20% discount on dining bills at partner restaurants with Axis Bank’s Dining Delight program.

Quick Comparision

Now that you are aware of the features and benefits of both cards, you may refer to the following table as a quick reference for comparison between Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card and AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card-

	Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card	American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card
Reward Rate	5 Edge Miles per Rs. 100 on travel spends. 2 Edge Miles per Rs. 100 on foreign currency transactions. 1 Edge Mile per Rs. 100 on all other transactions.	2 Membership Rewards Point per Rs. 100.
Reward Redemption	Edge Miles are redeemable for hotel/flight bookings via Axis Bank Travel Edge portal (1 Edge Mile = Re. 1). The Edge Miles can also be transferred to partner airlines’ frequent flyer programs (see above for Miles conversion ratio).	Membership Rewards Points are redeemable for shopping vouchers, credit card bill payment (under Cash + Point scheme), or can be transferred to partner flight/hotel loyalty programs.
Welcome/Renewal Benefits	5,000 Edge Miles worth Rs. 5,000 on making 3 successful transactions within 60 days of card issuance.	10,000 Membership Rewards Points as a welcome gift subject to a minimum expenditure of Rs. 5,000 in the first 2 months of card issuance.
Milestone Benefits	Silver Tier membership on annual expenditure of Rs. 3 lacs. Gold Tier membership on annual expenditure of Rs. 7.5 lacs. Platinum tier membership on annual expenditure of Rs. 15 lacs.	15,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points on spending Rs. 1.9 lakh in a year. Taj Stay Vouchers worth Rs. 10,000 and additional 25,000 Membership Rewards Points on expenditure of Rs. 4 lakh in a year.
Additional Benefits	2,500 Edge Miles, 5,000 Edge Miles and 10,000 Edge Miles on annual expenditure of Rs. 3 lacs, 7.5 lacs and 15 lacs respectively. 8 domestic and 4 international airport lounge access for Silver Tier members. 12 domestic and 6 international airport lounge access for Gold Tier members. 18 domestic and 12 international airport lounge access for Platinum Tier members.	8 complimentary domestic lounge access every year (max 2 per quarter) and complimentary Priority Pass Membership. Up to 20% discount on dining bills at partner restaurants.
Membership Fee	Rs. 5,000 per annum	Rs. 5,000 per annum second year onwards (joining fee of Rs. 3,500 for the first year)
Eligibility	Minimum monthly income of Rs. 9 lacs (salaried applicants) or Rs. 12 lacs per annum (self-employed applicants) Age of both salaried and self-employed applicants must be between 18 and 70 years.	Income of more than 6 lakh per annum for both salaried and self-employed applicants.

The Verdict

Both the credit cards offer great value to frequent travelers, however, which card would be better suited for you depends upon your usage. If you want a credit card primarily for airline spends, Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card might be the right pick for you as you get Edge Miles on the Atlas card that are not only redeemable for flight/hotel bookings via Axis Bank’s Travel Edge portal but also are transferable as AirMiles to partner airlines’ frequent flyer programs. On the other hand, if you are fond of lavish hotels and want a credit card that would help you with hotel bookings, AmEx Platinum Travel Card might be the right pick for you as you get Taj stay vouchers on achieving the stipulated spend milestones.

Also Check: AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card Vs Citibank PremierMiles Credit Card