Going to take my first travel card - Axis Atlas, need some inputs.

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

So after a lot of time spent on cashback cards and exploring a lot about travel cards, I finally decided to take the plunge and get into the world of travel card.
I had been avoiding Axis for some reasons all this while, but finally decided to take the Axis Atlas card.

Most importantly these days my bookings have changed, I usually book from direct airlines website or app, and hotels can be booked from traveledge.
So this gives me a chance to try my luck with Axis Atlas.

My travel and hotel stay is mostly domestic. My current cards do not give any good value on flight or hotel booking.
But Indigo flights are the one where I am stuck without any returns. (or may be 1.5% base returns)

I was shortlisting some of the other cards in this league:
- Amex Plat Travel: Amex not issuing cards now and low offline acceptance held me back
- HSBC Travel One: The advantage over Atlas is that OTAs are included but with Traveledge, I decided to go with Axis.
- HDFC Regalia Gold - I will be get this card sometime this year. When I get it, I will relook at my strategy.

Another thing that I considered is validity of edge miles and accor points.
I understand that Edge miles are valid for 3 years, but Accor points validity keeps extending as and when we transfer in points.

Use case of the Edge miles is stay in Accor hotels and nothing else.
In the next 1-2 years, I want to take my family to good places, and stay in good hotels, and I believe this will be a good choice.


I want to know the following things -
1. I don't have an Axis bank account. Will they give this card for people who doesnt have an account?
2. How is traveledge portal for booking hotels? (not accor or mariott kind of, but local ones)
3. I haven't considered anything about vouchers yet. Is it possible to play the voucher game with this card? If yes, how?
3. Did I mss anything else?

 

[akiratoriyama]

I remember commenting on your last post about regalia gold. Honestly man, axis doesn't seem worth it. So many people have had their cards closed due to supposed business use. Regalia gold doesn't have that many restrictions and the milestones are decent. I'm trying to upgrade mine to Infinia soon but still happy with this card in general.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

I remember commenting on your last post about regalia gold. Honestly man, axis doesn't seem worth it. So many people have had their cards closed due to supposed business use. Regalia gold doesn't have that many restrictions and the milestones are decent. I'm trying to upgrade mine to Infinia soon but still happy with this card in general.

Yes, Regalia Gold is a very decent card compared to atlas. I've been trying to get that, but it will take time.
In the long term, I am thinking to make Atlas and Regalia Gold as primary cards once I am fully on track. (With my spends, getting DCB or Infinia is not possible)
So I will be settled with these 2 mid tier cards for travel & hotel spends, thereby embarking my points and miles journey.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Here are my existing cards and their usage and plan for new cards.

Card​	Usage​	Fees
ICICI Amazon Pay	Only for Amazon purchases (5% cashback)	LTF
ICICI Sapphiro	Only for BMS B1G1 - 500x2 per month	LTF
HDFC Swiggy	Only for Swiggy, Instamart, and Dineout (10% cashback)	LTF
HDFC Freedom	Keeping it for getting upgrade	500
HDFC Mariott Bonvoy	Only for lounge access for add-on card holders + FNA + Silver Elite	3540
Federal Celesta	Only for lounge access + movie offer + Any bank specific offer.	LTF
Indusind Tiger	Only for lounge access + movie offer + Any bank specific offer.	LTF
IDFC First Wealth	Only for Visa Infinite + Card specific offers.	LTF
HDFC Tata Neu Infinity	Primary card now - UPI, Offline swipe, utilities, recharges, insurance, gas, grocery. Will keep the 5% and 10% categories here, and move other spends, offline swipes etc to RG. (if I get upgraded)	LTF

My plan is to take the following cards to optimize returns:

Card	Usage	Fees
HDFC Regalia Gold	Want to make it primary and move most of the offline swipes & low rewarding spends on other cards here. + Smartbuy spends.	FYF / 2950
Axis Atlas	Mainly for Indigo flights and hotel booings. Apart from that, I can use this for offline swipes and other spends, to meet milestone conditions or benefits.	5900
HSBC Live+	Only For offline grocery 10% cashback. Only thing is if I have to meet milestone for Atlas, then I might use Atlas first, keep this on hold. Least priority. If spends are too spread out and I cannot meet fee waiver conditions, then better off with Atlas and Regalia Gold for offline grocery. This can be left off.	1180

Things to consider:

• Atlas and Regalia Gold - Both or either one of them? -- Spends are less. So getting both would be an overkill. Maynot be able to meet fee waiver milestone if spends are spread across both.
• Vouchers - Plan to start buying vouchers for spends.
• Consolidate spends on LTF cards and move most of them to paid cards, so that fee waiver and milestones can be achieved.
• So in short RG and Atlas will become primary cards for offline and miscellaneous uses.

