Axis Atlas reward

[laijulazar]

I got an Axis Atlas credit card last month. As a frequent traveler, I would like to know which hotel group and airline partner offer the best value for reward redemption. Please help. I also have a few more doubts about this card — can any experienced users assist me?

 

[helloworld]

Thread 'AXIS Atlas vs HDFC Regalia Gold vs AXIS Horizon vs HSBC TravelOne'

May 11, 2024

This is a wiki post, so anyone with appropriate permissions can edit and make necessary changes.

General Note:​

Redemption calculations are assumptions for illustrative purposes and may vary. Please confirm specific terms directly with card issuers.

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Terminology:​

• EM: Edge Miles (Axis Rewards)
• RP: Reward Points (HDFC Rewards)
• FYF: First Year Free
• JF: Joining Fee
• LTF: Lifetime Free
• AF: Annual Fee
• BV: Brand Vouchers (e.g., Regalia Gold Milestone Benefit)
• SFV: SmartBuy Flight Voucher...

• helloworld
• Replies: 63
• Forum: Credit Card Comparison

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• 
• 

: )

 

[Avatar Aang]

I got an Axis Atlas credit card last month. As a frequent traveler, I would like to know which hotel group and airline partner offer the best value for reward redemption. Please help. I also have a few more doubts about this card — can any experienced users assist me?

For redemption best value is provided by Accor. It's simple and easy to use for most of the people (including me).
AirMiles is a difficult game and you really need to put in some research to find best value and availability of award seats. I found it a bit complicated.

 

[laijulazar]

For redemption best value is provided by Accor. It's simple and easy to use for most of the people (including me).
AirMiles is a difficult game and you really need to put in some research to find best value and availability of award seats. I found it a bit complicated.

Thanks a lot for the reply. If the benefits are mainly limited to hotels and not really useful for flight bookings, then is this card truly worth it when you factor in the annual fee and the high spending requirement? I’m just asking to understand from your experience.

 

[Avatar Aang]

Thanks a lot for the reply. If the benefits are mainly limited to hotels and not really useful for flight bookings, then is this card truly worth it when you factor in the annual fee and the high spending requirement? I’m just asking to understand from your experience.

Personally I feel that the card is good enough for 1st year. But from 2nd year onwards it makes sense only if you get at least 2.5K EM for renewal. Otherwise it's just waste of money.
Amex plat travel on the other hand offer better returns.

 

[rsr]

Axis atlas will give 2 miles per 100rs spend on IRCTC bookings (on new RailOne app also). Did the booking and got miles…just sharing the info

 

[taskmaster]

Personally I feel that the card is good enough for 1st year. But from 2nd year onwards it makes sense only if you get at least 2.5K EM for renewal. Otherwise it's just waste of money.
Amex plat travel on the other hand offer better returns.

Amex plat travel is good only for mariott. Mariott itself can be a bit complicated

 

[Avatar Aang]

Amex plat travel is good only for mariott. Mariott itself can be a bit complicated

Agreed. Amex plat travel is only good for Marriott.
Marriott doesn't provide free breakfast for award bookings.
I am comfortable in staying at 2-3 star non branded properties. That's why I chose to trade Marriott Bonvoy points at 50p per point.

Spending 4L on plat travel will give minimum 48K points that's 24K Rs. Further you get 10K Taj voucher which can be sold at 30% discount. So total value back is 31K.
That's almost 7.75% value back.

 

[Avatar Aang]

Atlas has may exclusions. Plat travel has fewer exclusions.
Atlas is best for booking flights with direct airlines or Hotel booking. But the fact that the best possible redemption is Accor is a bit disappointing for me.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Even I have applied for Atlas this week, and I will be getting it soon.
The replies of @Avatar Aang in this covers the entire gist of this card. Very simple and straightforward explanation.

If you're planning to stay at any Accor hotels like Ibis, Novotel, or similar in the next couple of years, then getting the Axis Atlas credit card can be a smart move. The easiest and most rewarding way to use your points is with Accor. For every ₹100 you spend on regular (non-excluded) categories, you earn 2 Edge Miles. These convert into 4 Accor points, which are roughly worth ₹8. That’s an effective 8% return on spend, which is much higher than most regular credit cards.

