Which Card Has Better Benefits: Axis Bank Rewards Credit Card or Standard Chartered Rewards Credit Card?

When people search for the right credit card for themselves, one of the first thing they look out for is the reward rate and benefits offered by the card. When it comes to rewards, Axis Bank, one of the most popular card issuers in the country, and Standard Chartered Bank, have great cards to offer and both of them are named Rewards.

Both of these cards are new to the country’s credit card market as they were launched by the respective banks in 2023. Someone who tends to shop a lot and go out with their friends and family, both these cards offer reward points on almost every spend. The Axis Bank Rewards credit card comes at a joining and renewal fee of Rs. 1000 plus taxes, while the Standard Chartered Rewards credit card does not have a joining fee but a renewal fee of Rs. 1000 plus taxes.

As you can tell by the similar annual charges of both credit cards, they are quite similar with their offerings. Apart from a great reward rate, both these cards feature exclusive benefits across other categories for cardholders.

In this article, we will take a detailed look at the Axis Bank Rewards credit card and Standard Chartered Rewards credit, comparing them against different factors. Read on to see how both these credit cards stack against each other.

Axis Bank Rewards Credit Card

Axis Bank already has an admirable range of credit cards in the Indian market and the Rewards credit card was recently launched by the bank. This is the perfect card for shopping lovers as they get rewarded every time they spend money with this card.

The card is available at a decent fee of Rs. 1000 plus taxes and offers a great welcome benefit and other spend-based monthly and annual benefits. You get 2 EDGE reward points on every Rs. 125 spent with the card along with 10x reward points on apparel and departmental stores. Other privileges like complimentary domestic lounge access and dining benefits make this a great lifestyle credit card overall.

Here are the features and benefits offered by the Axis Bank Rewards Credit Card

You get a welcome benefit of 5000 EDGE reward points on spending Rs. 1000 or more inside 30 days of getting the card.
You get 1500 EDGE reward points on spending Rs. 30,000 or more per month.
You get membership benefits worth Rs. 1000 every card anniversary year.
You get 2 EDGE reward points on every spend of Rs. 125 with the card and up to 10x reward points on every spend of Rs. 125 on departmental and apparel stores. Accelerated rewards are capped on spends up to Rs. 7000 monthly on specific categories.
You can redeem your reward points on products and vouchers on the EDGE Platform. You can convert your reward points to Partner Airmiles. Also, you can pay for eligible transactions with reward points both online and offline.
You get 15% discount at partner restaurants up to a maximum of Rs. 500 under the Dining Delights program.
You get 30% off on Swiggy orders capped at a maximum Rs. 150 per order. You can avail this discount 2 times per month.
2 complimentary domestic lounge access at select airports.
You get a 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between Rs. 400 and Rs. 5000 capped at a maximum of Rs 400 per month.
You get Rs. 1 Lakh worth Purchase Protection Cover, USD 300 cover for delay of check-in baggage and loss of travel-related documents, USD 500 cover for loss of baggage, and a Credit Shield worth Rs. 1 Lakh.

These are the fees and charges associated with Axis Bank Rewards credit card

The card comes with a joining and annual fee of Rs. 1000 plus taxes which can be waived off on spending Rs. 2 Lakhs or more in the previous year.
The card charges an interest rate of 3.6% per month or 52.86% per annum.
The card charges a forex markup fee of 3.5%.
The card charges 2.5% or minimum Rs. 500, whichever is higher, for cash withdrawal.

Standard Chartered Rewards Credit Card

The Standard Chartered Rewards credit card is another new entry in the Indian market which was recently launched by the bank. The card focuses on people who spend a lot on retail purchases and shopping. You can get the card without any joining fee but you have to pay a renewal fee of Rs. 1000 plus taxes.

This credit card offers 4 reward points on every retail spend of Rs. 150 with the card except on insurance and government payments for which you get 1 reward point on spends of Rs. 150. Other than the exciting reward rate, there are many other privileges provided by the card that you can benefit from.