 

[viruss]

RG Vs Atlas .. seems to be intesting topic

 

[tachniki]

Once you get Atlas, HDFC Marriott use case will be free night and silver elite.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Once you get Atlas, HDFC Marriott use case will be free night and silver elite.

Atlas allows guest access with primary holder while Mariott allows access for add-on card holder.
Getting add-on is very difficult for Atlas.

 

[sachbs]

Here are my existing cards and their usage and plan for new cards.

Card​	Usage​
ICICI Amazon Pay	Only for Amazon purchases (5% cashback)	LTF
ICICI Sapphiro	Only for BMS B1G1 - 500x2 per month	LTF
HDFC Swiggy	Only for Swiggy, Instamart, and Dineout (10% cashback)	LTF
HDFC Freedom	Keeping it for getting upgrade	500
HDFC Mariott Bonvoy	Only for lounge access for add-on card holders + FNA + Silver Elite	3540
Federal Celesta	Only for lounge access + movie offer + Any bank specific offer.	LTF
Indusind Tiger	Only for lounge access + movie offer + Any bank specific offer.	LTF
IDFC First Wealth	Only for Visa Infinite + Card specific offers.	LTF
HDFC Tata Neu Infinity	Primary card now - UPI, Offline swipe, utilities, recharges, insurance, gas, grocery. Will keep the 5% and 10% categories here, and move other spends, offline swipes etc to RG. (if I get upgraded)	LTF

[td width="25.0945%"]
​

Fees​

[/td]​

My plan is to take the following cards to optimize returns:

Card	Usage	Fees
HDFC Regalia Gold	Want to make it primary and move most of the offline swipes & low rewarding spends on other cards here. + Smartbuy spends.	FYF / 2950
Axis Atlas	Mainly for Indigo flights and hotel booings. Apart from that, I can use this for offline swipes and other spends, to meet milestone conditions or benefits.	5900
HSBC Live+	Only For offline grocery 10% cashback. Only thing is if I have to meet milestone for Atlas, then I might use Atlas first, keep this on hold. Least priority. If spends are too spread out and I cannot meet fee waiver conditions, then better off with Atlas and Regalia Gold for offline grocery. This can be left off.	1180

Things to consider:

• Atlas and Regalia Gold - Both or either one of them? -- Spends are less. So getting both would be an overkill. Maynot be able to meet fee waiver milestone if spends are spread across both.
• Vouchers - Plan to start buying vouchers for spends.
• Consolidate spends on LTF cards and move most of them to paid cards, so that fee waiver and milestones can be achieved.
• So in short RG and Atlas will become primary cards for offline and miscellaneous uses.

I have been using Atlas as my primary for the last two years. Somehow was able to meet the 15L spend threshold for both years. Haven't faced any inquiry from axis yet (very thankful, and fingers crossed). My 2 cents -

• If you are sure of a travel plan in the next 2 years that involves somewhere with Accor hotels, go ahead and try atlas. Even at spends of 3 Lakhs (including about 1 Lakh worth of flight travel), you can get somewhere between 15-20k EM, which converts to about 50-60k in Accor currency.
• Take the regalia gold if you're eligible - and then you can use it whenever you want. Maybe now, maybe after a year. You can still keep RG as a decent secondary card keeping atlas as primary if you're ok with paying the fees. There is a high probability of atlas getting devalued before RG. So you can shift your spends to HDFC once that happens. This is something that I want to do. I currently hold an LTF Diners Privilege and Tata neu Infinity from HDFC. I am not eligible for Regalia based on Salary or CC Limit. I am trying my best to get one of my cards upgraded to RG, so that the day Atlas gets devalued, I can switch to HDFC and aim for DCB/Infinia.
• On a side note, if you are interested only in Indigo blue chip points, Kotak Mahindra has revamped the Indigo 6E cards. Their premium card at 3k per year looks like a good card, with decent milestone benefits starting at 1.5 Lakhs. Check the card here- https://www.goindigo.in/loyalty/partners/kotak-mahindra-bank-credit-card.html