When you use the Atlas card specifically for booking hotels or flights through direct websites or Axis Travel Edge, it gets even better. You earn 5 Edge Miles per ₹100, which becomes 10 Accor points, equal to about ₹20. That’s a 20% return – straight and simple. One great thing about Accor is that you can use your points for everything – room, food, and extras – unlike Marriott where points use is more limited. The only catch is that Accor points can be used in chunks of 2,000, where 2,000 points = 40 euros, which is around ₹4,000.

If your hotel bill is more than the value of your points, you can split the payment – use points for part of it and pay the rest in cash. This flexibility makes Atlas one of the best entry-level cards for anyone who wants to explore the world of points and miles. Besides, you also get milestone rewards at ₹3L, ₹7.5L, and ₹15L annual spends, which adds more value. Not all spends count toward the milestone targets – there are exclusions.

I have been thinking lately on how to make the best use of Atlas.
One big spend for me is Fuel, I don't have a fuel card yet. So I am planning to use Atlas to buy vouchers in Park+ and HPPay to pay for fuel, which gives 2EM/100 = 8% returns on fuel spends, which is not bad.

 

[Maven]

Accor is really good value, you are not limited to base room, pick the damn presidential suite and pts will cover it and since they allow the entire bill to be paid with points during checkout (in most places, it's a hit and miss worked 4/5) I've paid for safaris, tours etc as well. Someone did the math on value above, it's better than most airlines now a days since it's gotten a lot harder to even find the right reward tickets and their taxes are on the rise in most cases.

Marriot is honestly crap in terms of redemption value and it makes sense for more frequent travellers who already have a certain status which helps cover the breakfast or upgrades.

 

[laijulazar]

Even I have applied for Atlas this week, and I will be getting it soon.
The replies of @Avatar Aang in this covers the entire gist of this card. Very simple and straightforward explanation.

If you're planning to stay at any Accor hotels like Ibis, Novotel, or similar in the next couple of years, then getting the Axis Atlas credit card can be a smart move. The easiest and most rewarding way to use your points is with Accor. For every ₹100 you spend on regular (non-excluded) categories, you earn 2 Edge Miles. These convert into 4 Accor points, which are roughly worth ₹8. That’s an effective 8% return on spend, which is much higher than most regular credit cards.

When you use the Atlas card specifically for booking hotels or flights through direct websites or Axis Travel Edge, it gets even better. You earn 5 Edge Miles per ₹100, which becomes 10 Accor points, equal to about ₹20. That’s a 20% return – straight and simple. One great thing about Accor is that you can use your points for everything – room, food, and extras – unlike Marriott where points use is more limited. The only catch is that Accor points can be used in chunks of 2,000, where 2,000 points = 40 euros, which is around ₹4,000.

If your hotel bill is more than the value of your points, you can split the payment – use points for part of it and pay the rest in cash. This flexibility makes Atlas one of the best entry-level cards for anyone who wants to explore the world of points and miles. Besides, you also get milestone rewards at ₹3L, ₹7.5L, and ₹15L annual spends, which adds more value. Not all spends count toward the milestone targets – there are exclusions.

I have been thinking lately on how to make the best use of Atlas.
One big spend for me is Fuel, I don't have a fuel card yet. So I am planning to use Atlas to buy vouchers in Park+ and HPPay to pay for fuel, which gives 2EM/100 = 8% returns on fuel spends, which is not bad.

The fuel voucher idea is new to me—thanks for the information. Can you please explain how it actually works? I also have regular fuel spends, so if you have some time, I’d really appreciate it if you could explain in detail.

 

[S U D O]

Even I have applied for Atlas this week, and I will be getting it soon.
The replies of @Avatar Aang in this covers the entire gist of this card. Very simple and straightforward explanation.

If you're planning to stay at any Accor hotels like Ibis, Novotel, or similar in the next couple of years, then getting the Axis Atlas credit card can be a smart move. The easiest and most rewarding way to use your points is with Accor. For every ₹100 you spend on regular (non-excluded) categories, you earn 2 Edge Miles. These convert into 4 Accor points, which are roughly worth ₹8. That’s an effective 8% return on spend, which is much higher than most regular credit cards.

When you use the Atlas card specifically for booking hotels or flights through direct websites or Axis Travel Edge, it gets even better. You earn 5 Edge Miles per ₹100, which becomes 10 Accor points, equal to about ₹20. That’s a 20% return – straight and simple. One great thing about Accor is that you can use your points for everything – room, food, and extras – unlike Marriott where points use is more limited. The only catch is that Accor points can be used in chunks of 2,000, where 2,000 points = 40 euros, which is around ₹4,000.