Here are the features and benefits of the Standard Chartered Rewards Credit Card

There is no joining fee and you have to pay a renewal fee of Rs. 1000 plus taxes.
You get 4 reward points on spends of Rs. 150 on retail and 1 reward points on spends of Rs. 150 on insurance and government payments. There are no reward points offered for cash withdrawal and fuel transactions.
On spending Rs. 20,000 or more in a month on retail purchases, you can earn 4x reward points for your spends. Bonus reward points are capped at 2000 per month.
You can redeem reward points on Rewards catalog against vouchers and products where 1 RP = Rs. 0.25 and you can also redeem them against the card balance, where 1 RP = Rs. 0.20.
Get 1 complimentary domestic lounge access per quarter.
You get 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between Rs. 400 to Rs. 2000 and the maximum benefit is capped at Rs. 400 per month.

These are the fees and charges associated with Standard Chartered Rewards credit card

The card has no joining fee and the renewal fee of Rs. 1000 plus taxes can be waived off on spending Rs. 3 Lakhs or more in the card anniversary year.
The card charges an interest rate of 3.75% per month.
The card charges Rs. 99 as a reward redemption fee.
The card charges a forex markup fee of 3.5%.
The card charges 3% or Rs. 300, whichever is higher, for cash withdrawal.

Axis Bank Rewards vs. Standard Chartered Rewards Credit Card – Comparison

Go through this table for a detailed and side-by-side comparison of both credit cards.

Particular	Axis Bank Rewards	Standard Chartered Rewards
Annual Fees	Rs. 1000 plus taxes	No joining fee and an annual fee of Rs. 1000 plus taxes
Welcome Benefit	5000 EDGE reward points on spends of Rs. 1000 or more in 30 days of getting the card	N/A
Spend-Based Waiver	The renewal fee can be waived off on spending Rs. 2 Lakhs or more in the previous year.	The renewal fee can be waived off on spending Rs. 3 Lakhs or more in the card anniversary year.
Reward Rate	You get 2 EDGE reward points on every spend of Rs. 125 with the card and up to 10x reward points on every spend of Rs. 125 on departmental and apparel stores.	You get 4 reward points on spends of Rs. 150 on retail and 1 reward points on spends of Rs. 150 on insurance and government payments.
Reward Redemption	You can redeem your reward points on products and vouchers on the EDGE Platform. You can convert your reward points to Partner Airmiles. Also, you can pay for eligible transactions with reward points both online and offline.	You can redeem reward points on Rewards catalog against vouchers and products where 1 RP = Rs. 0.25 and you can also redeem them against the card balance, where 1 RP = Rs. 0.20.
Travel Benefits	2 complimentary domestic lounge access at select airports per quarter.	1 complimentary domestic lounge access per quarter.
Dining Benefits	You get 15% discount at partner restaurants up to a maximum of Rs. 500 under the Dining Delights program. You get 30% off on Swiggy orders capped at a maximum Rs. 150 per order.	N/A
Insurance Benefits	Rs. 1 Lakh worth Purchase Protection Cover, USD 300 cover for delay of check-in baggage and loss of travel-related documents, USD 500 cover for loss of baggage, and a Credit Shield worth Rs. 1 Lakh.	N/A

Conclusion

For people looking for lifestyle credit cards with a decent reward rate, then the Axis Bank Rewards and the Standard Chartered Rewards credit cards are great choices. Both of these cards are new to the Indian market and target individuals who spend high on retail purchases.

Both these cards are priced similarly but you can get the Standard Chartered Rewards credit card without any joining fee. When it comes to reward points, both cards offer accelerated rewards on retail spends and are perfect for shopping lovers. The Axis Bank Rewards credit card offers a nice welcome benefit and dining privileges which are not available with the Standard Chartered Rewards credit card.

Overall, both of these credit cards are decent and stack up nicely towards each other. We can say that the Axis Bank Rewards card has some more features in the dining and insurance benefits category when compared to Standard Chartered Rewards credit card, but both the cards are worth their price.

Let us know which credit card is better according to you and which one are you looking forward to use for yourself.