[Update: Read about Axis Bank’s changes to the Magnus Credit Card effective September 1, 2023]

Axis Bank launched a slew of upgrades to its credit card portfolio, and one of the best additions to the portfolio from that list was the Magnus Credit Card, which was launched in 2019. Unfortunately for the bank, just like many of their peers, they could not cash out on the potential of this launch with Covid hitting us in 2020, and the world saw a shutdown.

However, as Covid-19 ebbed, Axis Bank renewed its focus on this credit card and made it even sharper to appeal to the affluent/HNI category. I signed up for the card last year, and in this post, I wanted to shed some light on the finer details of the card and my experience with it.

One of the first things to note about the card is the metallic form factor, which is more akin to the Amex Platinum than the other metallic cards in India. The card feels solid in your hand and is a conversation starter. Also, no risk of the digits erasing over time since they are etched on the metal. The card used to be issued on the MasterCard platform but is now issued as a Visa Infinite Credit Card.

Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card Overview

Axis Bank’s Magnus Credit Card targets affluent/HNI customers. The card was curated to offer lifestyle benefits across travel, dining, movies and wellness to those who sign up for it. In 2022, Axis Bank added a new kicker to the card, offering 25,000 bonus EDGE Rewards points to those who spent INR 100K (INR 1 Lakh) on their card in a calendar month. Then, they added transfer partners as well. The overall combination made it one of the best cards for putting your spending on in India.

Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card Eligibility and Application

The Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card can be applied online/offline. Eligibility for the card is at an annual income level of INR 18 Lakh, both for salaried and self-employed folks. You can also apply for it on a card-to-card basis, providing another credit card statement where the minimum approved limit on your card is INR 5 Lakhs. The card is available to customers already holding a Banking Relationship with Axis Bank and those new to the Bank. To get started on your application, Apply Here.

On completion of INR 15 Lakhs spending during a membership year, the fee is waived for the following membership year.

Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card Joining and Annual Benefits

The Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card comes at a joining/renewal fee of INR 10,000 + GST (net INR 11,860). In exchange, the Bank provides the option between one complimentary domestic flight ticket with a value of up to INR 10,000 (including taxes) or a TataCLIQ voucher worth INR 10,000. The link to redeem is sent to you after your first transaction is registered on the card in every membership year cycle. You can claim your benefit up to 6 months after you receive the text message.

The TataCLIQ voucher converts into TataCLIQ cash, is valid for one year and sits in your account after you add it there. For your free ticket, you get one for Economy or Premium Economy, and you need to make the booking on Yatra.com. The ticket can be any amount, but the balance must be charged to your card for tickets more than INR 10,000.

Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card points earning

Magnus provides 12 EDGE Rewards/INR 200 spent on the card. Like everything else on Axis Bank Credit Cards, the spends are rounded down to the nearest INR 200, and you will be credited reward points for that. For instance, if you spend INR 1448, the points credited will be 84 EDGE Rewards. These points are usually credited as soon as the transaction settles or within a day or two. You can check the number of points earned using your customer ID with the bank here.

However, if you make INR 1,00,000 spend in a calendar month, Axis Bank also provides you with 25,000 bonus points (EDGE Rewards), which are credited to your account usually within 90 days of the closure of the month for which the spend was achieved. For instance, I made the first whole month of spending in October 2022, and the points arrived like clockwork in January 2023. Points for November 2022 also were credited in February 2023.

The 25,000 points monthly bonus is not a promotion but a full benefit of the card. The only spends that do not count for this benefit are wallet loads, and in the coming days, rent paid via credit card will also not count. Many people have an issue with the 90 days timeline. However, the bank is within its right to dictate the timelines for such a generous benefit. They might want to account for fraudulent practitioners doing all kinds of stuff to generate spending.

Apart from this, Axis Bank has a few other kickers in store as well where you can earn bonus points on your Magnus Credit Card:

• When you book travel from the Axis Bank TravelEDGE portal, you get 5X points for your travel spends. The base points post as the transaction settles, and the 4X Bonus points also get in quickly (it does not take 90 days).
• When you buy vouchers using the GiftEDGE website, you get points as per the points advised at the time of purchase. Gyftr powers GiftEDGE, and you can buy over 100 kinds of Gift Vouchers there. The 1X points arrive per the usual settlement cycle, and the remaining points arrive within 90 days of the transaction posting. This is an area for improvement for Axis Bank, as the other card issuers running Gyftr white-labelled portals have their bonus points posted immediately. For instance, I had to gift something to a close family friend on his wedding, but we were not sure what exactly he would like since there was no registry, so we got him gift vouchers from Croma. The 1X points were posted quickly, and the rest were posted much later, as you can see below. 
• You can also buy using the GrabDeals website, a white-labelled website offering all the deals and discounts on online purchases from Axis Bank. The bonus points earned from GrabDeals are limited to 10,000 per month. One of the sub-sections of this website offers vouchers as well from a different vendor called WooHoo. GrabDeals has some fantastic deals going on at times. For example, at the end of January 2023, they had 40X EDGE Rewards on offer for Marks & Spencers.