If your hotel bill is more than the value of your points, you can split the payment – use points for part of it and pay the rest in cash. This flexibility makes Atlas one of the best entry-level cards for anyone who wants to explore the world of points and miles. Besides, you also get milestone rewards at ₹3L, ₹7.5L, and ₹15L annual spends, which adds more value. Not all spends count toward the milestone targets – there are exclusions.

I have been thinking lately on how to make the best use of Atlas.
One big spend for me is Fuel, I don't have a fuel card yet. So I am planning to use Atlas to buy vouchers in Park+ and HPPay to pay for fuel, which gives 2EM/100 = 8% returns on fuel spends, which is not bad.

Let me know how it turns out for you @cardio_guy

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Let me know how it turns out for you @cardio_guy

yes, they just called me for home address verification.,
Asked to keep 2 months payslip printout to be handed over to the executive who comes for verification.
(It is a little surprising why they asked for hard copies)

 

[ccrnc]

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I think no one in India should be using Amex cards to play the miles game, except for a very small niche crowd (basically influencers). Controversial take, yes, but let me break it down for you.


First of all, there are countless acceptance issues you'll run into, both in India and abroad, where merchants either refuse Amex payments or charge extra for them.


Second, it's essentially just a Marriott card. Indian Amex has terrible transfer ratios for most other partners. And the irony is, with dynamic award pricing, most Marriott redemptions are far from the ₹1/point valuation. In fact, ₹0.4–₹0.7 per point is the standard going rate at most urban properties. You can verify this yourself on the app for the properties you are likely to visit.


Some influencers will sell you the dream, that big Maldives trips or a Masai Mara safari where they supposedly saved ₹20L with 2L points. But good luck building your entire card strategy around glitched pricing. To be fair, it’s possible to get excellent value, ₹2-₹3 per point at some aspirational properties. But at your scale, collecting the 4-5L points required for those redemptions will take a decade with 40-50K points/year on an Amex Plat Travel (unless, of course, you’re an influencer pushing referrals for their pyramid scheme).


Third, it's reportedly becoming harder to negotiate down their steep annual fees. I don’t see the upside in dealing with that.


Some of my own family members have Amex cards, and I’ve seen these issues first-hand. Honestly, I’d recommend just sticking with Axis or HDFC cards.


People underestimate the value of flexibility and ease of use when it comes to redeeming points. Realistically, airlines are just too much work (at least for me). Finding award tickets and finding them on the dates you need is a massive headache. I’d much rather enjoy consistent, reliable value from Accor, or even occasionally sacrifice some point value for the convenience of ITC (which also allows you to play the Marriott game more effectively).


That said, of course-take the call based on your own preferences.

 

[taskmaster]

Atlas has may exclusions. Plat travel has fewer exclusions.
Atlas is best for booking flights with direct airlines or Hotel booking. But the fact that the best possible redemption is Accor is a bit disappointing for me.

Well i got my atlas last week, have a vacation coming up. Actually have planned for 2 vacations this year and would be using Atlas for bookings. I think accor is decent for me, they are not that expensive and a fixed redemption value is something easy for me. Plus when booking higher amount flights/hotels even dcb and infinia will hit monthly limits while atlas has a higher ceiling. But yeah if accor is something you want to avoid, atlas is not for you.

 

[taskmaster]

Even I have applied for Atlas this week, and I will be getting it soon.
The replies of @Avatar Aang in this covers the entire gist of this card. Very simple and straightforward explanation.

If you're planning to stay at any Accor hotels like Ibis, Novotel, or similar in the next couple of years, then getting the Axis Atlas credit card can be a smart move. The easiest and most rewarding way to use your points is with Accor. For every ₹100 you spend on regular (non-excluded) categories, you earn 2 Edge Miles. These convert into 4 Accor points, which are roughly worth ₹8. That’s an effective 8% return on spend, which is much higher than most regular credit cards.