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

I have been using Atlas as my primary for the last two years. Somehow was able to meet the 15L spend threshold for both years. Haven't faced any inquiry from axis yet (very thankful, and fingers crossed). My 2 cents -

• If you are sure of a travel plan in the next 2 years that involves somewhere with Accor hotels, go ahead and try atlas. Even at spends of 3 Lakhs (including about 1 Lakh worth of flight travel), you can get somewhere between 15-20k EM, which converts to about 50-60k in Accor currency.
• Take the regalia gold if you're eligible - and then you can use it whenever you want. Maybe now, maybe after a year. You can still keep RG as a decent secondary card keeping atlas as primary if you're ok with paying the fees. There is a high probability of atlas getting devalued before RG. So you can shift your spends to HDFC once that happens. This is something that I want to do. I currently hold an LTF Diners Privilege and Tata neu Infinity from HDFC. I am not eligible for Regalia based on Salary or CC Limit. I am trying my best to get one of my cards upgraded to RG, so that the day Atlas gets devalued, I can switch to HDFC and aim for DCB/Infinia.
• On a side note, if you are interested only in Indigo blue chip points, Kotak Mahindra has revamped the Indigo 6E cards. Their premium card at 3k per year looks like a good card, with decent milestone benefits starting at 1.5 Lakhs. Check the card here- https://www.goindigo.in/loyalty/partners/kotak-mahindra-bank-credit-card.html

Thanks for your inputs. These are very valuable insights. Good clarity.
One thing that I don't want to happen is devaluatoin of Atlas. It maynot happen in one shot and a blanket devaluation, but maybe in parts or specific sections or categories. But that is something not in our hands, so just being prepared is all what we can do.
HDFC is robust so I don't have any problems there.
On flights - Air India Express & Air India is another one that I use - but Tata Neu infinity on Neu app or direct website gives good rewards (upwards of 10% + tier benefits). So I am mostly good there.
Only for Indigo bookings, I wanted a different card, because as of now, Tata Neu is giving only 1.5% and I don't have any other better cards for Indigo.
I don't want a card specific to Indigo (Kotak one), that would be too focussed. So not looking at that. But thanks for that insight.

 

[nh124001]

Thanks for your inputs. These are very valuable insights. Good clarity.
One thing that I don't want to happen is devaluatoin of Atlas. It maynot happen in one shot and a blanket devaluation, but maybe in parts or specific sections or categories. But that is something not in our hands, so just being prepared is all what we can do.
HDFC is robust so I don't have any problems there.
On flights - Air India Express & Air India is another one that I use - but Tata Neu infinity on Neu app or direct website gives good rewards (upwards of 10% + tier benefits). So I am mostly good there.
Only for Indigo bookings, I wanted a different card, because as of now, Tata Neu is giving only 1.5% and I don't have any other better cards for Indigo.
I don't want a card specific to Indigo (Kotak one), that would be too focussed. So not looking at that. But thanks for that insight.

if you are not comfortable with axis jhamela... and spends are of around 7lpa.. then combo of HDFC RG and Sbi cashback is also very good

 

[tachniki]

Atlas allows guest access with primary holder while Mariott allows access for add-on card holder.
Getting add-on is very difficult for Atlas.

Approximately how many lounge access is needed per year?

 

[S U D O]

RG Vs Atlas .. seems to be intesting topic

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 (e.g., Regalia Gold Milestone Benefit)
• 3Q/5Q: Quarters (for Regalia Gold milestones)
• TE: Travel Edge (Axis Travel Booking Platform)
• MP: Mile Point (Axis Redemption Value for EM)