Remember, EDGE Rewards expire three years after accrual if not redeemed or transferred out.

Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card points burning

You can use your Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card EDGE Rewards towards many different use cases. The most basic one, offered for a long time, was to use them at a value of INR 0.20 per EDGE Rewards point. But I also mentioned that Axis Bank added transfer partners recently, and here is a list of the 19 transfer partners along with the transfer ratios:

• Independent
  • AirAsia Rewards: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 AirAsia Rewards
  • Club Vistara: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Club Vistara Points
  • Etihad Guest: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Etihad Guest Miles
  • SpiceClub: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 SpiceClub Points
• Star Alliance
  • Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 ShebaMiles
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 KrisFlyer Miles
  • United Mileage Plus: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 MileagePlus Miles
  • Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Miles & Smiles Miles
  • Air Canada’s Aeroplan: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Miles
  • Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Miles
• oneworld Alliance
  • Qatar Airways: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Avios
  • Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Miles
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Miles
• SkyTeam Alliance
  • AirFrance KLM Flying Blue: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 FlyingBlue Miles
• Hotel Networks
  • IHG One Rewards: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 IHG One Rewards
  • Club ITC: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 ClubITC points
  • Marriott Bonvoy: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Marriott Bonvoy Points
  • Accor ALL: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 ALL Points
  • Wyndham Rewards: 5 EDGE Rewards transfer to 4 Wyndham Rewards Points

As you can see, Axis Bank has covered all alliances, domestic carriers and international hotel chains with a pretty lucrative transfer ratio, which makes it possible for Magnus to keep happy those who like to use miles and points to make their life comfortable as well. 5 of these programmes have an instant transfer. At the same time, the rest could take up to 10 working days for transfer.

Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card Travel Benefits

While the Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card intends to have you spend across the board,  the niche it really specialises in is Travel. The Bank provides the primary and add-on card holders with unlimited lounge access on swiping the card across India. Not just that, the card comes with an unlimited-use Priority Pass in the box, which you can use for lounge access outside of India. On this Priority Pass, you also get free visits for eight guests in a membership year. This means you can have a +1 join you at the lounge eight times a year or have eight friends join you once a year.

Apart from these two benefits, Axis Bank also offers eight complimentary meet-and-greet services across Indian airports in a calendar year. You can use this Meet and Greet Service for Arrival or Departure at 29 Indian airports. The service needs to be booked at least 48 hours before departure online. You can also bring co-passengers, although you need to declare it upfront, and it gets deducted from your quota of 8 services per annum.

I recommend that you book the Meet and Greet a day or two before the final closure of the timeline because placing your request too far also means it goes very low on the priority of Aspire Lifestyle. These folks run the concierge service for Axis Bank. They confirm the service usually on the day of travel or, at best, one day prior. In a recent case, when I was flying out from Delhi Airport in December 2022, I’d placed a request about 15 days earlier, and I did not get a message confirming the service until 5 hours before departure. At this point, I had to call them, and they missed the request, though they did not admit to it.

Other lifestyle benefits offered by Magnus

Some other benefits offered on the Magnus Credit Card are in the entertainment and wellness category. In partnership with Bookmyshow, Magnus cardmembers are offered 5 Buy-One-Get-One-Free tickets every month on their card for both movies and non-movies categories, up to a limit of INR 500 for the free ticket. Axis Bank also tied up with EazyDiner, where you can get up to 40% discount on your meals twice a month and up to 3000 off once a year on your meals.

Exclusions

Fuel pump spends are not granted reward points on the Magnus. However, they are instead given a 1% rebate on the fuel surcharge. They still count for the milestone spending monthly and annually as well. Further, Insurance spends are capped at INR 100K for granting points for now per transaction. Rent transactions have been excluded from milestone coverage effective March 5, 2023.  Forex Charges are at 2%+GST, which is lower than some of the other players in the market.

Bottomline

Overall, the Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card, with its very lucrative rewards structure, is an excellent card for those who routinely spend over INR 100,000 in a billing cycle. The card comes with INR 10,000 worth of annual vouchers, which recoup the cost of the card every year. In addition, you get 12 EDGE Rewards/INR 200 spent, apart from the potential of earning 300K Bonus points just by spending INR 12 Lakhs on the card in a year (INR 100K per month gets you 25K Bonus points). Add that up with the handsome list of transfer partners, and you have a card grabbing all the right eyeballs these days. You also get an unlimited use Priority Pass, domestic lounge trips and meet and greet services.

Do you already hold the Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card? What has been your experience with the card?

Apply Here for the Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card

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Pros

+ 25K Bonus Points per month on minimum spend
+ Unlimited Lounge Access
+ Metal Form Factor
+ Meet and Greet Services

Cons

- Tracking GrabDeals might be a problem sometimes

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