When you use the Atlas card specifically for booking hotels or flights through direct websites or Axis Travel Edge, it gets even better. You earn 5 Edge Miles per ₹100, which becomes 10 Accor points, equal to about ₹20. That’s a 20% return – straight and simple. One great thing about Accor is that you can use your points for everything – room, food, and extras – unlike Marriott where points use is more limited. The only catch is that Accor points can be used in chunks of 2,000, where 2,000 points = 40 euros, which is around ₹4,000.

If your hotel bill is more than the value of your points, you can split the payment – use points for part of it and pay the rest in cash. This flexibility makes Atlas one of the best entry-level cards for anyone who wants to explore the world of points and miles. Besides, you also get milestone rewards at ₹3L, ₹7.5L, and ₹15L annual spends, which adds more value. Not all spends count toward the milestone targets – there are exclusions.

I have been thinking lately on how to make the best use of Atlas.
One big spend for me is Fuel, I don't have a fuel card yet. So I am planning to use Atlas to buy vouchers in Park+ and HPPay to pay for fuel, which gives 2EM/100 = 8% returns on fuel spends, which is not bad.

I didnt think about using Atlas for fuel like that. My fuel spends are also decent so ill take a look at them too. Although i heard that Park+ has started charging convinence fees for them.
Also i think specially for first year, you can easily get Atlas it will fetch you 2500 em for your fees and you can easily give it a try to see if it works for you. Thats what my thought process was, apart from the fact that i have 2-3 trips planned with good accor coverage regions.

 

[taskmaster]

---

I think no one in India should be using Amex cards to play the miles game, except for a very small niche crowd (basically influencers). Controversial take, yes, but let me break it down for you.


First of all, there are countless acceptance issues you'll run into, both in India and abroad, where merchants either refuse Amex payments or charge extra for them.


Second, it's essentially just a Marriott card. Indian Amex has terrible transfer ratios for most other partners. And the irony is, with dynamic award pricing, most Marriott redemptions are far from the ₹1/point valuation. In fact, ₹0.4–₹0.7 per point is the standard going rate at most urban properties. You can verify this yourself on the app for the properties you are likely to visit.


Some influencers will sell you the dream, that big Maldives trips or a Masai Mara safari where they supposedly saved ₹20L with 2L points. But good luck building your entire card strategy around glitched pricing. To be fair, it’s possible to get excellent value, ₹2-₹3 per point at some aspirational properties. But at your scale, collecting the 4-5L points required for those redemptions will take a decade with 40-50K points/year on an Amex Plat Travel (unless, of course, you’re an influencer pushing referrals for their pyramid scheme).


Third, it's reportedly becoming harder to negotiate down their steep annual fees. I don’t see the upside in dealing with that.


Some of my own family members have Amex cards, and I’ve seen these issues first-hand. Honestly, I’d recommend just sticking with Axis or HDFC cards.


People underestimate the value of flexibility and ease of use when it comes to redeeming points. Realistically, airlines are just too much work (at least for me). Finding award tickets and finding them on the dates you need is a massive headache. I’d much rather enjoy consistent, reliable value from Accor, or even occasionally sacrifice some point value for the convenience of ITC (which also allows you to play the Marriott game more effectively).


That said, of course-take the call based on your own preferences.

Amex and Marriott is a rich man's game, its like people flaunting 1cr in stock market profits not showing you the 100cr investment. Accor and Axis/HDFC is more like a FD/Index fund game.

 

[nh124001]

I didnt think about using Atlas for fuel like that. My fuel spends are also decent so ill take a look at them too. Although i heard that Park+ has started charging convinence fees for them.
Also i think specially for first year, you can easily get Atlas it will fetch you 2500 em for your fees and you can easily give it a try to see if it works for you. Thats what my thought process was, apart from the fact that i have 2-3 trips planned with good accor coverage regions.

beware for fuel spends with atlas, i have seen many examples where axis blocked all the collected edge miles for lifetime, i would say atlas is good only for offline spends + direct spending at hotel/airlines (usmein bhi kabhi-2 invoices mang leete hai) and annual spends can go around 7.5 lakhs...else go for HDFC RG.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

beware for fuel spends with atlas, i have seen many examples where axis blocked all the collected edge miles for lifetime, i would say atlas is good only for offline spends + direct spending at hotel/airlines (usmein bhi kabhi-2 invoices mang leete hai) and annual spends can go around 7.5 lakhs...else go for HDFC RG.

Thanks for pointing this out. NEed to be very careful. Using Atlas is like playing with fire.