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Joining Fee and Benefits:​

Category​	Atlas​	Horizon​	Regalia Gold​	TravelOne​
Joining Fee	₹5900	₹3540	₹2950 (or FYF/LTF)	₹5900
Welcome Benefit	2.5K EM	5K EM	₹2500 Voucher (if fee paid)	₹1000 Cashback + 3K RP (if spent 1L in 90 days)
Annual Fee	₹5900	₹3540	₹2950 (or waived >₹4L spends)	₹5900 (or waived >₹8L spends)
Renewal Benefit	Up to 5K EM (Tier based) 0 (Silver Tier) 2.5K EM (Gold Tier) 5K EM (Platinum Tier)	1.5K EM	None (but waived for >₹4L)	None (but waived for >₹8L)

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Spend Rewards:​

Category​	Atlas​	Horizon​	Regalia Gold​	TravelOne​
Travel (Airlines, Hotels and Travel EDGE)	5 EM/₹100	5 EM/₹100	4 RP/₹150 (higher via SmartBuy)	4 RP/₹100 (incl. travel aggregators)
Marks & Spencer, Myntra, Reliance Digital, Nykaa!	2 EM/₹100	2 EM/₹100	20 RP/₹150	2 RP/₹100
General	2 EM/₹100	2 EM/₹100	4 RP/₹150	2 RP/₹100

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Milestone Benefits:​

Cumulative Spends​	Atlas​	Horizon​	Regalia Gold​	TravelOne​
1.5L Spends/Year	-	-	₹1500 BV (1Q)	-
3L Spends/Year	2.5K EM	-	-	-
5L Spends/Year	-	-	₹4500 BV (3Q) + ₹5000 SFV = ₹9500	-
7.5L Spends/Year	5K EM (Gold Tier)	-	₹ 7500 BV (5Q) + ₹ 5000 SFV = ₹12.5K	-
12L Spends/Year	-	-	-	10K RP
15L Spends/Year	10K EM (Platinum Tier)	-	-	-

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Redemption Options:​

Domestic Options​	Atlas​	Horizon​	Regalia Gold​	TravelOne​
TravelEdge/SmartBuy	1 EM = ₹1	1 EM = ₹1	1 RP = ₹0.50p	-
Accor, Marriott, Wyndham (Gr. A)	2 EM = 1 MP (Marriott) 1 EM = 2 MP (Others) Group A: 30K EM Limit/Year Group B: 1.2L EM Limit/Year	1 EM = 1 MP Group A: 1L EM Limit/Year Group B: 4L EM Limit/Year	1 RP = up to 0.5 MP (Accor, Wyndham)	1 RP = ₹1
AirIndia, ITC, IHG (Gr. B)	1 EM = 2 MP	1 EM = 1 MP	1 RP = upto 0.5 MP (IHG)	1 RP = ₹1
Products/Vouchers	1 EM = ₹0.20p	1 EM = ₹0.20p	1 RP = upto ₹ 0.35p Gold Catelogue: 1 RP = 0.65p	-
Statement Credit	-	-	1 RP = ₹0.20p	-

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Lounge Access:​

Location​	Atlas​	Horizon​	Regalia Gold​	TravelOne​
Domestic	8 (Silver), 12 (Gold), 18 (Platinum)	32 visits (VISA), 24 visits (MC)	12 visits	6 visits
International	4 (Silver), 6 (Gold), 12 (Platinum)	8 visits	6 visits	4 visits

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Exclusions:​

• Atlas: Jewlry, Rent, Govt., Insurance, Fuel, Utilities, Wallet
• Horizon: Rent, Govt., Insurance, Fuel, Utilities, Wallet, Education, Transportation & Toll
• Regalia Gold: Rent, Govt., Wallet
• TravelOne: Jewlry, Rent, Govt., Insurance, Fuel, Utilities, Wallet, Education

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Net Return:

Ranges in percentage (e.g., 9.4% to -0.27%) explain best-to-worst-case returns (possible return on your spending after factoring in joining fees, and milestone bonuses for specific spending levels).

• Left Value (e.g., 9.4%)
  • This is the maximum reward rate achievable through optimal usage, like earning on Travel Edge purchases and redeeming at a high value (e.g., 1 mile = 2 INR). This rate takes effort but can be reached with strategic spending.
• Right Value (e.g., -0.27%)
  • This is the minimum achievable rate through regular spending and basic redemption (e.g., 1 mile = 1 INR). This is straightforward and possible for all cardholders.
• So, for any given spending amount, you can expect a reward rate between these two values. The lower end is your minimum return, while the upper end is achievable with careful planning.

