RBL World Safari vs Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card

If you are someone who regularly travels to domestic and foreign locations, then a travel credit card can be really beneficial to you. Axis Bank offers a sub-premium card, the Atlas credit card, that comes with a joining fee of ₹5000 plus taxes. It is not co-branded with any partner airline and offers Airmiles as rewards to the cardholder. You earn Edge Miles for your spends, and you can redeem them against flight/hotel bookings at the Travel Edge portal. Moreover, you get higher rewards on foreign spends, complimentary lounge access, milestone benefits, and more as well.

Another mid-range travel credit card is the RBL World Safari credit card, which comes with a ₹3000 joining fee and primarily targets millennials. The card from RBL Bank offers welcome gift vouchers and the ability to earn Travel Points for spending. It also provides access to airport lounges, golf rounds, and bonus Travel Points when you achieve target spending. The best part about this card is that it does not charge a forex markup fee on foreign currency spends.

Keep reading our article to learn more about both cards, what they offer, their fees and charges, and how they compare.

Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card

The Axis Bank Atlas is a mid-range travel card that is not co-branded with any airline. It offers Edge Miles to the cardholder, which can be redeemed for partner airline miles and other hotel/flight bookings. The joining fee on the card is ₹5000 + GST, and it offers various other travel perks, including airport lounge access, concierge services, accelerated rewards on foreign currency spends, etc.

The following are the features and benefits offered by the credit card –

Welcome Benefit

As a welcome benefit, you earn 5000 Edge Miles upon successfully making 1 transaction within 1 month of card issuance.

Credit Card Tiers

There are three tiers on the Atlas credit card – Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The higher your tier, the more Edge Miles you earn upon renewing the card annually.

Annual Benefit

On paying the card renewal fee, you get bonus Edge Miles on your card. It depends on the tier you are in –

• Silver – N/A
• Gold – 2,500 Edge Miles
• Platinum – 5,000 Edge Miles

Milestone Benefit

In addition to earning bonus Edge Miles every year on renewing the card membership, you also earn bonus Edge Miles on reaching the target spend milestone in the card anniversary year.

• 3 Lakhs – 2500 Edge Miles
• 7.5 Lakhs – Additional 2,500 Edge Miles
• 15 Lakhs – Additional 5,000 Edge Miles

Reward Rate

• Earn 5 Edge Miles per ₹100 spent on hotel/flight bookings via the Travel Edge portal.
• Earn 2 Edge Miles per ₹100 spent on other transactions with the card.

Reward Redemption

• Edge Miles can be used to book hotel or flight tickets through the Travel Edge portal.
• Edge Miles can be transferred to partner airline or hotel points at a fixed conversion rate.

Travel Benefits

With the card, you can access domestic and international airport lounges, and the number of complimentary visits depends on your card tier.

• Silver – 8 domestic and 4 international lounge access
• Gold – 12 domestic and 6 international lounge access
• Platinum – 18 domestic and 12 international lounge access

Dining Benefit

Through the EazyDiner program, you can get an exclusive 25% off up to a maximum of ₹800 at partner restaurants.

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the card –

• The interest rate on the card is 3.6% per month
• The forex markup fee on the card is 3.5% of the transaction amount
• The cash advance fee on the card is 2.5% of the amount or ₹500, whichever is higher

RBL Bank World Safari Credit Card

Another mid-range travel card in the market is the RBL Bank World Safari credit card, which charges a joining fee of ₹3000 plus taxes. The card is for millennials and offers welcome benefits that are worth the card membership fee. This card offers rewards in the form of Travel Points for your spends that can be redeemed against flight/hotel bookings or other travel spends. One of the best features of this card is that it does not charge a forex markup fee, which is beneficial if you regularly make cards spends in foreign currency.

The following are the features and benefits associated with the credit card –

Welcome Benefit

You get MakeMyTrip travel vouchers worth ₹3000 as a welcome benefit with the card.

Milestone Benefit

The following are the milestone benefits of the card –

• Bonus 10,000 Travel Points on spends of ₹2.5 Lakhs or more in the year
• Bonus 15,000 Travel Points on spends of ₹5 Lakhs in the year
• 10,000 worth of gift vouchers from Taj, Amazon, MakeMyTrip, Croma, or Myntra on spends of ₹7.5 Lakhs or more in the year

Reward Rate

• Earn 2 Travel Points per ₹100 spent with the card.
• Earn 5 Travel Points per ₹100 spent on travel.
• For international transactions, there are no reward points.
• These Travel Points can be redeemed at RBL Rewards.

Travel Benefit

• Get 2 complimentary domestic lounge access per quarter and 2 international lounge access per year with the Priority Pass.
• Get extra complimentary lounge access when spending ₹50,000 or more in a quarter.

Golf Benefits

• Get 4 complimentary golf games per year and 4 complimentary golf lessons, max 1 per month.
• After the complimentary rounds, get 50% off on green fees.

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the card –

• The joining and renewal fee on the card is ₹3000 plus taxes
• The interest rate on the card is 3.99% per month
• The card’s forex markup fee is zero, so you don’t have to pay extra for foreign spending.
• The card’s cash advance fee is 2.5% of the amount or ₹500, whichever is higher.

RBL World Safari vs Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card – Quick Comparison

The following table features a side-by-side comparison of both the cards –

Category	Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card	RBL Bank World Safari Credit Card
Joining/Annual Fees	₹5000 + GST	₹3000 + GST
Welcome Benefits	5000 Edge Miles on making 1 transaction within 1 month of getting the card	₹3000 worth of vouchers from MakeMyTrip
Reward Earning	5 Edge Miles per ₹100 spent on travel 2 Edge Miles per ₹100 spent elsewhere	5 travel points per ₹100 spent on travel. 2 Travel Points per ₹100 spent elsewhere
Reward Redemption	Edge Miles can be redeemed against hotel/flight bookings or converted to air miles or points of airline or hotel partners	Travel Points can be redeemed against air travel, hotel bookings, and more at the RBL Rewards portal
Movie and Dining Benefits	25% discount up to ₹800 via EazyDiner	N/A
Travel Benefits	Complimentary domestic and international lounge access	Complimentary domestic and international lounge access 4 complimentary golf rounds, and 12 golf lessons per year
Forex Markup Fee	3.5%	Nil

Conclusion

If you are a regular traveler, the Axis Bank Atlas and the RBL World Safari credit cards are great choices. Both cards have various travel perks and benefits that will allow you to have a relaxing and comfortable travel experience. The Atlas credit card by Axis Bank charges ₹5000 as a joining fee and offers Edge Miles that can be converted to air miles. It also provides dining discounts and complimentary domestic and international lounge access.

On the other hand, the RBL World Safari credit card comes with a ₹3000 joining fee and offers welcome benefit vouchers of the same value. The reward rate is similar to the Atlas card, but you even have complimentary golf rounds with the card. The card offers airport lounge access and several travel-related insurance benefits as well. The best part is the zero forex markup fee on the card, which is excellent for regular foreign travelers.

We recommend the RBL Bank World Safari credit card, as it has a lower joining fee and offers almost the same, even some better, features than the Atlas credit card. The zero forex markup fee is what puts the card above the other one. Also, with the recent devaluation of the Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card, both are at the same level. In the end, you need to look at your spending habits and individual needs to choose the best credit card for you.

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