Axis Bank has announced revised terms and conditions on its Magnus Credit Card. Effective from 1st September 2023, the card would lose its monthly milestone benefit of 25,000 points and also have a lower ‘points to miles conversion’. The annual fee of Axis Magnus has also been increased from Rs. 10,000 + GST to Rs. 12,500 +GST. Here are the major changes to the card that have been announced by Axis Bank.
Is Axis Magnus still the best travel credit card?
Monthly Milestone Benefits Discontinued
The most important benefit of Axis Magnus Credit Card was its monthly milestone benefits wherein users could earn 25,000 bonus reward points on reaching monthly spends of Rs. 1 Lakh. This benefit will be discontinued from 1st September.
| The monthly milestone benefit was the major USP of this card as high-spenders could accumulate 3 Lakh additional reward points. By transferring the earned reward points to air miles in 5:4 ratio, cardholders could save a substantial amount on their travel spends. However, now if a user continues to spend Rs. 1 Lakh per month on domestic spends, they will only be able to earn up to 72,000 reward points on the regular earn rate. |
However, existing cardholders will still be eligible for the milestone benefit, as per the below details:
- August 2023 spends will be eligible for milestone benefit of 25,000 EDGE rewards and cardholders will receive the rewards within 90 days
- Cardholders who have achieved the monthly milestone in May 2023 & June 2023, will receive the reward points by 31 July 2023
- Cardholders who have achieved the monthly milestone in July 2023, will get the reward points by 10 August 2023
Revision in Reward Earning Rates
Previously, the card had no restrictions related to reward point earning. Users could earn 12 points per Rs. 200 across all spend categories along with 5X rewards on Axis Travel EDGE Platform. However, now Axis Bank has added revised rules related to the maximum monthly spends, giving high-spenders more opportunities to earn rewards across categories other than the travel EDGE spends. Details are shown in the table below:
| General Spends | Spends on Travel EDGE | |
| Current Reward Rates | 12 Axis EDGE reward points per Rs. 200 spent | 60 Axis EDGE reward points per Rs. 200 spent |
| Reward Rates effective 1st September 2023 |
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In addition, two new exempted categories have been added- utilities and government institution transactions- that will not earn any reward points.
Devaluation in Miles Transfer Program
Effective 1st September 2023, Axis Magnus cardholders will be able to transfer reward points to partner airlines and hotel loyalty programs in 5:2 ratio, as opposed to the previous ratio of 5:4. This means for 50,000 reward points, you could get 40,000 air miles but now the number will be reduced to 20,000 air miles. Also, users will be able to transfer up to 5 Lakh reward points to partner airlines/hotels in a year. Remaining points, if any, can be used in the next calendar year or redeemed against vouchers or products from the rewards catalogue for a value of 1 RP = Rs. 0.20.
Axis Bank has added a condition that the cardholders can continue to redeem against partner airlines in 5:4 ratio if they open a Burgundy Account with the bank, which again comes with its own terms and conditions.
Revision in Annual Fee and Waiver Condition
Despite major devaluations, the cost of holding this card has been increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,500. Moreover, spend based waiver condition has also been revised from Rs. 15 Lakh to Rs. 25 Lakh, which would be a big jump for many users.
Revision in Welcome Benefits
As welcome benefit, Axis Magnus will offer any of the following from 1st September 2023:
- Luxe gift card worth Rs. 12,500
- The Postcard Hotels Voucher worth Rs. 12,500
- Yatra voucher worth Rs. 12,500
The domestic flight ticket or Tata CLiQ voucher option are discontinued.
Click here for revised terms and conditions
Major setback for travellers
Axis Magnus held great value for frequent travellers mainly because of three reasons:
- Opportunities to earn substantial reward points under the monthly milestone program
- Excellent conversion rate of 5:4 under the Miles Transfer Program
- Free flight ticket as welcome/renewal benefit
From 1st September 2023, all three of these are either discontinued or devalued, which would be a major disappointment for travellers.
Firstly, high-spenders will miss 3 Lakh additional reward points as the monthly milestone program has been discontinued. Now users who continue to spend the same amount every month will only be able to accumulate 72,000 reward points in a year (at the base rate of 12 RP per Rs. 200 spent).
Secondly, the value of 72,000 reward points which would have given 57,600 Air Miles or Hotel Loyalty Points (at 5:4 ratio), will now give only 28,800 Air Miles/Points (at the new 5:2 ratio). And third, cardholders will also lose the complimentary domestic flight ticket as welcome benefit.
This devaluation has come as a triple setback for travellers who opted for this card in the hopes of availing multiple free flight tickets in a year.
Axis Magnus Devaluation Snapshot
| Category | Existing Features | Revised Features effective 1st Sep 2023 |
| Welcome Benefit | 1 complimentary domestic flight ticket or a Tata CLiQ voucher worth Rs. 10,000 | Luxe gift card/ The Postcard Hotels/ Yatra voucher worth Rs. 12,500 |
| Annual Fee | Rs. 10,000 | Rs. 12,500 |
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Annual Fee Waiver |
Waived off on annual spends of Rs. 15 Lakh | Waived off on annual spends of Rs. 25 Lakh |
| Annual Benefit | Complimentary voucher worth Rs. 10,000 | Discontinued |
| Monthly Milestone Benefit | 25,000 EDGE reward points worth Rs. 5,000 on spending Rs. 1 Lakh | Discontinued |
| EDGE Rewards |
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| EDGE Rewards Exclusion | No reward points on wallet, rent, Priority Pass fee and EMI transactions | No reward points on wallet, rent, Priority Pass fee, EMI, utilities & government institution transactions |
| Milestone Transfer | 5 EDGE Reward Points = 4 Partner Points/ Miles (5:4)
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