HDFC Regalia Gold vs Axis Atlas

[Manu_CK]

I tried to compare Regalia Gold and Atlas with some numbers (which is derived from my spending pattern) using Chat GPT. My prompt is the following

Can you compare HDFC Regalia Gold and Axis Atlas
- Compare the features
- Compare Exclusions
- Calculate the rewards in INR and reward percentage

My spend details are
- Total 8 lakhs a year
- Minimum 1.5 lakh spends in a calendar quarter
- Airline tickets + Hotel spend → <= 2 Lakhs
- Entertainment + Eating out → <= 1 lakhs
- Fuel → 90000
- Other spends will be → School fees, Insurance Payments, Government Utilities, Miscellaneous

• Consider Reg Gold rewards points at 0.50/-
• Consider the card renewal charges in the calculation. If the fees are waived off, consider it as 0/-
• Consider the normal calculations and ACCOR transfer scenarios both

The answer I got is a bit surprising. For the above numbers, Regalia has the upper hand on Atlas.

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4. Reward Calculation (Normal Value)​

HDFC Regalia Gold (₹0.50 / RP)​

1. Flights + Hotels via SmartBuy (5X)
   
   • Base: (₹2,00,000 ÷ ₹150) × 4 = 5,333 RP
   • 5X = 26,665 RP → Value = ₹13,333
   • (₹1,00,000 ÷ ₹150) × 4 = 2,666 RP → ₹1,333
2. Total Value (before fee) = ₹13,333 + ₹1,333 + ₹5,466 + ₹16,000 = ₹36,132
3. Fee after waiver check → Spend > ₹4L → Fee waived = ₹0
4. Final Value = ₹36,132 (Yield = 4.52%)

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Axis Atlas (₹1 / EM)​

1. Flights + Hotels (5 EM/₹100)
   
   • ₹2,00,000 ÷ ₹100 × 5 = 10,000 EM → ₹10,000
   • ₹1,00,000 ÷ ₹100 × 2 = 2,000 EM → ₹2,000
2. Total Value (before fee) = ₹10,000 + ₹2,000 + ₹8,200 + ₹5,000 = ₹25,200
3. Fee after waiver check → Spend < ₹15L → Fee = ₹5,000 + GST = ₹5,900
4. Final Value = ₹19,300 (Yield = 2.41%)

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5. Reward Calculation (Accor Transfer Scenario)​

Assumptions:

• HDFC Regalia Gold (2 RP = 1 ALL Point ≈ ₹1 → same as ₹0.50/RP)
• Axis Atlas: ₹1.80 / EM when transferred to Accor ALL (1 EM = 2 ALL points, 2 ALL points = €0.04)

HDFC Regalia Gold (₹0.50 / RP)​

• No change from normal: ₹36132 net, 4.52% yield.

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Axis Atlas (₹1.80 / EM)​

• Points from normal calculation: 25,200 EM equivalent
• Value = 25,200 × 2 × ₹1.80 = ₹90720
• Milestones (in EM) already included in above
• Fee = ₹5,900
• Final Value = ₹84820 (Yield = 10.6%)

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6. Summary Table​

Card	Normal Value	Normal Yield	Accor Value	Accor Yield
HDFC Regalia Gold	₹36,132	4.52%	₹36,132	4.52%
Axis Atlas	₹19,300	2.41%	₹84,820	10.60%

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n.b., Clear side by side comparison.

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[Manu_CK]

Thanks bro. I am also in the same situation. I have many cards, but last month I got Atlas, and all of my core spends are now moved to Atlas.
With my relationship with HDFC I think I will get RG FYF sometime this year. (Or at the best DCB, but chances are less)
I am planning to consolidate my card strategy with these 2 core cards alone.

I will write a detailed post on how I will use these two cards.
(Only now, after spending 2-3 years + using so many cashback and LTF cards, only now I got some clarity on how to consolidate and move forward).
One good thing I realized is that we need to take cards as per our spend categories and where/how we need returns, and not anything else.

Almost the same case here. Using credit cards since 2005 but I believe I was living under a rock this long 🙁 . I had good enough spends over the years and I believe I wasted them. Only learnt about the points and how to categorize spends since last year; still learning.

Have many cards now (8), but will be reducing them to 3.
1. AMEX Plat Travel → 4L
2. HDFC Reg Gold → 5L
3. Axis Atlas → Rest everything

n.b. RG gets a bigger chunk now because of SmartBuy. If Axis counterparts are better, will definitely re-align the numbers.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

@cardio_guy Attaching the excel sheet for calculations

Super. Thanks a lot.
Small suggestion:
If you want, you can make it a public google sheet and share the link so that people can work online.
Make sure your copy is not editable, people can just make copy and work on it.
Experts can give further suggestions on finetuning and correcting mistakes if any.

Tagging some people for visibility and support.
@hender @jk51 @Fini7777 @Sriim @S U D O @Z_S @SSquad @Jatayu @CodeCrusher @panchabhut @the_collector