aswathsm
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Kindly feel free to add your suggestions for best cards for different spends mentioned here and also new cards and modification to my portfolio and strategy. This strategy might be useful to most of you too.
- Axis Atas (5000 + tax)- Yes! its still a very good card for majority of the offline and online spends. Flat 4% miles is no brainer and I love instant gratification instead of waiting months/whole year to get the rewards. I am planning to use this for all spends majorly on education (thankfully not devalued), Definitely for direct hotel and flight bookings, medical bills, offline shoppings. I am on Gold category now with 8.5L spends and my renewal is up on May this year, will continue to hold and will target 3L next year and might extend above 3L if I make more travel plans. Being in gold, it also justifies my renewal fees as I would get 2.5K edge miles .
Reward Rate - 6.8% value back without 5X, 10 to 12% with occasional 5X miles. (For 3L spends)
Calculation -
6000 (base) + 2500 edge miles => 17000 Partner points (1 edge mile = 2 partner points) and each point valued at average 1.2 rupees if transferred to following - ITC, Accor, Vistara.
With occasional 5X on hotels/flights rewards -> might go up to 10 to 12%. (Percentage is once you convert it to partner points and the value back you get).
(I did make around 9 to 10% last year on reaching 7.5L milestone (32K edge miles -> 64K partner points -> 80K approx value back ) with less than 10K transaction on 5X miles, so you can still go with this if you have no or less direct hotel/flight bookings) - Amex Gold (1000 + Tax FY,4500 + Tax from SY)- Got this card last week after Atlas announced devaluation. Will be moving all my Utility, Fuel expenses to this card. Will be using 1000*6 Amazon pay vouchers for Utility and other online expenses like food, grocery ordering and online lifestyle shoppings. Not interested to spend more than 72K per year on this and will negotiate for fee during renewal. You get 5K points on renewal and still feel card is good even if you pay fees (Unpopular opinon!).
Reward Rate - 19.4% value back on first year. Value back considered on spending it for Taj vouchers or Bonvoy which I am interested in more than others.
Calculation -
72K -> 600 5x points per month => 7200 per year
milestone -> 1K * 12 => 12000 MR points per year.
Bonus points -> 4K + 2K joining on spend criteria of 10K in 90 days => 6000 MR points
Total - 25200 MR points.
Taj voucher - 14000 Rs/ Marriot Bonvoy value back approx- 12000-13000rs. - SBI Club Vistara Prime (2999 +TAX)- Would be using this card for Gold/Jewellery expenses and any government spends. Might use this even for Tax payments. Sadly rewards on rent is discontinued from April 15,2024 but no communication is made on milestone accrual for rental transactions. I spent around 2L last year and I renewed this card again. I would mainly eye for milestone vouchers and not for CV points I get on this card. I am only targeting for 1.5L milestone achieved mostly using yearly jewellery purchases for my mom. So more the jewellery expense and govt spends more the milestones you hit.
Reward Rate - 13% value back on 1.5L spends.
Calculation -
Welcome voucher Premium economy worth 10K (I mostly use this for longer routes and are flexible with dates). Fees paid - 3.5K, 10-3.5 => 6.5K value back.
First Milestone voucher - 10K value back.
Total -> 16,500+3000 CV points (1cv=1rs) => 19,500 value back. SBI Discounts on Amazon and offline are cherry on the top. - Induslnd EazyDiner (1999 +TAX)- I watch movies once or twice a month and go out on family/friends dine-out once a month and this card comes as a saver. It’s not a BOGO and flat 200rs discount on single ticket twice a month. Can save 25% on every time I go for dining saving huge. I got this for FYF offer last year and up for renewal in August,2024 and would continue with this card as I feel the fees justifies. My spends on this card is average 30K per year.
Reward Rate - 43% Value back if movie tickets are included. Still its 20 to 25% with just dining expenses.
Calculation -
One dining per month -> 2000rs per month saves 500 => 6000rs per year saved. (I have put the bare minimum dining expense and it’s on average and might go up).
Two movies per month -> 400 per month -> 4800 value back.
Total -> 10800 rs for spends of approx 25K. - Amazon Pay ICICI (LTF)- I would be using this card for Amazon shopping to get the 5% cashback. Might use this along with Atlas and Amex vouchers. It’s a very good card to keep with as it’s a LTF cashback card to have.
I don’t have fixed or estimation on spends I do on this card.
Reward Rate- 5% on Amazon and 1% on other expenses.
These are the 5 Cards I Use as of now. Have spent good amount of time to document these and finalise my strategy. Thanks and I am grateful if you have reached here reading. Kindly add in your suggestions.
My total essential spends as per above - 5.5L per year.
My spends can touch 10L as it did in FY23-24 and it depends on the additional travel plans and other unavoidable expenses and I might leverage Atlas for spends above 5.5L. So total spends range between 5 to 10L per year. Also planning to get Amex Platinum Travel for spends above 5.5L and as a back up plan if Axis comes with more devaluations.
So Total Value back I get is approx 13% (Atlas, Amex, Vistara prime considered) and can go up if I spend more on 5X atlas miles.
Also Note - I mostly redeem my points on domestic travels. No international plans as of now. Even if I do (mostly SEA) will book them by revenue and might redeem Accor points for hotels.