= Spend Rewards + Milestone Benefits + Welcome Benefits - Fee / Spends

Cumulative Spends​	Atlas (1 EM = ₹2 to ₹1)​	Horizon (1 EM = ₹1)​	Regalia Gold (1 RP = ₹0.50p)​	TravelOne (1 RP = ₹1)​
1.5L Spends/Year	10K EM to 5.5K EM - 5.9K Fee (JF) = 9.4% to -0.27%	12.5K to 8K EM - 3540 Fee (JF) = 5.97% to 2.97%	20K RP to 4K RP - 450 Fee (JF) = 7.36% to 2.03%	6K RP to 4K RP - 1900 Fee (JF) = 2.73% to 1.4%
3L Spends/Year	20K EM to 11K EM - 5.9K Fee (JF) = 11.36% to 1.7%	20K to 11K - 3540 Fee (JF) = 5.48% to 2.48%	40K RP to 8K RP - 450 Fee (JF) = 7.01% to 1.68%	12K RP to 6K RP - 1900 Fee (JF) = 3.36% to 1.36%
5L Spends/Year	30K EM to 15K EM - 5.9K Fee (JF) = 10.82% to 1.82%	30K to 15K - 3540 Fee (JF) = 5.29% to 2.29%	66.67K RP to 13.33K RP - 450 Fee (JF) = 8.47% to 3.14%	20K RP to 10K RP - 1900 Fee (JF) = 3.62% to 1.62%
7.5L Spends/Year	45K EM to 22.5K EM - 5.9K Fee (JF) = 11.21% to 2.21%	-	1L RP to 20K RP - 450 Fee (JF) = 8.27% to 2.94%	-
12L Spends/Year	-	-	-	58K RP to 34K RP - 1900 Fee (JF) = 4.67% to 2.67%
15L Spends/Year	87.5K EM to 42.5K EM - 5.9K Fee (JF) = 11.27% to 2.44%	-	-	-

Spoiler: Reward rate when redeeming points during 2nd year after paying annual fee or with waiver

Cumulative Spends	Atlas	Horizon	Regalia Gold	TravelOne​
1.5L Spends in a year	10K EM to 5.5K EM - 11.8K Fee (JF+AF) = 5.4% to -4.2%	14K to 9.5K EM - 7080 Fee (JF+AF) = 4.61% to 1.61%	20K RP to 4K RP - 3.4K Fee (JF+AF) = 7.23% to 0.06%	6K RP to 4K RP - 7800 Fee (JF+AF) = -1.2% to -2.53%
3L Spends in a year	20K EM to 11K EM - 11.8K Fee (JF+AF) = 9% to -0.25%	21.5K to 12.5K - 7080 Fee (JF+AF) = 4.8% to 1.8%	-	12K RP to 6K RP - 7800 Fee (JF+AF) = 1.93% to -0.6%
5L Spends in a year	30K EM to 15K EM - 11.8K Fee (JF+AF) = 9.64% to 0.64%	31.5K to 16.5K - 7080 Fee (JF+AF) = 4.88% to 1.88%	66.67K RP to 13.33K RP - 3.4K Fee (JF+AF) = 9.8% to 2.54%	20K RP to 10K RP - 7800 Fee (JF+AF) = 2.56% to 0.44%
7.5L Spends in a year	47.5K EM to 25K EM - 11.8K Fee (JF+AF) = 10.92% to 1.73%	-	1L RP to 20K RP - 3.4K Fee (JF+AF) = 9.83% to 2.53%	-
12L Spends in a year	-	-	-	58K RP to 34K RP - 1900 Fee (JF+AF) = 4.67% to 2.67%
15L Spends in a year	92.5K EM to 47.5K EM - 11.8K Fee (JF+AF) = 11.45% to 2.36%	-	-	-

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Recommendations:​

1. Horizon: Best for generic spends, especially below ₹3L annually.
2. Atlas: Optimal for heavy spenders and best when redeeming through 1:2 MP for travel/hotel partnerships.
3. Regalia Gold: Balanced choice for spending up to ₹7.5L with milestone benefits. Redemptions available for non-travel too.
4. TravelOne: Horizon better compared to this card.

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Its there. Courtesy of @helloworld